THERE are civilian or constitutional coups in Guinea Bissau and Senegal, yet the regional body, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, is pretending otherwise. It appears interested only in military coups, not those carried out by its bosses in the Heads of State Summit.

Yet, the ingredients of a coup are present in both countries where the constitution is subverted, the President assumes dictatorial powers, parliament is illegally banned as is the case in Guinea Bissau or emasculated as in Senegal, and the judiciary is under siege to do the bidding of the President.

Guinea Bissau, when it was one country with Cape Verde, produced Amilcar Cabral, one of the greatest Pan Africanists in history. Tragically for Africa, on January 20, 1973, Cabral at 48, was assassinated in Conakry, Guinea in a conspiracy linked with the PIDE, the secret service of then colonial master, Portugal.

However, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, PAIGC, which he led, survived, and led the country to independence. But the country has been plagued by violence and coups leading to Cape Verde breaking away on January 20, 1981.

On December 20, 2019, retired General Umaro Sissoco Embalo, a former Prime Minister, defeated the PAIGC candidate , Domingos Simoes in a disputed presidential election.

In May, 2022, President Embalo carried out a constitutional coup by dissolving parliament citing “persistent and unresolvable differences” with the parliament. Rather than ECOWAS sanctioning him, it elected Embalo, two months later, as the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS!

On June 4, 2023, the opposition coalition, the PAI Terra Ranka, led by the PAIGC, swept the parliamentary elections. But President Embalo refused to allow it function.

On December 4, 2023 Embalo again dissolved the parliament, claiming the Speaker, Domingos Simoes, wants to overthrow him. He also put the Supreme Court and its president under armed siege, forcing the latter to “resign”.

Despite these civilian coups by a man who was the sitting Chairman of ECOWAS, the regional body has kept mute in cold complicity. But ECOWAS will yell, if there is a military coup.

Senegal is the only West African country fortunate to have escaped a military coup. A 2012 attempt by President Abdoulaye Wade to run for an unconstitutional Third Term, was resisted, and Macky Sall was elected. In turn, Sall decided to run for an unconstitutional Third Term which in June 2023 led to street protests with 16 killed. Sall backed down, but got opposition leader Ousmane Sanko out of the race by getting him convicted.

However, as the February 25, 2024 presidential election approached, Sall decided on February 3, to extend his stay in power by indefinitely postponing the election on the basis that there is a dispute over the candidates list,

But the issue of the presidential candidates of political parties is the business of the party, electoral body and the courts, not the President of the country.

Unfortunately, ECOWAS, which has a reputation of chasing shadows, would not tell Sall the truth or defend constitutional rule. Rather, it same day, sanctioned Sall’s illegality by accepting the postponement . In its Saturday, February 3, 2024 statement, ECOWAS accepted the postponement and tamely appealed to the Sall Gang to “expedite the various processes in order to set a new date for the elections”.

Then it praised Sall: “The ECOWAS Commission salutes President Macky Sall for upholding his earlier decision not to run for another term and encourages him to continue to defend and protect Senegal’s long-standing democratic tradition.” Incredible! First, it was not in Sall’s place to decide not to run for a Third Term; it is a constitutional limit.

Also, Sall actually shed the blood of Senegalese who protested against his initial attempt to run in violation of the constitution. So, a serious ECOWAS, rather than praise him, ought to demand that he answers for the murder of pro-democracy Senegalese on the streets.

This ECOWAS statement which “…encourages him (Sall) to continue to defend and protect Senegal’s long-standing democratic tradition”, unfortunately presents Africans as idiots . This is because Sall, rather than defending and protecting the democratic tradition, is actually, endangering it. In fact, Sall is the greatest danger to democracy in Senegal.

Then after renewed street protests, the Senegalese Parliament met on Monday, February 5, 2024 on the indefinite postponement. During sitting, security forces removed by force, parliamentarians opposed to the postponement. Then rather than restore the electoral calendar, what is left of that parliament, endorsed Sall’s decision to illegally extend his tenure, by postponing the presidential election by ten months. This, of course, might be an initial date as it can always be postponed.

Rather than be concerned about the non-democratic postponement and its implications for democratic governance, ECOWAS, the next day, issued another of its pathetic statements.

