Abuse of national constitutions by sit-tight Presidents is as despicable as military interventions.
The Guinean and Malian are two worrying cases in point including our neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire.
Francophone West Africa is gaining an unenviable notoriety for authoritarianism and military adventurism and it is worrying.
At a time when the sub-regional bloc, Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) and the continental African Union (AU) should be busy seeking answers to the socio-economic challenges wreaked by COVID-19 and others military adventurism and despotism unnecessary aberrations are becoming a factors to be reckoned with in some Francophone countries.
Prof. Alpha Conde has been swept into the dustbin of Guinean history by a soldier who should have been taking orders from a constitution-respecting Commander-In-Chief. The Guinean story is a jigsaw of ethnocentric politics the complexity of which presents us with a poser.
Be it as it may, the respect for the national constitution is the appropriate antidote to the visible despotism and the military adventurism which follow.
We have however, observed instances where despots tamper with the contents of the constitution to suit their indefinite stay in power bid.
The military adventurists are able to comfortably refer to this defect as reason for their seizure of power.
After the hullabaloo which greeted the Malian episode the junta it would appear, has entrenched itself in power, the soldiers becoming politicians as it were. Who knows whether one day they would not shed the uniform and form political parties?
The abuse of constitutions and military adventurism, should be subjects ECOWAS and AU should address if Francophone West Africa should rid itself of the aberrations.
We have harsh words for both politicians who manipulate the constitutions to stay beyond their constitutionally allowed tenure as well as soldiers who take up weapons to change the political order.
Both are a disgrace to democracy and civility who have no place in the comity of the decent and civilized.
Having been in power since 2010 in a country which gained independence from France in 1958, Alpha Conde’s ascension to power was regarded as a fresh democratic start; this has turned out to be fallacy.
The authoritarian traits did not take long to manifest his third term bid and matters arising including loss of lives evidencing this without doubt.
The AU and ECOWAS should give equal attention to authoritarianism, military adventurism as they do socio-economic challenges on the continent and the sub-region respectively.
Both authoritarianism and military adventurism do not cast the Francophone countries in good light and should be stamped out before they gain unstoppable currency.
Eventually the soldiers will be accepted in ECOWAS and AU meetings. The non-interference in the internal affairs of member-states allows depots to have their way. When strife erupt member-states part with hard-earned money to keep the peace and provide humanitarian support in the restive countries.