The recent spate of coups in Africa signals that civil and democratic ideals have regressed on the continent. Yet, the coups also present an opportunity for African governments and regional blocs to recommit themselves to continental development & social welfare.
Coups d’état in Africa have always been strong markers of changing times. Though Africa’s current sociopolitical landscape is markedly different from what it was between the 1960s and 1980s when coups were most rampant, the resurgence of military takeovers points to a similar kind of disillusionment. The trigger of these coups can be traced to chronic underdevelopment and the suppression of public will. The fact that the ousting of ‘democratically elected’ presidents has generated acceptance in some quarters points to a collective distrust of so-called democratic structures which have so far failed to deliver peace, security and prosperity to them.
The coups in Burkina Faso and Niger which happened in September 2022 and July 2023 respectively demonstrated classic scenarios of waning confidence in Africans towards democratic structures. The Human Development Index of sub-Saharan Africa remains within the index scores of 0.42 and 0.56, an indication of low human development. These are the critical issues that deserve timely socio-economic interventions. So, this wave sweeping across the west and Sahel regions of Africa should serve as a wake-up call to other African countries to prioritize institutional development and social welfare, lest they descend into their own chapters of political crisis...
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