National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, has said Nigeria’s democracy survived the 2015 general elections largely because former President Goodluck Jonathan chose peace over power.
Usman spoke to journalists on the sidelines of the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue held in Bauchi on Monday.
She said Jonathan’s decision to concede defeat in the 2015 presidential election, even before final results were announced, helped avert what she described as dire predictions about the country’s democratic future.
“Nigeria’s democracy survived the doomsday predictions of bookmakers in 2015 because of President Jonathan’s concession of defeat in that year’s election, even before the final votes were tallied,” Usman said.
The LP chairman described the gesture as unprecedented in Nigeria’s political history, noting that it reflected a principled approach to politics rarely witnessed in the country.
She recalled that Jonathan had consistently maintained from the start of his presidency that neither his election nor his continued stay in office was worth the blood of any Nigerian, adding that he proved the sincerity of that position when he stepped aside after the 2015 polls.
Usman urged politicians eyeing the presidency in 2027 to play by the rules and place the country’s interest above personal political ambition.
Quoting investor Warren Buffett, she said: “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
She added: “The democracy Nigerians practise today has survived till this day because Jonathan made sacrifices in the past.”
The Labour Party chairman questioned whether any of the current presidential hopefuls would be willing to make similar sacrifices for the nation, citing what she called the “enormity of inflammatory rhetoric” coming from various political camps.
Labour Party positions itself as leading opposition force
Speaking on her party’s prospects ahead of the next general elections, Usman described the Labour Party as the most organised opposition platform in the country.
“The Labour Party is the most structured political party in Nigeria going into the next general elections. With the combined strength of the NLC and the TUC, both of which are constitutional members of the party, no Nigerian political party is better positioned to show the APC government the exit door than the Labour Party,” she said.
She also called on opposition parties considering a coalition to fold their structures into the Labour Party.
High-profile attendance at Bauchi dialogue
The 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue was themed: “Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and the Judiciary Save African Democracy?”
The event drew former President Olusegun Obasanjo; founder of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation and former President, Goodluck Jonathan; former Vice President Namadi Sambo; Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed; and former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim.
Others in attendance included former Plateau State Governor Jonah David Jang, APC Deputy National Chairman (South) Dr Ben Nwoye, and the Emir of Bauchi, HRM Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu.
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