Shortly after being airlifted on a special Ivorian flight from Guinea-Bissau to Nigeria, former president Goodluck Johnathan who was part of an international observers’ mission to Bissau for the country’s general elections has said he won’t believe there was “a coup.”
Jonathan was speaking to Nigerian media Friday. He observed the elections in Bissau which curiously ended in military takeover one day before the final results are announced.
The former Nigeria head of state specifically put it thus about what happened in Guinea Bissau, “I wouldn’t call it a coup. Maybe I’ll called it a ceremonial coup.”
He went on that “because president Embaló himself announced the coup. Before later the military man came up to address the world that they’re in charge of everywhere in country. Then Embaló had already announced the coup which is strange.” He posited.
He added not only did Embaló announced the coup whilst it took place but “using his phone addressing media organizations across the world that he has been arrested. I’m a Nigerian closed to 70 years and I know how to keep a head of state when a coup takes place,” he mentioned.
Jonathan further stated that recently he was an Ecowas mediator in Mali and within that period we had a military coup there. Mr. Jonathan made it categorically clear that the military don’t takeover governments and the sitting “President that that they overthrow would be allowed to be addressing press conferences and announcing that he has been arrested.
He went on, “Where do these things happened. Who’s fooling who. Basically, what happened in Guinea-Bissau is quite disturbing to me who believe in democracy. In fact, I feel pain than when I called late President Buhari to congratulate him when I lost the elections as a sitting President.”
He said what’s happening is like we’re going back to those dark days of Guinea Bissau when the military can do whatever they think they can do. It’s totally not acceptable. “The elections were done peacefully.
Observers’ missions met and gave the accounts of the results. Nobody gave something different. The elections were peaceful and counting of results at the polling stations were peacefully done.”
He said as he expected the results to be announced, “the nine regions the results were ready and while they’re almost through waiting for the results to be announced, then Embaló [all of sudden] announced that there’s a coup. That they’ve taken over, they’ve arrested him. But from all indications no body arrested him.”
He said his conviction to AU and Ecowas is that “they must announce the results. They cannot change those results. They should tally all those results and announce [them]. They cannot force the military out but they must let the world know who won the elections,” he said.
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