Where even the United States which is not known to be a Sall antagonist, declared that the Senegalese National Assembly vote “…cannot be considered legitimate given the conditions under which it took place”, ECOWAS chose to be silent on the undemocratic process. Rather, it took refuge in bland sermons, reminding “…the population and the political class of their responsibility to maintain peace and stability in the country”.

To show the ECOWAS mindset and its lack of principles, it ended its second statement with a pledge to “…take all necessary steps to support the government and people of Senegal in their efforts to sustain the country’s democratic tradition”. How can ECOWAS pledge to support the subversive Sall government in Senegal that has no regard for democratic cultures, the will of the people and their human rights?

So, if tomorrow, such a government is overthrown, ECOWAS will be shouting about democracy and the sanctity of the constitution when it is actually in connivance with the Sall regime to subvert the constitution and democracy in that country.

In 2016, following Gambian presidential election, there was a dispute between incumbent President Yahya Jammeh and opposition leader, Adama Barrow. ECOWAS on January 19, 2017 sent a regional military force, the ECOWAS Mission in Gambia, ECOMIG, to force Jammeh out. It was tagged ‘Operation Restore Democracy’. When the over 4,000 ECOWAS troops, mainly from Senegal reached Banjul, Jammeh stepped down and left the country. The ECOWAS then installed Barrow who had been sworn in as President, not in the country, but in the Gambian embassy in Dakar, Senegal.

The Gambian situation is way better than what is going on today in Senegal. At least in the case of the former, presidential election held, while in that of the latter, presidential election is being prevented from holding. Yet, ECOWAS is engaged in double speak and ambivalence.

A vibrant former member of the House of Representatives, he stood strong,
A voice of reason, in the chaotic throng.
His path and I intertwined with Chief E. K. Clark,
Fate's hand at play, a connection from the dark.

Passionate and pragmatic, his heart ablaze,
For Nigeria's progress, in myriad ways.
From the halls of power, to healing hands,
He served his nation, with unwavering stance.

A football match, a moment of delight,
Yet destiny's twist, cast shadows in the night.
While patriotically watching Nigeria and South Africa contend,
His earthly journey met a sudden end.

But let us not mourn, for his spirit shall remain,
In the hearts he touched, where memories sustain.
For Dr. Cairo Ojougho, a legacy profound,
An epic tale of a life that will resound.

I raise my voices in a nostalgic song,
To honor his life, vibrant and strong.
May he find eternal peace in realms above,
Embraced by love, surrounded by divine love.

Farewell, dear Dr. Cairo, your race is run,
Your flame may have dimmed, but your legacy's begun.
In the annals of greatness, your name shall thrive,
A cherished soul, we'll remember as we strive.

-Dr Olukayode Ajulo, OON, SAN

… Decry worsening suffering, non-implementation of 16-point Oct. 2, 2023 agreement

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, have issued a 14-day nationwide strike notice to the Federal Government.

Their grouse is the non-implementation of the 16-point agreement between organised labour (NLC and TUC) and the Federal Government on October 2, 2023.

Leaders of the NLC and TUC are sad that, despite organised labour’s efforts to ensure industrial peace, the government seems unperturbed by the mass suffering and hardship across the country.

The October 2 agreement was “focused on addressing the massive suffering and the general harsh socioeconomic consequences of the ill-conceived and ill-executed IMF/World Bank-induced hike in the price of PMS and the devaluation of the naira. These dual policies have had, as we predicted, dire economic consequences for the masses and workers of Nigeria.”

NLC and TUC, in a statement, lamented that “it is regrettable that we are compelled to resort to such measures, but the persistent neglect of the welfare of citizens and Nigerian workers and the massive hardship leave us with no choice.”

Effective February 9 (tomorrow), among others, the two Labour Centres said, “Constrained by this development and recognising the urgency of the situation and the imperative of ensuring the protection and defence of the rights and dignity of Nigerian workers and citizens, the NLC and TUC hereby issue a stern ultimatum to the Federal Government to honour their part of the understanding within 14 days from tomorrow, the 9th day of February 2024.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, has commended the officer in charge of the police tactical team attached to Area K, Marogbo, Lagos State Command, SP Rilwan Kasumu, and his team, for rejecting N4 million bribe while investigating a case of drug peddling and unlawful possession of ammunition.

Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, announced this in a post on his official X handle.

