The recent happenings in Africa have been the talk of many mouths in the entire global space. Coup in Niger Republic, attempted coup in Sierre Leone and ECOWAS efforts to restore what was stolen. Nigeria is heading this mission and the Niger juntas are in no way giving in. Will it get bloody? Only time shall tell.
The continent has become a soft spot where military stand at will to uproot democratically elected governments from power. And to some extent, you can not blame them.
According to reports, the July 26, 2023 coup in Niger Republic stands as the 7th successful military takeover Africa has witnessed in the last three years. This is not to talk of the failed attempts.
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Being the second largest continent in the world, the mostly black countries ought to have outgrown its present level of development. Some school of thoughts have attributed the decayed state of the continent to colonial dominance. However in all fairness, this assertion should no longer hold water.
The blame game is just like a man who destroys his home and still blames his ex master as the cause. How? Yes, you were enslaved and freed years ago. Those years should have been enough to recuperate and stand strong if really you want to be a man. The ex master is not the problem. The man is.
No African country got freed from European rule 10 or 20 years ago. The last was Zimbabwe and that was in 1980. Maybe it’s time Africans focused more on the internal warms that are eating up the nutrients meant for the continent’s enrichment.
Africa is a blessed land but lacks committed and dedicated leaders to properly steer the affairs in order to bring out the unique nature of what it stands for.
Corruption bites hard and insecurity pervades the land. The democracy practiced is what a scholar described as ‘democrazy’. In totality, it is the opposite of what the founding fathers prescribed it to be. There is absolute aberration for rule of law, misuse of power, election malpractice and so on.
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More so, the democratic dispensation in Africa has been a failed one, the result of which always attract the interest of the mtoilitary. Togo was the first African country encounter coup in 1963 when Sylvanus Olympio was removed from office as President. The reasons given by the military leaders, Emmanuel Bodjolle, Etienne Eyadema, and Kleber Dadjo for their action was bothering on economic problems and a failing economy.
In the case of Nigeria, the first military intervention led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzogwu which ousted the first Republic took place in January 1966 in order to end corruption and ethnic rivalry. The Second Republic was also marred by corruption, economic decline and mismanagement of public funds. This brought the then Military Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to come clean up the mess. Within 20 months as head of state, Buhari had jailed about 500 politicians, officials and businessmen for corruption. He also reduced inflation and improved the economy.
However, since the return of democracy in 1999, the Nigerian economy has never known peace. Instead of progressing, it retrogresses. The big men shared oil wells for themselves and turned subsidy funds to cake of the few. Also, no single refinery has been built since then and the non performing available three were initiated by the military government of General Yakubu Gowon (retd).
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In the same vein, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso got tired of Democratic system and are currently being ruled by soldiers. The civilians demonstrated show of support and collaborated with the men in uniform. These countries are in tight alliance and have shown solidarity to Niger Republic.
However, critics frown at military rule because of their uptight syndrome.
Meanwhile, elected officials have become masters of the said attitude. In Nigeria, former president, Muhammadu Buhari, defaulted court verdicts several times and kept people in prison unjustly.
Also in Cote di voire, the then President, Laurent Gbagbo lost election and refused to step down. Rather he organized his army and started killing the people. What else could be more inhumane than that?
The unavoidable fact remains that the underdevelopment of Africa centers around our elected officials. They are even worst than military dictators. Seasoned poet, Philip Umeh called them ‘ Ambassadors of poverty’. All they do is to impoverish home and give wealth to the European states. They are the agent of retrogression.
Since democracy can not give Africa it deserved development. Maybe military rule can.
Adama Ayuba, a graduate of Mass Communication, writes from Abuja.