It is bad news for Africa. Democracy is once again on the run from the gun. Military adventurers have shot their way into power in six sub-Saharan African countries in three years, between 2020 and 2023. Mali (2020), Chad (2021), Guinea (2021), Burkina Faso (2022), Sudan (2021) and the latest, Niger, a couple of weeks ago as of this writing, changed agbada for khaki.
Five of these countries are in the Sahel region made up of nine countries, including Nigeria. The five countries are among the poorest in the world. No matter how poor an African country might be, it offers its leaders vast opportunities to bury their conscience in the sands of pretentious leadership and corruptly live off the little the country has to offer and corruptly impoverish it.
The lure of corruption is a strong pull on the continent. Power, acquired through the ballot box or the barrel of the gun, remains the shortest route to personal fortunes and wealth on the continent. Democracy be damned. Few men, if…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
