The Paradoxical Nature of Coups in Africa...
Author: Powell Buluma
Coup's d'états have been long intertwined with the Continent's history postdating the end of the colonial era.
Data compiled between the years 1950 and 2010 by American researchers Jonathan M Powell and Clayton L Thyneshow that out of the 54 UN recognized Countries in Africa, at least 45 of them have experienced a Coup attempt since 1950.
West Africa alone has had the bulk of this coups and many tie this to the French postcolonial policies that have been viewed as exploitative and on a philosophical level, basically forming a Neocolonial Empire in her former colonies. France controls the monetary sovereignty of 14 West African Nations by tying their currencies to the Euro through a unified currency known as the CFA Franc where the exchange rates are directly controlled by the French treasury.
Some might argue that this has protected the Francophone nations by making them less susceptible to global shocks in the financial markets. This is because their economies are much less banked and thus less vulnerable to global financial shocks when compared to their Anglophone Neighbours. Despite this, the countries are expected to bank 50% of their exchange reserves at the French treasury and another 20% for financial liabilities. This leaves them with only access to 30% of their exchange reserves. Moreover, all foreign exchange conversions were to pass through the French treasury and interest for all this is to be paid to France.
Basically, this has forced the member counties to pay France to hold money that they didn't ask to be held. With this knowledge, it is no secret now as to why many of the Coup d'états are occurring in West Africa and Central Africa in former French colonies.
The financial systems put in place have benefited the wealthy elite and France at the expense of most of the nearly 200 million people living in abject poverty within the region. This has led to an "Arab Spring” of coups in the region engulfing nations such as Chad, Mali, Guinea and very recently Gabon.
A coup sets a precedent that any issues affecting government can simply be resolved by overthrowing that government and having another take its place. This is coupled with the fact that no coup has yet to result in a prosperous state anywhere in the world.
The United Nations in the 36th Session of the General assembly made a declaration on the inadmissibility of intervention and interference in the internal affairs of states. The declaration's effect was that it strived to ensure noninterference in the domestic affairs of states. This coupled with the fact that the United Nations security council members cannot agree on how the body should respond to coups which are a threat to international peace and security, leaves a loophole in international law that has been exploited by Coup perpetrators.
They cite the United Nations Charter which provides that "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state". You can see then why it is so difficult for the security council to make a coordinated response when each member interprets the international law responsible for intervention differently.
A similar issue of non-consensus plagues the African Union. Despite nonspecifically mentioning Coups, the African Union Constitutive Act condemns and rejects unconstitutional changes of governments. It also provides Member States with the right to request intervention from the African Union to restore peace and security.
The last bit is what is usually cited by overthrown governments seeking support against the coup perpetrators. It is ironic therefore, that in the same Act, there is a provision for non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another. This leads to hesitation by the member countries to provide military aid to the affected states, further impeding consensus with often results in no action ever being taken. All this is without covering the negative impacts of coups on citizens of the affected nations. Coups led to political instability and turmoil.
The 2019 coup in Sudan is one such example. According to data provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees, over 800,000 citizens have already been internally displaced with another 220,000 refugees having fled the nation.
This has put tremendous stress on the already fragile geopolitical situation in the region. Enshrined in the Universal Declaration of human rights 1948, persons are granted the right to seek asylum from persecution in other countries. This leaves host nations with little choice but to host the refugees despite often not having the necessary infrastructure and capacity to do so.
Despite some viewing the coups in Africa as standing up against injustice, it comes at a cost and often, one that is more than its price. Whichever side of the spectrum one might lean on this topic, there is a consensus that poor governance is the root cause of most of the issues and tackling that will have a domino effect that might eradicate the need for coups all together.
