Former leader of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan held office from 2010 to 2015. He lost his role to Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential elections, marking him the first sitting president to be defeated in Nigeria’s history. In this article, we will explore everything there is to learn about him.
The politician was born to a destitute canoe craftsman, Lawrence Ebele Jonathan and Eunice Jonathan on November 20, 1957. He received the name “Goodluck” for surviving infancy after his other siblings perished due to financial hardship.
Goodluck Jonathan completed his primary and secondary education at local Christian institutions in the Niger Delta. He earned his first degree, a BSc in Zoology, from the University of Port Harcourt in 1981. He did not halt his academic pursuit after achieving his BSc. As a diligent student, he proceeded to obtain an MSc in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology in 1985 and a Ph.D. in Zoology in 1995. During his university tenure, he also taught at Rivers State College of Education from 1983 until 1993. He began his career at the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, a now-defunct governmental body, where he acted as an assistant director. He was employed there from 1993 to 1998. Reports indicate that Jonathan launched his political career in the late 1990s. This was when he engaged with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which facilitated his rise as the deputy governor of Bayelsa state. He was elected as deputy governor of Bayelsa in 1999 under the party’s flag. He held that role until 2005 when he was elevated to governor following the incumbent’s corruption charges and impeachment.
In 2007, he was chosen as the vice-presidential candidate for the PDP’s presidential nominee, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He and Yar’Adua were nominated in April and inaugurated in May. One of his significant accomplishments during his vice-presidency was negotiating with Niger Delta militants who opposed oil companies operating in the Delta region. He assumed the role of acting president in February 2010, due to Yar’Adua’s prolonged absence from the nation for medical care. When Yar’Adua returned to Nigeria on February 24, 2010, it was declared that Jonathan would continue as acting president while Yar’Adua recuperated. Yar’Adua passed away on May 5, 2010, and Jonathan was inaugurated as president the following day.
Goodluck Jonathan encountered Patience Faka Jonathan at the Rivers State College of Arts and Science. Goodluck was one of her instructors in the Department of Biological Sciences while she was among the students pursuing the Nigerian Certificate of Education (NCE) and the B.Ed. Degree. The couple wed in 1993 and have two children, a son named Ariwera Adolphus Jonathan and a daughter named Aruabi Jonathan.
