The West Africa sub-region is witnessing a resurgence of military coups de détát.
As the sub-regional stability continues to be threatened by the growing jihadist influence in and around the sub-region, social and political upheavals in many West African countries have all conspired to bring the military back on the stage once more.
As populations become more disillusioned and governments getting weaker, soldiers may continue to be accorded heroes’ treatment by citizens whenever they seize power.
The sub-region had witnessed four successful coups in less than two years.
The ECOWAS Chairman President Oumaru Sisokho E’mbalo of Guinea Bissau also reportedly survived an attempt on his administration not so long ago.
It’s not also ages ago when ECOWAS leaders met to “take a decisive action” against military takeovers in West Africa.
Indeed, West Africa needs to rid itself of military involvement in politics.
However, we here at JollofNews are of the conviction that West Africa needs more than resolutions if it truly desires to bid farewell to toppling of governments by the military.
We believe symptomatic treatment of the problem of the involvement of the military in politics will only serve a palliative purpose.
This problem of soldiers and junior officers, assuming saviour roles for their populations certainly needs a drastic surgery.
Anger over rising food and nutritional insecurity, heightening health insecurity, deepening feelings of personal and property insecurity, among many other sentiments of insecurities, boiled over some streets of West African capital cities and towns this year alone.
Citizens are increasingly losing faith in the abilities of their governments to serve.
Perceptions of official corruption are still deepening in some West African nations whilst some governments in the sub-region have been busy, scapegoating the Ukraine War and the Covid pandemic as setbacks to their economic policies.
The economies only perform better on papers.
Despite claims of double digit growths and robust inflationary control measures in some countries of the region, the economic and social wellbeing of the masses are not reflected in the numbers.
Instead of only condemning coups and organizing extraordinary summits, which actually were ordinary because nothing extraordinary came out in most of them, ECOWAS can do a better job by telling and helping West African leaders to close the gap between them and their peoples.
Detachment of many of the leaders from the wishes and aspirations of the masses taught, at least, a handful of past West African leaders lessons of unforgettable experience.
True, violent change of government is unconstitutional but we can do better than dismissing it as it is.
After condemning coups as rape of democracy, we believe West Africa needs to do more work than the approach of condemnation taken by the leaders of the coup-prone region.
Many West African leaders need to close ranks with the masses and then the susceptibility of the subregion to coups will be consigned to history.
In short, delivering on promises!