The team had arrested one Esther Newman Obiekezie, aka Candy, of No 6, Mojirade Street, Ilogbo Lagos, on 6th February, 2024, at her base where she sells illicit drugs called ice, and recovered a large quantity of the substance and some AK-47 live ammunition.

In the cause of the investigation, the duo of Akete Esther and Oke Okebalam, of Ajamgbadi Lagos, came to the station in Ijanikin, to solicit for the release of the drug peddler, Esther, and offered the sum of N4 million.

They also pleaded that the police should stop disrupting the illegal drug peddling business.

The police officer who frowned at the offer seized the cash and marked it as exhibit and arrested the duo for further investigation and prosecution.

The IGP reiterated the commitment of the Force to harnessing all available means and adopting professional anti-crime strategies to tackle all forms of crimes and criminality in Nigeria.

Super Eagles forward, Kelechi Iheanacho has described the moment he had to score the match-winning penalty against South Africa on Wednesday, February 7, as a “make or break” moment.

Kelechi Iheanacho, who was one of the last players to link up with the Super Eagles in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, ahead of the 2023 AFCON, hasn’t started a game in the tournament so far.

The Leicester City forward had not played any minute in the tournament before the South Africa vs Nigeria clash on Wednesday.

During Wednesday’s game, coach Jose Peseiro who is reportedly at loggerhead with the player before the tournament, introduced him into the game in extra time.

He couldn’t help the Super Eagles win the game within the extra period as the match ended in a 1-1 draw and was decided by a penalty shootout.

Fortunately for Kelechi Iheanacho, he was the last among the five players selected to take Super Eagles’ spot-kicks and successfully converted it to seal a 4-2 shootout win.

After the win, Iheanacho told reporters that he felt like the entire country was on his shoulder at the point of taking his spot-kick.

“I felt at that moment, I was carrying the hope of the nation on my shoulder. The penalty was either make or break but I thank God who made it possible for us to go through to the final,” Iheanacho said.

It will be interesting to see whether coach Jose Peseiro will give Kelechi Iheanacho any minute in the 2023 AFCON final against Ivory Coast at 9 p.m. on Sunday, February 11.

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday expressed hope that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will lift the 2023 All African Cup of Nations, AFCON, in Ivory Coast.

Tinubu expressed hope that it’s Nigeria’s turn to lift the trophy, saying, “Awa Lokan.”

The president spoke at an event in Abuja while congratulating Nigerians over the Super Eagles victory against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.

According to Tinubu: “Congratulations once again on the attainment of victory just last night. It was a moment of joy for every one of us united as a nation and very hopeful that it’s our turn for the trophy, Awa Lokan.”

On Wednesday evening, the Super Eagles of Nigeria had defeated their South African counterpart 4-2 to qualify for the AFCON finals.

The match had ended 1-1 at the end of 120 minutes after which the game went into a penalty shoot-out.

With this victory, the Super Eagles will be facing their Ivorian counterpart in the AFCON finals on Sunday.

Reports have emerged that some South Africans have threatened Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, not to return to his club following his heroics against the country as the Nigerian team progressed to the AFCON 2023 final at the expense of the Bafana Bafana team.

It is said that some South Africans are not pleased that the goalkeeper prevented their team from making it to the finals.

Nwabali, who plays for Chippa United in the South African Premier League, has been solid between the goalposts for Nigeria in the 2023 AFCON tournament ongoing in Ivory Coast.

Nwabali gave a superb performance against the Bafana Bafana in the semi-final clash on Wednesday, February 7.

During the clash,  Nwabali showed the best of himself as he stopped multiple attempts by South African players. He followed that up in the penalty shootout as he saved two spot-kicks.

Nwabali’s saves were enough for the Super Eagles to knockout South Africa 4-2 on penalties which qualified Nigeria to take on Ivory Coast in the 2023 AFCON final on February 11.

Speaking on Nwabali’s heroics so far in the tournament, former Nigerian keeper, Idah Peterside, said some fans have already told the Super Eagles shot-stopper not to return to Chippa United after the tournament.

He said, however, that there have only been threats, and no violence has been recorded.

See the video.

The Caucus extends its heartfelt sympathy to the families, communities and the people and government of Ekiti state on the brutal and abominable killings of traditional rulers including the Oba of Koro in Kwara state; the horrific kidnappings of school children and their mentors and the recent violent assault on the peace, security and corporate integrity of Ekiti state, the South West and indeed all the six geopolitical zones.

