A professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Prof. Felix Asogwa, has identified mass poverty and leadership deficiency as responsible for the spate of military takeover of power in Africa.

He stated that most military coups happen on the continent because there had earlier been civilian coups, insisting that until accountability in leadership is instituted in various countries in Africa, more military coups would happen.

He said: “I am envisaging that more African countries will fall to military coup soon. In other words, the only solution is through accountable governance and purposeful leadership. African leaders should learn from the mistakes of the past. Unless such mistakes are corrected, military coups will continue in Africa,” he stated.

Speaking to reporters in Enugu as part of activities for this year’s International World Peace Day, Asogwa, who is the Director, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution and Development Studies, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), regretted that the attitude of African leaders is threatening sustainable peace on the continent.

He said: “More and more African countries are being rated as the poverty capital of the global society. There is increasing poverty in Africa and as we know, poverty is quite inimical to the pursuit of peace. That is why in the conceptualisation of peace, people will say that it is the absence of war. It is really the absence of war, but includes essentially the presence of justice, law, enhanced socio-economic well being among the individuals. This is a strong factor that could threaten the existence of peace.

“There is weaponisation of poverty by African leaders and this is a big problem. Poverty is now being reduced as a weapon for these leaders to continue their dominance over the rest of the people, which has become a threat to sustainable peace.”

The don stressed that the major cause of rising insecurity, threat to peace and even military coup is the very incidence of leadership deficit in Africa, saying in the whole of the continent, one can hardly see a typical African that can be referred to as a leader.

He disclosed that military coups most of the time arise because there was an earlier civilian coup, explaining that such occurs where civilian leaders allow at elections what do not really meet the criteria of what one regards as election under a democratic arrangement.

“They use all kinds of instruments to ensure that they emerge victorious in elections against the will of the people. This amounts to a civilian coup and most of the leaders who come in through civilian coup end up not being mindful of the welfare of the individual.”

That is why you saw celebrations in Niger Republic when the military struck,” he added. (The Guardian)

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