One year after election: Top 10 events in Goodluck Jonathan’s life (photos)
One year after the presidential election in Nigeria, all candidates who participated in the poll have various stories to tell.
But today we will look back on Goodluck Jonathan’s year after he accepted his defeat and congratulated his opponent Muhammadu Buhari.
Shortly after this historic event, world leaders, Nigerian politicians and political observers showered praises on Jonathan, noting that his concession of defeat prevented a repeat of the bloodshed that followed the presidential election in 2011.
By that action, the ex-president seems to have won more hearts, attending conferences and receiving local and global awards.
Naij.com brings you the most important events that happened in Jonathan’s life after the election.
1. Special Thanksgiving Service
A few days after handing over to President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, Goodluck Jonathan and his wife Patience attended a special Thanksgiving Service at the Saint Peters Anglican Church in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
In his speech, the ex-president urged the people of Bayelsa and Niger Delta to continue praying for him and his family.
2. Vacation in Kenya
In August 2015, Goodluck Jonathan, his wife and children visited Kenya’s Maasai Mara Games Reserve, where they had a chance to witness a spectacular wildebeest migration.
A day after the arrival, the former president appeared on pages of foreign and national dailies, triggering mixed reactions among Nigerians who wondered what was the real aim of his trip to Kenya.
3. Goodluck Jonathan becomes a granddad
On September 23, his daughter Faith Sakwe and her husband, Godswill Edward, welcomed an adorable baby girl in a US hospital.
The little girl was christened Princess Eliana Godswill Edward.
4. Observing elections in Tanzania
In October 2015, Jonathan was a leader of a 33-nation observer mission that monitored elections in Tanzania.
Ahead of the most important political event in the country, Jonathan called on the Tanzanian National Electoral Commission, political parties and civil society to ensure a peaceful and transparent poll.
Using his acceptance of defeat as a bright example, Jonathan assured politicians that they should always put the interests of the citizens first.
“If you lose, accept defeat. I was concerned about allowing my personal ambition to scuttle a democratic system I had helped to nurture.
“In any election, there are winners and losers. The presidential candidate who loses, should gracefully concede the election to avert a political crisis,” he stressed.
5. The hero of democracy clocks 58
On November 20, Goodluck Jonathan celebrated his 58th birthday.
The former president spent this day with his family, close friends and political allies who sent hearty birthday wishes to him and organized a birthday party.
However, the message from Reuben Abati, the ex-spokesman to Jonathan, said it all: “When things are rosy people come around but when things get bad they desert you.”
6. Meeting with future leaders
In November 2015, Jonathan went to the USA whe he met with students of the Howard University School of Political Science.
Speaking at the event titled “Elections And Constitutions In Africa: A Timely Issue”, the former president addressed future leaders and encouraged them to embrace civil education.
7. Jonathan is a grandfather again!
On January 11, Jonathan’s adopted daughter, Inebharapu Paul, welcomed her first child with her husband, Simeon Onyemaechi, at Memorial Hospital West, in Florida, the USA.
The boy was named Kachiside Onyemachi what means “The way God has written it”. The ex-president left everything he was doing in Nigeria to join the family and see his grandson.
8. The Martin Luther King Human Rights Award
On January 14, Jonathan was honoured by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, the USA.
The ex-president received this prestigious award in recognition of his leadership in advancing human rights, social justice and the fight for universal freedom.
9. 2016 Hope Global Forums conference
Jonathan presented the keynote address at the 2016 Hope Global Forums conference held in Atlanta, the USA.
The event gathered thousands of leaders, business professionals and public policy officials from many countries who discussed the ways of advancing social and economic well-being of all people around the world.
In his opening remark, Jonathan noted that “foreign aid can never help Africa grow its economy. It can only help you exist vegetatively”.
10. ‘Person of the Year 2015′
Jonathan was named the ‘Person of the Year’ by The African Sun Times, Africa’s number one and largest newspaper in the USA.
Expressing gratitude for the award, the former president noted Nigerian people were more deserving of this honour.
“We, the Nigerian people put to shame naysayers and prophets of doom and in 2015, we held a most transparent, violence free and credible elections that transferred power from one political party to another and from an incumbent to the opposition, without rancour, bitterness or strife,” he said.
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