‘Come Back Baba Jonathan’, Northerners Beg ex-President Jonathan to Return to Power

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan appears to have been begged to return to power by some residents in northern Nigeria as he visited to pay his respects to the late former Sultan of Sokoto, BBC reports.

Some held up banners bearing the words “Come back Baba Jonathan” as he was welcomed to Sokoto to visit the family of Ibrahim Dasuki – the former spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Muslims – who died on Monday at the age of 93.

The images were reported by the Vanguard newspaper.

Mr Jonathan handed over power to President Muhammadu Buhari last year after the latter won an election – the first time an opposition figure had won a presidential election in Nigeria since independence in 1960.

Mr Buhari has been grappling with a range of challenges facing the country and the economy has recently gone into recession.

In a tweet last week congratulating US President-elect Donald Trump on his victory, Mr Jonathan said conceding victory to his rival had taken “great self-sacrifice”.

Mr Jonathan has described the late Sultan of Sokoto as a “bridge builder and father figure who was ever committed to fostering unity in Nigeria”.

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