Niger Military Coup - Essay Example

?Introduction Effective leadership especially in sovereign nations entails the protection of human rights, equal distribution of national resources and promotion of democracy, whereby civil societies, individuals and organizations among others are allowed to contribute their opinions regarding governance (Owumechili 15). Unfortunately, this has not been the case with some governments, which are notably led by self centered individuals, who will go to great lengths so as to hold on to power, against the will of their fellow citizens. Consequently, dissidents find ways of getting them out of power either constitutionally or through other means such as military intervention. This paper will critically discuss military coups as way of seizing power, using the Niger’s case as an example. Niger Military Coup Military coups as earlier stated, have been considered especially in most of the African countries among them Niger, as the only way of getting corrupt leaders in the government to vacate their offices once diplomacy has failed (Onwumechili 17). This is due to the fact that these leaders in most cases interfere with their constitutions, with some using their powers to amend certain acts in order to prolong their terms. Some of them even refuse to vacate their offices after they are defeated in presidential elections, for example with the case of Ivory Coast. The president, despite having lost the election to his opponent Outtara, has continued to cling to power instead of handing over the presidency peacefully. As for now, diplomatic talks mediated by eminent persons are going on and there is a possibility of military action against him if the talks fail to produce viable results (Harwood 59). This is an example of how tensions start building up and when they accumulate, military action becomes unavoidable especially where such leaders have been described as the major cause of suffering for the citizens and an obstacle to development. In Niger for example, the former president, Mamadou Tandja had been in power for 10 years, which is the maximum period that a president is allowed to rule in the country, after which he is required to retire. However, towards the end of his second term, he brought about a constitutional reform, which was meant to give him the leeway to run for another term, and which did not go down well with majority of the citizens and legislators. He planned a national referendum to extend his term but according to sources, the opposition boycotted this process whereas the national assembly refused to grant his wishes. In return, Tandja dissolved the parliament as well as the constitutional court for ruling against his intentions. Interestingly, he went ahead to conduct the referendum in which the opposition did not participate and declared the results in favor of his bid for a third term (Africa Research Bulletin 205). This is a sign of a leader who was bent to interfere with all organs of government regardless of the principle of separation of powers between the executive, legislature and the judiciary, which are supposed to function independently without one influencing the other. In this aspect, the president can be termed as an authoritarian, who, with the current growth of democracies around the world, should not be allowed to hold executive powers. The action prompted the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to sanction the country by excluding it from the organization’s trading activities (Africa Research Bulletin 207). Such an action against a country means that the level of foreign income earned from exports to member countries goes down hence the rise of poverty levels among citizens. In addition, despite the country being rich in minerals such as Uranium, citizens have continued to suffer abject poverty while his council of ministers and close family members and friends continued to enrich themselves with tax payer’s money. As a result of such corruption and nepotism through out his rule, Niger’s economy has continued to deteriorate and the effect is that the country has ranked highly among the world’s poorest countries (Harwood 61). Lack of goodwill from your people coupled with opposition from your neighbors is a reason enough for a person who believes in democracy to step down from his position and let another person take over. It is commonly believed that such leaders are always fearful of the consequences of stepping down from the powerful position due to the possibility of what is perceived as witch hunting. In this context, the leaders believe that a change of guard would make them vulnerable to lawsuits and confiscation of property earned through corruption and nepotism. In most constitutions around the world, a sitting president is provided with immunity from such law suits and this may be a key motivation to cling onto power, so as to protect self interests such as investments as well as accusations of abuse of office among other atrocities (Onwumechili 25). Niger has experienced four military coups in its recent history i.e. 1974, in which Tadja was a key participant, in 1996, which brought the then president Mahamane Ousmane out of power, the 1999 coup, which saw the assassination of the then president Mainassara and which gave Tadja the opportunity to run for and win the presidency. The fourth military coup occurred on February 2010, ousting Tadja and his associates out of government (Gollman 11). Apparently, the military forces, under the command of Salou Djibo attacked the presidential palace and captured the president as he was holding a meeting with some of his ministers, who were arrested together with him. Immediately after doing so, the military organization leading the operation declared a suspension of the country’s constitution meaning that the country was in the hands of the military junta, which declared itself as the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy. In addition, a curfew was put into place, restricting movement within the country as well as the closure of borders to restrict movement from and into the country. The national assembly was also dissolved alongside other state institutions (BBC 2010). In general, the military literally took over the governance of the nation especially through the appointment of Djibo as the head of state and government, who in this capacity continued to appoint a new prime minister and other officials both from the military and the civil society to head various government