Dele Farotimi Rejects Calls to Rebrand Jonathan for 2027

Frontline lawyer Dele Farotimi has criticized efforts by some politicians to rebrand former President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2027 elections.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Farotimi argued that Nigerians removed Jonathan from office in 2015 for valid reasons and warned that expecting him to perform miracles now would be misguided.

Farotimi questioned why Nigerians would consider returning to a leader they had previously vilified and voted out.

“This was the same Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who was vilified and labeled. The press went into overdrive, the pulpits and mosques called for his removal, and Nigerians believed that would solve the country’s problems. Now, 10 years later, we’re digging up the past again,” he said.

He maintained that replacing President Bola Tinubu with Jonathan would not address Nigeria’s deeper issues, stressing that the real problem lies in systemic failures rather than individuals.

The lawyer emphasized that Nigeria must prioritize building strong systems over searching for “saviours.”

“We’re not looking for saviours; it’s about building systems, building a country. How do you rebrand the failure of 2015 into a saint and a saviour in 2025?” Farotimi asked.

According to him, Jonathan is being positioned as a “safe option” for some political interests, but without structural reforms, leadership changes will remain superficial.

Farotimi noted that Nigerians focused on “change” in 2015 without questioning what it truly meant. Now, with Jonathan rumored as a potential 2027 candidate, he challenged citizens to ask what new vision the former president could realistically bring.

In 2015, Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost to Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC), ushering in nearly a decade of APC dominance.

Farotimi’s remarks highlight a growing debate in Nigeria’s political space: whether recycling past leaders offers solutions, or whether the country’s future depends on dismantling systemic corruption and building institutions strong enough to outlast any individual.