Abuja — The coup in Guinea has pitched African leaders against each other as President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is set to mobilise other West African leaders in a move to checkmate his colleagues from Libya and Senegal, Muammar Gaddafi and Abdoulaye Wade, who are believed to be supporting the new military regime.
THISDAY gathered that the extra-ordinary meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) scheduled for Friday under the leadership of Yar'Adua is aimed at getting other leaders of the sub-region to oppose the subterranean support being given to the Guinean coup leaders by Gaddafi and Wade.
Yar'Adua is said to have insisted that the encouragement being given to the Guineaan coup leaders is against the African Union Constitutive Act and that African Leaders should not seek to extend their influence in the continent by promoting subversion of democracy.
Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade had in a comment broadcast on Radio France International December 28, 2008 said the Guinea junta deserved support.
"He is a young man who seemed sincere in what he said. My feeling is that this group of military men deserves support," he had said.
It is believed that the ECOWAS meeting on Friday which is expected to be attended by Wade may suspend Guinea from the community and announce other sanctions against the military in the country.
The sanctions are expected to be geared towards forcing the coupists to quickly disengage from power and conduct elections for the purpose of handing over to a democratically elected government.
Nigeria's foreign affairs minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, who yesterday gave an insight into Nigeria's stance on the developments in Guinea while speaking to newsmen in Abuja, said any democratically elected government giving support to an illegal government is guilty by complicity.
Captain Moussa Camara had seized power in a bloodless coup in Guinea after the death of President Lansana Conte.
Asked about Nigeria's position as Chair of ECOWAS on Senegal's quick embrace of the military government in Guinea, the minister said it was unfortunate and must be condemned.
"It is unfortunate. It is to be condemned. I will not pre-empt what the summit will decide. I mean presidents have a way of talking to each other. But speaking purely as foreign minister of Nigeria, it will be a sad day for the democratic consolidation of Africa if governments that are party to the Constitutive Act and the Charter Declaration that governments in Africa that are not there by result of democratic process should not be recognised.
"So, if any member of AU, that is of course, a legitimate government, steps outside the ranks of other members to now fraternise with the military junta, I'm sure the collective wisdom of the leadership of AU will find a way of even sanctioning that government because, for us, the issue of undermining the democratic process is not just when a group of adventurers organised a coup and overthrow a democratically elected government.
"If a democratically elected government is giving succour, providing encouragement and giving a signal that that is acceptable, then such a government is guilty by complicity. I believe there must be capacity within the AU to also call that country to order. You know Africa has lost a lot as a result of this zig-zag and as a result of not working the full path," he said.
Maduekwe said Nigeria will never have any relations with the military regime in Guinea and that there will be no room for double standards under the new AU commitment to democracy since Nigeria led the call for sanctions on Mauritania when the military struck in the country.
"We are monitoring the Guinea thing. As you know, we sent a delegation which included my colleague, Ambassador Hirse the Minister of State II and former president Ibrahim Babangida and we had conveyed our message clearly as federal government of Nigeria and as a current chair of ECOWAS that this coup is unacceptable. The junta should regrettably have to admit that somebody will have to conduct elections. So all they are suppose to do if there is no civil authority to conduct the elections, then these people who have moved in through a non-democratic process should just conduct elections and get out of town," he said.
Asked when ECOWAS will pronounce sanctions against Guinea, the foreign minister said: "If the announcement has not been made, it is going to be made when the President chair the ECOWAS Summit on Friday but already Nigeria has no business with that government in terms of formal recognition, in terms of formal relationship as a government, absolutely nothing. And we know that ECOWAS will officially go in the same direction.
"Look, we cannot have double standards on this issue, I called for sanctions on Mauritania at UN Council meeting and my other colleagues foreign ministers agreed to that and when we came to the last AU meeting.
"I just returned from that meeting two weeks ago in Addis Ababa where we went to discuss DRC that decision for sanctions on Mauritania was upheld. You can't be calling for sanctions on Mauritania and then you are embracing a military government in Guinea. We fully recognise the fact that all the cases may not be the same. So, it is only for that reason as a matter of real politic for pragmatic reasons that you need one month, two, three months to conduct elections, go ahead and conduct but even the process of election does not mean we are going to engage them as government. They will remain suspended."
The minister while commenting on the two-year time table for elections proposed by the junta, said: "No, absolutely not acceptable. We are looking at a time frame that is just enough to conduct elections and get out. If it requires two weeks, let them conduct the elections and get out."
Meanwhile, Maduekwe has said while Nigeria congratulates Ghana on the successful completion of its general elections, there was no lesson for Nigeria to learn from the democratic process in that country as there were enough lessons back home.
The Minister who said a strong delegation from Nigeria is expected to grace the inauguration of President-elect, Professor John Attah-Mills tomorrow January 7, added that some of the criticism against Nigeria can be used by outsiders to undermine the country.
"Let it be on record that while I congratulate the people of Ghana for the success of the elections, I take umbrage at our self deprecating tendency here in Nigeria where we always think we must learn lessons from everywhere else but not from Nigeria . We will learn lesson from Obama, we will learn lesson from Ghana and I think somebody else was talking about learning lesson from Kenya , the grass is greener everywhere else other than Nigeria.
"This is the home of the devil himself. Nothing is right about this country. Neither the politicians or even the media, the church leaders, nobody is doing it right here. We must keep learning from them everywhere. I am sick and tired of that. This is a beautiful country of wonderful people, of great possibilities and great traditions. All we have to do is for all of us to feel that we have a stake here and organise ourselves as stakeholders and hold the people we have elected accountable," he said.
