Prof. Usman Tar
In view of the recent military takeover of governments in Niger Republic and Gabon, a professor of political science and defence studies at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Usman Tar, has said that coups have become a dominant feature in Africa because the political class in most of the countries on the continent has failed to deliver the dividends of democracy
He said in an interview that liberal democracy is known to be good in terms of holding leaders accountable, because of the challenges of elections. However, he said in most parts of Africa, elections are not properly conducted; the legal framework is not followed to the latter while the elite in their desperation sabotage and undermine the electoral process just to be in power.
He also said many leaders have usurped the electoral process to remain in power for too long. “This gives rise to a gross competition for power among them and those that can win power at the end of the day try to use their positions to sustain themselves in power.
“African leaders like (Ali) Bongo, (Paul) Kagame, (Yoweri) Museveni, (Paul) Biya, and many others have remained in power and clandestinely abused the electoral process to remain in power for years.
“So, the political system, the way it is being run, seems to have failed. And people have been keenly watching. As a result, votes can no longer count and the electoral process is flagrantly abused, monetised, and commoditised,” he said.
At the socio-economic level, the professor said democracy seems to have failed.
“For those countries that are democratic and those seen as despotic, the governments seem to have failed in socio-economic development; poverty is endemic as people cannot hold onto their livelihood. In addition to this, the sectoral developments have also failed. In education, health care, transportation, and security, the same failure has been recorded. So, this has made many people angry. And the military, being part of the society, have been watching all the incidents,” he added.
He said history has shown that whenever the politicians fail, the military does come to the rescue of the teeming masses.
“The military officers too have also felt the damaging consequences of the political and socio-economic failures of the government. And don’t forget that the military officers we are talking about are the young ones who are very restless in holding leaders accountable and making the system work. And when you look at it from the class dimension, the military is seen as being part of the elites of African countries.
“So, it looks like the military rule of the early 1980s and 1990s is coming back. I think these are some of the issues internally. Besides, he said coups on the continent are influenced externally, as witnessed in some French-speaking African countries.
We all know the role played by France in the local politics of Cote’dVoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, and other countries. And it appears that most of these coups are taking place in Francophone countries. This may be because France’s policies in African countries seem to be either working or derailing. We learned that in some of the countries, France funded the coups, but this remains an allegation. But in some of the countries, the coups have been against perceived imperialism.
“But anyhow, we are looking at a response to or a demonstration of neo-colonial influence on the continent. And don’t forget that as part of the external factors, we have new players that are coming into the continent in terms of Russia and China. So, one won’t be surprised if some of these coups have a strong back-up from the new entrants like Russia,” he added.
