President Jonathan’s Many Enemies.

I was not a messiah but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstance. – Nelson Mandela

A large part of president Jonathan’s rise to power can be said to be circumstantial (except that in 2011 Nigerians ‘overwhelmingly’ voted for him). He has become a president constantly under fire for one ‘misdeed’ or the other. On social media, whatever he does is viewed from a negative perspective by a certain group of persons (who have made it their life ambitions to daily abuse and malign him). The opposition have taken it upon themselves to also attack (often times unnecessarily) the personality of the president (at times) diverting from the major/key issues that should be debated.


I wonder at times why a president will be so abused and called names that we wouldn’t call our kids no matter how badly they behave. From my interactions, a lot of reasons have been given by some persons for this seeming heartfelt animosity expressed towards the president. Some of the reasons include:
a)  His ‘inhumane’ act of subsidy removal on the first day of the year 2012. Some saw that action as an act of wickedness and insensitivity, resulting in their inability to forgive him afterward.
b) Others see him as either being corrupt or as a friend of the corrupt and is aiding corruption.
c) Some believe he has not done anything since coming into power and might still not achieve anything in the coming years.
d) Another group believes he is too weak to be a president of a country as complex as Nigeria.
Whichever category an individual belongs to he/she has a reason and would argue endlessly to back up such reasons.


The Enemies of the President I refer to here are more dangerous than any of the above groups. These are the enemies within. Those who dine with the president but their actions show there are actually his enemies. One of such persons is Princess Stella Oduah (Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation). At a time when the presidents image makers are finding it difficult to do their jobs, she choose to give to her boss enemies more nails with which to crucify him. In taking her reckless action, the minister should have thought of the consequences of her actions and the effect it would have on her boss. The hallmark of friendship is the ability to weigh our actions and how it will hurt or favour our friends, as exemplified by Jonathan towards David. With friend like the Minister, ones enemies would be relaxed, knowing she would give them something to talk about.


I believe it is time for the President to look within and weed out this enemies of his (and the Nigerian state) for the sake of posterity. It is not enough to fight those on the outside, while those on the inside continue to do more damage. Mr President should look carefully and act very fast before this friendly enemies do more harm to us as a nation.



Enenim Ubon is a Biochemist; Creative Writer; Researcher, with particular interest in socio-economic and socio-political issues. Also, a resource person in Peace, Conflict studies and Leadership. Engage @enenimubon on twitter.