Former President Goodluck Jonathan has opened up on the emotional turmoil he experienced after losing the 2015 presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari.

The former president made the disclosure while speaking at the inaugural Raymond Dokpesi Annual Diamond Lecture on Friday.

It can be recalled that the 2015 presidential election was the first in Nigeria’s history where a sitting president was defeated. Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) secured 15,424,921 votes, surpassing the 12,853,162 votes secured by Jonathan under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Jonathan recounted the emotional toll he had to bear following the defeat.

He revealed that the late Raymond Dokpesi, the then Chairman of Daar Communications, played a key supportive role during the period.

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.”