Unlike Sierra Leone where ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States) restored a deposed government in 1998, it however faced Setback in Niger where military rule is taking hold. The Niger army, few days ago, toppled the government of Mohamed Bazoum owing to what they called misrule and high cost of living.
Being highly aversed to coups, the sub-regional bloc has threatened military intervention to restore democracy in the West African state, but a big hurdle lies in its way as three key countries will not fight alongside ECOWAS troops and will also not sit on the fence.
Guinean, Burkinabe and Malian military authorities have vowed to back Niger to repel any ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Group) troop.
At the moment, it remains unclear what approach ECOWAS would adopt to restore democratic order in Niger in the face of non-cooperation by its key members.
Reasons for the four countries backing Niger instead of ECOWAS also remains unclear. The four countries however share a common feature of being ruled by the khaki boys. Niger coup leaders, few days ago, said they stood on their grounds and would not bow to ECOWAS pressure.
Amid threats of ECOWAS intervention, the Niger leaders have announced their new cabinet ready to hit the ground running. If it goes as planned, it will be a slap on the face of ECOWAS which has come under intense criticism for being reactive instead of proactive.
The sub-regional bloc always fails to address conditions that lead to coup d’etats in the sub-region and wait only to parachute troops in defence of oppressive regimes after they are toppled. It was the case with Guinea under Colonel Mahmady Doumbouya who ousted former President Alpha Conde who was not ready to leave the presidency after his successful two-term mandate. Instead of working out a transition plan, Conde was busy manipulating the masses for a third term, a move that ran contrary to the electorate’s wishes and aspirations.
Although the people were angry evidenced by intermittent waves of protests, no ECOWAS delegation went to Guinea and stopped Conde from his third-term ambition which, many said, was a recipe for coup and chaos.
ECOWAS however surfaced in Guinea for peace talks only after the army staged a putsch and held Conde in detention.
This hypocrisy on the part of ECOWAS emboldened the Guinea military leadership not to accept their demands. The sub-regional bloc however demanded an immediate release of the deposed and detained President and quickly restore democracy in the country.
These were demands the Guinean army leader did not immediately accept owing to the prevailing situation at the time. Colonel Doumbouya however released Conde from detention on medical grounds but retained the power with no timeline for elections. Doumbouya has never shown any date in which elections will be conducted.
Although Guinea is under military leadership, the people rejoice as their lives are better off under military rule. Although Guinea has lost its seat in the ECOWAS owing to the coup, Doumbouya has however gained some recognition from other countries and organisations.
The political situation in Guinea is not too far from those in Mali, Burkinafasso and Niger itself.
The leaders in those countries were not responsive to their people’s needs and demands and also falling short of good governance.
Third-term or life-time presidencies no longer have value in contemporary governance systems since they are widely seen as the main causes of bloody revolutions and sometime wars on the continent.
Presidents must also respect the countries’ constitutions under whose authority they rule. Most African constitutions contain provisions that confer power on the army to defend the constitution apart from guarding and securing the safety and territorial integrity of the state.
In such constitutions, it is lawful for the army to oust a president who refused to hand over power after their tenures, blatantly desecrates constitutions and lose the people’s confidence. It was even the case with Sierra Leone in May 1997 when the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council deposed President Ahmed Tejan Kabba who allegedly disbanded the national army and focused attention to a civil defence force particularly the Kamajors from the Mende ethnic group who committed heavy atrocities in the country.
Despite Kabba’s fatal error, ECOWAS under General Sani Abacha forcefully restored the Kabba administration, a move that claimed thousands of innocent lives.
It was clear that the bloodbath in Sierra Leone would have been avoided if ECOWAS had advised President Kabba to restructure and motivate the army and not to have Kamajor fighters.
ECOWAS’s seeming loss of grip over peace and security of the sub-region was laid bare by one of its key members, Liberia.
The Liberian President, George Manneh Weah, few days ago, strongly condemned ECOWAS for its high-level hypocrisy.
President Weah remains deeply concerned about bad governance systems in Africa that create conditions for coup d’etats.
With a strong appeal to ECOWAS, he considers election rigging and manipulation of the courts among other factors as the main causes of coups in the sub-region.
“As long as ECOWAS tolerates institutional coups that allow life-time presidencies, fraudulent declaration of election results and manipulation of judicial pronouncements, there will always be military coups,” he asserted.
In his seeming strong condemnation of ECOWAS’s lack of proactive stance, the Liberian President bashed at the sub regional bloc for condemning coups but fail to condemn those who create the conditions for coups.
“We cannot condemn military coups when we do not condemn those who carry out institutional coups,” he criticised ECOWAS while calling on them to work in the people’s interest. At the moment, many share President Weah’s notion on military coups in the sub-region as four countries have quit ECOWAS, a situation that is warranting the sub-regional body to do what is right for proper stability.
Guinea, Burkinafasso, Mali and lately Niger have left ECOWAS with questions lingering about whether Sierra Leone will be next.
As if supporting, President Weah’s stance, the Gambian opposition leader, Honourable Mama Kandeh too strongly urged ECOWAS to address the causes of coups in the sub-region.
“I am not in support of coup d’etats, but I have a concern. Before setting up an Anti-Coup Unit in ECOWAS, it is high time for ECOWAS/African heads of states to look into the causes of coups,” Honourable Kandeh passionately appealed.
Kandeh’s appeal comes at a time the sub-regional bloc prepares to set up an Anti-Coup Unit that will be charged with the responsibility of removing those who come to power through the use of force.
The Gambian opposition also bluntly turned his attention to the Presidents to comport themselves first. “I believe that their houses are not in order; let them put their house in order first before they set up an Anti-Coup Unit,” he urged West African Presidents.