Former President Goodluck Jonathan has accused former U.S. President Barack Obama of influencing his loss in the 2015 presidential election.
In his new book, My Transition Hours, set for public launch on Tuesday, Jonathan claimed Obama displayed an “unusual level of bias” and “condescension” toward him during the election period.
According to Jonathan, Obama’s video message to Nigerians on March 23, 2015, subtly urged voters to reject his government.
“In that video, Obama asked Nigerians to open the ‘next chapter’ with their votes.
“Those who understood subliminal messaging could tell he was pushing for regime change,” Jonathan wrote.
He criticised the U.S. leader for “talking down” to Nigerians and interfering in the country’s democratic process.
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Jonathan also accused Obama of hypocrisy, saying that while he publicly urged free and fair elections, his administration resisted Nigeria’s efforts to deploy security forces to reclaim territories from Boko Haram before the polls.
The former president further faulted then–U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for what he described as a dismissive attitude toward his administration’s decision to postpone the election for security reasons.
“How could the U.S. Secretary of State claim to know what was best for Nigeria more than the Nigerian government?” Jonathan queried, insisting that the delay was in the country’s best interest.
Jonathan lost the 2015 election to Muhammadu Buhari, marking Nigeria’s first-ever defeat of an incumbent president in a general election.
He had first assumed office in 2010 following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later won a full term in 2011.
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