West Africa has experienced a record six military takeovers in the past 18 months.
Observers point to poverty and poor governance for fueling conflict in Africa, coupled with insurgent groups that add to the instability of states in the region.
Political expert and Director of the Center for Africa Studies at the University of Johannesburg, Dr. David Monyae, says regional governing bodies such as the African Union need to act against poor governance in Africa by promoting building opportunities and growing their economies, not just make speeches about the situation.
“What we are seeing is lack of development, and for us to push democracy at the expense of development, it won’t make sense,” says Monyae.
Monyae adds, “They (African Union) condemn certain coups, and look the other side in certain circumstances, like what is happening in Ethiopia itself, the headquarters of the AU.”
Ghanaian political analyst, Latif Iddrisu supports Monyae’s sentiments adding that poverty and misgovernance is threatening democracy in Africa.
“With these countries where the coups have taken place, you have the masses supporting the military. You have the masses running on the streets, waving their nation’s flag, saying they support the coup,” says Iddrisu.
Using Burkina Faso as an example, Iddrisu adds citizens are supporting military takeovers because African governments are proving to not have citizens best interests at heart.
“The military have successfully undertaken their coup because they kept complaining to the president that, ‘we don’t have the required weapons to fight these armed groups that are gaining