…President Jonathan himself admitted as much to me in the course of our lengthy chat, saying, “Go and check the results from Kano.
“The presidential election and that of National Assembly happened on the same day and same time. The National Assembly result reflected that about 800,000 people voted but that of the presidential reflected a vote of about 1.8 million.
“I had reports of what happened but I decided that for such to be accepted, it meant that those who called themselves my supporters must have colluded.
“I was betrayed by the very people I relied on to win the election.”
However, Prof Mohammed Kuna, Special Assistant to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, begged to differ.
“There is nothing particularly special about the Kano result; it is a general trend as many voters were more interested in the presidential election than in other elections.
“That was what happened across the country and you can go and do the tabulation,” argued Kuna, who maintained that the use of card readers had made the election more difficult to rig.
“With the card reader, it is no longer possible to return results that are higher than the accredited voters. If you analyse the results nationally, you will discover the same trend.”
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The foregoing is from my coming book, “Against The Run of Play: How an incumbent president was defeated in Nigeria” which will be released after a public presentation in Lagos on 28th April.
A few posers: Why did Ahmed Adamu Muazu refuse to read the statement prepared for him after Jonathan had conceded?
Whose script was Godsday Orubebe playing at INEC results collation centre and why/how did the plan collapse?
Why does Asiwaju Bola Tinubu still believe that a Muslim-Muslim ticket, with him running with now-President Muhammadu Buhari, could still have won the 2015 presidential election?
Yet there are several other questions:
What were the intrigues surrounding the emergence of Prof Yemi Osinbajo as the APC presidential running mate and what role did Rotimi Akeredolu play in that?
What did Nasir El-Rufai say about Tinubu and the South-west in his ten-page memo dated 30th June 2012 which he sent to Buhari?
Who addressed Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as “you this Hausa boy”?
What was the real problem between Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Dame Patience Jonathan?
How did Diezani Alison-Madueke contribute to the defeat of Jonathan and what role did Presidents Barack Obama and Francoise Hollande as well as Prime Minister David Cameron play in that?
More questions:
Was the concession by Jonathan a jump or a push?
If the former, was it out of altruism? If the latter, was Jonathan coerced by some Western powers as insinuated in some quarters?
Did he simply concede out of a personal conviction that it was the right thing to do, having been defeated at the polls?
Even more importantly, against the backdrop of the pervasive notion that it was virtually impossible to defeat an incumbent president with all the resources at his disposal, how did Jonathan lose the election?
You will get answers to those questions and many more as I take readers through the issues that led to the defeat and concession of a sitting president in Nigeria.
You will also read the insights of many political leaders with whom I had interviews, including Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Gabriel Suswam, Aminu Bello Masari, Kashim Shettima, Tambuwal and El-Rufai.
And then, there were Okwesilieze Nwodo, Abdulrahman Dambazau, Matthew Hassan Kukah, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Osita Chidoka, Mohammed Bello Adoke, Emeka Ihedioha and Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed.
Of course, there are also revealing insights from President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Senate President David Mark as well as Buba Galadima, Amaechi, Muazu, Tinubu, Kuna and several others.
Just watch out!
To chair the Lagos ceremony is former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar while the unveiling will be done by the former Cross Rover State Governor, Mr Donald Duke.
Interested bookshops and sales outlets should direct all their inquiries by email to info@kachifo.com or call 08077364217.
The Verdict By Olusegun Adeniyi, Email: olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com
