Why Military Takeover Of Govt In West Africa Increasingly Re-emerging – Sani
Former member of the National Assembly Sen. Shehu Sani has identified five reasons for the increasing reemergence of military takeover of governments in Africa, especially in the West African sub-region.
Sani who was the Deputy Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs in the 8th National Assembly identified the third reason as the issue of insecurity.
“The rise of terror groups in the Sahel – Boko Haram, the ANSARU, ISWAP – has made civilian authorities become dependent on the military for their safety and security.
“There is so much reliance on them. And that has given them that thinking and the mental redirection that they should be in charge.
“The fourth has to do with the fact that there is no coordinated attempt to save democracy in Africa. You find that whenever there is a coup there is no coordinated strategy or penalty for coups. And they happen, and continue to happen
“So the coup in Niger could have been prevented if the democracy was saved.
“Fifth reason: There are issues regarding the election of Niger’s ousted president Mohammed Bazoum which ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) closed their eyes to.
“Look at it this way. In Cote d ‘Ivoire Alassane Ouattara tinkered with the constitution as president and gave himself a third-term mandate. The ECOWAS and AU never raised an issue with that.
“The President of the Central African Republic today has tinkered with the constitution and given himself a tenure extension. The same thing has happened in Burundi. The AU and other sub-regional groups don’t raise questions,” he added.
