By Toyin Falola

Military coup — and its sister-act, usurpation — have existed for centuries. Seventeenth-century England had its fair share of attempted and successful military coups. Eighteenth-century France suffered military coups. Even the eighteenth-century Oyo Empire, despite the ingenious move of having the war generals — Are — lived in a city far away from Oyo-Ile to avoid usurpations, still suffered deposition and military coups at the hands of Basorun Gaa. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, several countries of the world faced at least one attempted or successful military coup, from Asia to Europe to Africa. However, military coups have either fully become non-existent or significantly subsided worldwide, except in Africa, where there has been a fresh batch of military takeovers.

Truly, military coups have historically served several purposes. First, they have been an integral part of the growth and evolution of several countries of the world. Humans, by design, are curious experimenters. Therefore, it is only expected that several countries would have attempted military coups and the subsequent military rule that resulted from such coups as an alternative to the type of government they were practicing. 

At its basest form, the motivating factor for military coups is a simple attempt to try something new, to see if there is a better alternative to how the country is being run. For this, military coups have served as the beginning of a learning curve for several countries, many of which have adjusted to find a system that works for them and will help them thrive — China finding solace in a communist dictatorship, the United Kingdom has opted for a constitutional monarchy, and for France, it is a semi-presidential government. These countries have gone through the proverbial fire of military disruptions and rules to become what they are today. 

Furthermore, military coups result from a failing or failed system of government. Historically, military coups happen in countries experiencing turbulence — whether the turbulence results from a leader clenching on to power at the country’s detriment or widespread corruption running aground. We have also seen cases of coups due to the high-handedness and excesses of those in power. For every country that has experienced a coup, there is a backstory of oppression, corruption, dictatorship, stagnancy, and the suffering of citizens.

Africa is not the only place in the world where coups have happened. But Africa is currently home to the highest number of countries with recent military coups and takeovers. When the rest of the world aims for advancement and development, Africa is battling recurrent news of military coups and takeovers. There is something fundamentally wrong on the continent. While it is not out of place to blame the role colonization — and its resultant mambo-jumbling of people of differing races, cultures, and approaches — played in the disruption of the continent, it is important to note that Africa is not the only home of former colonies. India has never for once experienced a military coup. That is not to say India is perfect, but India is growing, evolving and learning.

Military coups have registered themselves as the transitional bridge in African politics. The poor leadership, country-wrecking corruption, mass abuse of power and disregard for the rule of law, constitution, and citizens contribute massively to the military’s self-justification of military coups in these African countries. Ironically, the military that has often positioned itself as the restorer of law and order and the savior of the people is also notorious for committing the same or far worse offenses and abuse of power during their regimes. In West Africa, countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Togo experienced their first military coup less than 10 years after their independence. That speaks more to a fundamental problem or mentality that transcends political failure. 

In Africa — especially with the recent military coups — there is more to it than military intervention. These coups and usurpation of power are beginning to look like the countries’ way of taking a stance devoid of the perceived cowardice of the deposed democratic leaders. There is a pattern to the military coups that have happened recently in Africa, as they have mostly been in countries that are former colonies of France. 

Although it is being said that the days of colonization are far behind, there are indications of not-so-subtle neocolonialism by France within its former colonies, often aided by the French-state-backed elected leaders of those former colonies. In exchange for the pleasures of the French soil — akin to the resultant effect of the notorious model of assimilation and association — the leaders of these Francophone African states curry for the grace and favor of the French state, at the detriment of their countries and citizens. 

There is also the hefty price for independence tied to the ridiculous agreements the French state has reached with its former colonies, including the enormous amount remitted to France annually for the use of the Francs CFA, the widespread exploitation of Nigeriens through mining done by French-state-backed Orano’s Somair, and the over-dependence of resources-rich Francophone African states on France are some reasons for these patterned military takeovers that have happened recently.

