Jonathan: Obama Made It Clear He Wanted Change of Govt in Nigeria

• Says U.S. naval ships sailed to Gulf of Guinea days before 2015 elections

• Accuses ex-PDP chairman, other allies of betrayal, Mu’azu denies allegation

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has finally admitted that his electoral defeat in the 2015 elections was partly caused by former U.S. President Barack Obama and his officials who made it abundantly clear to him by their actions that they wanted a change of government in Nigeria and were ready to do anything to achieve that purpose.

In an advanced copy of the book, ‘Against the Run of Play – How an incumbent president was defeated in Nigeria,’ written by the Chairman of the THISDAY Editorial Board, Olusegun Adeniyi, and obtained by THISDAY Tuesday, Jonathan also revealed to the author that the U.S. government “even brought some naval ships into the Gulf of Guinea in the days preceding the elections”.

The book goes on to reveal how the previous U.S. administration undermined Jonathan’s government’s fight against Islamist insurgents in the North-east in order to weaken his government and make it unpopular.
“Applying the law introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy in 1997 on the primacy of human rights record in military operations, the Obama administration blocked the sale of arms to Nigeria, not only from America but also their allies.

“That, quite naturally, made the war against Boko Haram very difficult. Explaining the rationale for the decision, the then American ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, said the human rights situation was key.
“In November 2014, the Nigerian government halted a U.S training of its soldiers to fight Boko Haram. Two initial phases of training had already been completed between April and August of the year, which provided previously untrained civilian personnel with basic soldering skills, while a third session had been planned with the intent of developing the battalion into a unit with advanced infantry skills.

“The decision, according to a top military officer, was taken because ‘it made no sense for them to be training our officers and men, and refuse to sell us the necessary arms to fight. Were we expected to fight with our bare arms? I believe President Jonathan was correct in putting a halt to the hypocritical nonsense’,” Adeniyi wrote in his book.

However, it was not only on the military front that the Obama administration was checkmating Jonathan, the book stated; it did so on the diplomatic front too.
According to the former president, who related some of his observations to the author, “I got on very well with Prime Minister David Cameron but at some point, I noticed that the Americans were putting pressure on him and he had to join them against me.

“But I didn’t know how far President Obama was prepared to go to remove me until France caved into the pressure from America.”

The former president disclosed that he had such a good relationship with Mr. Francois Hollande that whenever there were difficulties with Cameroon over the Boko Haram issue, it was the French president he reached out to.

“On one occasion, following an appeal by Jonathan, Hollande even organised a conference in Paris with all the French-speaking countries within the sub-region.
“But weeks to the election, he had also joined the Americans in supporting the opposition against me,” Jonathan noted.

Asked what the contention with the Americans was, Jonathan said the only issue Obama administration officials kept harping upon was the allegation of corruption in his government.

“There was this blanket accusation that my body language was supporting corruption, a line invented by the opposition but which the media and civil society bought into and helped to project to the world.
“That was the same thing I kept hearing from the Americans without specific allegations,” he said.
On the issue of corruption in his government, Jonathan said that when it comes to the issue of graft, majority of Nigerians, especially those with access to the media love hypocrisy, something he had vowed never to be part of.

He would only say, “By virtue of being president of Nigeria, I have come to know so many things about so many people. Some of the most corrupt Nigerians are the ones who speak most loudly about corruption.
“Once you have access to the media in Nigeria, you have the liberty to accuse others of corruption regardless of what you are doing.”

Jonathan also opined that what those who romanticised the issue forget is that “when you destroy your country, you are also destroying yourself”.
Jonathan believed the campaign against him on the issue of corruption was whipped up by some people in the media and civil society who just wanted drama.
“I have been told that I should have made scapegoats of officials so I would be seen to be fighting corruption but that for me is not right. When I get reports about corruption, I usually subject them to investigations,” he pointed out.

Going back to his electoral defeat, Jonathan informed Adeniyi that he had seen enough to convince him that even if he had been declared winner, the bond of trust had been broken between him and several people within his government.

“I felt really betrayed by the results coming from some northern states. Perhaps for ethnic purposes, even security agents colluded with the opposition to come up with spurious results against me.

“You saw the way the Inspector General of Police, a man appointed by me, suddenly turned himself into the ADC to Buhari immediately after the election,” he said.
The former president said he had projections before both the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections and he was sure of what would happen in each of the zones, yet could still not fathom what happened in some states in 2015.

“How could we have lost Ondo, Benue and Plateau States if our people were committed to the cause? If you examine the results, you will see a pattern: in place where ordinarily we were strong, our supporters did not show enough commitment to mobilise the voters,” he revealed.

Jonathan also expressed disappointment at some former allies, naming some names.
“What happened was very sad not for me as a person, but for our democracy,” he admitted.

“Take for instance, the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu. I believe he joined in the conspiracy against me. For reasons best known to him, he helped to sabotage the election in favour of the opposition.”


