2027: Jonathan Urges Citizens to Vote Out Underperforming Leaders

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has emphasized that any leader who fails to deliver should be voted out of office, provided elections are conducted properly.

Jonathan’s remarks came during the 2025 edition of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) Democracy Dialogue held in Accra, Ghana, where he joined former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama in calling for urgent reforms to protect and strengthen democracy across Africa.

Highlighting electoral manipulation as one of the continent’s greatest threats to democracy, Jonathan warned that without concerted efforts by stakeholders to rethink and reform democratic systems, democracy in Africa risks collapse.

In a statement released on Saturday by Wealth Dickson Ominabo, Communications Officer at the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Jonathan cautioned that when democracy fails to meet citizens’ expectations, desperation can pave the way for authoritarianism.

“We in Africa must critically examine our democratic systems and redesign them to better serve our people. One major issue is the manipulation of elections, allowing leaders to cling to power against the will of the people,” he said. “If elections were truly free and fair, ineffective leaders would be voted out.”

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama echoed these concerns, stressing that democracy will only survive if Africans actively work to defend and improve it. He pointed to weak institutions, elite dominance, exclusion, leadership gaps, and external interference as factors eroding public trust in democratic governance.

Meanwhile, former President Obasanjo, who chaired the event, warned that the current form of democracy practiced in Africa is unsustainable and requires urgent reform.

“Africa’s democracy in its present state is at risk of collapse unless significant changes are made,” he said, underscoring the need for immediate action to ensure the continent’s democratic future.