Goodluck Jonathan’s latest revelation unearths a hidden chapter in Nigeria’s political history; one marked by power struggles, silence at the top, and a nation teetering on the brink of uncertainty.
It also offers a rare glimpse into how fragile the country’s democratic institutions were, and how a single withheld letter nearly unraveled the constitutional order.
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has opened up on a long-held secret from his days as Vice President under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. According to Jonathan, Yar’Adua had prepared a letter empowering him to assume leadership while he traveled abroad for medical treatment but the letter was deliberately withheld by one of Yar’Adua’s trusted aides, plunging the nation into a dangerous constitutional crisis.
Jonathan made the revelation during a candid interview with the Rainbow Book Club, shedding light on the intense political uncertainty that clouded Nigeria in late 2009, when President Yar’Adua’s health deteriorated and communication from the presidency all but ceased.
“When President Yar’Adua was traveling for medical treatment, he followed due process and drafted a letter to notify the National Assembly,” Jonathan explained. “That letter was supposed to make me Acting President. But sadly, the aide entrusted with delivering it refused to do so. I won’t mention names now, but the decision threw the country into chaos.”
As the vacuum in presidential authority deepened, Jonathan though technically still Vice President found himself limited in power, despite managing routine government business.
“I could handle executive tasks like chairing cabinet meetings and approving memos. But I wasn’t the Commander-in-Chief. That role, without constitutional transfer, I couldn’t legally occupy,” he said.
Jonathan went on to highlight how the situation was made more volatile by Nigeria’s sensitive power-sharing dynamics between North and South, and between Muslims and Christians.
“The country had just transitioned from a southern Christian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, to a northern Muslim, Yar’Adua. So, there was strong sentiment in the North that power should stay there for the full eight years,” Jonathan noted. “That’s why even giving me acting powers was controversial.”
He recalled how tensions ran high, with rumors of military coups circulating and security concerns escalating. Friends and allies feared for his safety.
“People begged me to leave the Villa and stay elsewhere. I said no. If anything happens, I’d rather it happens here, so Nigerians will know I was killed in the State House. That way, no false story could be told,” he said, making a subtle jab at past conspiracy theories.
Eventually, the constitutional impasse was resolved when the National Assembly invoked the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ a bold legislative move that officially recognized Jonathan as Acting President in early 2010.
“Without that intervention, things could have spiraled out of control. The doctrine saved the country,” Jonathan reflected.
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