Good day fellow Nairalanders, as asinine as the topic sounds, it is one that has recently come to my attention.

Ever since President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan conceded defeat and congratulated the opponent, now President-elect General Muhammad Buhari on his victory in the March 28th Presidential elections, he has received several accolades and thanks for his extremely rare show of sportsmanship.

This is understandable, as it is the first time something of this nature has happened in the history of Nigeria.

However, some are now going above and beyond, calling Jonathan a hero, a legend and so much more names to praise the president.

It just so happened that you can not go anywhere without hearing the news of such, from market women, barbers and hairdressers to even the local Mai-Ruwa that provides water to the streets.

What came to my attention though, was when someone -who shall remain anonymous for privacy sakes- stated that, and I quote
"There is no difference between Goodluck and Mandela." And even had the gall to state that Goodluck Jonathan had surpassed Mandela. It shocked me more when I saw several people agreeing to the statement.

My expression to such was as though I had swallowed a sour lemon, or I had chewed paracetamol tablets raw and proceeded to rinse my mouth with bitter-leaf water.

Of course there is no downplaying the good that Jonathan did by accepting and conceding defeat, but to my personal opinion, comparing Jonathan to Mandela is to compare Abubakar Shekau to Adolf Hitler.

So I bring my question here to find out the opinion of the masses.

In your opinion, is Goodluck Jonathan the 'Mandela' of this country?

Please its an insult to Mandela by comparing him with GEJ. GEJ lost the election and there is no way he could remain in power even if he rejected the result. I am sick and tired of all this GEJ praises. Mandela would have won a second term easily but he decided not to contest. On the other hand, GEJ promise his party members that he is going to ran for only one term but later change the constitution of his party so he can contest unopposed. If GEJ was so good he would have been voted by Nigerians.

Mandela was not corrupt and weak.
Mandela don't contest for 2nd term.

If you go to South Africa and say this in public, you will definitely be mobbed like a petty thief.

I need to share this information l got from a reliable source.
We should thank God for using Kofi Anan, General Abubakar and Thabo
Mbeki of South Africa to persuade Jonathan to concede defeat on time
& shut down hawks around him who would have Nigeria burn down instead of allowing Buhari to take over.
The gentlemen were at Hilton hotel and General Abubakar instructed
some one at the collating center to inform him when it is mathematically impossible for Jonathan to win. And so, the moment Delta state was announced the man called General Abubakar who swiftly moved to Aso Rock with the two other men, and they
persuaded Jonathan that since it was impossible for him to win now, he should please call Buhari to congratulate him for the sake of peace in Nigeria.
The moment Patience Jonathan heard that she started shouting that
Jonathan should not do it, that how can dey hand over to Almanjiri
people? At that point Kofi Anan begged her and Jonathan went on to call Buhari, and they quickly leaked it out to the Press.
lt was revealed that it was Patience Jonathan that sent Orubebe to
scatter the Collation Centre!
May God deliver us from bad spouses

Do we have to compare people always? This analogy is an insult to both men as they have come out great in their own ways. Those who engage in such cheap comparison are the born-again bootlickers that have refused to leave politics and our social life. It's a sign of shallowness in thought. Even the deitified Mandela had his shortcomings like GEJ, but the field of operation makes such comparison impossible.

Now thats a bit going too far. Goodluck is not in any way, shape, or form comparable to Mandela, not even to Zik that he bears his name. I've heard same talk about Mandela and GMB, and you know that's how our people, devoid of substantial real leaders in their history behave, always making local pastors that can't articulate anything not borrowed from Trinity Broadcast Network private jet owners.

This is an insult on Madiba..Mandela is millions of miles apart from GEJ..Gej only saved himself and PEJ going to jail through the ICC had he intend to hang on to power or heat up the polity. He wanted political sympathy to remain relevant and he has gotten it,but please he his no where close to Madiba.

YES, JONA IS THE FATHER OF DEMOCRACY IN NIG, THE MANDELA OF NIG. ITS A FACT.

He's the ghadafi of nigeria

mcdc:
YES, JONA IS THE FATHER OF DEMOCRACY IN NIG, THE MANDELA OF NIG. ITS A FACT.

