- Safiu Kehinde
Controversial Nigerian public affairs commentator, Mahdi Shehu, has warned that military coup will continue to be an option in developing countries with failed democracies.
Mahdi gave the warning in a post shared on his X handle on Wednesday in reaction to the military coup in Guinea-Bissau.
NPO Reported the coup had on Wednesday broken out at the West African country following the reported arrest of the country’s President, Umaro Sissoco Embaló.
The reports came three days after a presidential election in which the main opposition candidate was disqualified.
Amid the controversies that had surrounded the election, the result was slated to be announced on Thursday.
However, gunshots would be heard in capital city Bissau yesterday with government sources disclosing that Embaló had been detained.
Shortly after the development, group of military officers declared that they have seized control of Guinea-Bissau.
The army officers in an address on state TV said they had formed “the High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” and would be in charge of the West African nation until further notice.
Reacting to the development, Shehu attributed the military takeover to failed democracy.
He however highlighted what he described as non-negotiable antidote to military coup among which include transparent election, impartial justice system, non-personalisation of resources, and respect for oppositions view amongst others.
The statement read; “With genuine, half truth, deceptive. fraudulent and false democratic slogans across the world, Military Coup is thought to be unpopular.
“But far from being unpopular, Military coup especially in developing countries and failed democracies will continue to be an option even if unpopular.
“The antidotes to the military coup are very clear and non negotiable:
“1. True democracy, periodic elections through transparent election processes based on clearly well known rules and where votes must count.
“2. Managing people and their collective resources through an open and transparent process.
“3. An honest and impartial justice system where the provisions of the law are applied across the board without bias.
“4. Non personalisation of public resources by a group of greedy and selfish individuals to the total exclusion of the Majority.
“5. Allowing candidates to emerge through an open process without intimidation, forced exit or restrictive entry.
“6. Knowing when the ovation is over and when to let go.
“7. Respect for opposition views and respect for human rights and protection.
“8. Blocking well known criminals from hijacking democratic institutions using money, blackmail and murder.
“Anything short of these things will mean allowing a fertile ground for the military coup to become the general rule and indeed a welcome option where democracy proves to be a disaster beyond a measuring scale.”