Africa
By Paul Ejime
The U.S. and the African Union are backing the controversial ECOWAS decision to deploy a Standby Force to restore constitutional order in Niger.
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara is talking tough, pledging financial support and troops for the risky military intervention.
But the contradictions and inconsistencies of these entities in their responses to recent military coups in West and Central Africa are not lost on those familiar with the unfolding geopolitical game in the ECOWAS region.
For instance, Ouattara assumed power following the 2010 post-election violence that killed more than 1,000 people in Cote d’Ivoire.
In spite of allegations of war crimes on both sides only Ouattara’s opponent Laurent Gbagbo was taken to the ICC, at the Hague, freed after more than 10 years in pre-trial detention.
Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Senegal are the three countries opposed to the proposed presidential tenure limit to two terms in the ECOWAS region.
Ouattara’s ill-conceived decision to change his country’s constitution in 2016 ensured that he realised his third term agenda in 2020.
That singular act has emboldened several other leaders and is undoubtedly partly to blame for the political conflicts and retreat of democracy in the ECOWAS region.
The AU, ECOWAS and U.S. have done little or nothing to arrest the ugly trend.
Similarly, whereas coup leaders in Mali, Guinea Conakry, and Burkina Faso, are being cudgelled, Gen. Mahamat Kaka Idriss Derby, who seized power in 2021after his father’s assassination by Chadian rebels is today treated as celebrity by the African Union, ECOWAS, France, and the U.S.
Bad governance by African leaders is largely to blame for the socio-economic and political crises on the continent, but external forces and interests also contribute in no small measure.
The ECOWAS zero-tolerance for unconstitutional change of governments must apply with equal measure to military coups and constitutional, ballot box coups as well as bad governance, corruption, disrespect for the rule of law and human rights violations by politicians.
Let diplomacy and backend initiatives take priority as the preferred strategy for the restoration of constitutional order in Niger.
A.
– Aug. 14, 2023 @ 14:12 GMT |
Tags: ECOWAS Gen. Mahamat Kaka Idriss Derby Laurent Gbagbo Paul Ejime
