Former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan has described the experience of losing the 2015 presidential election as a difficult time in his political career.
He also expressed appreciation for Raymond Dokpesi’s fatherly role prior to his official handover to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
This was revealed in Abuja on Friday, during the first Raymond Dokpesi Annual Diamond Lecture jointly organized by Daar Communications and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
Jonathan, who ran on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, was defeated in the 2015 election by Buhari, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
According to Jonathan, “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 it 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.”
In his remarks, the Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, urged Nigerians not to abuse the freedom of speech they are enjoying.
“Our respect for freedom of speech is sacrosanct even as we continue to urge responsibility in the exercise of this freedom. Nigerians are free to speak about this dear country of ours. What we can and will continue to do is to avoid getting to the point where reckless negativity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts,” Mohammed stated.
