One country, two presidents: The ugly side of Africa’s democracy

Alassane Quattara, on the other hand, saddled with the responsibility to defend the people’s mandate, swore-in himself as the preferred president of Cote d’Ivoire. The consequence of having two lions in one den is taking its tollon Cote d’Ivoire.  More than 240 people are feared dead. Laurent Gbagbo has plunged the country into a quagmire […]

Alassane Quattara, on the other hand, saddled with the responsibility to defend the people’s mandate, swore-in himself as the preferred president of Cote d’Ivoire. The consequence of having two lions in one den is taking its tollon Cote d’Ivoire.  More than 240 people are feared dead. Laurent Gbagbo has plunged the country into a quagmire and posterity will not forgive him. How are the mighty fallen? General Sani Abacha as ECOWAS chairman, Laurent Gbagbo would have left office by now. Major Paul Koroma of Sierra Leone can attest to the guts of the late General and former head of State of Nigeria.

Mr Quattara should not settle for anything less than to be sworn-in as president and commander – in – chief of the Ivorien Armed Force. Mr Gbagbo and his other African cohorts must be taught a lesson. Already, about three mass graves where supporters of the president-elect are being killed and buried have been discovered, many more are still hidden. Genocide is taking place in Cote d’Ivore and African leaders are paying lip service. The death toll is measuring that of the Rwandan genocide.

African leaders try to redefine democracy under the guise of being loved and accepted by their people. Col Ghaddafi of Libya should organize an election to reaffirm his acceptability in Libya. The opinion poll will be less than 50%. That was what Laurent Gbagbo did and he got the shocker of his life. Gbagbo continued to postpone elections to enable him test public opinion about himself and his government. Sampled opinion on what the outcome might be in the event of an election. They promised him he will still win on the strength of which he allowed a general election to hold. Unfortunately, he lost. He swore-in himself based on the opinion poll conducted before the election which has no records or ballot papers.

Cote d’Ivoire, though a sovereign state, is a member of the conuity of nations. By implication therefore, its sovereignty is limited by the rules governing the international body. The United Nations Organization proclaims freedom to member nations forbidding the imposition of government on any group or race. Laurent Gbagbo conducted an election and the people chose to vote him out of power which is normal under a democracy.

But he neglected the people’s voice. The only alternative is to force him out of power employing all arsenals of confronting an evil regime of Laurent Gbagbo just the same way Saddan Hussein of Iraq was removed from power.

African leaders should wake up to this challenge. The United States President Barack Obama once said that the destiny of our continent lies in our own hands. This is a statement of fact and not a hypothesis. The Ghanaian leader, Professor Atta Mills, appears to be having a different opinion from the general norm. He said he will recognize any government that takes over power in Cote d’Ivoire. That is to say any government that will survive the civil war because it is coming to that. That is not good enough for an intellectual of his pedigree. I thought he will be at the forefront of the request for Laurent Gbagbo to relinquish power against the backdrop of the fact that he is a beneficiary of that magnanimity in his own country, Ghana. Why is he choosing to sit on the fence? Or could he be a coward or a traitor because that is what Franz Fanon said about sitting on the fence.

The worst that can happen is to compromise Quattara’s victory at the polls by making him accept the position of vice president to Laurent Gbagbo. When compromises are done this way, it encourages the subversion of the people’s mandate like the case in Kenya. We set a bad precedence thereby setting the entire continent ablaze. The time to act is now. I congratulate Alhassane Quattara for his well deserved victory and to those who have lost their lives defending this mandate, your struggle shall not be in vain. Quattara shall be president.

Abang is of the Department of Local Government and Development Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria