By Femi Ogunshola
The House of Representatives has condemned the creeping resurgence of military coups in the West African Sub-region.
This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Rep. Julius Ihonvbere on the floor of the House on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said that with high apprehension the frightening emerging trend of Military coups in the West African sub-region, the most recent coup in Burkina Faso being part of a resurgence of ‘’a Coup Culture’’ in West Africa.
He noted that for the fourth time in only six months, violence had facilitated the transfer of power in West Africa with Guinea, Mali, which is twice in the past seventeen months and Chad.
He added that this had seen new leaders emerged from their respective Military and Burkina Faso a few days ago, witnessed the overthrow of President Roch Kabore.
He stated that such illegal takeover of power from democratically elected government violates several national constitutions, international conventions and protocols established by multilateral organisations, donors and development partners.
He noted that since Nigeria, the traditional power house in the sub-region transited from military to civilian in 1999, there had been a strong sense that the days of Military coups were effectively over.
He however stated that with the emerging trend, that positive trajectory was now being reversed with the rather quick successive coups in the aforementioned countries.
He said that coups subvert political processes, promote tensions and violence, suffocate democratic spaces, suppresses basic freedoms, contains civil society and promotes corrupt undemocratic governance.
The Lawmaker said if the trend was not immediately and firmly checked, it could erode the democratic achievements made thus far and distort the emerging culture of constitutionalism.
He added that it would also promote opportunistic and undemocratic actors in the region, and by extension the continent.
The House however urged the Federal Government to strongly condemn the coups, impose strong sanctions, and mobilised other nations and stakeholders to impose very extensive sanctions.
The House also urged civil society organisations across the sub-region and internationally to condemn coups, support civil society, political parties, and parliaments to work for the immediate restoration of democratic governance in the affected Nations.
It also called on the UN and its agencies as well as the international community to impose total sanctions on those countries where coups d’état have taking place in West Africa.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in 2021 alone, there were four successful military takeovers across the continent in Chad, Mali, Guinea and Sudan.
NAN reports that on Jan. 23, soldiers staged a coup in Burkina Faso, overthrowing President Roch Kabore.
(NAN)
