Former President Goodluck Jonathan has shared his experience of being the first sitting Nigerian President to lose a re-election bid.
As the candidate of the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jonathan lost to former President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 general elections, describing that period as the most challenging in his political career.
He expressed that it felt as though the whole world was against him.
Jonathan made these remarks on Friday in Abuja during the inaugural Raymond Dokpesi Annual Diamond Lecture, organized by Daar Communications in partnership with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
Running under the PDP banner, Jonathan received 12,853,162 votes, placing second to his primary opponent, Major General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who won with 15,424,921 votes.
Former President Jonathan shared that he went through intense emotional struggles, describing a deep sense of abandonment.
The former President remembered the supportive, fatherly role of the late Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, Chairman of Daar Communications, who stood by him throughout his ordeal.
Jonathan 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 explained it more elaborately.”
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