Human rights lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi has said that a thousand Goodluck Jonathans cannot fix Nigeria if the country’s deep-rooted structural problems remain untouched.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, Farotimi dismissed the idea that former President Goodluck Jonathan could return to frontline politics and change Nigeria’s direction. He stressed that leadership changes without system reform are a waste of time.
“A thousand Goodluck Ebele Jonathans cannot solve the problems of Nigeria. They might as well go ahead to increase his brain powers by factors of a thousand for good measure. If we do not address our structural problems and tell ourselves the basic truths we owe to ourselves, nothing is going to change,” Farotimi said.
Leadership change without reform is useless
Farotimi pointed out that Jonathan was once removed from power after promises that Nigeria would be better under new leadership, yet the country is still struggling with the same problems.
“They can recycle all these people as many times as they care. This was the same Jonathan that was horribly vilified and labelled. The press, the pulpit, and the mosque all said his removal would solve our problems, and here we are,” he stated.
He added that removing current President Bola Tinubu without dismantling what he called “the evil system” would lead to the same failures.
“If you removed Bola Ahmed Tinubu from office today, and you do not touch that evil system that has produced the kind of people who have ruined the country, all this talk about Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is just more distraction from the political ‘ruinning’ class,” he warned.
The system, not the person, is the problem
For Farotimi, Nigeria’s survival depends on building strong and lasting institutions, not on waiting for a political “messiah.”
“It’s about building enduring systems. How do you rebrand a failure of 2015 into a saint and saviour in 2025? Ten years have gone full cycle, and we’re back saying we were better off where we were,” he said.
He argued that no matter how intelligent or well-meaning a leader may be, without structural reforms the cycle of disappointment will continue. And in his words, a thousand Goodluck Jonathans cannot fix Nigeria if the foundations remain broken.
Was Nigeria Really Better Under Jonathan?
I agree with Farotimi, Nigerians really do have selective memories. The same Goodluck Jonathan that many are now romanticizing was once cursed and insulted daily. People called him the bedrock of Nigeria’s problems, and the criticism was endless.
Yes, things might have been calmer back then compared to the chaos we have now, but let’s not twist history, Nigeria was not magically better during Jonathan’s time. It only feels that way because we complained more openly and still believed things could improve. Today, the decline is so sharp that we now see yesterday’s troubles as “the good old days.”
Bringing Jonathan back won’t fix Nigeria. This is not about emotions or nostalgia, it’s about common sense. The man had his time, made his impact, and moved on. What Nigeria needs now is not a recycling of old leaders but the courage to elect credible people who can actually lead us forward. Jonathan should be allowed to live his life in peace without being dragged into the same mess over and over again.
Bottom Line
Changing leaders without changing the system is like repainting a cracked wall without repairing the foundation. Until Nigeria addresses its deep structural issues, the same failures will repeat, no matter who is in power. And as Farotimi put it plainly, a thousand Goodluck Jonathans cannot fix Nigeria.
