How Obama Campaigned Against My Re-election -Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said a former President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, influenced the 2015 presidential election which he lost to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

Jonathan in his new book, ‘My Transition Hour,’ which he publicly presented in Abuja on Tuesday, recalled that he was confident of winning the election based on his achievements.

He recalled how Obama, in a video message directly released to Nigerians, urged them to vote the opposition in the 2015 poll.

According to Jonathan, Obama released the video on March 23, 2015 which was less than a week to the 2015 presidential election.

He recalled that the video came after Obama sent his Secretary of State, John Kerry, to Nigeria “to protest the rescheduling of the election.”

“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.

“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.

“The message was so condescending, it was as if Nigerians did not know what to do and needed an Obama to direct them,” the book read in part.

He criticised Obama, who was American president from 2009 to 2017, for allegedly saying “all Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear.”

Jonathan also did not spare Kerry, whom he said arrived in Nigeria, on Obama’s instructions, to protest the postponement of the 2015 election on January 25, 2015.

The former President said the top US 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.

He stated, “How can the US Secretary of State know what is more important for Nigeria than Nigeria’s own 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.”