On Thursday, November 27th, I arrived in Abuja early in the morning after attending a productive meeting at the European Parliament. To my distress, I learned that our former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, was caught up in the reported coup situation in Guinea-Bissau.
I immediately reached out to him, and he assured me that he was safe. I was further relieved to hear that he had returned safely to Nigeria.
I listened carefully to his press briefing about the incident. Dr. @GEJonathan, who was in Guinea-Bissau as an election monitor, noted that the so-called coup appeared suspicious—especially because it was the president himself who announced the coup and shared details with the international community.
What makes the situation even more striking is that the election was reportedly peaceful, with the only remaining step being the formal announcement of the results.
It is safe to say that while Nigeria’s own election was marred by a “technical glitch,” the election in Guinea-Bissau seems to have suffered from a “coup glitch.” Yet, to this day, no one has clearly explained the nature of Nigeria’s glitch.
ECOWAS was quick to sanction Guinea-Bissau, but what does ECOWAS do when democracy is subverted not by soldiers, but by technology? What is the punishment for countries that announce ‘glitches’ at critical moments during an election?
Do we only condemn coups that are visible with guns and ignore those carried out through a designed technical failures?
By addressing these issues constructively, we can work towards a New Nigeria and a more stable and democratic West Africa. Together, we can ensure that the will of the people prevails and that our elections reflect the true desires of our citizens.
The Guinea-Bissau scenarios represent two faces of the same crisis: one where ballots are discarded by force and another where ballots are obstructed by convenient technical issues. In both cases, the people suffer, democracy is undermined, and the region sinks deeper into instability. The outcome remains the same: the citizens are denied their mandate.
True democracy can only thrive when transparency and accountability prevail, and when the voice of the people is respected, not interrupted by glitches or coups.
Peter Obi
Former Governor, Anambra State.
