Lagos — On November 23, 2008 mutinous soldiers bulldozed their way into the residence of President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira of Guinea-Bissau, killing one guard and leaving several persons severely injured. The President was lucky to escape that attempt on his life.

But on March 2, 2009 President Vieira was not so lucky. A group of renegade soldiers, widely believed to be avenging the death of the country's Chief of Army Staff, General Batista Tagme Na Waie, killed in a bomb explosion a day before, stormed President Vieira's dining room and murdered him there instantly. The Internet picture of the blood-soaked dining-room of the slain President littered with broken glasses and machetes is abhorring.

If anything, Guinea-Bissau is a metaphor of the calamities that have characterised most African countries. It is exemplar of the political absurdities and tragedies afflicting most African countries. Since wresting independence from Portugal in 1974, this small poverty-stricken country of about 1.5 million people has consistently and systematically been plagued by political unrest, coups and wars.

Clearly, the gruesome murder of the two Guinea-Bissau leaders bespeaks the country's escalating woes. It also shows the destructive effects of political unrests, greed, and lust for power, corruption and unhealthy political successions in the life of a nation. Late President Vieira first came to power in 1980 after ousting the country's post-independence leader Luis Cabral. Vieira ruled the country for 19 years and was ousted during the country's civil war. After the crippling civil war, he returned from exile, contested and won a presidential election in 2005.

But since then the country has been tottering on the brink of collapse. Monumental corruption and intolerance had been the order of the day. To worsen matters, Guinea-Bissau has been greatly ravaged by poverty and diseases. It is ranked as the third worst of 117 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index. Life expectancy in Guinea Bissau is below 45. Amid this languid state is the fact that the country serves as a major transit route for transport of cocaine to Europe . Even the murder of President Vieira is alleged by some to be cocaine-related.

The greatest challenge facing the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders at the moment is to salvage Guinea-Bissau from complete collapse. At a time when the wind of democracy is blowing strongly around the African landscape, Guinea-Bissau cannot be allowed to become a fiefdom of a few self-serving renegades, gangsters or despots.

African leaders must continue to make that case that the era of coups is gone. Happily, foreign ministers of some African countries led by Nigeria 's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe, have met with other stakeholders to discuss the return of the country to democratic governance. In his own reaction, President Yar'Adua has equally canvassed for constitutional succession to the Presidency of Guinea- Bissau.

We urge the country's new leader, former parliamentary Speaker Raimundo Pereira, to organize free and fair elections soonest to return the country to constitutional democracy. Before taking the oath of office, the new leader had expressed reservation that he was "facing a very delicate situation". We urge Pereira not to be deterred by any difficulties in carrying out this assignment. Fate has thrown him up to save his country, he must rise up to the challenge.