Guinea-Bissau coup: Jonathan warns Tinubu of looming bloodshed if ….

 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday met with President Bola Tinubu to provide an update on the unfolding political crisis in Guinea-Bissau after the country’s disputed presidential election led to a military takeover.

Jonathan, who headed the ECOWAS Observation Mission during the polls, explained that it was routine to brief Nigeria’s president on regional matters ahead of an expected summit of ECOWAS leaders.

“In ECOWAS, when you return from such assignments, you brief your president so leaders get first-hand information,” Jonathan told State House correspondents following the closed-door discussion.

He noted that the vote-counting process had been completed in Guinea-Bissau and emphasised that the election winner must be officially declared.

Jonathan underscored the importance of engaging the military authorities through dialogue to avert further instability and avoid any resort to force.

He warned that “the use of force to dislodge the coup leaders will see to the death of many people,” insisting such an option should not be considered.“We’re not pushing out the military by force. People will die. ECOWAS should engage them. They know the right thing to do,” he said.

The former president also demanded the release of detained opposition candidate Fernando Diaz, arguing that he had committed no offence and had not claimed victory.“There was no reason to arrest him. He didn’t announce himself president. They should free him and announce the result,” Jonathan said.

He added that the winner, once declared, should be sworn in if the military authorities agree, stressing the need for African nations to move beyond recurring political turmoil.“We are tired of negative stories. What happened was not a palace coup. It wasn’t even close. I described it as a ceremonial coup,” he added.

Jonathan returned to Nigeria on Thursday after being briefly stranded by the upheaval in Guinea-Bissau, a country of about 2.2 million people that has faced repeated coups and attempted coups since gaining independence from Portugal over five decades ago.