Shehu Sani, a former senator, has emphasised the reasons why military juntas have repeatedly ousted democratic governments from power in Africa, particularly in the West African subregion.
According to the former congressman, the junta continue to rule the area because they have the chance to do so.
He offered an instance in which member states’ democratic governance deteriorates and regional and sub-regional entities on the continent opt to raise concerns only when coups occur because they can invariably result in the military taking control of government.
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According to Anaedoonline.ng, Sani claimed that if the democracy had been preserved, the recent coup in the Niger Republic may have been avoided. He made these remarks in the context of that country’s recent coup.
He gave other reasons “We have seen in the past few years how democracies in the West African sub-region have collapsed. It has happened in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, and now the Niger Republic.
“Coup d’etats are internal issues, and they do not happen within a day. Conditions are created for the military to take over power. And in West Africa today, there are about five conditions that I have noted to be responsible for.
“First is the destruction of democratic values. Elections are rigged. Many people who call themselves democrats have no respect for the rule of law. And the constitutions are consistently violated.
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“When that is done, the spirit of democracy is killed, and the seed for the destruction of democracy is planted.
“Second is economic inequity and inequality. There is so much poverty in the land. And when you have poverty, you have social dislocation and social crisis. By that, an atmosphere of illegal overthrow of government is created and giving justification for people to say democracy is not working because people are suffering, so the military needs to take over.
“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.
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“Fifth reason: There are issues regarding the election of Niger’s ousted president Mohammed Bazoum which ECOWAS and the African Union 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.”
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