Lagos (AFP) – Outgoing Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said Sunday
that some of his friends deserted him shortly after he conceded defeat to
his rival General Muhammadu Buhari in the March election.
Jonathan publicly conceded defeat to Buhari on March 31, a decision which
was commended by local and foreign commentators and doused tension in the
country.
“Some hard decisions have their own costs. No doubt about that. It is a
very costly decision but I must be very ready to pay for it,” Jonathan
said during a farewell church service in Abuja.
Jonathan’s public admission of defeat in the nail-biting election came
more than six hours after he rang Buhari to concede, earning him
widespread praise for statesmanship.
“If you take certain decisions, you should know that people close to you
will even abandon you at some point. I tell people that more of my
so-called friends will disappear.”
Many party faithful and erstwhile loyalists of Jonathan have either
crossed over to Buhari’s All Progressives Congress or made harsh
statements against Jonathan’s party or its leaders.
Jonathan said he was not surprised by the desertions or statements by his
former loyalists, adding that former South African president Frederik de
Klerk faced a similar situation when he decided to abolish minority rule
in that country.
Jonathan said that de Klerk’s marriage to his wife, Marike, broke down
after he took that decision.
“But that is the only decision that made South Africa to still be a global
player. If by this time w still have minority rule in South africa, nobody
would have been talking about South Africa in the present generation,” he
said.
He said that ministers who served under him should brace themselves for
“persecution” following his loss and his decision to concede defeat.
Buhari, a former military leader, is scheduled to be sworn into office on
May 29.