Will Stevens, United States Consul General to Nigeria, on Wednesday blamed the rising military takeovers in Africa on incessant refusal of some African leaders to relinquish power after spending decades in government.
Records have shown that since 2020, Africa has experienced coups in seven countries with the most recent one recorded in Gabon in the month of August.
The Consul General made this remark to students during the launch of the “Recycling Waste to Wealth Challenge” competition for secondary school students in Abeokuta Window on America held at the Youth Development Centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He pointed out that some African presidents have spent between 20 and 40 years in government, but yet failed to relinquish power.
He praised Nigeria by pointing out that unlike other countries, the country has enjoyed 25 years of uninterrupted peaceful democratic succession. This, he found worthy of emulation.
On Africa generally, he enjoined leaders to come together to combat the huge challenges, ranging from climate change to food insecurity that are facing the continent. He was unequivocal in stating that only democratic stability could help the continent in resolving its problems.
This, according to him can be achieved if African leaders embraced democratic tenets by ensuring peaceful transition of power in their various countries.
His words “I hope and feel that you (Africa) can fix the problems and the problems are big; its climate change which leads to flooding, it is plastics pollution, it is food insecurity, it is the backsliding of democracy in the region.
“Obasanjo served two terms and left power, he set the precedent in Nigeria of you serving and then you step aside for your successor.
“Nigeria has enjoyed 25 years of presidential succession. President Buhari just did the same thing, he served his two terms and then he stepped aside, that is a big deal in democracy, peaceful transitions of power, that is a huge thing to be proud of, It does not happen very often.
“There are Presidents of neighbouring countries that have been there for a very, very long time, 20, 30, 40 years, this leads to democratic instability, it leads to coups. Nigeria is the fourth largest democracy in the world, you just had a successful presidential transition, successful elections, this is something you should not take for granted. The idea that people can come into power, they can serve and then leave is really cool.”
