What I Learnt From Losing Election – Tonto Dikeh

Nigerians were very surprised last year when popular Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh last year emerged as the deputy governorship candidate for Rivers State under the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

She ran alongside governorship candidate Tonte Ibraye, but ultimately, before the elections even happened, both Tonte and Tonto pulled out of the race.

Now, months later after the election, Tonto Dikeh is speaking about her experience running for deputy governor and opening up about the lessons she learned while running, and even after losing. Here is what Tonto Dikeh had to say.

Speaking during an interview with journalists in Abuja, Tonto Dikeh said about the elections which she lost:

TONTO DIKEH: One of the things I learnt (in contesting the election) is resilience and never giving up. I know after four years, they will forget about me and that, ‘she is not going to come back.’ But I am going to come back. Every four years, I am going to come back. I will come back and I will be in their faces. I will be coming back to the contest.

My chances (of becoming governor) are high and slim because politics is dirty. It’s not going to be free and fair. (Nyesom) Wike’s candidate didn’t win free and fair. So I don’t expect politics to be free and fair, but I expect that, as someone said, having a lion’s heart requires taking the lion’s share.

I won’t care what they think about my position, I will keep having the lion’s share, whether it is my personal life or politics, I am here to stay and they have no choice but to accept it.

I said something; I said that the youths are restless. They are young, they are vibrant, and this is the time for them to do things. They cannot achieve those things if they do not fall under the platform of leadership.

I contested for the position of Deputy Governor of Rivers State under the ADC and I saw how the older politicians perceived me like, ooh! This girl came to joke but I told them I didn’t come to joke.

I made them understand that I came to fight. I might not have won but it will go down in history that I contested against Wike or Wike’s boy or the other big shots that I contested against.

Source: Jide Okonjo

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com