Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said African leaders were happy over the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election.
Obasanjo spoke at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington DC.
He said his findings in a number of African countries suggested they were happy over the result of the election.
He said some Nigerians described Jonathan as a moving train who was stopped from collapsing Nigeria.
He said: “I have visited six countries since the election.
“They are as happy about the results.
“It is good not only for Nigeria, it is good for Africa and I believe it is good for the world.”
Obasanjo equally advised African leaders to shift from the mentality of clinching to power by all means.
He urged them to demonstrate statesmanship for the survival of the African continent.
Obasanjo said the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, “has moved Nigeria one very important step up in our democracy”.
He said: “Governance reform and capacity-building programmes, for example, are apt to look everywhere but within.
“For a change, let us move away from the melancholic issue of what is wrong with Africa.
“If we are truly committed to invigorating conversations about an Africa-focused, Africa-led and Africa-driven framework for substantive self-determination and sustainable development, it is important to rethink and reframe how we situate Africa at the centre of inquiry.”