Deal with disease causing coups, not symptoms - Atiku tells African leaders

Atiku's remarks come barely 24 hours after the military took over power from the democratically elected President of Gabon, Ali Bongo.

Gabon is the latest African country to be hit with a coup d'état and the eighth in Central and West African sub-regions to experience a military intervention since 2020.

In a tweet on his X account (formerly Twitter), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections called on leaders across the continent to nurture the growth of democracy.

“The coup in Gabon stands condemned. Democracy and democratic governance have come to stay as a preferred form of government, and everything should be done to enthrone, nurture, and sustain it,” Atiku said on Thursday, August 31, 2023.

“As I suggested in the case of the Niger Republic, the ECOWAS and African Union authorities should open a window of diplomatic engagement that will pave the way for the soldiers to return to the barracks.

“The latest coup brings the number of military takeovers in Central and West Africa to 8 since 2020. This is worrisome and calls for introspection. We may have to focus on dealing with the disease and not the symptoms that birth coups.”

Several world leaders have condemned the political development in Gabon, including President Bola Tinubu, who described the new wave of coups in Africa as a “contagious autocracy.” 

It'd be recalled that the deposed President has called for his “friends” to “make noise” after military officers in the oil-rich Central African country announced a takeover of power.

“I’m sending a message to all friends that we have all over the world to tell them to make noise for (…) the people here who arrested me and my family,” frail-looking Bongo said in a clip posted on social media on Wednesday.