For the first time since leaving office, former President Goodluck Jonathan has opened up about the constitutional crisis that followed the prolonged illness of his former boss, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua
In a revealing interview with the Rainbow Book Club, Jonathan disclosed that he was so determined to uphold the constitution that he was prepared to die inside the presidential villa rather than abandon his post.
According to Jonathan, Yar’Adua had signed a letter to formally transfer power to him as required by the constitution, but a close aide—whose identity was not disclosed—refused to deliver the document to the National Assembly.
“That letter was written. But the person who the letter was handed over to, I will not mention the name, refused to submit it to the national assembly,” he said.
This action plunged Nigeria into a serious political crisis in late 2009, creating a leadership vacuum and sparking widespread concern.
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Jonathan, who was the Vice President, recalled that the country faced one of its tensest periods, fueled by “religious and regional divisions.” He added, “The country was tense. Under this north south divide, Christian Muslim divide, it was really tense. Every day I was hearing about coup.”
Jonathan explained that there was an unwritten agreement for the North to hold power for eight years after a Southern president, which made it difficult to allow him, a Southerner, to take over.
“But the health issue came up, and that was the problem. And that is why even to allow me to act was an issue,” he stated.
He clarified that while he could perform some duties, the lack of a formal power transfer meant he could not serve as Commander-in-Chief.
“The president of Nigeria has two main responsibilities… But there was no commander in chief, and there’s nothing like acting commander in chief. You are either a commander in chief or not,” he asserted.
This vacuum in authority led the National Assembly to invoke the “Doctrine of Necessity” to formally empower him as Acting President.
Recounting the pressure he faced, Jonathan said friends urged him to leave the villa for his safety. He recalled his response: “I said, ‘No.’ I will stay in the state house. If anybody wants to kill me, it’s better you kill me in the state house so Nigerians will know that they assassinated me in the state house.”
He added with a touch of dark humor: “If I go and stay in your guest house and people kill me there, they will now say Indian girls brought apples to kill me. And I wouldn’t want that kind of story.”
This period remains a defining moment in Nigeria’s democratic history.
Jonathan was formally made Acting President in February 2010 and became the substantive president after Yar’Adua’s death in May of the same year.
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