Former President Goodluck Jonathan has pushed back against attacks from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, insisting that he gave his best while in office despite challenges.
Jonathan’s response comes after Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, during an interview on Arise Television, described him as inexperienced and suggested that such limitations affected his ability to manage the country during his administration.
Also, in the interview, Atiku watered down the prominence of Kwankwaso and Tambuwal in the North, limited Obi’s support base to the South-East and Amaechi’s strength to the South-South.
He also expressed disappointment in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“I know Goodluck Jonathan very well. He is a decent young man, but also inexperienced, and I believe that contributed to his inability to manage the affairs of the country, particularly when he was faced with challenges,” he said.
However, while speaking at the 2025 Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria awards ceremony in Abuja, on Monday, Jonathan said nobody who becomes a governor or president would say he did not make mistakes.
“So not too long ago, a very senior politician said, ‘Oh, Jonathan was too young and probably that’s why he made mistakes.’
“If I made mistakes, yes, nobody who becomes a governor or a president will say he did not make mistakes. Even when you promote yourself to the level of a god, you become a deity.
“All human beings must make mistakes. I became president in 2010 at the age of 53. I left in 2015 at the age of 58, and they say I was too young. Must I be 100 years before I can run the affairs of the state?”
Speaking further, Jonathan defended his decisions in office, saying that while mistakes are inevitable, he did his best.
He highlighted Nigeria’s diplomatic achievements during his tenure, particularly its election to the United Nations Security Council.
“I’m talking to diplomats, so I can say that during my period, I knew what I did for us to appear in the UN Security Council two times… If I were so naive, I don’t think I would have been able to navigate through that process,” he said.
