Former President Goodluck Jonathan has countered ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar who criticised his leadership of the country.
Atiku, who is seeking the presidency under the African Democratic Congress, had recently described Jonathan as inexperienced, saying his tenure was marked by notable missteps.
“I know Goodluck Jonathan very well. He is a decent young man, but also inexperienced, and I believe that contributed to his inability to manage the affairs of the country, particularly when he was faced with challenges,” he said on Arise TV.
Reacting at the 2025 Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria awards ceremony in Abuja on Monday, Jonathan acknowledged that leadership inevitably involves errors, but rejected the notion that his age undermined his performance.
“So not too long ago, a very senior politician said, ‘Oh, Jonathan was too young and probably that’s why he made mistakes.’
“If I made mistakes, yes, nobody who becomes a governor or a president will say you did not make mistakes. Even when you promote yourself to the level of a god, you become a deity.
“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. Must it have been 100 years before I ran the affairs of the state?”
