Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said the political turmoil in Guinea-Bissau left him more shaken than the moment he conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.
Jonathan, who returned to Nigeria on Thursday after being evacuated from Bissau, spoke in a video interview. He said the incident was distressing because he had been deeply involved in supporting Guinea-Bissau’s democratic process for more than a decade, both as president and as a regional statesman.
He explained that he had travelled to the country as part of the West African Elders Forum to observe its presidential and parliamentary elections. According to him, observer missions from ECOWAS, the African Union and other international bodies were still on the ground when the military abruptly announced it had taken control.
The sudden takeover, he said, left him and his delegation stranded and triggered safety concerns until arrangements were made to fly them out.
Jonathan described the situation as “bizarre”, insisting that the events did not resemble a traditional military coup. He questioned President Umaro Embaló’s claim that he had been arrested, noting that the leader continued to grant interviews to international media using his personal phone at the height of the crisis.
He argued that reports from observer missions had indicated largely peaceful polls, stressing that the country was already in the process of collating results when Embaló declared a coup had occurred.
Jonathan maintained that the circumstances under which Embaló announced his own arrest were “unusual” and “unconvincing”, saying such an announcement normally comes from soldiers, not the sitting president.
The former Nigerian leader also urged regional bodies not to authorise the use of force to unseat the military, warning that armed intervention could worsen the crisis. He called on ECOWAS and the AU to publish the complete election results and insisted that opposition figure Fernando Dias, reportedly being held by the military, should be freed immediately.
Recounting his evacuation, Jonathan said he was flown out of Guinea-Bissau by an aircraft deployed by the Ivorian government. He noted that both Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire had arranged flights, but the latter secured landing clearance ahead of Abuja due to its geographical proximity and existing diplomatic ties with lusophone countries. By the time Nigeria received its own clearance, the Ivorian jet was already en route.
Jonathan said his team advised Nigerian officials not to dispatch their aircraft since the Ivorian plane was closer and could extract them more quickly.
He added that his safe return underscored the strong cooperation within the region but expressed sadness that Guinea-Bissau, a country he had helped steer towards stability during his presidency, had returned to political chaos.
He urged African leaders to prioritise democratic reforms and avoid actions that could undermine public trust in electoral processes.
