By Lizzy Vincent
The resurgence of coup d` tats in Africa has left political pundits in abject stupefaction as to what the future holds for democracy and good governance in Africa.
Ever since Gamal Abdel Nasser toppled the Egyptian monarchy in 1952 a flurry of military coups has followed. Within a year (2020-201), the wave of successive military coups in Chad, Sudan, Mali and Guinea has cast a shadow of doubt on the democratization and the establishment of peoples oriented government in the continent.
From the 1960`s when many African states gained formal independence unto the dawn of the new millennium the continent was coup d’état plagued.
When the Berlin wall fell in 1989, the tension and superpower rivalry between the USSR and the United States which inspired and precipitated most of these coups tend to dissipate with the thawing relationship between the eastern and western bloc.
Even though some coups were externally orchestrated some were caused by over burning local conditions that set the stage for military intervention.
In some cases, the driving force behind coups in Africa is the interplay of misrule and bad governance. The Military is always tempted to usurp power when the civilian leadership has failed the nation. Their intervention is deemed to save the nation from the incompetent and corrupt civilian leadership that has made socio-economic life unbearable.
Sit tight African leaders with a personalized dictatorial policies has made the conditions favorable for the intervention of the military in African politics.
Weak institutions that hardly provide basic services and lack of respect for the rule of law have further set the stage for the involvement of the military in governance.
Issues such as nepotism and insecurity can also be used as a justification to commandeer power from the political elites.
Before the restoration of democratic rule within the last couple of years in Guinea Bissau and Niger, coups were the order of the day in the above mentioned West African states.
Moreover, military leaders that usurp power and later transform themselves as civilian presidents has also inspired a plethora of coups on the continent.
General Lansana Conteh of Guinea, Captain Yahya Jammeh of Gambia and flight lieutenant Jerry Rawlings of Ghana were military cum civilian presidents.
A more recent case is retired Field Marshall Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt who deposed the democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2014 and entrenched himself in power.
Another strategy is when the military orchestrates a change of regime from behind the scenes. This is made possible by babysitting a supposedly malleable politician at the apex of power.
Andry Rajoelina in Madagascar who was constitutionally precluded due to age limits to lead his country in 2009 was fitted as president of a provisional government by the military.
Andry Rajoelina consolidated his grip on power until he was elected in 2019 and he is still the current president of Madagascar.
Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe had all his flaws with his people but it could be argued that he was overthrown through a military coup. He was elected by a popular vote in 2015 and he was only two years into a 5 years constitutional term limit.
General Constantine Chiwenga who played a key role in the coup in 2017 had ever since disrobed himself of military regalia and is currently the first vice president of Zimbabwe.
Out of 55 sovereign states in the continent, only Namibia, Cape Verde, Malawi, Eritrea, and Mauritius have never experienced a coup.
Morocco, Kenya and Cameroun have experienced coup attempts but none of them succeeded. With the wind of democratization that swept the continent in the past two decades, Africans were of the conviction that the dark days of coups have been largely confined to the history books. But, the recent ignoble examples in West Africa and the Sahel has reversed the democratic gains and thrown the future of politics in Mali, Guinea, Chad and Sudan into uncertainty.
In Sudan, after the long-term dictator Omar Al Bashir was overthrown, there were hopes that the country was set for a democratic trajectory. A broad coalition government that constitutes both military and civilian leaders was deemed perilous to the overall objectives of the military. The civilian Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdock was purged from the government in what could be described as a coup within a coup. The transitional make up set up to restore democratic rule was cut short by the military due to fears of prosecuting the military leadership for war crimes in Darfur and for extra judicial killings of pro-democracy protesters. A similar coupist theme underpins the situation in Mali, where transitional efforts to democratic rule was rendered lame duck by the military. After popular protest deposed the democratically elected government of Abubakarr Keita, the military has refused to set a clear time table for the restoration of democratic rule. Exhortations and threat of sanctions by the regional body Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) and the continental body African union (AU) has so often fallen on deaf ears. In Chad, after long-term dictator Idriss Deby was killed in the battle field; his son who is a four star general was installed as president. The dynastic succession was never condemned by any international organization including the United Nations. A move that has set the stage for another marathon dictatorial rule that throws the basic tenets of democracy overboard. Parallels could be drawn to that of Togo and Gabon were the military prepared the ground for another monarchical style of dynastic rule. Global and regional powers deemed as moral guarantors of democratic rule see no problem in dealing with such anachronist regimes. The coup in Guinea laid bare the impotency of ECOWAS and AU to influence democratic change. Their moral judgement was questioned when president Alpha Conde fiddled with the constitution that paved the way for him to secure a third term bid. Pro democratic protesters were killed in all the coup affected states and no one saw it as an issue. Camaraderie of presidential peers who have outlived their relevance- lacking the moral obligation to critique undemocratic practices in other African states is gaining influence. Despite a continental consensus against unconstitutional means of power accession, regional organizations organizations have failed to drive democratic change in all the coup affected countries. In fact they are generally regarded as been complicit in the oppression agenda perpetuated against ordinary citizens. Therefore, citizens are left in a dire situation to confront a heavily armed military to demand democratic change even if some are killed with impunity. In the meantime, the power of popular protest seems to be the only bulwark against the intoxication of power and dictatorial rule in the continent.