"This is what I told the stakeholders in my village when they were asking what the federal government has done for them, I said we are sending the money to you. Ask your local government chairmen and state government what they are doing with your money. You can't just sit back and say Abuja will do everything. For goodness sake, Nigeria is moving.
"We are work in progress. We are correcting our faults. We have one great virtue which sometimes can be a vice. We are very self-critical. Nobody can criticise Nigeria like Nigerians themselves. That is a good thing but when we overdo it, it becomes self destructive, and at the end of the day outsiders will use the very thing we are saying to undermine us. So, for goodness sake, we wish Ghana well. We congratulate them we need not draw any lessons from Ghana all the lessons we need are here in Nigeria and we are making use of those lessons," Maduekwe said.
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When Nigeria goes wrong every body can critisize it like they critisize Kenya, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Mauritania etc. For they are also people of self integrity who can learn from themself and dont need a nigerian foreign secretary to admonish them when he (NFM) doesn't expect any other nation to criticise them even in the face of serious election fraud and bloodshed and dont even thinK there are lessons to be learnt from others.
Nigeria is no better country than the aforementioned nations and neither are they superior to any other hence we owe each other a responsibility of keeping each other in check as AU member states.
People have to resist oppression and government self imposition like the one on whose wings you are riding as a foreign minister and hence it is the civic responsibility of those in opposition and lovers democracy to admonish self seeking politicians like you foreign minister.
Congragulations mr minister for your outright rebuke of the senegalese president. He should be watching his ass. Cause if he says some coups are alright, then one to kick his own ass may be too overdue.
Emperor Yar Adua issued tepid warning as if he has the capacity or the will to do anything about it, to the military juntas in Guinea. How can one expect a country (Guinea) that never had a democratic modality to suddenly create one NOW, educate the masses and the politicians, alike, about the requirements of democratic principles (rights & limitations), campaign for peoples votes, conduct credible elections, allow losers to take their lumps, while the winner governs wisely on behalf of ALL the people. Emperor YarAduas commandment is like asking a Cock to lay an egg, immediately. Whatever happens to planning that is the word famously used by YarAdua to defend his own Baba-Go-Slow approach for almost 2 years of inaction. Perhaps our Emperor needs look in the mirror to remove the logs in his own eyes first before he commands his neighbor to remove the specks in its eyes. Emperor Yar thinks democracy is an event that you just snap your fingers and you get it, like he got it in Nigeria he never thought that it could be an organic process that requires tender care to EARN the peoples TRUST and BUILD on the precedents & foundations laid by his predecessor, layer by layer. President Wade of Senegal seems to be wiser than our Emperor.
The Nigerian foreign is to commended for taking this firm stand. I, however, disagree when he says Nigeria cannot learn from what has happened in Ghana or USA(Obama). It smacks of arrogance of power that is always a slippery slope to medieval imperalism. No country, however developed they might be, is a know-it-all. This is especially the case with Africa where democracy is only beginning to take root.
On Libya, Gaddafi probably out of self guilt from the way he gained power - he is a product of a palace military coup - he has never heard of any coup he didn't like. His record around the continent is that of using his oil wealth to sponsor, foment and sponsor "revolutions" that promote the worst forms of government. It is time to stand up to his bullying and anti-progressive tactics. Last year, while opening a mosque named after him, he insulted christians in Uganda by discrediting the Bible.
Wade is simply either naive or is being disingenuous. Last year he flew to Harare to try to placate or appease Mugaba after Mugabe basically stole the elections, and, like Kibaki of Kenya, refused to vacate the presidency that they lost through free and fair elections.
The coup makers can return Guinea to civilian rule in less than two years any time longer is the betrayal of cause of democratic freedoms of Guinean and African peoples.
There are no longer any sound arguements or grounds to legitimize any coups in Africa. There are enough democratic forces -that need nurturing - yearning for political freedom in every Africa country.
Nigeria is on the right side of history and Libya and Senegal are on the wrong side of history.
To The Leaders of Africa:
Those of you leaders who are thinking about leveling sanctions against Guinea's military leader should stop and think about the effect it would have on the ordinary citizens in that country (Guinea) who are already suffering from the failed leadership of the late Conte. It would be very foolished to think that the right solution to bring about democracy in Africa is to impose hardship on any struggling nation due to their form of government. Democracy is not something this is imposed, but rather, adopted by the leaders/countries and their people. I believe the people of Guinea and their leadership should be encouraged and supported in whatever situation they are experiencing as, democracy is about love and compassion. African leaders should work together in situation like this to help Guinea gets on its feet by nurishing through constructive advice/direction to get them on the right track. Using force to bring about change in a sovereign nation would only make thing worse.
To the president of Nigeria, I ask Sir, that your nation, being the most powerful, help to pave the way through dialogue to help the government and people of Guinea to adopt the right path. Anything short of diplomacy would only harden the mind of those in power and prolong the suffering of our beloved sisters and brothers of Guinea. Providing needed support to Guinea would perhaps move the leader in the direction of democratic change. So president Yar'Adua, please use your influence and experience to work with the people and leaders of Guinea to bring about needed change. Using force or harsh tone will not solve the problem or bring about democratic change. Remember, democracy is about dialogue and not force. Let's accept the leadership of Guinea and work with them to bring about democratic change.
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