By Wisdom C. Nwoga
If the military takeover in Africa makes the citizens happy, then Africa is in a deep mess and her leadership has failed woefully.
Africa has suffered series of coup in recent times. This is the festering sore of injustice, bad governance, and corruption that have bedevilled the African nations. It’s almost too late to turn back the hands of time.
…and again, what is the definition of democracy? A government of the people?
The kind of democracy that is practiced in Africa has made military coup very attractive. We all saw how super excited the people of Niger republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Gabon were when the military took over.
Did you know that the Ugandan president Yoweri Moseveni has been in power since 1986? An autocratic rule in the disguise of democracy. Do you think Ugandans will not be happy to be freed from this enslavement via a coup?
Nigeria is no exception either. With the blurriness in her democratic process, I need not tell you how happy a large proportion of them will be if this coup scenero plays itself on the country.
Interestingly, Cameroon’s President Paul Biya on 30th August 2023 reshuffled his military commanders. Biya has been in power since 1982. The key changes in the country’s ministry of defense, comes hours after the coup in Gabon.
Similarly, Rwanda has on the 31st of August 2023 announced major changes in its security forces affecting high-ranking military personnel. Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) in a statement said President Paul Kagame had “approved the retirement of a dozen generals, 83 senior officers and six junior officers.’’ Kagame also authorized the retirement of 86 senior non-commissioned officers and at least 678 soldiers were retired after their contracts ended while 160 others were discharged on medical grounds. The move is followed by promotions of several young soldiers in the country’s security apparatus and appointments of new generals to head army divisions stationed in different parts of the country. What do you make of this? You see, these old Africa leaders are shivering already.
Africa leaders must retrace their steps and deliver the dividends of true democracy. If the military coup makes the PEOPLE HAPPY, then we have many unanswered questions.