𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐮 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has fired back at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, dismissing suggestions that he was too young and inexperienced to lead Nigeria effectively .

Jonathan’s response came after Atiku, during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time, described the former president as “a decent young man, but also inexperienced,” claiming this contributed to challenges during Jonathan’s tenure .

Speaking at the 2025 Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria awards ceremony in Abuja on Monday, Jonathan addressed the criticism without directly mentioning Atiku by name .

“So not too long ago, a very senior politician said, ‘Oh, Jonathan was too young and probably that’s why he made mistakes’,” the former president said .

Jonathan acknowledged that no leader governs without missteps, but rejected the notion that his age or inexperience defined his time in office .

“If I made mistakes, yes, nobody who becomes a governor or a president will say you did not make mistakes. Even when you promote yourself to the level of a god, you become a deity. All human beings must make mistakes,” he stated .

The former president then posed a pointed rhetorical question: “I became president in 2010 at the age of 53. I left in 2015 at the age of 58, and they say I was too young. Must it have been 100 years before I ran the affairs of the state?”

Jonathan also defended key decisions taken during his administration, pointing to Nigeria’s diplomatic achievements under his leadership, particularly the country’s election into the United Nations Security Council on two occasions .

“I’m talking to diplomats, so I can say that during my period, I knew what I did for us to appear in the UN Security Council two times… If I were so naive, I don’t think I would have been able to navigate through that process,” he said .

Atiku, now a presidential aspirant on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, is competing for the party’s ticket alongside Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso . During the same interview, Atiku downplayed Kwankwaso and Tambuwal’s influence in the North, limited Obi’s support base to the South-East, and restricted Amaechi’s reach to the South-South .

The exchange has drawn criticism from other quarters as well. Arise News anchor and former presidential spokesperson Reuben Abati described Atiku’s remarks as “condescending and very rude” .

“Jonathan was president of this country, a position that Atiku didn’t even get to. He is still aspiring to get there 30 years after his initial aspiration. And to refer to a former president as a man who is not experienced smirks of arrogance,” Abati said .

Beyond the political back-and-forth, Jonathan used the event to raise concerns about political instability across West Africa, warning that it remains a major barrier to economic progress in the region .

“We cannot progress economically if we are very unstable societies politically,” he stressed, urging ECOWAS leaders to strengthen democratic institutions .