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The coup in Niger
E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Ghanadot
The African Union has come out to condemn the coup in Niger. And
today, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also added his
voice. In addition, he has called for calm in Niger.
Meanwhile, thousands of people are parading the streets in Niger
to support the coup. The coup they are supporting is a
consequence of President Mamadou Tandja imposing a referendum on
them – an act that resulted in the lengthening of the
presidential term in office for Niger, and beneficially, for
Tandja.
Where were the AU and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon when the
machinations for the referendum were on-going? Did they have the
foresight to think that President Tandja’s political intrigues
could end up in a coup?
President Tandja seized power, closed Parliament and the Courts
in Niger under the pretext that “Niger's independence was under
threat.” He assumed emergency powers and forced a referendum on
the people.
It should be recalled that the US came out to condemn this act
by President Tandja and correctly called his actions a coup. The
coup against President tandja can, therefore, be correctly
called a counter coup.
According to a statement from a spokesperson at the US State
Department, in reference to Niger, "President Tandja has been
trying to extend his mandate in office. And obviously, that may
well have been, you know, an act on his behalf that precipitated
this act…."
No such statement is coming from the AU or the UN and Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon. This leaves us to wonder whether they would
have preferred the strong arm tactics of President Tandja to
stay?
Again, if you would recall, a similar attempt to increase the
presidential term in office was made in Honduras by the then
President Zaleya. Fortunately that effort is now history.
The Zeleya ouster was a big political event and the leaders of
the Organization of American States (OAS) reacted quixotically
to impose Zaleya on the Hondurans. The Parliament, the army and
the courts of Honduras resisted and stood to protect the
constitution, because they saw Zaleyas act as treasonable and
criminal.
The Hondurans stood firm because the presidential term was one
of seven articles of the Honduran constitution that could not be
repealed or amended.
Not here in Africa. Constitutions can always be reviewed,
amended, and abrogated completely, all in the search for power
and control.
Africa has always been an incubator for dictators, strongmen and
empty headed bullies who think they alone should rule.
Understandably, this is the Africa the colonials thought could
not rule itself peacefully - a continent that is used to the
longevity of the big man in office and where acts of political
bullies are always non-events. The AU, as an organization,
should be familiar with this perception.
Just recently, Gadafi, against the tradition of the AU, wanted
his term as AU chairman extended because his mentality was he
alone would be able to save Africa. Thankfully, his ambition was
thwarted.
The new rulers in Niger - the Supreme Council for the
Restoration of Democracy – have announced their intention for a
peaceful rule. They have quickly lifted the curfew imposed
immediately after the coup. Hopefully, they will open the country up
quickly for a constitutional election. This is the move
the AU must support.
E.
Ablorh-Odjidja, Publisher
www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC,
February 21, 2010
Permission to publish: Please feel free to publish or
reproduce, with credits, unedited. If posted at a website,
email a copy of the web page to
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