I'm very happy with what happened in Gabon, Fayose reacts to coup

The former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has voiced his approval of recent developments in Gabon, where soldiers seized power from President Ali Bongo.

According to Fayose, who spoke on the Channels Television programme Hard Copy on Friday, September 1, 2023, the renaissance of coups across the African continent is the result of the sit-tight syndrome.

You'd recall that military officers in the oil-rich Central African country toppled Bongo's government on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. The deposed leader has been in power for 14 years and was declared the winner of last Saturday's presidential election.

Bongo became the President of Gabon in 2009 following the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who had ruled the nation for 42 years, rounding out the family's grip on the country at cumulatively 56 years.

Reacting to the development, Fayose expressed his disdain for military intervention in politics but said, “I am very happy with what happened in Gabon."

"I don’t like military incursions in politics," the former governor added while saying that he doesn't see a repeat of that in Nigeria despite the shortcomings in the country's democratic journey.

“Remember that, now in Nigeria, you can see an interrupted democratic process. You can see that we know after four years there will be an election. Nigeria has gone from one party to another party, one person to another person in the space of time.

“But in a country where one man is spending 30 years, 20 years, 40 years, they must boot him out of the place, whichever way. That’s different from Nigeria’s setting,” he said.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain noted that “You can’t spend more than a particular number of years but don’t compare it with Nigeria. I’m not saying anything cannot happen – no coup.

“When you talk here, they will go and report you. They will come and carry you in the house because, the moment you hear about a coup and you do not report it – let me say to you, you deserve to be killed.”

Buttressing his point, Fayose compared the oil-rich nation’s population to that of Nigeria, saying, “Nigeria has a 200 million population, Gabon is 2.5 million, Ekiti is even more than Gabon.”