Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said the recent military takeover in Guinea Bissau was more painful to him than losing the 2015 presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari.
Jonathan, who spoke in a video interview, explained that the incident was especially disturbing because of his long-standing involvement in helping restore democracy in Guinea Bissau.
He had travelled to the country as part of the West African Elders Forum to monitor the presidential and parliamentary elections. But while observer missions from ECOWAS, the African Union, and other international bodies were still on duty, the military seized power.
The situation left Jonathan and his team stranded and raised concerns about his safety.
Jonathan, who was later evacuated and returned to Nigeria on Thursday, said the development unsettled him.
He said, “What happened in Guinea Bissau is quite disturbing to me, as someone who believes in democracy. In fact, I feel more pain than the day I called Buhari to congratulate him when I lost the election as a sitting president.
“I have been quite particular about Guinea Bissau. As president then, Guinea Bissau was in crisis. It started around 2012. In 2011, we had to physically engage with them to ensure the 2013 elections were conducted.”
He described the recent events in Guinea Bissau as unusual, saying it did not follow the normal pattern of a military coup.
Jonathan argued that President Umaro Embaló’s early announcement of his own “arrest,” while still using his phone to speak with international media, raised doubts about the credibility of the situation.
According to him, the elections were peaceful, citing reports from ECOWAS, AU, and other observer groups.
He expressed concern that while results were being collated, Embaló announced that a coup had taken place and that he had been detained, even though evidence suggested he was never arrested.
“It is painful for me that President Embaló was the one announcing a military takeover of government. It is totally unacceptable.
“What happened in Guinea Bissau, I wouldn’t call it a coup; it was not a coup. For lack of a better word, I will say it was a ceremonial coup because it was President Embaló who announced the coup before the military later came up to address the world that they were in charge.
“Embaló had already announced the coup, which is strange. Not only that, but while the coup supposedly took place, he was using his phone to address media organisations across the world, claiming he had been arrested. I’m a Nigerian close to 70, and I know how Heads of State are treated during a real coup.
“They cannot be playing pranks; nobody should call others fools. There is no way there will be a military coup at a time election results were about to be announced and the president was the one who announced it. It doesn’t happen anywhere,” Jonathan said.
The former president urged against engaging the military in a fight to reclaim power and called on ECOWAS and the AU to release the full election results.
He also demanded the release of the main opposition leader, Fernando Dias, insisting he committed no offence.
Narrating his evacuation, Jonathan said he was airlifted by the Ivorian government.
He explained that both Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire had arranged aircraft to evacuate him and his team, but Côte d’Ivoire secured clearance first.
He noted that Côte d’Ivoire’s proximity to Guinea Bissau and its ties with other francophone and lusophone countries helped speed up the approval process.
He said the Ivorian aircraft was already on its way when Nigeria’s approval finally came through. By that time, Jonathan’s team advised Nigeria not to proceed since the Ivorian plane was close.
This, he said, was why he returned on an Ivorian aircraft, as
shown in the photographs taken on his arrival.
