Soldiers shot into power early last week in Burkina Faso after steering a 36-hour uprising that toppled the third West African leader of government in eight months. They kicked out President Roch Marc Kaboré who came to power in 2015 and was re-elected to another five-year term in 2020.

An uprising, which began penultimate weekend as barracks mutiny by disgruntled soldiers, mutated into a full blown coup as uniformed men appeared on national television to announce they had taken over power and promising a “return to constitutional order” within “reasonable time.” A communiqué from coup leader Lieutenant-Col. Paul-Henri Damiba, read by a Captain flanked by colleagues in camouflage gear, said the country’s constitution had been suspended, the government and national assembly dissolved and all borders shut. The soldiers claimed they had executed the power grab without spilling blood, and confirmed holding Kaboré and other politicians in a safe place that “respects their dignity.” Visuals from the capital, Ouagadougou, however showed armoured vehicles reportedly used by the presidency, peppered with bullet holes and having blood stains abandoned in the street. Security sources said Kaboré and other top officials were being held at a barracks in the capital.

The coup in Burkina Faso came in the wake of similar power grabs in Mali that toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020, and a repeat coup by which a civilian-led interim government was flushed out in May 2021; a failed coup attempt in Niger Republic in March 2021; the extra-constitutional succession of former President Idriss Déby of Chad by his son and four-star General, Mahamat Idriss Déby, after he was killed by rebel fighters in April 2021; and a coup in Guinea that overthrew President Alpha Condé in September 2021. Outside of West Africa, the military upended a political transition in Sudan to seize power in October 2021. In all cases of successful coups, the affected military have been reluctant to return their respective country to constitutional rule by civilians. It was such reluctance that informed the sub-regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) slamming a tough slate of sanctions that included border closure, economic embargo and threat of military action against the Mali junta barely two weeks ago.

ECOWAS and other international entities like the African Union, United Nations, European Union, United States and France, which is Burkina Faso’s former colonial power, were swift in condemning the coup and calling out the Burkinabe soldiers as usurpers. In a statement, last week Monday, the 15-member ECOWAS said it was following with keen concern the emerging scenario in Burkina Faso, which it condemned as an “extremely grave act,” adding that it held the military responsible for the safety of Kaboré. Leaders of the bloc were also billed to meet virtually Friday on Burkina Faso. The catch, though, is: that Burkinabe soldiers had the guts to seize power so close after the sanctions imposed on Mali suggested the hard tackle hadn’t been a sufficient deterrence against prospective emulators as was intended, and – let’s be frank – much less will be the tough talk.

This calls for introspection on the leadership question as incentivises military restiveness. Noting can justify soldiers usurping power; but it is yet instructive that the coup in Burkina Faso came after hundreds of protesters had marched in the streets of Ouagadougou, demanding Kaboré’s resignation over perceived failure to give leadership to the fight against insurgency that has rendered much of the countryside ungovernable, killed more than 2,000 Burkinabes and displaced at least 1.4million people. Some misguided citizens also celebrated the takeover, renascent of what happened in Mali and Guinea. Democracy is a non-negotiable deal, but it mustn’t take societies for granted. Bad civilian leadership gives ambitious soldiers room to take advantage of, and accords them pseudo-legitimacy when affected populations momentarily hail them as deliverers whereas they are utterly illegitimate. ECOWAS must ensure effective peer review to promote good leadership in the sub-region.

Update news