There is no denying that when the people are pushed to the wall, they would be left with no choice but to push back. This has been the case in Gabon, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Guinea. At this point, there is the need for introspection: are the African states that never experienced a coup better off? What systems of government do those states practice? Do they have a history of colonization? Are they multi-ethnic countries? How big are they by population? When we juxtapose the troubled countries with the ones that never had any coup using these metrics, we will then begin to see a clear path toward understanding the biggest root causes of military coups in Africa and whether they have been beneficial, and perhaps understanding the best way out. 

Since the recent coups, there have been grand attempts by regional blocs like ECOWAS to resolve the issue, including opting to use a strong tone and attempting to strong-arm the putschists in Niger into returning power to the usurped president of the country. However, if historical antecedents are anything to go by, strong-arming the putschists is not the way to go, and opting for a full-blown-war or military operation can only result in a victory with two downsides: the emergence of rebels in the state or civilians becoming the victims in a case where the military intervention blows out of proportion. In both cases, the result does not spell good for the average citizen of the countries where the governments have been overthrown. What then needs to be addressed?

There is a need to address the root causes of these military coups, rechristened as interventions in African states. There is a need for holistic approaches that will result in proactive measures to mitigate the issues and usher Africa into a new era of evolution and growth that will banish military coups and regimes as relics of history. 

At the Toyin Falola Interviews, our next panel session will focus on coups in Africa, drawing on the expertise of analysts invited from African states. King/Prof. Fuankem Achankeng, Col. (Rtd) Festus Aboagye, Dr. Omotola Ilesanmi, Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, and Prof. Biodun Ogundayo will be sharing insights and expanding on the root causes of coups in Africa, how the coups tie back to geopolitics, the legitimacies of these coups, and resource management at a time like this. Furthermore, there will be a focus on discussing the true and systemic way out of the myriad of coup-inciting problems within countries on the African continent. Join us on Sunday, September 24, as our panelists discuss this time-sensitive and vital topic.

Sunday, September 24, 2023

Mauritius and Seychelles Time (UTC/GMT+4): 8 PM

East Africa Time (UTC/GMT+3): 7 PM

Central Africa Time (UTC/GMT+2): 6 PM

West Africa Time (UTC/GMT+1): 5 PM

Greenwich Mean Time (UTC/GMT): 4 PM

Cape Verde Time (UTC-1): 3 PM

Austin, Texas (CST): 11 AM

Register and Watch:

https://www.tfinterviews.com/post/coups-in-africa 

Join via Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87006925926 

Watch on Facebook:

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A former External Affairs Minister , Prof.Bolaji Akinyemi , has proffered an antidote to the rising spate of military coups in Africa.

Prof. Akinyemi who was a minister in the government of former Military President Ibrahim Babangida spoke against the background of a military coup that has removed a democratic government in Niger Republic.

Military coups which were a regular occurrence in Africa in the decades after independence have become resurgent recently.

The takeover in Niger, led by soldiers belonging to the presidential guard, is just the latest in a string of coups that have taken place in recent years.

There were two in Burkina Faso in 2022 as well as failed coup attempts in Guinea Bissau, The Gambia and the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe.

In 2021, there were six coup attempts in Africa, four of them successful.

Akinyemi said during a session of the Prof.Toyin Falola Interviews on Sunday that there should be a charter on democracy that would be binding on members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He said that such a charter should be endorsed by the African Union and even the United Nations.

Akinyemi said that such a charter had become necessary because democracies are not only truncated in Africa by military coups. According to him, democracies are also truncated through civilian coups. This entails elected presidents changing their nations’ constitutions in order to get more tenures beyond the terms as stipulated in their constitutions.

He explained that ECOWAS leaders are opposed to the military coup in Niger as a way of protecting their own democracies.

