By Ayo Kehinde
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has dismissed the purported coup in Guinea-Bissau as an orchestrated political drama initiated by President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, insisting that the incident does not fit the character of a genuine military takeover.
Speaking to journalists on his arrival in Nigeria after observing the electoral process in Guinea-Bissau, Jonathan said he was “surprised and embarrassed” that it was Embaló who first announced the coup before the military later appeared to assume responsibility. According to him, the sequence of events was inconsistent with any known pattern of a real coup d’état.
Jonathan, who led an ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to the country, explained that Embaló had been freely making phone calls and addressing the international media, claiming he had been arrested. He said such behaviour contradicted how an ousted leader would typically be treated in a legitimate military overthrow.
“There was no coup in Guinea-Bissau. What happened, I wouldn’t call it a coup. Maybe some people will describe it as a ceremonial coup. It was President Embaló who announced the coup before a military man later came up to say they had taken charge, which is strange”, Jonathan said.
He stressed that during coups, deposed leaders are neither granted access to their phones nor allowed to speak freely to journalists.
“Military doesn’t overthrow a government and allow a sitting president they have removed to use his phone and address press conferences claiming he has been arrested. Who is fooling who?” he queried.
Jonathan expressed deep concern over what he described as a dangerous slide back to Guinea-Bissau’s past instability, noting that the country had enjoyed a peaceful electoral process up until the dramatic twist. He said all observer groups had unanimously attested to the credibility and peaceful conduct of the election, with vote counting and collation completed across all nine regions.
He revealed that the results were ready to be announced when Embaló suddenly declared that a coup had taken place and that he had been detained—claims Jonathan said were unsupported by any evidence.
The former Nigerian leader urged ECOWAS and the African Union to insist that the election results, which had already been fully collated, be formally announced so that the true winner can be acknowledged.
Jonathan emphasised that safeguarding democracy in the region requires rejecting actions that undermine constitutional order and the will of the people.
The former President also explained why he departed Guinea-Bissau aboard an aircraft provided by Côte d’Ivoire rather than one from Nigeria, noting that the decision was based purely on logistics and diplomatic convenience.
Jonathan, who expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara for promptly arranging evacuation aircraft following the political tension, revealed that both Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire had prepared aircraft to pick up his delegation, but the Ivorian aircraft secured landing approval more swiftly due to regional relationships and proximity.
“I want to thank my President, President Tinubu, and the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara. Both presidents were to send aircraft to lift us, but Côte d’Ivoire is closer to Guinea-Bissau, and there’s a relationship between Francophone and Lusophone countries, which enabled Côte d’Ivoire to get a landing permit before Nigeria could”, Jonathan explained.
According to him, once it became clear that the Ivorian aircraft had already arrived and obtained clearance, his team advised the Nigerian government not to proceed with deploying its aircraft to avoid duplication and delays.
“So we asked the Nigerian government not to bother since the Ivorian aircraft had already arrived”, he added.
