As First lady, a position long loathed by Nigerians for the tendency of its occupants to be overbearing and high-handed, she also did not help the conversation around her with the way she put herself about. Many Nigerians came to perceive her as overbearing. Some of it was true, even though the propaganda machine of the then opposition All Progressives Congress was working overtime to discredit the administration.
A whirlwind defeat followed In the 2015 general election and despite being universally admired and acknowledged for quietly handing over power, it meant that Mrs. Jonathan followed her husband into premature political retirement. There were the suspiciously brief exertions of the EFCC to recover stolen property, but it has largely been quiet for the former first family.
The former first lady recently re-entered the public consciousness with a flourish. The occasion was a service at Streams of Joy International, a church run by the popular Pastor Jerry Eze. In her testimony, the first lady who recently obtained her PhD from the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, took Nigerians through her academic journey to thunderous applause from the congregation. She concluded by encouraging Nigerians to pursue their dreams, especially their academic dreams.
