Former President Goodluck Jonathan is a role model who should be respected across Africa and beyond, retired military officer and social critic, Abubakar Umar, has said.
Mr. Umar, a retired colonel, according to Premium Times, said Mr. Jonathan deserved praises for his timely concession call to his major challenger in the 2015 presidential election.
He said that “personal sacrifice” and display of sportsmanship during the contentious poll has made him a “beacon of hope for the growth of democracy in Africa.”
He said that was a clear departure from the norm across Africa, where leaders in times past refused to willingly relinquish power after being defeated at the ballot box.
Mr. Umar made the comment in an interview he granted Abuja-based The Interview magazine, published this March.
“My interpretation of personal survival in this kind of situation is to tenaciously cling to power irrespective of the harm this may cause the nation and of course the incumbent,” the retired colonel said. “Our African experience has been for incumbents to choose this injurious option.”
Although he stepped down almost a year ago, the circumstances under which Mr. Jonathan conceded defeat have remained a subject of intense public debate till now.