President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, said that those who cannot endure and accept the pain of defeat in elections do not deserve the joy of victory when it is their turn to triumph.
Tinubu said this in his address to Nigerians while commemorating this year’s Democracy Day.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had announced and declared Tinubu, a candidate of the All Progressives Congress, the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Tinubu defeated Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, respectively.
“This year, we held the seventh in the cycle of elections that have become sacred rituals of our democratic practise in this dispensation since 1999.
“That the polls were intensely contested is in itself positive evidence that democracy is well and alive in our land. It is only natural that even as those who won and experienced victory in the various elections are elated and fulfilled, those who lost are disenchanted and disappointed,” he said.
“But the beauty of democracy is that those who win today can lose tomorrow, and those who lose today will have an opportunity to compete and win in the next round of elections.
“Those who cannot endure and accept the pain of defeat in elections do not deserve the joy of victory when it is their turn to triumph.
“Above all, those who disagree with the outcome of the elections are taking full advantage of the constitutional provisions to seek redress in court and that is one of the reasons why democracy is still the best form of government invented by man.”
The president, in his speech, also promised the judiciary more reports.
Tinubu had assented to a constitutional amendment bill bringing uniformity to the retirement age and pension rights of judicial officers last Thursday.