President of Benin Republic Boni Yayi has assured President Goodluck Jonathan that the community of African leaders will continue to seek his wise counsel even after he had left office
President Yayi gave these assurances on Thursday as he paid a visit to President Jonathan at State House Abuja
President Yayi’s visits to Nigeria are so commonplace that he himself has had cause to joke about it, describing his country as Nigeria’s 37th state
But he is not joking this time.
Indeed, he seems almost overcome with emotion as he describes President Jonathan as a statesman whose interventions on the African continent and particularly in West Africa have sealed his stature as a statesman
And going beyond his leadership in Africa, President Yayi says President Jonathan’s magnanimity in accepting defeat in elections he organized have set a standard not only in Africa but in the world
Of course with his passionate praise of President Jonathan, one is tempted to ask why he was not one of the first African leaders to come visiting
But President Yayi’s explanation that he had to conduct elections in his country would suffice.
