Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has opened up about the emotional difficulties he faced after becoming the first incumbent president in the country’s history to lose a re-election bid. Jonathan, who ran under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lost to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2015 general elections, a period he described as the toughest of his political career.

Speaking in Abuja at the 1st Raymond Dokpesi Annual Diamond Lecture—an event organized by Daar Communications in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations—Jonathan reflected on the election, noting that he received 12,853,162 votes, finishing second to Buhari, who won with 15,424,921 votes.

“I felt abandoned, as though the whole world was against me,” he said. “It is not easy to lose an election as a president.”

Despite the challenges, Jonathan acknowledged the support he received from the late Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, the chairman of DAAR Communications, who stood by him during his most difficult moments. “Dokpesi invited me before I handed over. I remember what he said to me when I lost the election. He congratulated me and encouraged me to look beyond the election. That communication gave me hope—not just for the transition ahead, but also in my spiritual life as a private citizen.”

Jonathan further elaborated on these experiences in his book, My Transition Hours, discussing how this period shaped his post-presidency life.