SOLUTUONS TO COUPS AND NIGERIA’S DAMNING IRONIES
Benson Uche Egbuchiwe
SOLUTIONS TO COUPS:
On what should be the solutions, firstly there must be deliberate and concerted efforts to tackle the underlying issues, including promoting inclusive governance, combating corruption, protecting human rights, and ensuring fair electoral processes, which is vital to reducing the occurrence of coups and fostering stable and prosperous democracies in Africa-more than the platitudes of economic sanctions and military invasions. Given these stark data and considering the historical and judicial perspectives on coup d’états from a Nigerian standpoint, our government needs to engage in introspection and be somber in engaging with the government of Niger.
While ECOWAS may have displayed a sense of bravado in their declaration, it is crucial to consider the broader context and historical precedents when approaching the situation. Jettisoning this knee-jerk reaction and taking a more measured approach based on comprehensive analysis is warranted. The call for a war on poverty, corruption, government wastage, and hunger by the African governments is what is needed now and not war with one another.
NIGERIA’s DAMNING IRONIES:
One couldn’t but note the irony in Nigeria’s leadership roles in handling a military expedition in Niger, considering this context, first Major General Muhammadu Buhari who shares ancestry with Niger was involved in a notorious coup that disrupted Nigeria’s democratic process in 1983. He was subsequently rewarded with two terms as president of Nigeria totaling eight years and was bestowed with Nigeria’s highest honor, the GCFR (Grand Commander of the Federal Republic). The second irony is that Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (GCFR) who became a benefactor of Nigeria’s highest seat of power-the presidency from the legacy of prominent coupists in Nigeria was sent as an elder statesman to mediate and truncate the ambitions of young military Nigeriens who perceive him and his other Nigerian military statement and Heads of State as models of citizens’ engagement and aspiration in governance through coup d’etats. This irony raises questions about the consistency and sincerity of Nigeria’s approach to addressing these issues.
Benson Uche Egbuchiwe (BUE) is a lawyer and public policy analyst based in Abuja
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