However, in the book, Mu’azu denied the allegation, saying he found it difficult to believe that the former president would level such an allegation against him.
The former PDP chairman described any such suggestion as unkind and absolutely untrue, and vehemently denied claims of the conspiracy involving him in the election and its aftermath.
“That President Jonathan would make the kind of imputation you ascribe to him is very unfortunate indeed,” Mu’azu said.

He went on to add: “It pains me that anybody would want to pin a tag of ethnic or religious bigotry on me because that is what President Jonathan means by his accusation, even if he did not directly say it. I suppose my crime with him is that I am a Muslim and a northerner.”

Hinting at his own side of the story, the former PDP chairman countered in the book that some people wanted him to be abusive to Buhari during the campaign as a show of loyalty to the PDP and its candidate “but I was not brought up to be abusing people, especially those with whom I have no personal problems”.
Recalling the state in which he met the PDP and the effort he said he put in to change the fortunes of the party, Mu’azu expressed confidence that the “majority of Nigerians will remember that I took over a party that was in shambles”.

He added: “Very quickly, I injected a new lease of life into the PDP for which I was hailed as the ‘game changer’. It is convenient to forget all that now.

“But in the build up to the election, some people decided to introduce religion and ethnicity into the campaign in such a manner that not only hurt the PDP in the north but was actually helping to mobilise our opponents against us.”

Mu’azu called on Jonathan to look inwards in order to get at the root of his failure at the polls in 2015, and went further to allege that the presidential campaign was mismanaged by those who thought that stigmatising others would win votes for an incumbent.
He vowed to tell his own story one day, but for now, the former PDP chairman was content to say: “After President Jonathan had accepted defeat, congratulated Buhari and the whole world was acclaiming him, some of our party leaders now wanted me to make a statement that would ridicule me before civilized people and cause serious problems for our country.
“Of course, I refused to do any such thing. If that was the sabotage President Jonathan is referring to, I don’t think I should apologise for that,” he stated.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/04/26/jonathan-obama-made-it-clear-he-wanted-change-of-govt-in-nigeria/#

That's so true.
What goes around comes around.
...and after he failed hopelessly in his bid to have Clinton succeed him, he claimed Russia's involvement. I ask, what's wrong with that? America have over the years sponsored preferred candidates in government all over the world. Obama's claim is a slap on America, however very good in my opinion. Its keeps the balance of power in the international polity. Games theory 101.

That's so true.
What goes around comes around.
...and after he failed hopelessly in his bid to have Clinton succeed him, he claimed Russia's involvement. I ask, what's wrong with that? America have over the years sponsored preferred candidates in government all over the world. Obama's claim is a slap on America, however very good in my opinion. Its keeps the balance of power in the international polity. Game theory 101.

Foolish man he will never sit down and mind his country affairs,
Obama total fairlure
Under ur watch isis rise
Under ur watch al shebab rise
Under ur watch is rise
Under ur watch boko haram rise
U almost succesfully gave iran nuke deal thank to benjamin netayahu isreali prime minister who blocked the deal

Don't blame your failure on the US

I will comment when I wake up.

We always knew the Americans didn't want GEJ after the anti homosexual bill. Clearly even with the genocide presently going on the Americans haven't clearly condemned it. I hope God grants our youths the heart to hear the truth and accept it.

Not everytime read something that justifies GEJ and vilify it.

one thing for sure is that sir, you are a true Hero, none gonna be like you.

Obama directly addressed Nigerians in the days to the election, that is the height of interference.

Anyway, he too was booted out of White House in a disgraceful manner.

Op u are merging two unrelated stories into one. Don't just copy and dump OK.

dh

[s]

Firefire:
Obama directly addressed Nigerians in the days to the election, that is the height of interference.

Anyway, he too was booted out of White House in a disgraceful manner.

[/s]

Smh. All u have said exists only in ur imagination. Obama didn't address anybody. And no, he successfully completed his two terms in office (8yrs).

Many Nigerians are educated but uninformed. The copy and paste nature of our school system is wreaking havoc

Celcius:
That's so true.
What goes around comes around.
...and after he failed hopelessly in his bid to have Clinton succeed him, he claimed Russia's involvement. I ask, what's wrong with that? America have over the years sponsored preferred candidates in government all over the world. Obama's claim is a slap on America, however very good in my opinion. Its keeps the balance of power in the international polity. Game theory 101.

Obviously u are commenting based on ur bias or hatred for Obama. What u don't know is that no world leader in his right mind would support the unstable, clueless and corrupt regime of Jonathan. Its not only Obama that prayed for a change in Nigeria, all world leaders couldn't wait for Jonathan to be booted it. His administration was an eyesore.

And you asked what is wrong with Russia interfering Well, the american constitution is what is wrong. World peace is what is wrong. Security of the international community is what is wrong!

dokunbam:
Don't blame your failure on the US

Please don't also forget to give this advice to Buhari and APC who have been blaming their failures on past governments.

Was it America that queued in the sun to boot you out?

