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The Reemergence of Military Coups as Legal Assumption of State Power in Africa
The above topic can be examined in terms of constitutionality and public interests by analysing the recent sporadic coups in Africa.
In general a perspective, one can consider the justifications of military coups in respect to societal motivation, individual interest or group interests . As it was in the case of Ghana 1966 and 1972, Mali and Dahomey, 1966, respectively, so it is similarly in the case of the recent coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon.
It is only in Africa that the alternative for one to become a Head of State is through the use of coup d’etat apart from political elections. Although one cannot point to any existing research data, it is presumably concluded that one joins the army to defend their country against any external force that intends to take over as a Head of State.
In Africa , as it was in the mid-1960s and 1970s, anytime the world enters into an economic recession or some level of global difficulty, there and then, African countries begin to see men in “Kaakey” emerge as saviors of the African States. After these uniform men take over for years, and destroy the country, they turn around in the usual elements of militarized excuses and blame the west for underdevelopment of the country on the politician.
As alluded to, earlier, most often than not, in Africa, the approach to individualistic interest in the cause of coups may be inadequate and therefore render the argument insufficient and bogus. In the group’s interests, it may be about promotions, appropriations and the likes. As it can be deducted from the ongoing Parliamentary Committee sitting in the matter of the alleged tape about the Inspector General of Police’ removal, we are told that some members of the police service are disgruntled about the operations of the IGP. This cannot therefore be taken lightly by anyone who knows the trajectories of Ghana’s Coups. Another interesting question to ask is whether or not there are existing establishments of parallel military cum police service against the regular forces?
Notwithstanding the above, the other reason coups were and are still rampant in Africa is the foreign influence angle. This is sometimes difficult to ascertain at the influence of the coup because it is mostly done in secrecy.
It is also important to interrogate the veracity of whether coups are internally motivated, or are they internal affairs with some level of external affairs? Others hold the opinion that the outbreak of coups sometimes have a direct influence from the training received from external sources. A certain pattern of influence is the mode of contagious relationship between the military and police officers of different countries who have trained and served under the same former colonial heights which compel military cum police coups. Thus, there is a direct correlation between where they were trained and the ideology they were inductrinated with. But the interesting thing is the aspect of contengia which is the contengeon effect of the training received and the can-do spirit. This is more like the rationalisation reason, as seen in the case of the officers in Niger.
There is yet another reason to the effect of industrialization that may ripe for coups in Africa. This comes in the form of aid influenza and in such situations, it makes it possible for coups to be directed from core countries like Russia, Germany, France, Britain and the United States of America. Aid in this context could mean anything, and anything could be an interest.
It is also an established fact that, in the current state of affairs in some parts of Africa, there is a political struggle and that the politicians have reduced national politics to personal development and machinations. There is obvious broad thievery and collaborated corruption and that, the African political actors are corrupt and engage in politics for self-aggrandizement. There are clear indicators of economic failures, and governments across the continent in the present have mismanaged the African economy, caused the rise in costs of living, failed to raise the cost of living and simply guilty of overspending. In some cases too, as witnessed in Gabon, there is no real observation of democracy.
By Wilson Dabuo
History Lecturer
Department of History Education
Faculty of Social Sciences Education
University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, West Africa
