12 things you didn't know about Goodluck Jonathan

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan
was Nigeria’s 14th head of state and
the immediate former president of
the West African nation of about 170
million people, but that’s all common
knowledge. It’s also common
knowledge that he originally came
into office after the former president
fell ill.
Here are some lesser-known things
worth learning about him:
Jonathan was born to a family of
canoe makers
Jonathan was born in what is now
Bayelsa State to a family of canoe
makers. In the oil-rich Niger Delta
region, this was a somewhat unusual
occupation, and Goodluc made the
even more rare decision not to follow
in his parents’ footsteps.
His middle name means “God’s wish”
Jonathan’s middle name, Ebele,
means “God’s wish,” suggesting his
parents had pretty high expectations
for him from the get-go. I mean, if
your name is Goodluck God’s wish,
you’ve got some high hopes to live
up to, right?
He has a Ph.D in
Zoology
Which might be
a bit of an oddity
for a sitting head
of state. But
Jonathan began
with a bachelor’s degree in zoology,
and followed up with an master’s in
hydrobiology and fisheries biology
and a Ph.D in zoology from the
University of Port Harcourt. Who
knows, maybe the Nigerian
presidential office has a ton a pets!
He worked as an environmental
protection officer before taking office
Among other things. Before entering
into the political arena in 1998,
Jonathan worked as an education
inspector, a lecturer, and more
memorably as an environmental
protection officer. It was in this latter
capacity that he stepped into the
public light, serving as a watch dog
on many corporations in the country
Jonathan seems to have a penchant
for being in the right place at the
right time
He assumed the presidency following
President Umaru Yar’Adua’s death on
May 5 2010, but that wasn’t the first
time he had to lead. In 1999, he was
deputy governor for his home state
of Bayelsa when the governor was
impeached on corruption charges.
Jonathan moved into the open
position, beginning his more
illustrious political career.
His fedora is one of his more
memorable signature features
The fedora has character, but a
former U.S. ambassador made the
unfortunate comment that Jonathan
lacked charisma and possessed an
“underwhelming personality,” a slip
of the tongue uncovered in the
WikiLeaks scandal.
As vice president, he kept a low
profile but was instrumental in
several key moments
One of Jonathan’s niche roles was
as a negotiator with his fellow Ijaws.
He managed to help forge an
agreement with militant groups in the
Niger Delta to stop a rash of violence
and encouraged them to lay down
their weapons in exchange for
amnesty, a move celebrated both by
his administration and by citizens
country wide.
onathan tried to ban the Nigerian
national soccer team after a poor
showing at the 2010 World Cup
After the Nigerian soccer team didn’t
progress past the group stage at the
2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa,
Jonathan tried to implement a two-
year ban on the team’s participation
in international competition. He later
backtracked due to pressure from
FIFA, but it was pretty clear he
wasn’t pleased with the performance.
Jonathan became the first sitting
Nigerian president to have his own
Facebook page
Jonathan launched his Facebook
page in June 2010 to help better
interact with the Nigerian people. He
used it as a platform to announce
his run for office in 2011, which
would represent his first actual run
for political election.
His wife has been
investigated on
money laundering
allegations
Though she was
never found guilty
or convicted of any
wrongdoing, Jonathan’s wife,
Patience, was investigated by an anti-
corruption committee in 2006. It was
alleged she had tried to launder more
than $13 million, but the evidence
wasn’t strong enough for a
conviction.
His children are adopted
As known to the public for many
years, Jonathan and his wife Patience
have two children: a son named
Ariweri Adolphus and a daughter
named Aruabi. It is speculated that
they were adopted from a motherless
baby home, either in Lagos or Port
Harcourt. The family is seen above
gracing the cover of This Day Style
magazine; according to many, these
are not his only children
Not a big fan of the gays
In January of 2014, Jonathan
followed the Ugandan and Kenyan
trend by signing into action a bill
which criminalizes same-sex unions,
relationships, marriages, and
activism. The penalty is 14 years in
prison. Outcry and condemnation
followed from US Secretary of Statae
John Kerry, and countries like Britain,
which threatened to cut off aid.
He was going to rename the
University of Lagos During the
Democracy Day broadcast of 2012,
President Jonathan announced that
he would change the name of
University of Lagos to Moshood
Abiola University, paying homage to
the late Chief M.K.I. Abiola. The
news was met with protest and
outcry from the students and staff of
the university, and a lawsuits were
filed against the Federal Government.
The decision was finally reverted, and
the original title for the university will
remain.
The missing funds
In March of 2014, Jonathan ordered
forensic auditing into the
disappearance of over $20 billion in
funds by the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation. Pressure was
put on Jonathan to instigate the
auditing by the finance minister, and
there is speculation that he wouldn’t
have pursued this matter without
prodding. Questions also arise over
Jonathan’s suspension of Nigeria’s
central bank governor Lamido Sansui
(pictured above) in February, as to
whether or not the punishment
happened because Sansui opened
his mouth about the missing billions.
Sansui claims that the money was re-
directed into a 2015 campaign
budget for Jonathan.