What Jonathan has in common with Martin Luther King, Mandela, Lee Kuan Yhew …

That TV commercial or political campaign that likens President Goodluck Jonathan to world leaders like the Late Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr of the United States, Lee Kuan Yhew of Singapore and US president, Barack Obama, is still generating anger, anger caustic enough to make a bomb!

Why? Many think that the makers of that footage, Protectors of Nigerian Posterity, have chosen to insult the personalities of those Legends as well as an abuse of the senses of Nigerians.

Ochiaka Ugwu had in August, written on peoplesdailyng.com:

How on earth will those clowns (TAN) be comparing Mr. President with the likes of Martin Luther kings, Barrack Obama, Nelson Mandela and Lee Kuan Yau?

If I were to be Barrack Obama or any of the descendants of those godly people mentioned in the advert, seriously I will sue TAN to the international criminal court of justice (ICCJ) because that particular advert is a crime against those highly respected personalities who are peacefully resting in the lord.

But does President Jonathan have anything in common with those legends? Former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and pioneer chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Dr. Christopher Kolade, like many others who have roundly criticized the ad, answered no to the question on Thursday.

Speaking in Lagos as Chairman of the 6th Christopher Kolade Symposium organized by the Nigerian Leadership Initiative (NLI), Kolade said:

“Some nights ago, I was watching television and some people were telling us that we have never had it so good. I am in my 80s and I can tell you that Nigeria has had it much better than now.

“They even said it was not easy for Lee Kuan Yew, it was not easy for Nelson Mandela and it was not easy for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Mr President, keep doing it. Keep doing the good works because we who are with you are much more than those who are against you.

“Tell me something, is that part of Nollywood? Is that part of an entertainment? Let me cite one example. They always say I am father to all and I accept. If somebody makes me leader of a group and there is something in that group, l should be able to stand by the group.

“Let me tell you, if 59 boys are killed in Yobe State and you as a leader, the next day went to Kano State and danced in a political rally, then I say, that is not leadership. It can’t be.

“If it comes to a point that we don’t care about who is leading the country, then we have lost it. We know we are in deficit. What we have today are leaders who are in pursuit of personal gains and not about the future.”