The United States has described as mischaracterisation the allegation by former President Goodluck Jonathan that former President Barack Obama campaigned against him ahead of the 2019 general election.
Jonthan who was the incumbent president in Nigeria at the time was voted out of office in 2015.
But in his book, My Transition Hours, which he launched recently, Jonathan accused Obama of campaigning against him and releasing a video to that effect.
“On March 23, 2015, President Obama himself took the unusual step of releasing a video message directly to Nigerians all but telling them how to vote. In that video, Obama urged Nigerians to open the ‘next chapter’ by their votes.
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“Those who understood subliminal language deciphered that he was prodding the electorate to vote for the opposition to form a new government. The message was so condescending, it was as if Nigerians did not know what to do and needed an Obama to direct them,” the book reads in part.
The position was, however countered by a Public Affairs Officer at the US consulate in Lagos, Russell Brooks, in a live Facebook chat on Tuesday.
He accused Jonathan of mischaracterization in his allegation against Obama.
“It was mischaracterised in the book about what President Obama or his administration did in Nigeria. The mischaracterisation here refers to not comprehending why we felt it was important for Nigeria to have a peaceful, free and fair election in 2015.
“And thereby people may not understand why we placed so much importance of having a peaceful, free and fair and transparent election in 2019,” he said in response to the question of the anchor, Aghogho Oboh.
Oboh had asked Brooks to respond to the claim by Jonathan on Obama’s role in the 2015 election.
Brooks said the US was only concerned about the need to have a credible election in the country.
He said considering the history of election violence in Nigeria, the US felt it was important to have a credible and fair election in 2015.
Such, according to him, it was believed, could be achieved through a violence-free election.
