Reps minority caucus condemns coups in Niger, Gabon, others

The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has condemned the recent upsurge of coups in African countries, saying it was a setback to the struggles to entrench democracy on the continent. The caucus, in a statement by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, expressed displeasure with the growing trend of military interventions on the continent. […]

The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has condemned the recent upsurge of coups in African countries, saying it was a setback to the struggles to entrench democracy on the continent.

The caucus, in a statement by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, expressed displeasure with the growing trend of military interventions on the continent.

He said, “It is extremely sad, deeply worrisome and pathetically shameful that the continent in the past few years has witnessed a sudden rise in military coups in some countries thereby rolling back the gains of the democratic struggles for the return to civil rule of the late 1980s and 1990s.

“It is totally condemnable that in the past one decade military putsches have taken place in Sudan, Mali, Tunisia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic and now Gabon. That these countries are in the Western, Northern and Central regions of Africa, which represent more than half of the entire continent, calls for serious concerns and debilitating worry.”

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While condemning the coups, the caucus noted that the recent happenings were precipitated by years of injustice by leaders, especially sit-tight leaders, who had subjected masses to untold hardships.

They further said, “Fact is, having suffered long and painful years of total neglect by their leaders through official insensitivity, deliberate class segregation, enforcement of inimical political and economic programmes and other negative decisions and actions, sadly the sound of martial music has become a welcome relief and friend for citizens.”

The caucus, therefore, called for concerted efforts by the United Nations (UN), ECOWAS, AU and other African regional bodies to address the root causes of the problems and ensure justice for the people of African countries under democratic dictatorships for decades.