Jonathan also took a swipe at former US Secretary of State, John Kerry for his nonchalant attitude towards his government
By Kehinde Okeowo
Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, has accused former United States President, Barack Obama of complicity in his defeat in 2015, saying a video message in which he allegedly urged Nigerians to vote him out was biased and condescending.
Jonathan levelled the allegation against the former U.S. president in his new book, ‘My Transition Hours’, set to launch on Tuesday.
According to him, Obama displayed an unusual level of bias during the 2015 presidential election.
He said, “On March 23, 2015, President Obama himself took the unusual step of releasing a video message directly to Nigerians all but telling them how to vote.”
Giving the details in the book, Jonathan said, “In that video, Obama urged Nigerians to open the ‘next chapter’ by their votes.
“Those who understood subliminal language deciphered that he was prodding the electorate to vote for the opposition to form a new government.”
According to Premium Times, which obtained a copy of the book hours before its unveiling in Abuja on Tuesday, the Bayelsa State-born politician had kept the book secret in order to avoid excerpts being published ahead of its formal launch.
Jonathan lost the 2015 election to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, marking the first time an incumbent president had lost reelection.
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He assumed office in 2010 following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, getting his own mandate of four years at the 2011 presidential election.
However, days leading to the 2015 presidential election, Jonathan and his cabinet officials postponed the poll by six weeks, a decision that drew outrage from within and outside the country, as his opponents accused him of plots to perpetuate himself in office.
While justifying the decision, he argued that he was not the only one responsible for the shift, saying other former leaders were also part of the decision, which was informed by the security exigencies at the time.
Speaking further on the role the former U.S. President played in his loss to Buhari, Jonathan added, “The message was so condescending, it was as if Nigerians did not know what to do and needed an Obama to direct them.”
He went on to lampoon Obama, the American president from 2009 until 2017, for insisting that all Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear, while allegedly being reluctant to allow Nigerian security forces to drive Boko Haram insurgents out of occupied territories to free citizens ahead of the elections.
Jonathan also took a swipe at former US Secretary of State John Kerry, saying the diplomat was nonchalant in his attitude towards his government, despite all efforts to make him understand that the decision to postpone the election was in the overall interest of Nigeria.
“How can the U.S. Secretary of State know what is more important for Nigeria than Nigeria’s government? How could they have expected us to conduct elections when Boko Haram controlled part of the North East and were killing and maiming Nigerians?
“Not even the assurance of the sanctity of May 29, 2015 handover date could calm them down. In Nigeria, the Constitution is very clear: No President can extend his tenure by one day,” Jonathan said.
