Jonathan as United Nations’ Envoy

It was a great recognition for former Nigerian leader Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as he was recently appointed Special Envoy for peace by the United Nations.


Global recognition and honour came the way of the immediate past president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the country as a whole when the United Nations (UN) recently appointed former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as its Global Crises Envoy. With the appointment, the immediate past Nigerian president, like the ex- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), Tony Blair, is the first African former leader to be appointed into the high international office for mediation in global crises. The humility, charisma and peace initiative profile of Jonathan were highlighted by the body as the major credential for the appointment of the former Nigerian President for this highly technical global job. Members of the global crisis interventionist and mediation body under the UN platform include the super powers made up of, the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), China, France, Russia and the United Nations itself. According to the body, a new UN envoy is an opportunity for a new approach in handling global crisis, for example in Yemen.

Observers noted that the most important thing was more than who gets the job but how UN member states and the mediator perceive its purpose, interpretations of which have limited the world body to the flawed two-party framework adopted since 2015. In selecting Jonathan for the highly esteemed job, his profile and record as a former executive which started from being a lecturer to getting picked to contest as a deputy governor in Bayelsa State, holding the office of a Deputy Governor; from there becoming a governor in the state; then, from the governor’s office becoming a Vice President to President Yar’Adua. Due to issues of health he became the Acting President and from the Acting President’s position to President, were taken into consideration. He later won election as the President and was noted to be the first politician to respect the voters’ counts, and to hand-over election outcome to another party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) without any challenge, in a peaceful and humane manner. Since leaving office in 2015, the former Nigerian leader has been serving as peace ambassador to several regional and sub-regional bodies and had led peace missions to many crises-ridden nations. He is expected to deploy his enormous goodwill within the continent to facilitate the process of restoring peace in the troubled nations of the world with his appointment. Jonathan’s major assignment before his UN job came last year was his appointment by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a special envoy to lead the sub-regional body’s mediation mission in Mali. As a special envoy, he was to facilitate dialogue with all principal stakeholders in Malian crisis, including former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, opposition leaders, civil society as well as religious organisations, towards resolving the deteriorating socio-political situation in the West African country.

We wish to join fellow Nigerians as well as men of goodwill in welcoming the former Nigerian leader to his exalted position in the global body. He is expected to deploy his enormous goodwill within the continent and beyond to facilitate the process of restoring peace in the troubled nations of the world with his appointment. Nigerians, especially those serving and future leaders have a lot to learn from Jonathan’s promotion in the world body. The world indeed has become a global community, and the actions and inactions of its leaders are being gauged on daily basis. Jonathan is reaping the reward of his commitment to democracy and good governance as well as building a nation where people of various creeds and backgrounds had sense of belonging. Above all, was his commitment to a free, fair, and credible election which he respected the outcome even when it did not favour him and his party. If he had tampered with the 2015 polls, for which he had the uncanny power to do so, the rest of the world would not have been celebrating him as is the case today. Wishing this illustrious son of Nigeria and Africa the best in his new responsibility.