Was it America that kept on chanting "PDP, Sai Buhari" on your campaign ground?

When we say you are clueless we say so with some respect. You almost lapsed into imbecility.

Shameless looter.

2kris:
Foolish man he will never sit down and mind his country affairs,
Obama total fairlure
Under ur watch isis rise
Under ur watch al shebab rise
Under ur watch is rise
Under ur watch boko haram rise
U almost succesfully gave iran nuke deal thank to benjamin netayahu isreali prime minister who blocked the deal

Blame the world but yourself for your failure.

Obama is not Jesus nor is he God.
Obama did beta than so many US president
It wasn't is era the USA was bombed
He killed Osama
Iran will eventually get it without the US like it or not Netayahu can not do a thing about it.
Under who did Taliban, Alkaeda rose.

You are a very unwise human, Obama minding his country's business is why all of these happened.

The massive corruption under Jonathan led to his electoral defeat. Nigerians got tired of his failures and corruption so he should stop the attempt at blaming Obama or anyone else for his defeat.

Nigerians voted during the election and not Obama. Infant, I expected the ineffectual buffoon to have done a serious soul searching by now and come out publicly to apologies for the wasted opportunities and the crimes he committed against the people of Nigeria.

Pointing accusing fingers at others for his failures says so much about his personality. Never again will Nigeria be led by a misguided character like Goodluck Jonathan.

And the same bigot Obama is making an unwarranted noise about Russia interfering in their own presidential elections.

This is what is called when the wickedness of the wicked turns on then

Firefire:
Obama directly addressed Nigerians in the days to the election, that is the height of interference.

Anyway, he too was booted out of White House in a disgraceful manner.

He was "booted out"?

Are you sure we are talking about the same Obama?

Meanwhile, this ineffectual buffoon should just go sit in a corner and suckle his wife's tittīes. With a little luck, he might get some upgrade upstairs.

An event two years ago and the emotional prick is still bitter about it.

That is why the God Of Jonathan frustrated Clinton who was Obama's choice

blackpanda:
[s][/s]

Smh. All u have said exists only in ur imagination. Obama didn't address anybody. And no, he successfully completed his two terms in office (8yrs).

Many Nigerians are educated but uninformed. The copy and paste nature of our school system is wreaking havoc

That was why I was confused when the guy said "booted out". Perhaps the phrase means an entirely different thing in PDP lexicon.

Smh.

Obama ke!!! How will another president in another continent dictate what goes on in another country?

Abeg ... Nigerians wanted a change!!! And they proved it by turning out in large numbers!!!

One of the reason I campaign vigorously for President Trump,



Obama was a mistake to the black race.

Copy and paste may not be as dangerous and as cheap as "copy no edit and paste" with divisive intention. And I ask; what is your own opinion and view of the matter? Ok may be another person's view will serve for you as well. I am ashamed when I don't see issues from my own view and perspective. It's better we think the same coincidentally than everybody thinking for me.

Firefire:
Obama directly addressed Nigerians in the days to the election, that is the height of interference.

Anyway, he too was booted out of White House in a disgraceful manner.

Educate yourself. Supporting a shameless hero of theived shouldn't stop you from using your head. Obama left office with one of the highest approval rating in mordern us history. in fact he successfully delivered US from near economic catastrophe while your shameless patron saint of thieves delivered ua to thieves and recession. Please use this...

What we had in 2015 was a religious/tribal war and not an election.
Jonathan please go and enjoy your rest cos in situations where bokoharam ravaged states had PVC collected by up to 95% and PDP peaceful strongholds got less than 40 % and in most cases non functional.

With time we shall know the truth about
Bokoharam and chibok girls
Kano REC that was burnt with his family
And more about the 2015 election

OjukwuWarBird:
That is why the God Of Jonathan frustrated Clinton who was Obama's choice

And I ask you at what stage did Clinton became Obama's choice? Don't just say it with the Nigerian mentality that makes it look like Obama single handedly picked Clinton as candidate and choice for Presidential race. Obama himself had one of the most gruelling primaries in American history no thanks to Hilary Clinton. Clinton was the choice of the majority of democrats in America. GEJ should just be quite. He supritended over a rich Nigeria and brought it to its owest helb ever. We are not done cleaning his mess. He is just lucky this is Nigeria otherwise he would be investigated thoroughly and brought to book if found guilty. The present government is lenient to him.

Am I the only one seeing that the body of the story is different from its headline and almost everyone commented based on the headline and not its content.
This goes to show most people don't read at all.

Obama had no right.
His name wasn't mentioned in the book though.

If this is true,then I am not sorry for anybody. When you guys can't show to the whole world that we are independent on paper and in fact then Uncle Sam will continue to see you as pawns in its game. Every single thing,we turn to the Yankees-we will never win respect that way. The greatest nations have self belief,they do things for themselves. They don't go running to Washington for every damn thing. Word.

blaming game don start!
Buhari blame GEJ Gej blame obama