Goodluck Ebele
Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON (born
20 November 1957[1]) is the 14th Head of State and current President
of Nigeria. Prior to his role as President, he served as Governor of Bayelsa State and Vice President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Early and personal
life
Jonathan was born
in what is now Bayelsa
State to a family of canoe makers.[1][2] Jonathan
holds a B.S. degree
in Zoology in which he attained Second Class Honours. He holds an M.Sc. degree in
Hydrobiology and Fisheries biology, and a Ph.D. degree
in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt. He worked as an education
inspector, lecturer, and
environmental-protection officer. He entered politics in 1998.[3]
Presidency
President Umaru
Yar'Adua died on 5 May 2010. Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as Yar'Adua's
successor on the following day,[5] becoming
Nigeria's 14th Head of State. He cited anti-corruption, power and electoral
reforms as focuses of his administration. He stated that he came to office
under "very sad and unusual circumstances".[6]
On 18 May 2010,
the National Assembly approved Jonathan's nomination of former Kaduna State governor, Namadi Sambo, for the
position of Vice President.[7][8]
On 29 June 2010,
Jonathan launched a Facebook page
in accordance with his promise to interact more with Nigerians.[9]
On 2 August 2010
Jonathan launched 'Roadmap for Power Sector Reform‘,[10] achieving
stable electricity in Nigeria.
2011 election
On 15 September
2010, Jonathan announced on Facebook that he had decided to run for reelection.
This made him the first Nigerian president to declare his re-election bid via
social media.[11]
He won with 59% of
the votes.[12][13][14] On 18
April, Jonathan was declared the winner of the election. His victory was,
however, followed by violence in the north over claims of
vote rigging.[12]
Controversies
Removal of fuel subsidy
On 13 December
2011, the 2012 fiscal year's budget removed any provisions for fuel subsidy.[15] The issue
of fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria has always been a controversial topic. According
to a poll carried out by the Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE- Nigeria),
80% of Nigerians opposed the plan to remove fuel subsidy.[16]
On 1 January 2012,
the Jonathan administration announced the start of a controversial plan to end
fuel subsidies.[17] Many
prominent Nigerians have spoken out against the removal of fuel subsidy by the
Jonathan administration. Former Petroleum Minister Professor Tam David-West has
spoken out and expressed concern that the planned removal of fuel subsidy will
squeeze the economy, increase inflation, and hurt both businesses and the
public.[18]
A former military
Head of State and a former Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources,
General Buhari, urged President Jonathan not to remove fuel subsidy and to
tackle corruption.[19]
General Yakubu
Gowon, another former military Head of State, has warned the government that
the country's infrastructure should be revived before fuel subsidy removal
steps are taken.[20]
Former military
president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, joined millions of Nigerians protesting
against the removal of fuel subsidy by the Jonathan administration, saying that
the action is ill-timed.[21]
Following the The
Nigeria Labour Congress' warning that the country faces many strikes, the
country unions followed up with strikes that were matched with civil protests
from 9–13 January 2012. Protesters and groups called for President Jonathan to
resign over the removal of fuel subsidies.[22][23] After five
days of national protests and strikes, on 16 January, Jonathan announced that
the pump price of petroleum would be 97 naira per liter.
1st October 2010
Independence Day Bomb Blast
During his South
African magistrate court trial on 2 May 2012, MEND's (Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta) former leader Henry Okah came out
and insisted that President Jonathan masterminded bomb attacks. He told the
court that President Jonathan and his aides organised the October 1, 2010
independence day bomb attacks in Abuja in a desperate political strategy to
demonize political opponents, including the former military President General
Ibrahim Babangida, and to win popular sympathy ahead of the 2011 elections.[25]
The Nigerian
Presidency has denied the allegations of terrorism levelled against President
Jonathan. A media statement was issued on 2 May 2012, acknowledging the
accusations from Okah. The statement went on to say that: “The Presidency
categorically affirms that these allegations are false in their entirety and
without any factual foundation." The Presidency also expressed no interest
in commenting further for the time being, but plans to "make a full
representation on the matter to the court when the trial opens."[26][27]
Renaming of the University of Lagos
In May 2012,
President Jonathan changed the name of the University
of Lagos, renaming it the Moshood Abiola University in honour of the
late MKO Abiola. The action drew attention from critics -- among
them were pro-Abiola advocates and parties involved with the university.[28][29][30] Some
critics cited that the President did not submit an appropriate bill to the
legislature for the change; that the University's brand name should not be
tampered with. The UNILAG Alumni Association commented that although they do
not have prejudice against MKO Abiola, they were concerned "that neither
the Governing Council nor the University Senate nor any other stakeholder was
consulted before the change was announced."[31] Bola Tinubu congratulated
Jonathan for taking action, but urged him to "do it right", adding
that "we must be careful not to localise or sectionalise MKO". The
President has attempted to regularize the renaming of the school by submitting
a bill for an amendment of the University's establishing law to the
legislature.
Security
challenges
On 26 August 2011,
after the UN building in Abuja was
bombed by Boko Haram,
Jonathan announced that it was not merely an attack on Nigeria, but on the
international community. He told reporters that "we would work together
with the UN and other world leaders to ensure that terrorism is brought under control.[32] On
Christmas Day, after a church was bombed and more violence occurred in the
north, Jonathan came in for more criticism over the security challenge in the
country. Further attacks occurred on Christmas and in early January 2012, claimed by Boko Haram.
In addition to
the Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta's attack on a oil pipeline on 4 February 2012 in Bayelsa,[33] the Senate
President David Mark stated that the security situation in the country is
"intolerable."