But he condemned a development that he referred to as the ethnicisation of foreign policy. He referred to the opposition by a region of Nigeria to the plan of President Bola Tinubu to deploy the military in Niger in order to return to democracy. He said such ethnic and religious considerations in deciding foreign policies were non-existent in the past. He said this was why he supported the then Nigerian government’s decisions as regards military interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The interviewers who included Prof. Jide Osuntokun, Bishop Matthew Kukah, Ambassador Godknows Igali, Ambassador Jaiyeola Joseph Lewu and Prof.Richard Joseph asked Prof.Akinyemi questions about his family background, the university system, his career and national and international developments.

By Toyin Falola

Focus is an often-romanticized characteristic among the human race. As powerful as the human brain is, there are piles of motivational messages with the sole aim of helping humans do away with distractions and focus on their end goal. Among those piles of messages is the notion that venturing into more than one thing at a time is a huge impediment to focus-based excellence. This notion is lodged within sayings like, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” a proverbial message that teaches contentment and the need to have undivided attention for one’s mission. 

However, we have seen over the years that this message has been lost on a larger percentage of the human race. For one, variety is the heartbeat of existence in any given human society — it makes people tick and give them reasons to wake up each day and go about their duties. This variety is the ability to live their lives for more than one thing; to have a purpose yet have passions and hobbies. To take variety out of human society, to restrict people to a single way of life and to ask them to make their attention undivided for a single purpose could render life undesirable for many.

Prof.Bolaji Akinyemi

This variety has been at the core of Professor Bolaji Akinyemi’s life trajectory, making him an accomplished and fulfilled elder statesman. More often than not, happenings in countries like Nigeria prove a wide gap between the town and the gown — so much so that what seems to be the analyses and academic considerations of issues is a far cry from what eventually is the reality of the people. This phenomenon made the term “armchair critic” popular, a seemingly condescending name for someone that deals more with the theoretical provisions of happenings in the country with little to no experience in active political leadership. The term has often served as an easy way out for politicians to attempt to silence their critics by implying that expectations, analyses, and considerations do not align with the reality of the people and the political landscape.

The gap — between theory and practice, town and gown, scholars and politicians, expectations and reality — makes it a rare occurrence to have someone belong to both worlds in Nigeria, save for seeing scholars participate in the politics within the academic community. It is either one who leads a productive life by contributing to the betterment of our society through their work in the academic field or one who takes the challenge of serving the Nigerian state in different leadership capacities. To opt for either of the two is far more common than seeing someone lead both lives.

As uncommon as it may seem, many people have had their fair share of contributions within the Nigerian political and academic landscapes. It is of this order that Professor Bolaji Akinyemi belongs. Professor Akinyemi’s exploits as a professor of “applied” political science have made him a trans-generational reference within the Nigerian political and academic landscapes. This is why I’ve chosen to regard him as the don of public affairs — an academic that has stayed relevant and in the spotlight through his academic contributions and political commitment and service to the Nigerian state and people.

For someone that has led an excellent life in the public spotlight, the earliest years of Professor Akinyemi’s life did not start with an ambition to serve the country politically. This is not unexpected since the early days of post-independent Nigeria were filled with part-time politicians, people with other careers besides politics. Politics then was an aside, not a lifelong aspiration that one prepared for from their cradle like it is seen nowadays where even primary school students campaign and contest for prefectship positions.

What started as a passion for studying medicine soon translated into a career in a research-intensive study in international affairs, law and diplomacy, and philosophy — where he obtained two Master’s degrees and a Doctorate, respectively. Professor Akinyemi’s life has always been about variety, which also came to the fore in his studies. 

As a prolific academic, Professor Akinyemi’s career started at the University of Ibadan. His excellence in teaching also saw him take up several teaching-related roles at the North Eastern University, DePauw University, Kalamazoo College, Nigeria’s University of Lagos, the University of California, the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Kenya’s Diplomacy Training Progam at the University of Nairobi, and St. John’s College in Cambridge, among other roles. If there is anything to speak to Professor Akinyemi’s excellence in teaching, it is how he got several appointments, sometimes concurrently, to impart knowledge. His excellence in teaching was also greatly influenced by his first-hand experience in the field and how that gave life and practicality to the theories and concepts he discussed in his classrooms.

