Did you notice something? Coups are happening here and there in West/Central Africa. Burkina Faso has joined Chad, Mali and Guinea – and the khaki boys are arguing that deteriorating security is the reason they are leaving the barracks to the government houses. With the US withdrawn from Africa as they confront the rise of China and the hotspots with Russia in Ukraine, it is looking like West Africa will have a long harmattan.
ECOWAS and AU, it is time to save the continent because the businessmen who help these guys to overthrow elected governments will open bank accounts for them in Europe and North America tomorrow.
But you may ask: what can ECOWAS do since most of its members are broken? People, despite the optimistic exuberance of AfCFTA, most parts of Africa have serious issues which must be addressed for sustained progress.
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Burkina Faso’s army said on Monday it had ousted President Roch Kabore, suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and the national assembly, and closed the country’s borders.
The announcement cited the deterioration of the security situation and what the army described as Kabore’s inability to unite the West African nation and effectively respond to challenges, which include an Islamist insurgency.
Signed by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba and read by another officer on state television, the announcement said the takeover had been carried out without violence and that those detained were at a secure location.
Photo: Sidsoré Kader Ouedraogo on state television announcing the Burkina Faso coup.
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