There is a familiar drumbeat rising again from the North. Its rhythm is subtle, yet persistent a call, not to arms, but to ballots. A seductive invitation is being extended to former President Goodluck Jonathan, come back, take the reins again, this time under the fractured umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party. But what appears on the surface as a national rescue mission is, in truth, a dangerous political mirage. One that threatens to consume not just Jonathan’s legacy, but what little cohesion remains within the PDP itself.
The PDP is not a party today, it is three competing fiefdoms. One is the loudest, Nyesom Wike, now openly embedded in the APC-led federal government, undermining the house he once called home while comfortably dining in the other camp. Another is Governor Bala Mohammed, whose own northern aspirations are too bloated to allow room for compromise. The third is Governor Seyi Makinde, a younger lion unwilling to bow, flexing muscles in anticipation of a national shot. Between these three gladiators, the arena is soaked in ego, not strategy. There is no possibility of reconciliation not now, not in time.
Into this chaos, a condition is thrown. Jonathan will only return if there are no primaries. No contest. No internal democracy. Just a coronation. But coronations do not happen in broken kingdoms. And even if the Northern power brokers whisper in agreement today, they will scream betrayal tomorrow. The same bloc that extends the olive branch is always the first to withdraw it when power negotiations no longer favour their expectations. History has proven this over and over again.
Besides, who says Goodluck Jonathan can win a general election in today’s Nigeria? In 2015, he had the full weight of incumbency state apparatus, party machinery, and a South-South bloc still burning with loyalty. And he lost. Convincingly. The very electorate that once welcomed his gentle persona turned their backs when it mattered most. Is it now after years in the background and with a shattered party that his chances are better?
What new vision is he bringing? What policies, what reforms, what national strategy? Are we recycling leaders because there are no new minds? Or are we desperate for nostalgia that never really delivered? The same Jonathan who was removed for perceived weakness, policy inertia, and a cavalier handling of corruption scandals, how has he changed? What national appetite exists for the return of the man Nigerians chose to retire a decade ago?
There’s a certain beauty in exiting the stage gracefully. Jonathan’s post-presidency years have offered him global respect, domestic peace, and an elder statesman image untouched by Nigeria’s current political rot. He is invited to peace negotiations, not political debates. He is received with applause, not protest. Why risk all of that to enter a race where even his ticket is not guaranteed?
Not every call is meant to be answered. Some are traps wrapped in praise. Jonathan came from nothing and rose to everything not by scheming, but by divine orchestration. His was a presidency handed by fate, not fought for in the trenches. There is no shame in that. In fact, it is the miracle of his life. To attempt a return is not just an unwise gamble it is a reversal of grace.
Look at Muhammadu Buhari. If he had stopped at one term, he would have been mythologized by now a man who came, stabilized, and left. But his second term exposed every weakness, amplified every shortcoming, and erased nearly every goodwill. Today, some Nigerians do not even utter his name with respect. That is the danger of overstaying the welcome of history.
Goodluck Jonathan has nothing more to prove. No record to clean, no mandate to redeem. He is already one of Nigeria’s most consequential political stories. To enter the 2027 race is to risk being rewritten not as a statesman but as a desperate man trying to relive a moment that has passed.
Sometimes, legacy is preserved not by the battles we fight, but by the ones we walk away from. Jonathan should walk away. He should smile, wave, and let the next generation learn from both his rise and his restraint.
You don’t reopen a closed chapter of grace just to test if the ink still writes.
Power once given by God should not be chased through the backdoor of desperation.
Legacy is not built by returning to fight old battles, it is preserved by knowing when to step aside.
The same voices calling you back will be the first to stone you when things fall apart.
Jonathan’s second coming will not be a resurrection it will be a relapse.
In politics, the same people who clap for your ambition often sharpen knives behind your back.
Not every call to serve is divine some are designed to destroy.
He left the stage with applause, why return for a possible boo?
You don’t sit at the table of chaos and expect to dine in peace.
The North is not calling Jonathan they’re calling for a pawn dressed as a king.
History is kind to those who knew when to exit. Jonathan should not tempt fate.
If Buhari’s second term buried his myth, Jonathan’s comeback will exhume nothing but regret.
A return to politics will not crown him king it will strip him of the robes of statesmanship.
It is not wisdom to enter a burning house just because someone handed you the key.
What God gave as a gift, man must not turn into a gamble.
He owes that much to the name he has already made.
Stephanie Shaakaa
shaakaastephanie@yahoo.com
08034861434