departments, in a transitional period through which major constitutional reforms would be made to allow for a democratic election, both for the presidency and the national assembly (Africa Research Bulletin 212). However, most of the ministers and officials arrested during the coup were released after a short time apart from Tandja and three senior ministers. Civilians in the country had undergone a lot of impoverishment and discrimination such that they were quick to praise the military for taking the bold step to oust the then government (BBC 2010). It may be important to note that the process did not incur a lot of casualties as only 10 people lost their lives in the gun fighting. Had this not happened, a lot of deaths due to hunger would probably have been recorded as the international community had already started issuing sanctions to the country, denying it aid. According to the new government’s statistics, approximately 58% of its citizens were suffering from hunger, a percentage that the Tandja’s government had previously downplayed to 20% to avoid being criticized (Africa Research Bulletin 215). Djibo was able to talk and convince the UN and the EU to consider providing assistance in order to counter the famine and hunger threatening the lives of the citizens. In this aspect, it can be said that citizens have a renewed hope in terms of betterment of their living conditions although it may be too early to celebrate. This is due to the fact that France remains to be the major beneficiary of the Uranium mines and critics insist that the little money earned from the mining is shared among the top military officials and other allies of the ruling elite (Gollman 32). However, one of the reasons why citizens are highly optimistic is the fact that the military coups that have happened before yielded better results there after and the military has never been interested in taking up political power. The coups are always succeeded by peaceful democratic elections and the military in this case has promised to follow the same trend. It is also observable that majority of politicians, who went on self imposed exile after they felt threatened by Tandja’s rule, have started flying back home meaning that they are in favor of the military coup. The opposition has also shown interest in joining with the military to shape up the future of the country meaning that there is hope for a better future (Gollman 37). However, it is important to note that military coups are not always the best option for solving governance issues. This is due to the fact that whereas Niger’s case may be considered a special one based on the perception created by the locals, that everyone is in its support, most of the coups that have happened in the past especially around Africa have ended up triggering civil wars, destruction of property and total disregard to the rule of law. It is therefore necessary for those in leadership to ensure that basic foundations are created for the sake of promoting democracy. To begin with, constitutions should be designed and developed in a way that ensures presidential powers and privileges are reduced significantly (Diamond 23). For example, some of the powers such as those enabling a president to dissolve institutions such as the national assembly may be transferred to the legislature, in order to allow it to determine its own calendar. By doing so, it would be impossible for a president to wake up and dissolve the national assembly for no justifiable reason. Multi party politics should also be promoted and the opposition strengthened enough so as to be able to correct the government where it goes wrong. Silencing and intimidating the opposition may result to dictatorship and the result is that those feeling oppressed will definitely find a way to free themselves from bondage. Institutions such as the human rights organization and the anti-corruption commissions among others should be strengthened so as to enable them oversee that government operations are conducted in a democratic and open manner. This would help much in identifying corrupt leaders early enough to make them step down from their positions and face prosecution. However, this cannot be achieved without reforming the judiciary and protecting its independence so as to build trust among citizens and leaders, so as to make it possible for offences such as electoral malpractices to be addressed in an unbiased manner (Diamond 35). This is to motivate discontented losers of an election to bring forward their petitions instead of garnering military support to forcibly remove illegally declared presidents from power. It is also important for leaders to maintain high integrity and appreciate dialogue in times of crisis. They should have the welfare of their nations at heart and in this context, it would be better for them to listen to the views of the majority and observe their mood, after which it would be easier for them to make informed decisions on whether to step down or continue to serve in their capacity, with high regard to the laws and the constitution of the land. Conclusion Military coups should be considered as the last resort to bring down a rogue government. Constitutional mechanisms and approaches should be allowed to prevail first before considering other options. However, where a sitting president has compromised all the available avenues, military action becomes a necessity, for example in the case of Niger. Mamadou Tandja had become a dictator in his last two years in office and as a result, there was no way to convince him to step down as Niger’s president. To avoid such cases, leaders should learn to be open to criticism and also respect the constitution. Where they cannot do so willingly, constitutional reforms should be made, for example through a referendum, so as to cut off excessive powers invested in the presidency, thereby, making them more answerable to the people. Works Cited 1. Africa Research Bulletin. “Niger: Military Coup.” Political, Social and Cultural Series 47.2 (2010): 200-215. 2. BBC. Military Coup Ousts Niger President Mamadou Tandja. 19 Feb. 2010. 24 Jan. 2011 3. Diamond, Lary. The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies throughout the World. St. Martin's Griffin, 2009. 4. Gollman, Benard. Military Coups in Niger. Praeger, 2010. 5. Harwood, C. "The Return of the African Coup." Journal of Democracy 1 (2010): 51-69. 6. Onwumechili, Chuka. African Democratization and Military Coups. Praeger, 2009. Read More