Military coups became the norm in several African countries shortly after independence until the 1990s when the current ‘wave’ of democracy began. The contagion effect from the 13 January 1963
coup in Togo, the first in Africa, in which President Sylvanus Olympio was assassinated, soon spread like wild fire across the continent. There were over 200 attempted coups in Africa since the 1950s, with about half of these succeeding. Out of the 54 countries in Africa, 45 have had at least one coup attempt since 1950. Sudan has has the most number of military coups – 17, out of which six succeeded.
What does the resurgence of military coups in Africa tell us about the fate of liberal democracy in the continent?One, the democratic space tends to be elastic. It can expand or contract without democracy necessarily being under a mortal threat. American political scientist Samuel Huntington who called the current round of liberal democracy in “the modern world”, a “third wave”, noted that each of the two earlier waves was followed by reversals.
Three, a major difference between the practice of democracy in the advanced states of Europe and the USA and its practice in Africa is that while the basis of nationhood is already settled in the former, in the latter, even the basis of statehood remains contested in many countries. This poses severe challenges to especially two key components of democracy – freedom of speech and conduct of elections.
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No to another Republic of Nigerian Army!I have been deeply saddened by some comments and inquiries by some younger elements who never experienced the consequences of military rule in Nigeria and so are being carried away by the current wave of military coup detat in Africa because of perceived failure of democracy and irresponsibility of some African leaders who continue to demonise democratic governance on the continent.[ad] It is therefore expedient for some of us who are older and have experienced the grave consequences of even long years of military in Nigeria to sensitise the younger ones to manage their enthusiasm about prospects of return of military rule in Nigeria. Let’s quickly add that even some elders who may have been disappointed by our leaders and are so excited by what is happening in parts of Africa and would like to pray for military intervention in our country should manage their expectations too about the bane of returning to Egypt.
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