Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, said African countries are happy over the outcome of the presidential election in Nigeria, which saw the defeat of incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan to the opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.

“I have visited six countries since the election, they are as happy about the results as we are in Nigeria. It is good not only for Nigeria, it is good for Africa and I believe it is good for the world.”

Mr. Obasanjo, spoke on Thursday at a Washington DC event, according to a report published by premiumtimesng.com. He was a guest speaker at the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) event titled What is Right with Africa: Reframing Africa’s Leadership Challenges.

The former president described Nigeria as a country that obsessively plays “a dangerous game of moving close to the precipice”.

He said the country came close to disintegration in the run-up to the 2015 elections but switched swiftly to the path of redemption after the polls.

“I hope we will not fall over one of these days,” he said.

He said one month to the election, no one believed “we will have a peaceful election that is reasonably free and fair.”

Describing his role in the election as that of a person standing on the track of a moving train, the former president said during the countdown to the elections, he faced the option of “jumping off” the tracks or “be crushed” if the train did not providentially get “derailed and stop.”

He said he did not jump and was not crushed adding that “at every stage, there must be leaders imbued with sufficient courage and will to stand firm when you have to stand firm.”

He described the results of the elections as what Nigerians “deserve” though some Nigerians “did not want it”.

*Ladi Olorunyomi reported this to Premiumtimes