Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has pushed back against criticisms from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, insisting that he gave his best while in office despite acknowledged challenges.
Jonathan’s response comes after Atiku, during a television interview, described him as inexperienced and suggested that such limitations affected his ability to manage the country during his tenure.
Speaking on Monday at the 2025 awards ceremony of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN) in Abuja, the former president said mistakes are a natural part of leadership and should not be used to dismiss an administration’s overall performance.
“If I made mistakes, yes, nobody who becomes a governor or a president will say you did not make mistakes,” Jonathan said.
He further addressed criticisms about his age at the time he assumed office, noting that he was fully capable of leading the country.
“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,” he said, adding pointedly, “Must it have been 100 years before I ran the affairs of the state?”
Jonathan also defended key decisions taken during his administration, particularly in the area of foreign policy and diplomacy.
He cited Nigeria’s election to the United Nations Security Council as a major milestone, arguing that such achievements required strategic thinking and effective leadership.
“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,” he said, adding that such feats would have been difficult if he lacked the necessary experience.
Beyond addressing the criticism, Jonathan used the platform to speak on broader regional issues, particularly the importance of political stability in West Africa.
He warned that without stable governance systems, economic growth across the sub-region would remain limited.
The former president maintained that while no administration is without flaws, his government made meaningful contributions both domestically and internationally, and should be assessed within the broader context of its achievements and challenges.
