Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is one Nigerian President who could easily be remembered for his humble background, which he declared during one of his presidential campaign outings, saying, “In my early days in school, I had no shoes, no school bags. There were days I had only one meal… I walked miles and crossed rivers to school every day… studied with lanterns, but I never despaired”.
Indeed, he never quailed, as he would later go on to obtain Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees afterwards.
Politics may have earned Dr. Jonathan global popularity beyond anything he may have ever imagined, however, what many would contend is the fact that he is first a scientist.
The former Nigerian President holds Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Zoology, Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology, respectively, all from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Politics aside, Jonathan’s primary areas of interest are ecology and environmental biology. After graduating from the university, he served as a Science Inspector of Education and later lectured for ten years in the Department of Biology at Rivers State College of Education, now Ignatius Ajuru University of Education.
Before joining politics in 1998, Dr Jonathan also served as an Assistant Director in charge of Environmental Protection and Pollution Control in the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, now Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
During his political career, he was first elected as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State in 1999, a position in which he was decorated as the best-performing deputy Governor by the Institute of Public Administrators of Nigeria (IPAN) in 2002.
He later became the Governor of Bayelsa State and subsequently became the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. When the then President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, unfortunately, died on May 5, 2010, Jonathan was inaugurated as President on May 6, 2010, to complete the tenure of Yar’Adua. In 2011, he contested and won the presidential election and served as President until 2015.
As President, he worked remarkably well with his colleagues particularly Heads of State in the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) to resolve political crises and stabilize democracies in the sub-region, especially in countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso and Togo.
His commitment and passion towards bringing peace and stability to Africa within his five-year tenure gave Nigeria higher recognition in the United Nations Security Council. Nigeria was nominated twice within the five years of his leadership, a feat rarely achieved by non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Such is the pedigree that made the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) offer Jonathan the status of Goodwill Ambassador for Agriculture Technologies in Africa, which he gladly accepted in December 2022.
By his appointment as AATF’s Ambassador, Dr. Jonathan will advocate for the advancement of Africa’s agricultural goals and economic growth through the application of innovative technologies and enhanced investment in agriculture. The former Nigerian president has said he is not oblivious to these responsibilities and has undertaken to take it in its strides.
Speaking in this regard during his ceremonial unveiling as AATF’s Goodwill Ambassador for Agriculture Technologies in Africa on August 30, 2023, in Abuja, Jonathan said, “I am pleased to be speaking in my capacity as AATF Goodwill Ambassador for Agriculture Technologies in Africa. This role is directly tied to my belief in sustainable development and enhancing the prosperity of farmers in Africa through the use of technologies.”
Jonathan went on to give reasons why he accepted the role, saying, “When AATF approached me to serve in this capacity, I did not hesitate to accept. The reason stemmed from my deep belief in the fact that agriculture is the backbone of Africa’s economy and that technology can contribute enormously to progressing our agriculture.”
He continued with strong advocacy for African countries to adopt modern technologies in agriculture, stressing that it is the only tool that can ensure food security, poverty reduction and uplift the lives of the people.
Giving a further background to this, Jonathan said, “For a long time, inadequate integration of technologies in agriculture has contributed to low yields and increased post-harvest losses. On the other hand, the use of modern technology has increased productivity in many countries of the world.”
Linking this to the general development of Africa, Jonathan said, “Africa must adopt modern technologies in agriculture,” adding that, although the stake has become higher with the evolution of newer technologies, it remains a path that the continent must take to propagate development.
“Africa cannot develop outside technology. It is my firm belief that the success of Africa’s Free Trade Agreement will depend on how African countries can leverage production and markets on technology and science,” Jonathan said.
Jonathan used the opportunity to stress what he would be doing as AATF’s Goodwill Ambassador for Agriculture Technologies in Africa.
In this guise, he said, “My role as Goodwill Ambassador for Agriculture Technologies in Africa entails involving all stakeholders in supporting and promoting technology in agriculture, and more importantly, in building investment around agricultural technology.”
He said he would be looking forward to African and non-African governments, the African Union and philanthropists to deliver on this goal.
The AATF Executive Director, Dr Canisius Kanangire gave a cursory justification of the choice of Jonathan as AATF’s Goodwill Ambassador for Agriculture Technologies in Africa after a meeting with him in his home state of Bayelsa in South-South Nigeria, when he said that the appointment was informed by “His Excellency’s track record of championing agricultural transformation on the continent.”
Jonathan was known as one African President who prioritized agricultural improvement on the continent during his time as President.
This was exemplified by the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) which he introduced and diligently implemented in Nigeria during his tenure to increase the efficiency and profitability of 12 key agricultural commodities, including cotton, cocoa, cassava, oil palm, maize, soya bean, onion, rice, livestock, fisheries, tomato, and sorghum.
At the end of his tenure, ATA led to the creation of about 3.5 million new jobs directly linked to the selected key products, while many more jobs were created from other value chain activities. This was able to put over 300 billion naira of additional income in the hands of Nigerian farmers and rural entrepreneurs.
As President, Jonathan was also able to cut down the importation of food, especially those that can be produced locally, which helped Nigeria save over N1.3 trillion per annum.
It is with these in mind that Kanangire, said, “AATF is honoured to have the former president as our Ambassador, whose role will accelerate ongoing efforts to improve our agricultural terrain.”
According to him, Jonathan was an easy pick because he is first a scientist, hence it was easy for him to understand the scope of the responsibilities attached to the position. Like Kanangire, many Africans are upbeat, as they see Jonathan as the perfect face of modern agriculture driven by technology in Africa.
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