But far from being an excellent teacher, Professor Akinyemi is also a prolific scholar and researcher whose love for and belief in Nigeria’s success was his biggest arsenal, helping him make several meaningful strides both in the academic community and as a politician. The books he is best known for are those he wrote as commentaries on the Nigerian state. Notable among those commentaries are his works on: The British Press and the Nigerian Civil War: The Godfather Complex; Angola and Nigeria: A Study in the National Interest; Nigerian Exceptionalism: Nigerian Quest for World Leadership; Nigeria: The Blackman’s Burden; A Farewell to Policy; Nigeria and the World: Readings in Nigerian Foreign Policy, and Foreign Policy and Nationalism: A Nigerian Experience. Most of these were books he wrote in the decades he served the Nigerian state as a foreign policy analyst.

As a public affairs guru, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi’s first service to the Nigerian state was as the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs during the regime of General Murtala Mohammed. That period is touted as one of Nigeria’s best periods, foreign policy-wise, and that feat could not have been achieved without the immense inputs of the Institute that Professor Bolaji Akinyemi chaired. As Director-General, he championed Nigeria’s focus on dialogue to forge stronger foreign policies and make international ties. The work rate of the Institute under Professor Akinyemi’s leadership was unprecedented, seeing to the organization of several dialogues, including the Nigerian-Chinese Dialogue, the Nigerian-United States Dialogue, the Nigerian-Soviet Union Dialogue, the Nigerian-Brazilian Dialogue, the Northern-Southern Dialogue, and the Nigerian-Scandinavian Dialogue, among several other dialogues and interventions.

The years that Professor Akinyemi spent in the Institute of International Affairs saw him commit intellectual resources to revamping the Institute and repositioning it as an organization of repute among federal-owned agencies in the country. Aside from the dialogues that the Institute facilitated, it saw an astronomical increase in its research output, so much so that successors of Murtala Mohammed retained Professor Akinyemi as the Director-General of the Institute.

Years later, this illustrious and hardworking spirit manifested when Professor Bolaji Akinyemi was appointed the Nigerian Minister of External and Foreign Affairs, succeeding Ibrahim Gambari in office. His tenure as a minister during the Muhammadu Buhari regime. At a time when war was ravaging some African states, Professor Akinyemi’s efforts successfully registered Nigeria as a force to be reckoned with and a big sister to other African states, especially in the country’s peacekeeping negotiations during the Chadian-Libyan and Malian-Burkina Faso wars. He was also a vocal Nigerian minister who steadfastly led Nigerian delegations to world conferences and UN assemblies—counting many who were more committed to and believed more in the Nigerian cause than Professor Bolaji Akinyemi is rare.

Akinyemi’s exploits are for ages; his expertise and in-depth commentaries are still being studied and reimagined. To have encountered Professor Akinyemi would be to have met one of the most patriotic Nigerians. Even though he is no longer in active service to the country, he has stayed relevant through his commentaries and contributions to the Nigerian political space, and his work remains a relevant source of reference in the academic community.

In the Yoruba Alade’s proverbial cottage, one is refused the choice of having one’s cake and eating it — that is, eating both yam and pounded yam. However, if life were Alade’s proverbial cottage, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi would have had a taste of two sides and excelled in both. He also added asaro to it, eating not just the yam, pounded yam, and porridge. Three men in one! He is a Nigerian worthy of recognition and celebration, and it is with pleasure that I introduce him as our guest on the next edition of the Toyin Falola Interviews.

Join us on August 13, 2023, and we will touch on topical issues with one of the most profoundly gifted Nigerians alive.

Sunday, August 13, 2023

5:00 PM Nigeria

4:00 PM GMT

11:00 AM Austin CST

Register:

https://www.tfinterviews.com/post/bolaji-akinyemi

Join via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81404232638