Goodluck Jonathan concedes Nigerian election to opposition leader

Nigerian opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari has won the country’s presidential election, ousting Goodluck Jonathan from office by at least 3 million votes.

Although Buhari’s associates said they feared “trickery” might keep him from claiming his victory, Jonathan conceded defeat shortly after the official tally was announced.

A spokesman for Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) party praised Jonathan’s decision to leave office without a fight: “He will remain a hero for this move. The tension will go down dramatically.”

Analysts predicted violent protests if political upheaval followed a close election. Jonathan’s concession marks the first time in Nigerian history that an opposition party has taken power in a democratic process.

But Buhari is a recent “convert” to democracy. He held power in 1984 and 1985 during a brief but severe dictatorship. He ordered people jailed for minor offenses, like littering, and punished civil servants who arrived to work late by having them do squats. He also was no friend of the press, jailing journalists for reporting on a deepening economic crisis. His own soldiers eventually evicted him from the presidential palace.

Buhari has promised to stamp out Boko Haram, the Islamic militant insurgency that has taken over large swaths of the country’s north. Jonathan was widely criticized for ignoring the militant group until just before the election. He postponed the contest for six weeks to allow the Nigerian army to launch a counter-offensive against Boko Haram. Last week, he proudly declared he had the terrorists on the run.

In the predominantly Muslim north, Nigerians celebrated Buhari’s victory by gathering in the streets. Crowds of young people shouted, “Change! Change! Change!” while young men on motor scooters performed wheelies and drivers honked car horns.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.