Human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi has raised concerns over attempts to revive the political image of former President Goodluck Jonathan, saying the move reflects Nigeria’s unwillingness to confront its systemic problems.
Farotimi, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, dismissed suggestions that Jonathan could offer solutions to the country’s challenges if he returned to power. He argued that those pushing the former Bayelsa governor as an alternative in 2027 were setting up Nigerians for disappointment.
According to him, the decision to vote Jonathan out in 2015 was not accidental but based on what Nigerians at the time saw as valid reasons.
“This was the same Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who was vilified and labeled. The press went into overdrive in this country, the pulpits and the mosques said Jonathan’s removal will solve the problems of Nigeria, but here we are, we’re going back into the past to dig up the past. That was how we dug up the one that just expired,” Farotimi said.
He stressed that leadership changes without addressing deep-rooted systemic flaws will achieve nothing.
“We’re not looking for saviours; it’s about building systems, building a country,” he stated.
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The lawyer questioned why some Nigerians were willing to embrace a leader they had previously rejected.
“How do you rebrand the failure of 2015 into a saint and a saviour in 2025? They want to bring Goodluck Jonathan because it is the safe option for them,” he added.
Farotimi said it was critical to ask what Jonathan could offer now that would be different from his previous tenure.
“There were valid reasons 10 years ago to have him removed, but people did not ask themselves: ‘What does it mean to change this?’ They focused on change, and they were sold a thought. Now, we’re back here 10 years later. I would be more interested in knowing exactly what it is that Mr. Goodluck might bring this time around that is different from what he did before people called for his removal,” he remarked.
Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost power in 2015 to Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Farotimi maintains that until Nigerians confront the “evil system” that sustains the country’s problems, swapping one leader for another will remain an exercise in futility.