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Editorial Desk

The Jakarta Post

Publication Date : 02-04-2015

As a country that experienced a painful transformation from dictatorship to democracy, we Indonesians deeply commend the statesmanship of outgoing Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, who unconditionally conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari in the March 28 presidential race.

With a population of 170 million, Nigeria has achieved an unprecedented level of maturity after the return of civilian rule in 1999. Africas largest economy has many similarities with Indonesia: poor law enforcement, rampant corruption, overdependence on a resource-based economy, especially oil and gas, civilian conflicts and religious-related violence.

Nigeria is fighting Boko Haram, a struggle that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands, including young girls. The group has declared its loyalty to the Islamic State (IS) organisation. This is similar to the atrocities we once had to deal with, albeit it was, for us, on a much smaller scale.

Contrary to the pessimistic view of many international media organisations and observers, Jonathan immediately acknowledged the victory of former dictator Buhari, a retired general who describes himself as a born-again democrat.

Nobodys ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian, Associated Press quoted the Christian Jonathan as saying after he directly telephoned Buhari to congratulate him on his victory on Wednesday.

We have proven to the world that we are people who have embraced democracy. We have put the one-party state behind us, said Buhari in a victory speech.

See the original post:
Nigeria's road to democracy