When Festus Keyamo and Chidi Odinkalu raise their voices against the mere idea of Goodluck Jonathan returning in 2027, Nigerians should pause and ask: what exactly are they afraid of? Because their objections do not sound like detached legal opinions — they sound like panic.
The old fear of Jonathan’s comeback
For years, Jonathan has been painted as the soft, underestimated leader — a man many claimed lacked the “steel” to govern Nigeria. Yet, whenever whispers of his return arise, the political class becomes jittery. Why? Because Jonathan represents a haunting reminder of what the political establishment did to him in 2015: they mocked him, pushed him out, and celebrated his downfall.
Now, the same man they wrote off still carries enormous goodwill among ordinary Nigerians, especially in the South-South. That is the nightmare Keyamo and Odinkalu are trying to kill before it grows wings. Their legal arguments are nothing but a smokescreen for political fear.
Why unsolicited advice sounds desperate
Robert Azibaola was right to call them out. Jonathan has a legion of Senior Advocates who can interpret the law for him. He doesn’t need Facebook lectures from Keyamo or Twitter threads from Odinkalu. The unsolicited nature of their warnings exposes something deeper: they don’t just want Jonathan to know the supposed obstacles, they want the public to fear them too.
But let’s be honest. Nigerians have seen worse constitutional acrobatics pulled off for less popular candidates. If Jonathan truly wants to run, the courts will be forced to decide, not the noisy opinions of yesterday’s activists turned establishment apologists.
The political undertone nobody wants to say
Why is the APC camp so desperate to remind everyone that Jonathan is “disqualified”? Could it be because they know that in a fragmented Nigeria, with Tinubu struggling to hold legitimacy, Jonathan remains one of the few figures who could actually gather a cross-regional coalition?
Keyamo’s warnings are less about the law and more about fear of the ballot box. Odinkalu’s lectures are less about justice and more about keeping Jonathan out of the arena. Both men, knowingly or unknowingly, are trying to kill an idea before it takes root.
Is Jonathan really qualified?
The legal matter is not as closed as his critics pretend. There are subsisting court judgments that say Jonathan is not barred. The same APC that Keyamo represents once dragged this matter through the courts and lost. Yet suddenly, we are meant to forget and accept a loud lawyer’s “final word” on constitutional interpretation. Nigerians are not fools.
Jonathan may never declare. He may prefer his peace to the mudfight of 2027. But if he does choose to run, his legitimacy will not be measured by the noise of Keyamo or the tweets of Odinkalu. It will be measured by whether Nigerians believe he can once again steady the country.
Fear dressed as legal advice
Let us call it what it is: fear. Fear of Jonathan’s return, fear of his symbolism, fear of a man they thought was finished but who still commands loyalty. When people rush to shout “you can’t run” before a man even declares, that is not confidence. That is insecurity.
Keyamo and Odinkalu should save their breath. If Jonathan decides to run in 2027, neither of them can stop him. Only Nigerians can. And that is the truth their panic tries so hard to hide.
