Former President Goodluck Jonathan reflected on the emotional challenges he faced after losing the 2015 election to Muhammadu Buhari.
Jonathan, the first sitting Nigerian president to lose a re-election bid, said he felt isolated, as if the “whole world was against” him.
He was speaking at the 1st Raymond Dokpesi Annual Diamond Lecture, organised by the management of Daar Communications in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
He credited the late Raymond Dokpesi, founder of Daar Communications, for offering words of encouragement and helping him find resilience through the transition.
He said, “It is not easy to lose an election as a president. You will think the whole world is against you. But then, Dokpesi invited me before I handed over. I remember what he said to me when I lost the election.
“There were so many senior Nigerians (elder statesmen) who spoke. After I listened to all the conversations, he congratulated me and encouraged me to look beyond the election. This is how I commemorated that session.
“That communication gave me hope and helped me not necessarily for the transition hour ahead of me but also in my spiritual life as a private citizen. If you read my book, My Transition Hours, I explain it more elaborately.”
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