Who Did Goodluck Jonathan Succeed? The Legacy Of Umaru Yar’Adua

Goodluck Jonathan became the 14th president of Nigeria on May 5, 2010. He assumed this role after the unfortunate passing of President Umaru Yar’Adua. Jonathan had served as vice president for 1,072 days before his elevation to the presidency. He remained in office until May 29, 2015.

Before President Yar’Adua’s death, there were political tensions in the country, as the president had been ill for a significant period. Yar’Adua was diagnosed with a serious ailment in November 2009, and his health deteriorated during his absence from the country for medical treatment. The illness prompted a power struggle and constitutional crisis in Nigeria. The National Assembly had to step in to invoke the Doctrine of Necessity to enable Jonathan, then the vice president, to assume the presidency. This was a significant moment in Nigerian history, marking the first time in the country’s history that a vice president had assumed the presidency due to the death of the incumbent.

Jonathan’s rise to the presidency was a defining moment in Nigeria’s political landscape. This event highlighted the importance of succession plans in the event of an unexpected change in leadership. It also underlined the complexity of the political process in a country with a multi-party system.