Everywhere that the struggle for national freedom has triumphed, once the authorities agreed, there were military coups d’état that overthrew their leaders. That is the result time and time again.
Browsing: Coups in Africa
The coup in Gabon this week is most unlikely to be a regime change. Gen Brice Nguema, the head of the junta is a relation of the Bongo family and started his career as body guard to Omar Bongo, the father of the deposed President who had ruled for 42 years. The coup occurred minutes after President Ali Bongo had been declared winner of a rigged election. He had been incapacitated since he suffered from a stroke in 2019 and the optics of a president without the capacity to govern has been an issue since his stroke. The symbolism of someone who is incapable of exercising power rigging election after election posed the question of how much longer can the charade last. When there was an attempted coup in January 2019, the army responded immediately rounding up the culprits. As everyone knows, Gabon is too precious for France to allow regime change. In the coming days, it will become clearer who allowed this coup to succeed.
The African has experienced seven coups since August 2020, before the one underway on Wednesday in Gabon. Are we still counting?
ASHENEWS reports that Nigeria’s former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has given reasons why there could be more coups in French-speaking West and Central African countries in the near future.
About half of 32 military coups between 1989 and 2017 resulted in a return to civilian rule, but only if military leaders felt that they were unlikely to suffer detrimental effects from surrendering power to nonmilitary leaders.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor has assured that Nigeria’s military’s loyalty to democratic rule is unquestionable. Irabor…