I will never stop fighting for democracy. Here is why…

On the night of April 19, 2007, I sat with the head of my media team in a long conversation over dinner. It was a light-hearted conversation about many things: family, religion, and history. We joked about a recent visit by a friend, and the recent pranks by his youngest child. Everything but politics.

This might sound strange because that was two nights before the 2007 Presidential Elections, and we were about to lose. It was my first, and only, run in a general election for president, and I knew it would be a heavy loss.

Two weeks prior to that evening, two state governors had visited my home to beg me to step aside. There had been rumours the results of the yet-to-be-held elections had already been tabulated and sent to INEC. In their thinking, they felt a need to warn me, for old times sake, not to go into an election in which the outcome may already have been concluded, and which may embarrass me to the point of destroying my political career.

I told them I had heard them and understood. The next morning, I told my team to ramp up activity on the campaign effort. We were still running.

Why did I continue in an election that I knew clearly I was about to lose?Over the preceding four years – at great risk to my own political future – I had engaged in a long, tough battle to maintain the viability of our young democracy by preserving the presidential term limits prescribed by the constitution.

The issues that led to these battles were rooted in principle. The key element was, that after a productive first term as Vice President, I was faced with a fundamental question of loyalty: should I remain loyal to my boss and party, or should I remain loyal to our constitution and democracy?

The tough, correct choice – our constitution – was the path I chose. And in doing so, I shunned an offer that could have kept me in high office for a potentially long period of time. After struggling for decades along side many other brave patriots to enshrine democracy and wrestle power away from military rule, the choice to defend our democracy was non-negotiable.

At the time I believed the people of Nigeria would see this as a battle to save the soul of the country, and would judge me fairly. What I did not see coming was one of the best-executed smear campaigns aimed at tarnishing everything I had legitimately worked to achieve in our struggle for democracy

Yes all from Atiku's Blog: http://atiku.org/aa/2013/09/15/i-will-never-stop-fighting-for-democracy-here-is-why/