Renowned African academic, Prof P.L.O. Lumumba, has stated that he fully supports the recent military takeovers seen on the African continent.

According to him, these coups were necessary because the leaders of the affected countries were using all manner of unlawful means to stay in power.

Prof Lumumba, who made these remarks in an interview on Accra-based Onua TV, on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, said that these coups give the affected countries a fresh start and an opportunity to rethink the governance system that would benefit their citizens.

He added that the coups were also necessary to free the African countries involved from their colonial masters, France.

“Yes, I do (support the military interventions) … you remember the Malabo Declaration of 2022 by African Heads of State in Equatorial Guinea against terrorism and unconstitutional changes of power.

“But when you look at the regimes that we are talking about, in the countries in question, they come to power through sham elections; elections that are choreographed from France, elections that are own through rigging and bribery. So, even their occupation of power itself is illegitimate.

He added “And some of them own allegiance to Paris rather to their people, to the extent that their people cannot guarantee a change of government. What is wrong if our men and women in military intervene for a short time for the purposes of preparing us to go into a different face where we can improve governance”.

The academic also called for the re-examination of democracy as the system of governance for African countries because it appears not to be working for the good of the citizenry.

“I feel very reluctant to use the word democracy; because it has been abused. Democracy is a word that has been handed over to us by Europe and America… and in their minds, it means periodic elections which they come and monitor and tell us that you have done a good job,” he noted.

The African Continent has been hit by 10 military overtakes from 2020 to date with the latest victim being the Central African country; Gabon.

There have been seven coups in West African countries, including two in Burkina Faso, one in Guinea, two in Mali, one in Niger and one in Chad.

Two coups in Central Africa, all in Gabon, and one in North Africa, Tunisia.

BAI/OGB

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