Happy Birthday to Nigeria's President, His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan- A Name That Speaks Volumes

Never Underestimate The Power of a Name!

As his name suggests, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has a habit of being in the right place at the right time.

Until November 2009, he was serving out his time as a low-key deputy from the south of the country to a low-key president from the north.

But then, President Umaru Yar'Adua was taken to hospital in Saudi Arabia and was not seen again in public until he died on 5 May 2010.

Step forward, Mr Jonathan. After months of political wrangling, Nigeria's elite finally accepted him as acting leader in February 2010 when the ailing president returned home, but remained too ill to govern.

Barely 12 hours after Mr Yar'Adua's death, Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as the new president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Africa's most populous nation - one of its most fractious democracies.

"There has not been any rise that's been so meteoric in Nigeria”
Analyst Charles Dokubo

Not bad for a man who had never been elected to major public office in his own right.

He defied the ruling People's Democratic Party's tradition of alternating presidential power between north and south after two terms of office by winning the party's primaries.

In 2011, he won his first election - for president - despite opposition claims of fraud.

Hand-picked

Born in 1957 in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, Mr Jonathan is a Christian from the Ijaw ethnic group.

His family's trade was canoe-making, but he studied zoology at university.

He worked as an education inspector, lecturer and environmental protection officer before going into politics in 1998.

A PDP billboard in 2007, Nigeria

Yar'Adua's death meant the south of the country took over the reigns of power
Just as his rapid rise to power in the federal government owed a lot to luck, so too did his promotion to state governor.

Elected as deputy governor for his home state, Bayelsa, in 1999, he was once again serving his time without particular distinction.

Until, that is, his boss was impeached on corruption charges.

Mr Jonathan took over as governor and two years later was hand-picked by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to run on the Profile: Nigeria's Goodluck JonathanPDP's ticket as vice-presidential candidate in 2007.

The BBC's Fidelis Mbah says insiders regard him as a politician without a political base - and more of an administrator than a leader.

It had been suggested that Nigeria's many groups of powerbrokers agreed to let him formally become acting president only because he was not seen as a threat - and would not seek to contest April's elections.

But the huge margin of his victory at the PDP primaries, with several central and northern states backing him, proves his political acumen and the relative smoothness of his assumption of power.

"There has not been any rise that's been so meteoric in Nigeria," analyst Charles Dokubo said in 2010.

On the relevance of the acting president's name, he said: "What is luck? Luck is when you can take advantage of an opportunity. He was in the right place at the right time."

Journalist Ben Shemang is among the many Nigerians who believe Mr Jonathan's name has given him an advantage.

He told the BBC's World Today programme that Mr Jonathan was doubly lucky as his other given name is equally propitious - Ebele, which means God's wish.

"That tells you that it was the wish of the parents for him to be successful," he said.

Militant work

His rise to power, though, has not been without its share of controversy.

His wife, Patience, was investigated by anti-corruption officials in 2006 over allegations she tried to launder some $13.5m (£8.5m).

She has never been convicted of any wrongdoing over the affair and officials told AP the case was "an old one".

If Mr Jonathan's time as vice-president was distinguished at all, it was through his negotiations with militants in the Niger Delta, who are mostly his fellow Ijaws.

Many of the major militant groups have laid down their weapons as part of a government amnesty.

His presidency so far will mainly be remembered for the Independence Day bombings last October.

As he was overseeing the pomp and ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of independence in Abuja's Eagle Square - two car bomb blasts nearby killed 12 people.

A militant faction claimed responsibility for the attacks - and is believed to be behind an upsurge of violence in the Niger Delta.

But after securing his first election victory, he now has plenty of time to make a real mark on Nigerian politics.

Facebook launch

On 29 June 2010, President Jonathan became the first serving Nigerian president to launch a Facebook page. He stated that this action was part of fulfilling a promise he had made earlier to interact more with Nigerians

Major initiatives

Roadmap for power sector reform
On 2 August 2010 Jonathan launched his 'Roadmap for Power Sector Reform‘. Its primary goal was to achieve stable electricity in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Power Sector has been historically plagued by blackouts. Economists estimate that the power outages cost Nigeria, Africa's second biggest economy, billions of dollars on imported diesel for generators and in lost output. Jonathan has been overseeing the privatisation of his country's power sector, the end goal being an efficient and reliable power supply for the Nigerian population. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria, which acted as the state electricity provider, has been broken up into 15 firms, with Nigeria handing over control of state electricity assets to 15 private bidding companies. The Nigerian government contracted the services of CPCS Transcom Limited, a Canada-based consulting firm specialising in transportation and energy infrastructure projects, to act as the transaction adviser for the handover of state electricity assets.

Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria
On 11 October 2011, President Jonathan launched the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN) Initiative which he stated was an innovative business plan competition that harnesses the creative energies of young people between the ages of 18 and 35. The YOUWIN Initiative is expected to create between 40,000 to 50,000 sustainable jobs by 2014.

Transformation agenda
In 2011, President Jonathan launched the Transformation Agenda. The Transformation Agenda is based on a summary of how the Federal Government hopes to deliver projects, programmes, and key priority policies, from 2011 to 2015 coordinated by the National Planning Commission (NPC). 

On 11 September 2013, President Jonathan sacked the creator and coordinator of the Transformation Agenda, Shamsudeen Usman, the Minister of National Planning. He was sacked along with eight other cabinet ministers amid a rift in the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Foreign policy
According to President Jonathan, Nigeria's foreign policy was reviewed to reflect a “citizen-focused” foreign policy designed to “accord this vision of defending the dignity of humanity the highest priority" and connect foreign policy to domestic policy while placing a greater emphasis on economic diplomacy.

Source BBC, Wikipedia