Once again the tanks and armored carriers are rolling on the streets in the capital, leaving their unmistakable trail of destruction on the asphalt. The camouflaged soldiers have burst out of their barracks, commandeered the city and erected cantonments on intersections all across Niamey, Niger’s capital. The revolution has made another full circle, in French of course, in the ever more mouthful form of Conseil suprême pour la Restauration de la Démocratie.
As the first volley of shots was fired at the presidential palace, the African Union and ECOWAS, the two regional bodies that are supposedly the most involved in matters on the continent, were in the dark about the unfolding events. The ambushed officials in Abuja and Addis Ababa could only scramble for scraps of news while affecting postures of authority and concern. The one constant in all coup d’états – foreign involvement – was embodied by France, the former colonial power, confirming the intimate details of the military coup.
This is not the first time that such a strange sequence has played out in the African context: there was a similar response in the aftermath of the coup in Guinea-Bissau a year ago. All that the AU could do then was express a vague sense of apprehension and promise to deliberate on the matter. Despite the extensive political consultation that followed, it was clear the organization’s lack of essential information about the situation on the ground had limited the effectiveness of its intervention. Portugal (one of the poorest countries in Europe) exercised more influence than both the AU and ECOWAS combined as the confident statement from its foreign minister on the coup showed.
This obviously poses difficult challenges for both of these organizations. Despite the formation of the AU (formerly known as the Organization of African Unity), the continent’s political order is still vulnerable to foreign interference even after fifty years of independence. The political and economic security sought from the creation of these organizations has yet to materialize. The AU (and, in the case of West Africa, ECOWAS) should have been the most influential force during both coups, if for no other reason than the realization that instability and foreign meddling in one country can undermine the entire region.
This is not to say the continent's leaders are completely unaware of this. Discussions regarding the restoration of democracy in Niger are underway. And there have been successful political interventions that aimed to diffuse crises in Guinea-Conakry, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania and Madagascar. These instances represent a more proactive stance on the part of the AU, ECOWAS and, in the case of Madagascar, the SADC, in attending to crises.
Military coups have declined in frequency, but this has yet to translate into stability or freedom from the grip of colonialism. Through extensive networks of security and economic apparatuses, the European capitals still maintain control of their former colonies. African governments depend on the metropolises for military hardware and training. The metropolises in turn use this opportunity to gain access to and establish links with key elements in the militaries they train: links that are vital for triggering coups when they are expedient. In this way the national security of African countries is compromised and key institutions are penetrated. The same vulnerability is true for the economies of former colonies as well.
It would be unfeasible to sever military and economic ties at this point but the continent’s leadership must collectively reflect on this problem. To release Africa from foreign domination, and from constant military revolts, there needs to be more secure networks for military and economic infrastructure. That means the creation of rigorous regional academies for all officers in the region. Such institutions would limit the vulnerability of intelligence and provide officers a forum to meet and share expertise and resource.
As for Niger, the engines of the tanks and army lorries are still roaring. When the dust stirred by their commotion settles we will learn the faces of the new young revolutionaries.
No comments:
Post a Comment