Jonathan Labels Guinea-Bissau Takeover a ‘Ceremonial Coup`

Former President Goodluck Jonathan dismissed Guinea-Bissau’s military takeover as “not a coup” but a “ceremonial coup” during a YouTube interview on Friday. Soldiers seized control in Bissau on Wednesday amid gunfire near key buildings, imposed a curfew, suspended elections, shut borders, and detained top officials including President Umaro Sissoco Embaló. Jonathan, leading the West African Elders Forum election observation mission, escaped safely via a special flight arranged by Nigeria’s Federal Government.

Jonathan thanked Nigerians for their support during his ordeal. He found the events bizarre, noting Embaló announced his own arrest before soldiers spoke publicly. The former leader compared it to a real Mali coup he mediated, where leaders stayed silent under arrest.

He urged ECOWAS and the African Union to release full election results at once. Observers from both groups watched collation across regions, he said, so no one could alter outcomes. “They must announce and let the world know who won that election,” Jonathan insisted.

Nigeria’s government decried the upheaval as a grave threat to democracy and West African peace. Jonathan drew lessons from his 2010 role as ECOWAS chair during Côte d’Ivoire’s polls. There, observers backed Alassane Ouattara over Laurent Gbagbo, enforcing a democratic handover despite resistance.

This strange drama spares no one’s dignity, from trapped leaders to observers caught in the fray. In fragile democracies, such theatrics mock the people’s quiet hopes for fair voices and steady tomorrows.