Politics

African leaders agree coup, terrorism part of African problems, want permanent seat in Security Council to fix things

Published

2 years ago

May 29, 2022

African heads of state at the just concluded extraordinary summits in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea agreed that insecurity and coup are a part cause of humanitarian challenges in the continent.

The summit which ended on Saturday, with leaders pointing out at terrorism, bad governance, and coups d’état could have connections with the humanitarian challenges bedeviling the continent.

One of the leaders, João Lourenço, President of Angola, said “the current conflict in Europe teaches us that security issues are always at the center of international cooperation, in the first place, each continent must have its own common defense strategy. This conflict also confirms the deep inequalities in the treatment of countries and peoples in the face of wars, pandemics, and natural disasters,”

President Lourenço’s position agrees with that of the AU commission president Moussa Faki Mahamat’s calls for reorganization and regrouping of the African military. He also called upon the inclusion of African countries as permanent members of the United Nation security council.

“This unjust and shameful situation once again raises the need for a reformulation of the United Nations Security Council that does not only circumscribe the victorious great powers of the Second World War, but that considers the entry of representatives of countries from Africa and Latin America, the Indian subcontinent of the Middle East as permanent members with full powers,” Lourenço, President of Angola.

West Africa has been rocked by two coups in Mali, one in Guinea and one in Burkina Faso since August 2020. Representatives from the three countries were excluded from the summit.

Beyond the recent wave of coups in Africa, countries like Nigeria, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea amongst others are facing lingering insurgency-related challenges for about a decade now while others like Ethiopia and Sudan are challenged with serious political instability and separatist threats.

Related Topics:African Union Featured João Lourenço

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Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

15 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

Politics

Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.