African leaders happy over Jonathan’s defeat – Obasanjo

A former President, Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday disclosed that African leaders were happy over the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election which he lost to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Obasanjo, who stated this at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington DC, said that his last findings in a number of African countries showed that they were happy over the outcome of the election.

He said some Nigerians saw President Jonathan as a moving train who was stopped from collapsing Nigeria.

The former President, who led the African Union Observation Mission to the April 2015 General Election in Sudan, said, “I have visited six countries since the election, they are happy about the results. It is good not only for Nigeria, it is good for Africa and I believe it is good for the world.”

Obasanjo also said that the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) , “has moved Nigeria one very important step up in our democracy.”

He also advised African leaders to have consultations with elders in order to promote public accountability and pave way for leaders who were fearful of giving up power to step down in favour of a future of statesmanship.

The former President said, “Governance reform and capacity-building programmes, for example, are apt to look everywhere but within. For a change, let us move away from the melancholic issue of what is wrong with Africa.

“If we are truly committed to invigorating conversations about an Africa-focused, Africa-led and Africa-driven framework for substantive self-determination and sustainable development, it is important to rethink and reframe how we situate Africa at the centre of inquiry.”

Obasanjo said countries like Togo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon were among countries with leaders reluctant to give up power for fear they might “land in prison or in the grave.” “What if African statespersons made a coordinated effort, measured against concrete benchmarks, to strategically learn from their own scorecards to help implement home-grown solutions for leadership, governance and succession in government, business and civil society sectors?” He asked.