The Biggest Losers in the 2015 Presidential and National Assembly Elections

Goodluck Jonathan: Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, by virtue of his position as the beaten incumbent, is undoubtedly the hardest hit in the just-concluded presidential polls. His name will be in the history books for many reasons, some good, some bad. The worst obviously will be the ignominy of becoming the first incumbent Head of State in Nigeria’s democratic dispensations to lose his election. For a man who won the same election in 2011 on a platter of gold, rubies and platinum, this is such a spectacular descent from grace.

In the course of his near 6-year tenure as the number citizen of the country, he was the architect of a host of political faux pas which ended up haunting him. Internationally, he incurred the wrath of the West by signing the anti-gay act into law. On the home front, he incurred the wrath of Nigerians by failing to curb corruption. For these elections, he hired the wrong personnel, delegated much his responsibility to them and dinned with his enemies.

Be that as it may, he will also go down in the annals of history as a true democrat for conceding defeat, congratulating his victorious opponent and admonishing his teeming supporters to shun violence. He will also be remembered for some commendable feats, especially in the aviation and macroeconomic sectors.

He is a good man, but a naïve politician. I believe he had good intentions for the country, but his greatest undoing was the team he worked with. He is definitely down, but whether he’s out entirely depends on him. An objective assessment of his administration can only be made midway into the incoming administration. Only then can we compare and contrast.

David Mark: With the way and manner APC is sweeping the National Assembly elections in various states across the country – especially that of the Senate – it is likely that the ruling PDP will go into the Upper Chamber come May 29 as the Opposition Party. In the event of that, the incumbent Senate President David Mark will definitely lose his position in the red chamber and revert to an ordinary senator.

The above scenario is potentially embarrassing and it presents him with at least three options. Firstly, he can defect to the APC (which is very unlikely). Secondly, he can forfeit his slot as the senator-elect representing the Benue South senatorial zone and retire from active politics. Thirdly, he can borrow a leaf from the former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, who willingly stepped down to become the Minority Leader of the House following her Democratic Party’s loss of its majority in the lower house of Congress.

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Adamu Muazu: The PDP National Chairman spectacularly failed his party in the recently concluded weekend elections, leading his party not only to an embarrassing defeat at the presidential level, but also to a calamitous loss at the federal legislative level. These humongous losses have proven that he was the wrong candidate for the job. More so, it has laid bare the fact that he’s a political lightweight. This reality was especially brought to the fore when he could not even deliver his own state of Bauchi, losing to the opposition APC in his backyard by an almost 900,000 margin. He will consider himself especially lucky if he is still the PDP chairman come the April 11 elections.

Godswill Akpabio: The Akwa Ibom State governor and chairman of the PDP Governor’s Forum is one of the president’s closest and most trusted allies. As the president’s henchman, he is one of the hardest hit in the weekend polls. Though he triumph in his own election by securing a ticket to the senate, he will likely not enjoy his stay there as a member of the opposition party.

Dame Patience Jonathan: The First Lady was arguably the most vibrant and visible member of the pro-Jonathan campaign trail, vigorously campaigning for her husband from state to state, crisscrossing the length and breadth of the country in a bid to canvass support for her hubby. However, her voluble, controlling and controversial nature made her a divisive figure in the Nigerian political turf – even within her own Peoples Democratic Party – and it ended up nullifying her good work. For instance, her clash with Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State was a catalyst in his exist from the ruling party into the opposition. Likewise, her furore with Timipre Silva did her husband’s fortune no good. Latterly, she has also been at loggerheads with the incumbent Bayelsa State governor Seriake Dickson.

Diezani Alison-Madueke: Nigeria’s first female Petroleum Minister and the world’s first female OPEC president has been hit from all corners. Firstly, there is a 99.99% chance that she would not be recalled into the next cabinet as Buhari’s Petroleum Minister. Secondly, the consequences of that will inadvertently cost her the seat of the OPEC presidency. Thirdly, her tenure as the minister of Nigeria’s richest ministry and cash cow has been mired in allegations of widespread corruption. If they are substantiated, she is probably going to face prosecution.

Musiliu Obanikoro: The two-time Minister of State, one-time senator, one-time ambassador and multiple-time governorship aspirant in Lagos State has been accused of aiding and abetting electoral fraud in Ekiti State’s 2013 election. His nomination as a cabinet minister by President Goodluck Jonathan was vehemently opposed by opposition senators, leading to a walkout by the lawmakers.

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Femi Fani-Kayode: The controversial FFK, as he’s popularly called, once left the PDP for the APC, but returned to what he calls his “family” after a turbulent time as an opposition politician. He has since been a thorn in the flesh of the APC hierarchy and his outspokenness was rewarded with his appointment as the spokesman of the President’s campaign organization. But his style was akin to that of the president’s self-styled “attack lion” Doyin Okupe., often crossing the line by descending to personal insults, making derogatory statements and quoting bogus figures that favour his party.

The entire NNPC Hierarchy: To the average Nigerian, the NNPC is the seat of corruption in Nigeria. If this is true, then the entire hierarchy of the company will have a lot to worry about come May 29.

Ayo Oritsejafor: The showy and flamboyant president of the Christian Association of Nigeria has had his own fair share of controversies, ranging from the controversial manner in which his private jet was purchased to the $10 million South African arms scandal.

Olusegun Mimiko: He defected from the Labour Party and was appointed the campaign director of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's reelection campaign in the South West, but when the results came in, he couldn't deliver his own. The PDP ended up losing woefully in the South West, where they were only able to win the sparsely populated Ekiti State.

Worthy of mention: Ayo Fayose, Peter Obi, Bode George, Ahmadu Ali, Babangida Aliyu, Namadi Sambo, Ibrahim Shekarau, Ike Ekweremadu and Gabriel Suswam.

And the Biggest Winner? Nigeria’s Democracy.

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