Obama keenly wanted me out of office – Nigeria's ex-President

Nigeria’s immediate past president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has accused former United States president Barack Obama of playing an open and active role in the events leading to his election loss in 2015.

Jonathan who governed Nigeria between 2010 and 2015 was running for a second term bid but lost to incumbent Muhammadu Buhari who run on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Jonathan said the Obama administration succeeded in using unsubstantiated allegations of corruption to draw a wedge between him and the then British Prime Minister – David Cameron, and outgoing French President Francois Hollande.

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 project to the world.

His views are contained in a yet-to-be-released copy of a book on how he lost the 2015 presidential election.

“President Barack Obama and his officials made it clear to me by their actions that they wanted a change of government in Nigeria and were ready to do anything to achieve that purpose. They even brought some naval ships into the Gulf of Guinea in the days preceding the election,” he said on page 184.

“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 project to the world. That was the same thing I kept hearing from the Americans without specific allegations,” he added.

The book titled ‘Against the Run of Play’ – How an incumbent President was defeated in Nigeria was written by Olusegun Adeniyi, he is also the author of ‘Power, Politics and Death: A front-row account of Nigeria under the late President Yar’ Adua.’

Under the Goodluck Jonathan era, the US refused to sell fighter jets to Nigeria at the height of the Boko Haram war. The US cited rights abuses by the army for its decision. President Trump, however, has recently agreed to sell fighter jets to Africa’s most populous nation after assuring Buhari of his commitment to the fight against Boko Haram.

Jonathan was a Vice President to the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, he assumed the reigns after the death of his boss, completed Yar’Adua’s tenure and won his first term in 2010. His loss was the first for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which had ruled Nigeria since the return to multi-party rule.