As the 2027 presidential race begins to take shape, one of the most intriguing possibilities before Nigerians is a political comeback by former President Goodluck Jonathan. Within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), powerful voices are actively courting him to return and carry the party’s flag. Yet the central dilemma remains: will Jonathan trust the same political establishment he accused of betraying him in 2015, or will he once again be outmaneuvered by forces within and outside the PDP?
For the PDP, Jonathan’s appeal lies not just in nostalgia but in political arithmetic. With the party’s National Executive Committee zoning the ticket to the South, Jonathan presents a compromise candidate who can bridge Nigeria’s regional divides. He is constitutionally eligible for only one term, a factor that could make him more palatable to northern power brokers who remain wary of long-term southern dominance.
Moreover, Jonathan’s image has been burnished by comparison. With the APC government struggling under economic hardship, insecurity, and disunity, many Nigerians now look back at his tenure with softer eyes, reimagining him as a steady hand who left office without plunging the country into chaos. This “revisionist nostalgia” has created a political opening that PDP elites are eager to exploit.
Yet Jonathan’s potential return cannot be separated from the ghosts of 2015. Despite the renewed overtures, his bitter memories from 2015 remain unresolved. His defeat to the late President Muhammadu Buhari was marred by accusations of betrayal within his own party. Jonathan later claimed that northern PDP leaders, including then-chairman Adamu Mu’azu, conspired against him.
In his book Against the Run of Play, journalist Segun Adeniyi quoted Jonathan as saying:
“I felt really betrayed by the result from some northern states… even security agents colluded with the opposition to come up with spurious results against me.”
Mu’azu denied the allegations, but other leaders like the late Edwin Clark reinforced Jonathan’s account, accusing northern PDP governors of actively funding Buhari’s campaign. Conversely, critics such as Senator Joseph Waku countered that Jonathan was naïve to trust those who had never pledged loyalty to his candidacy.
After 2015, he largely withdrew from PDP activities, signaling a deep distrust of its structures. Asking him to return now, without addressing those betrayals, raises serious questions: Has the PDP learned from its past mistakes? Or is it merely setting him up as a convenient stopgap candidate to buy time for other interests?
Even if Jonathan accepts, several risks loom. First, the PDP remains divided, weakened by defections, internal lawsuits, and factionalism. A Jonathan candidacy might temporarily unify competing blocs, but it could also reopen old wounds if northern factions feel shortchanged.
Second, Jonathan’s comeback could be framed by opponents as regressive — a return to the past rather than a forward-looking alternative. Younger Nigerians, many of whom supported Peter Obi in 2023, may view his candidacy as evidence that the political class is recycling old faces rather than nurturing new leadership.
Third, there is the personal dimension: Jonathan would have to navigate the very betrayals he once decried. Entering the race without securing airtight assurances from power brokers could leave him vulnerable to another internal sabotage.
For Jonathan, the stakes are complex. A successful one-term presidency could cement his legacy as a unifier who stabilized Nigeria in turbulent times. Failure, however, could erase the goodwill he regained after his peaceful concession in 2015, reducing him to a symbol of recycled leadership and political miscalculation.
Ultimately, Jonathan’s decision is less about his personal ambition and more about the PDP’s survival strategy. The party sees him as a vessel to regain national relevance. But whether Jonathan can trust a fragmented PDP — or whether Nigerians will see him as the answer to the country’s crises — remains uncertain.
For now, the Jonathan question hangs in the air: Is his comeback a path to redemption for both him and the PDP, or a political trap that could end in another bitter betrayal?