We await the outcome of investigations into these reprehensible and criminally insane acts; and hold that culprits should be subjected to the wrath of law to its fullest extent

The Ooni Caucus requests the location of a Military Base to reinforce the extant security apparatus in the state, which had proven woefully inadequate

The Caucus join the urgent calls for a constitutional amendment towards the decentralisation of the Nigerian police with the specific objective of enabling the creation of state and community based policing. The decentralisation should be complemented with the cooption and collaboration of Ex-servicemen i.e. retirees from the Police, Military and Paramilitary Forces.

We call for the enhancement of the capabilities of the local law enforcement agencies domiciled in the 774 Local Government Areas through the office of the Divisional Police Officers

We commend the establishment of the Amotekun, the Pan South West Zonal security outfit and its conspicuous accomplishment in its short existence regardless of acutely inadequate resources at its disposal. We appeal to the state governments of the South West zone to double down on this initiative with the provision of ample resources and logistics support. We equally deem the activation of the Oodua Peoples Congress
OPC as of the essence and urgent imperative

Other notable pro-Yoruba communal security groups apart from OPC and Amotekun such as the one led by Chief Sunday Igboho should be equally encouraged and energised towards the strategic protection and defence of Yoruba Region.

There is the need to highlight the specific responsibilities of the government, communities and the private sector in the onerous task of securing our nation and its communities. The economic dimension to security calls for economic interventions especially skills development and job creation schemes to stem security threats arising from socioeconomic factors.

We call on the Southwest political leaders to stimulate and encourage
community-based security initiatives across every hamlet, village and town in Yoruba land. We need to protect our borders as well as identify and secure all our ungoverned spaces, especially forests and public utilities.

We urge leading lights and critical stakeholder groups from across the length and breadth of the region to snap out of their self-destructive complacency and indifference regarding the security of Yorubaland before it is too late. They should regularly liaise and consult with SW Governors to identify current security threats and articulate remedial actions.

Our royal fathers and leaders of traditional institutions should hold mandatory meetings among themselves to discuss and mutually agree actions that would promote and defend the Yoruba heritage. They need to be sensitised and alert to the risks of harmful land and property ownership practices that render Yoruba communities vulnerable to external threat and subversion.

In view of their strategic utility in the peace and security of their domains, we call for the strengthening and empowerment of the traditional rulers.
The institution must enjoy a level of autonomy commensurate with the huge responsibility they bear in the local communities.

We need to begin to ‘Name & Shame’ those individuals and institutions that have been found guilty of compromising and sabotaging Yoruba interests for parochial and selfish reasons.

It is incumbent on all our leaders to regularly embark on regular campaigns to educate citizens on security issues and the need to be vigilant and prepared
to effectively grapple with security threats and challenges.

We do not know for certain the security status of Mr Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho. We hold the view that he does not constitute a threat to the peace and stability of Nigeria in any way. He should, therefore, be accorded the freedom, rights, and privileges that are due to every Nigerian citizen. If he is not in Nigeria, he should feel free to return home at a time of his choosing

Finally, we find the need to prompt and remind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to redeem his pledge of support towards the decentralisation and devolution of powers in Nigeria.

Balogun Akin Osuntokun (Coordinator)
Dr Yomi Layinka (Secretary General)

As the troubled Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convenes its Ministerial Council meeting in Abuja on February 8 to discuss the quit notice served by three of its members – Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger – the situation in Senegal might well be the elephant in the room.

Three weeks to the presidential election earlier scheduled to hold in that country on February 25, President Macky Sall announced that the election had been postponed, without immediately giving a new date or any believable reasons. After a wave of protests, he instigated the Senegalese Parliament to announce December 15 as a possible new date.

It’s not the postponement that will worry ECOWAS leaders as ministers meet in Nigeria, where presidential elections have been postponed twice in the last 10 years even on the eve of voting; it’s Sall’s recent shifty habit – first eying a third-term and then denying it, followed by his government’s crackdown on opposition candidates.

The problem in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — three delinquent countries that have accused the community of complicity and negligence in its obligations and signalled an intention to quit — is bad enough.

That threat alone has not only put trade in the community estimated at $208.1 billion at risk, minus informal trade amongst citizens which constitutes about 30 percent of the transactions; it also threatens to complicate the security situation in the subregion that is already facing serious problems from violent extremism and banditry.

