•Photo: Ali Bongo, deposed President of Gabon
AFRICA is complicated, conflicted, conflagrating, but its leaders are digging deeper to further complete the combustive commotion in the continent. They are wont to don their successes in election robberies as democracy.
The robberies are comprehensive. The judiciary, legislature, media, and most instances security agencies are in tandem in re-configuring democracy to be government of anyone who has enough powers to compromise principles, practices, policies and politics solely for his benefit.
Spoils of the conquest of the people and their future are farmed out to those who flow with the frauds. People elected under constitutions with limited terms become the law and thwart every attempt by others to access power.
Shameless as they come, they still call warehousing all state resources for themselves democracy. Their democracy mean everlasting hold on power, corruption, particularly theft of the ballot as a foundation of many other thefts that keep them in power forever,
Africa’s colour of democracy is represented more prominently by these men who have used coups and more desperate measures to cling to power.
•Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (44 years) of Equatorial Guinea is the longest-serving African President. His son is Vice President.
•Paul Biya (42 years), Cameroon’s President is already 90, unaware of his environment, and may still run for election again.
•Denis Sassou (36 years), owner of the Republic of the Congo, is 80. By the standards of the club, he is young.
•King Mswati III (36 years) of Eswatini, Africa’s last remaining absolute monarchy, is only 54 years old. He has a long stretch ahead. He has been in power since 18.
•Yoweri Museveni (35 years) of Uganda is the third oldest head of state in Africa, at 79. He is available for more service.
•Isaias Afwerki (30 years) is the only President of Eritrea in its 30 years.
•Paul Kagame (23 years), Rwanda’s leader, will run for election again in 2024.
What they all have in common is that they run repressive governments that decimate the opposition, making government their family affair, and leave their countries bereft of any plans of a future without them.
Some dare claim that they draw their practice from the renowned Singaporean leader Lee Kwan Yew who turned his country into a developed country in his 31 years as Prime Minister.
Where are the developments in these African countries? Is development, whatever it is, the substitute for democracy? The crises these leaders throw their countries into with their death takes years to resolve.
Zimbabwe has not recovered from Robert Gabriel Mugabe’s 37-year grip as Prime Minister, and President. He left the country divided, without experienced politicians to carry on with its management in any meaningful way. The chaos their exit leaves is eternal in many cases.
It is little surprise then that a coup in Gabon would be of concern to the powerful. They are already quaking on their seats. Shuffles in Cameroon’s security settings are obviously to protect Paul. The other Paul in Rwanda has retired over 80 Generals. He too is afraid.
Back in Nigeria we had in the past months taken lessons on the importance of democratic rule as the heists at different points in the 2023 elections become more obvious.
Nowhere has Africa developed more than in electoral malfeasance. Each country has its own version. The exceptions are few.
African leaders are comfortable no matter how they get into power. The continent’s leadership recruitment process has always had coups since the independence. Those who succeed join the photo sessions at the United Nations, African Union, and sub-regional bodies like ECOWAS.
Gabonese poured into the street to celebrate the end of the 57-year hold of the Bongo family on power. They know what they have been through. The Bongo family control of Gabon could have continued but for the most recent manipulation of elections which angered the soldiers.
Ali Bongo Ondimba, succeeded his father Albert-Bernard Omar Bongo who became Gabon’s second President and was in power for almost 42 years until his demise in 2009. Ali was already grooming his son, Omar Bongo’s grandson, to be the next President.
Omar Bongo was among African leaders who only death could detach from office and France encouraged them. Cote d’Ivoire and Gabon were of particular interest for they had resources that wheeled the French economy into prosperity and more influence.
Most of those leaders were trained in France, had French citizenship and under France’s assimilation agenda, the likes of of Cote d’Ivoire’s Félix Houphouët-Boigny, in office for 33 years till death, and Senegal’s Léopold Sédar Senghor, in charge for 20 years, but voluntarily relinquished power, were members of the French Parliament.
Gabon’s oil was as good as France’s. A fifth of the world’s known uranium is in Gabon. Gabonese uranium supplied France’s nuclear bombs, which French President Charles de Gaulle tested in the Algerian deserts in 1960. Big iron and manganese deposits, and plenty of timber are in Gabon, making the country always important to France.
Omar Bongo reportedly said: “Gabon without France is like a car with no driver. France without Gabon is like a car with no fuel”.
Niger Republic is in abject poverty prospering France which determined which leaders it wanted to sustain French interests above the country’s.
Did France permit the coup in Gabon while kicking against the one in Niger Republic? Could a coup in Gabon have succeeded without the acquiesce of France which had marines stationed in Gabon to protect French interests?
France had foiled a January 2019 attempt to oust Ali Bongo from power.
Before his overthrow, Ali Bongo had been ill and speculations of his death had been rift after a stroke in October 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He did not make a public appearance until August 2019.
The Gabonese coup is the eighth to occur in West and Central Africa in three years. The others since 2020, were Mali (twice), Guinea, Burkina Faso (twice), Chad, and Niger.
Like in Niger Republic the soldiers rolled the tanks to protect democracy. The debates are continuing.
What will be the position of AU over the military determining democracy? Will Gabon be the reason to cancel the planned military action against Niger Republic?
Beneficiaries of heists at elections are the most vocal in preaching democracy. Such intentional promotion of hypocrisy are catching up with them.
Had African leaders been listening to their people, they would have known long ago that people were more interested in governments that improved their living standards than definitions of democracy.
What is democracy without the liberties that would result in our votes, decisions, indecisions, counting? Is democracy now government of the filthiest and strongest for their cronies and families?
Finally…
THE National Youth Service Corps leadership has earned my admiration over its merticulous record-keeping which serial certificate forgers are finding hard to compromise. Please keep it up.
•Isiguzo is a major commentator on minor issues
