Although President Goodluck Jonathan has yet to declare his ambition to run in the 2015 presidential election, different Facebook pages have been created to either pledge support for him or oppose his candidacy.
Some of the Facebook pages created to mobilise support for the President online include ‘Goodluck Jonathan 2015-2019;’ ‘Give President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan a second term 2015;’ among a host of others.
The group, ‘Goodluck Jonathan 2015-2019,’ is one with the largest number of people canvassing support for the President, as it boasts of a following of over 13,000 members.
The Facebook administrator says the group is not related to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, but it’s a “pro-President Goodluck Jonathan’’ online association that wants “Jonathan to lead again for transformation to continue.”
The manager of the page adds that Jonathan should stand in the next election with a view to cultivating Nigeria, which they describe as a “fertile land.”
To this end, the group has been using uncomplimentary adjectives to attack people who appear to be against the said second term ambition of the President, especially members of the break-away faction of the PDP and members of the opposition All Progressives Congress.
A new member of the group, Jeffery Apollus, based in Abia State according to the information on his Facebook profile, said he was happy to have joined the group.
“I appreciate my admission into this group whose motive I guess is to rally support for President Goodluck Jonathan.
“I feel he (Jonathan) needs our maximum solidarity, especially at this time when some disgruntled elements are bent on rubbishing him and his numerous achievements. He needs our support,” Apollus wrote on the group’s wall on Thursday.
Also, one Lhebade Fela-Gbado wrote, “Someone asked me why I was declaring support for Jonathan. One thing I have said is that I won’t spend all my time looking at the bad things, criticising, condemning or even insulting so much that I won’t recognise when good things are coming. Jonathan is a victim of negative publicity and you should do your research on him.”
On another Facebook group which has the primary objective of encouraging the President to run, one Jerry Ifechigha states that it will be “good” for Nigerians to give the President a second chance to rule the country beyond 2015.
“He is sure of my vote and those of my people,” Ifechigha adds.
However, Facebook pages which passionately explain why Jonathan does not deserve a second term also abound. The biggest of them is one with the name “Say No To Goodluck Jonathan 2015,” which has a followership of 19,159 people.
The profile of the page reads: “We are anti-Goodluck Jonathan presidential ambition 2015. Help us pass it on. Don’t be scared, it’s possible.”
A recent post on the page says its opposition to calls by some Nigerians asking the President to run in the 2015 election is “real and genuine.”
“Our opposition towards President Goodluck Jonathan is real and genuine. We’ll never and ever vote for him come 2015. It’s our duty not to allow him, no matter the amount of intimidation. Say NO to Goodluck Jonathan,” the post reads.
A member of the group, Isma’il Ibrahim, states that he is tired of the bad leadership bequeathed on Nigerians by the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency.
Ibrahim argues that apart from the President whose tenure he is against beyond 2015, other members of the group should also champion an opposition to the emergence of other “bad leaders” in various tiers of governments.
“Nigerians are tired of bad leadership; let us join hands together and unseat bad leaders come 2015,” he adds.
One Shehu Usman-Suleiman says his opposition to the calls for the President’s second term in office should not be viewed as hatred, but that his stance may change if Jonathan pays attention to people-oriented policies that will better the lot of the masses.
“The word ‘hatred’ is not supposed to exist. We are anti-Jonathan because his (Jonathan) way of running things always shows he is inexperienced. But if he changes today and becomes fully in tune with the yearnings of the people, we will give him support,” Usman-Suleiman writes.
Another member of the group, Shaqru Akintoye, writes, “For 2015 general election, Nigerians are now wiser. Whatever the antics of Peoples Democratic Party, Jonathan shouldn’t get there again. A President that is shielding corrupt ministers to the detriment of the populace should be voted out.”
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