General Abdulsalami Abubakar is the father of democracy in Nigeria. He was the one who broker the peace accord signed by both GEJ and GMB. He also was not selfish by holding on to power but rather conducting an election and handling over from military to civilian. He would have still been in power till today if he wanted and nobody would have done anything about it. I really respect him and he is underappreciated by most Nigerians. He is the "mandela" of Nigeria

What came to my attention though, was when
someone -who shall remain anonymous for
privacy sakes- stated that, and I quote
"There is no difference between Goodluck and
Mandela." And even had the gall to state that
Goodluck Jonathan had surpassed Mandela. It
shocked me more when I saw several people
agreeing to the statement.
My expression to such was as though I had
swallowed a sour lemon, or I had chewed
paracetamol tablets raw and proceeded to rinse
my mouth with bitter-leaf water.

@ bold

if Gej is Mandela
then i m Martin Luther

silly comparison by that person in your post.

some people are just very silly and very ignorant....

As we know Nigerians love to over hype anything. Gej knows what he is doing riding on the sentiments of Nigerians to boost his own ego.

Now most Nigerians would probably forget all the bad he has done just for that single act alone. It is quite unfortunate that politicians have turned most people to pawns in their political warfare.

This is simply self-serving bs to make yourself feel better. I am in a hurry to forget Goodluck. He cannot even be compared to minor Nigerian activists. His legacy is a culture of corruption, friends among thieves and ex-convicts and bandits, making his girlfriend oil minister, and a tendency towards alcoholism. Good riddance. Has he even read one pamphlet on Mandela in his life?

#change

Raiders:
General Abdulsalami Abubakar is the father of democracy in Nigeria. He was the one who broker the peace accord signed by both GEJ and GMB. He also was not selfish by holding on to power but rather conducting an election and handling over from military to civilian. He would have still been in power till today if he wanted and nobody would have done anything about it. I really respect him and he is underappreciated by most Nigerians. He is the "mandela" of Nigeria

The sacrifice and death of Chief MKO Abiola made this democracy possible. He is the foundation, not Abdulsalam or Jonathan or all the leeches who never fought at the time against the wicked Abacha regime.

#change
#GMB
#APC

Jesus!! Why won't you Nigerians stop embarrassing me?
Imagine, a man that multiply corruption by factor of 10 in his administration is being honored.

Change2015:


The sacrifice and death of Chief MKO Abiola made this democracy possible. He is the foundation, not Abdulsalam or Jonathan or all the leeches who never fought at the time against the wicked Abacha regime.

#change
#GMB
#APC

MKO also played a role too for our democracy but I think a lot of Nigerians under appreciate the role of Abdulsalam. He was the one who signed the current constitution and help transition process from military to civilian. He could have stayed in power for as long as he wanted if he wanted to and there would be nothing you and me could do about it. I have a lot of respect for him and he act like an elder state man unlike IBB and OBJ.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/2271254_2266866imagejpeg9f360c5ab7736510df54c882e9dbf188_jpegbabe9055e531eebd4818866bdd10140a

If Jonathan is The 'Mandela' of Nigeria he should spend 27 years in Kirikiri for his corruption

Raiders:
MKO also played a role too for our democracy but I think a lot of Nigerians under appreciate the role of Abdulsalam. He was the one who signed the current constitution and help transition process from military to civilian. He could have stayed in power for as long as he wanted if he wanted to and there would be nothing you and me could do about it. I have a lot of respect for him and he act like an elder state man unlike IBB and OBJ.

Understand this, the country was tense and very angry at the suspicious death of abiola and the military had become a hated institution because of the repression and economic slump. Abdulsalam was under intense pressure by parts of Nigeria and the international community rallied by nadeco. Why must we be over grateful, when we let him leave with hundreds of millions of dollars and an oil block? Please stop enjoying living on your knees and stand up. Many lives were lost fighting Abacha and they are the ones to be appreciated, not a man who fed fat on us and ran off. It is enough that we didn't come after him for looting the country, now we must call him a hero too? And exactly the same applies to Jonathan, for peaces sake we will grimace and let him go but he too has robbed us blind. That he doesn't go to jail is enough for him. Hero, that he certainly is not. A weaker, drunker, more ridiculous government, we have never ever had, and you want us to say thank you for that?

#change
#GMB
#APC
#oneNigeria

Lucario007:

In your opinion, is Goodluck Jonathan the 'Mandela' of this country?

Conceding defeat is a moral or legal obligation, so why do you brand him as the "mandela" of Nigeria for what should be a duty?

The way you people make heroes out of failures is rather disgusting than surprising.

Just because someone conceeded; a feat that has been achieved in various African countries before now.

I don't want to mention ojukwu because u will all abuse me. But why do u like making heroes out of failures?