COUPS IN AFRICA AND WHAT COULD BE DONE TO STOP THEM.

 West Africa has been experiencing several military coups, which have created much talk among both Africans and non-Africans.

It should be noted here clearly that I will never condone any military coup, as it is violent in itself.

Let's get back to business.

One thing we should learn from military coups is that most top military officers in Africa are more powermongers than security men than the people liberators they always try to brandish after their coups. This is seen openly in the coup in Niger.

Coup leaders of Mali, Guinea Conakry, Burkina Faso and Sudan

It was reported that General Tiani, the leader of the coup, was to go on retirement on July 27, 2023. He launched the coup on the eve of his retirement.

He said the present security situation in the country motivated his actions with the other members of the junta, which is not true because he is in fact one of the chiefs of army staff and is also responsible for the security situation, so if he uses it as a pretext, then he himself should be booked.

On Saturday, August 19, after he met mediators from Ecowas, he went ahead to announce the transition would go on for three years. How come someone who is not after power will eventually seek to stay three years in power in the name of transition and fixing a country? Whom did he consult with? Did he seek the consent of the same people he says he is fighting for? Even if the country needed fixing, is it supposed to be in the hands of the military?

The two coups in Burkina Faso and Mali experienced counter-coups that show the struggle for power among the military leaders themselves.

No military in a dictatorial regime can claim to be for the people because we know they themselves are the architects of the conservation of power by those dictators. They eat and dine with dictators, and the day their interests are touched, they turn their guns against them in the name of safeguarding the national interest.

Military coup supporters in a public rally

When they are with these dictators, they oppress journalists, opposition parties and their members, activists, and all those who criticize them openly.

They do all that because they enjoy their power and will never complain or stand by the people.

We shall always have coups in Africa so long as we continue to have power mongers in the military who are only interested in their own interests and not the interests of the people.

The way forward?

There is a pressing need for total reforms in nations' military that make them more for the nations they serve than leaders in power like in the US.

We need well-trained and cultured military men and women. The recruitment of illiterates into the military should stop, and if recruited, they should undergo educational training to acquire a basic level of understanding. We need sound-minded military men and women who will not only know how to pull the trigger but can also make sound decisions.

Mali military junta leader

New codes of conduct based on national constitutions should be put in place and respected by the military.

Civilian security should be used henceforth for state leaders and not military security, as is often the case in Africa. Keeping a leader's security under the military's control makes the military desire power too, which to me is not good.

Top military personnel should serve on mandates well-known and established by the Constitution.

The military should henceforth be under the supervision of the Senate and Parliament and not directly under the head of state.

I strongly believe that military reforms can make our military men and women, not power mongers, and coups will be things of the past.