"I Was Advised to Flee Aso Rock Amid Coup Fears During Yar’Adua's Illness - Jonathan
By: Israel Adeleke
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that the former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, has disclosed that during his time as Vice President, he was advised to vacate the Presidential Villa over fears of a potential military coup, as tensions mounted during the illness of then-President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
OTN News further reports that he disclosed this while speaking in an interview with the Rainbow Book Club while discussing his memoir "My Transition Hours", Jonathan recounted the turbulent period when he served under President Yar’Adua, who suffered from prolonged health challenges that eventually led to his death in 2010.
Jonathan revealed that, he faced intense pressure and threats while occupying the Vice President’s office, noting that there were efforts by some political actors, especially from the North, to push him out of the seat of power and deny the South the constitutional right to succeed Yar’Adua.
“There were conspiracies to boot me out of the Villa,” Jonathan said. “Every day I was hearing about a coup.”
He described the political atmosphere at the time as highly charged, marked by deep ethnic and religious divisions, particularly between the North and South, and between Christians and Muslims.
According to Jonathan, the situation escalated to a point where friends and close associates urged him to leave the State House for his safety. However, he declined the suggestion, choosing instead to remain in the Villa despite the risks.
“I remember one day, I was still Vice President. They had not even moved the Doctrine of Necessity and some of my friends came and said, ‘No, you don’t have to sleep here. You have to come and sleep in my guest house,’” he recounted.
“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. They know I have not committed any offence.”
The "Doctrine of Necessity" Jonathan referred to was a National Assembly resolution in February 2010 that formally empowered him as Acting President due to Yar’Adua's extended absence and inability to hand over power.
Jonathan eventually became Acting President and was later sworn in as President following Yar’Adua’s death in May 2010. His experience during the crisis, as captured in his memoir, continues to offer rare insight into the power struggles and behind-the-scenes maneuvering that characterized one of Nigeria’s most delicate political transitions.
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