Former President Goodluck Jonathan has insisted that the recent military coup in Guinea-Bissau “was not a coup” and described it as “maybe a ceremonial coup.”
Gunfire had erupted around key government institutions in Bissau on Wednesday as soldiers claimed to have “total control” of the country.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló also said he was arrested in his office at the presidential palace, sparking panic and prompting the military to impose a curfew, suspend the electoral process, close borders, and detain senior officials, including top military and interior ministry figures.
The Federal Government condemned the development as “a serious threat to democracy and regional stability,” and confirmed that Jonathan, who was in the country as head of the West African Elders Forum Election Observation Mission, was safely evacuated by a special flight alongside members of his delegation.
In an interview with Symfoni posted on YouTube on Friday, Jonathan said he was compelled to speak to the media to thank Nigerians for their concern during the crisis and to clarify the situation.
“You know, since I left office, I’ve always been scared of talking to the media. But in this particular case, I decided to speak… first and foremost, to thank Nigerians for the show of empathy, the encouragement,” he said.
He explained that during the so-called coup, Guinea-Bissau’s President, Embaló himself announced that he had been arrested before the military made any public declaration.
“I wouldn’t call it a coup. It was not a coup. I would just say, for want of a better word, maybe it was a ceremonial coup. Because for two things: It is the president, President Embaló, who announced the coup. Later, the military men came up to address the world that they were in charge of everywhere.
“Then Embaló had already announced the coup, which is strange. Not only announcing the coup, but Embaló, while the coup took place, was using his phone and addressing media organisations across the world that he had been arrested,” Jonathan said.
The former president expressed disbelief at the manner in which the incident unfolded, comparing it to other military takeovers in West Africa.
“I’m a Nigerian close to 70, and I know how they keep heads of state when a coup takes place. Recently, I was a mediator in Mali. And within that period, we had a military coup.
“The military doesn’t take over governments, and the sitting president that they overthrew would be allowed to be addressing press conferences and announcing that he has been arrested. Why does this happen? Who is fooling whom?” he asked.
Jonathan also called on ECOWAS and the African Union to ensure the timely announcement of election results, stressing that the military should not interfere with the democratic process.
“Basically, what happened in Guinea-Bissau is quite disturbing to me, who believes in democracy. They have the results because AU and ECOWAS officials were in all the regions when the results were collated. They cannot change those results.
“They should tally all those results and announce them. They cannot force the military out. They must announce and let the world know who won that election. Let the world know who won that election,” he said.
He further recalled his experience overseeing elections in Côte d’Ivoire, emphasising that election outcomes must be respected.
“A similar thing happened in Côte d’Ivoire when I was the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS. “When we had elections in Côte d’Ivoire in 2010, Laurent Gbagbo was the sitting president. In the first round, Gbagbo got forty-something per cent of the votes, and Alassane Ouattara got thirty-something per cent of the votes.
“And their law, you must get 50 per cent of the votes plus one, at least. Democracy is about the majority. You must get a simple majority to be the president, so they had to go for a second round.
“When they went for the second round, all those other candidates that lost now supported Ouattara, and Ouattara then got more votes than Gbagbo. And Gbagbo said he was not going, that he won the election, and that Ouattara and somebody who had something could not come and defeat him. But that is their law.
“Then all the observers in the international community said Ouattara won the election. And we in ECOWAS said, well, you are our colleague, but you have to go. If the observers, everybody, say Ouattara won the election, Ouattara must be sworn in as the president of Côte d’Ivoire. I stood my ground as the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, and Ouattara was sworn in,” he said.
