The recent military takeover in Guinea Bissau, according to former President Goodluck Jonathan, has caused him more suffering than his defeat by former President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.
In a video interview, Jonathan added that the situation was especially concerning because he has long been involved in bringing democracy back to the West African nation.
As a member of the West African Elders Forum, the former president visited Guinea Bissau to observe the parliamentary and presidential elections.
However, the military took control as observer missions from the African Union, Economic Community of West African States, and other organizations continued their work.
Concerns about the former governor of Bayelsa State’s safety were aroused by the occurrence, which left him and his entourage stranded.
The event unnerved Jonathan, who was later removed from Guinea Bissau and landed in Nigeria on Thursday.
“What happened in Guinea Bissau is quite disturbing to me, a person who believes in democracy,” he declared. The day I called Buhari to congratulate him after I lost the election as president is perhaps more painful for me now.
When it comes to Guinea Bissau, I have been quite picky. Guinea Bissau was in trouble when I was president. It began in 2012 or such. In order to ensure that the 2013 elections were held, we had to physically visit them in 2011.
He claimed that the circumstances in Guinea Bissau were strange and did not follow the typical pattern of a military takeover.
According to Jonathan, there were doubts regarding the veracity of President Umaro Embaló’s early announcement of his own “arrest” while he continued to communicate with worldwide media via his phone.
He cited reports from ECOWAS, the AU, and other observer missions to support his claim that the Guinea Bissau elections were peaceful.
He voiced worry that, despite evidence suggesting he was never jailed, Embaló said that a coup had occurred and that he had been detained while the results were being tallied.
“I find it terrible that President Embaló announced a military takeover of the government. It is completely intolerable.
“I wouldn’t describe what took place in Guinea Bissau as a coup because it wasn’t one. Since President Embaló announced the coup before the military later declared to the public that they were in control of the country, I shall refer to it as a ceremonial coup for want of a better term.
Strangely, Embaló had already declared a coup. In addition to announcing the coup, Embaló used his phone to inform international media outlets that he had been taken into custody. As a nearly 70-year-old Nigerian, I am aware of how they retain heads of state in the event of a coup.
“No one should call others idiots; they can’t be pulling practical jokes.” There is no way that a military takeover would occur right before the election results were disclosed, and the president was the one who made the announcement. “It doesn’t occur anywhere,” Jonathan remarked.
The former president urged ECOWAS and the AU to publish the whole election results and cautioned against using the military to retake power.
Additionally, Jonathan demanded that Fernando Dias, the leading opposition figure, be freed from military detention, claiming that he had committed no crimes.
The former president described how the Ivorian government airlifted him during his evacuation.
Jonathan clarified that although both Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire had planned to send planes to evacuate him and his crew, the Ivorian government obtained authorization before Nigeria.
He pointed out that the close proximity of Côte d’Ivoire to Guinea Bissau and the long-standing connections between francophone and lusophone nations facilitated their quicker acquisition of a landing permission.
He claimed that when Nigeria eventually got permission to use its own aircraft, the Ivorian aircraft was already on its way.
He claims that his team told Abuja not to move forward as the Ivorian plane was already close when they learned that the Nigerian airliner was almost set to take off.
He continued by saying that this was the reason he flew back in an Ivorian plane, as seen in the pictures shot upon his arrival.
