By Abiola Olawale
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has leveled accusations against former United States President Barack Obama.
This is as Jonathan alleged that Obama plotted his defeat in the 2015 presidential election.
The New Diplomat reports that the claims are detailed in Jonathan’s new book, ‘My Transition Hours,’ the contents of which have been revealed ahead of its formal launch.
According to excerpts from the book, Jonathan contended that Obama displayed an “unusual level of bias” and was “overbearing and ‘condescending'” in his public messaging to Nigerians leading up to the polls.
The core of the allegation centers on a video message released by Obama on March 23, 2015, which Jonathan interpreted as a subtle, “yet unmistakable, directive to voters.”
According to Jonathan: “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’ with 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,” Jonathan said of the video message.
He lampooned Obama, who was the American president from 2009 until 2017, for saying all Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear, but was reluctant to allow the Nigerian security forces to drive Boko Haram insurgents away from the Nigerian territories they had been occupying to free Nigerian citizens there ahead of elections.
“How can the U.S. 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 was killing and maiming Nigerians?
“Not even the assurance of the sanctity of the 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,” Jonathan added.
