LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Nigeria’s former First Lady, Patience Jonathan says she has no desire to return to the Presidential Villa, citing the immense stress of being in the spotlight.
Patience spoke on Thursday at a colloquium organised to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
She delivered a speech on ‘public relations, value reorientation, and economic transformation’.
Patience said “the stress of Nigeria is too much,” adding that she looks younger than she was while her husband was president.
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“If you call me now for the villa, I won’t go there. I won’t. Don’t you see how young I am? The stress is so much,” she said.
“The stress of Nigeria is so much. If God manages to bring you out of it, you should glorify God and thank him. It is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes.
“He has taken you there once, why do you want to go there again? Me I won’t go ooo.”
In 2015, Goodluck Jonathan lost the presidential election to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Commenting on the aftermath of the election, Patience said she did not urge her husband to stay in office after he lost the poll.
She said Jonathan “willingly relinquished without a fight,” adding that the former president has become a model of democracy due to his actions.
“When we failed the election, I was with him (Jonathan). We were in the room when we were told you had lost. I did not whisper to him that he must stay because we will shed blood,” she said.