The Executive Director of the Institute of Liberty and Policy Innovation, Peter Bismark Kwofie has disbanded the idea that coups are caused by hooligans and nit wits.
He noted, coups do not happen in a vacuum but are driven by economic challenges, poverty and bad governance which mostly are the triggers.
Adding that, any frustrated citizen who lacks opportunities and are without a fulfilled life are prone to stagging coups through arms.
Mr Kwofie was in an interview with Ahotor 92.3fm news in Accra.
The Sahel region which includes the West African region has been fraught with coups in the past ten (10) years with its attendant challenges to the ordinary citizens.
The West African region has had five (5) of its countries experiencing coups: Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and joined in by Niger.
All these are Francophone countries.
Mr Kwofie does not write out the international influence in those coups.
Explaining that, international influence in the west African Sub -regions in the Francophone countries had to do with poor and expensive services, structures that inhibit the ordinary people from accessing opportunities
He said, any country that lacks these could experience coups.
He identified Niger and Chad as having low economic make – up and opportunities and are therefore prone to coups.
He was critical of the happenings in the Francophone countries which have unclear dimensions.
However, it is clear that, most authorities would want to move away from France whiles lots of its nationals want to move to France for the opportunities it offers.
The ILAPI Executive Director noted about 20 coups in the Sub- region, of which a huge majority are Francophone from 2010 to 2019
‘Seven (7) coups between 2019 till date with six (6) in the West African Sub-region’.
He downplayed the effects of international sanctions on the coup plotters as a means of suppressing them.
He questioned the morality of those corrupt leaders of Sub-blocs to give sanctions to other corrupt leaders
“Sanctions within the ECOWAS Sub-regions have never been effective”, he said.
“Just like African Union (AU) proclaiming a fight against corruption in Africa, whereas those who went to the proclamation forum are corrupt themselves.”
Mr Kwofie said, what could prevent coups are economic liberty and the creation of opportunity for the citizens
“What is happening in the Sahel region, all the Northern part of Sahel have collapsed due to lack of opportunities”.
“Cameroun is facing challenges because the North has not experienced any development so they plan to disassociate from the country”.
“Economic liberty, freedom, creating opportunities for the masses, and anything short of this is would create instability and the plotters would dare any sanctions.
Godfred Sey/ Ahotoronline.com