Hypocritical oath

A politically unstable Senegal is the last thing that the community needs at this time. Of course, it’s unlikely that the situation in Senegal will feature at the ECOWAS meeting, where an allegiance of hypocrisy, elegantly called the principle of “non-interference”, forbids members from telling one another the truth.

The point, however, is that the resurgence of military rule in a number of African countries today, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso, is partly traceable to blatant disregard for constitutionalism, the rule of law, and rigged transitions – the sort of bad habit that Sall is showing in his old age.

Sall looked like the most unlikely candidate for this nonsense. In some ways, he reminded me of Senegal’s founding president, Leopold Senghor – urbane, intellectual and sensible. A geologist and widely travelled man, Sall built his way up from the bottom of the political ladder. Although he started his journey as a minister under former president Abdoulaye Wade, he soon returned to his base where he took up position as mayor of his hometown.

He took up other ministerial positions later on and also became the president of the country’s parliament. He fell out with his mentor, Wade, after he dragged Wade’s son to parliament to answer corruption charges. But his quarrel was not personal.

Sall seduced

Senegal was drifting, the cost of living was rising and infrastructure collapsing. Wade’s answer, if he had any, was to attempt to bend the constitution to extend his rule. Sall rallied the opposition. At a stage, the Parti Democratique Senegalais (PDS), where Sall had risen to become prime minister, could no longer contain Wade and Sall. He broke off to form his own Hope Alliance on which platform he challenged Wade in the 2012 presidential election and defeated him, with the assistance of a coalition, after a run-off.

This same Sall, who is losing his way and dragging his country along with him, set a high mark when he assumed office. He cut the size of his cabinet as he had promised, ploughed funds into the renewal of infrastructure and even made a proposal to parliament that would have reduced his term from seven to five-year two-term limit!

Strong arm tactics

All of that now appears to have been in the former life of a fairytale. As Sall’s reset two terms of 12 years neared its end, he slowly became the worst possible version of Wade, toying with an extended tenure and hounding the opposition with a number of his strongest opponents, including Ousmane Sonkoh, who has now been bumped off the trail on contrived charges. Sall, in short, has been seduced by what he hates.

ECOWAS will not be bothered if Sall changed his mind by December and sought an illegal third term. In the last four years, two regional leaders wangled illegal tenure extensions – Alpha Conde of Guinea and Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire. The first didn’t quite get away with it after soldiers struck and removed him from office, setting off the region’s coup spiral; while the second is the current host of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Perhaps if there’s one person left in the community on whom the burden falls to whisper to Sall that this is not the Senegal that we used to know, it’s Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As surely as a stumble imitates a fall, the signs from Dakar are those that presage what could become a full-blown political crisis for the region if left unattended.

Tinubu, who promised to promote a coup-free region when he assumed office as chair of ECOWAS last year, cannot afford another country added to the regional coup belt. The same way he requested regional leaders at a meeting in Abuja to give George Weah a standing applause for the exemplary transition in that country, he needs to pull Sall’s ear, behind closed doors, and ask him to stop playing games.

For ECOWAS to achieve the African Union (AU) objective to Silence the Guns in Africa by 2030, the community must pay attention to the underlying factors that breed resort to guns violence, a few of the obvious ones being rigged elections, suppression of dissent, and the rule of strongmen. When regional leaders like those in the delinquent states complain that the community is insensitive to problems caused by Western or foreign meddling, it’s the elite, like Sall, that open the door enabling such meddling.

Oasis in jeopardy

An oasis of stability and a shining light in a highly politically volatile region, Senegal was one of the few countries on the continent that others looked up to. According to Martin Meredith in his book entitled, The Fortunes of Africa, “Over the course of 150 elections held in 29 countries between 1960 and 1989, opposition parties were never allowed a single seat. Only three countries – Senegal, Botswana and the tiny state of the Gambia – sustained multi-party politics, holding elections on a regular basis that were considered reasonably free and fair.”

That’s the reputation that Sall threatens to drag in the mud. Tinubu needs to remind Sall that it was he, Sall, and Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, who led the regional response to flush out Yahaya Jammeh in neigbouring The Gambia when Jammeh was on the verge of disrupting the outcome of the elections there because they did not favour him.

By railroading a 10-month postponement of elections through Parliament, Sall is obviously hoping to succeed where Wade and Jammeh failed. And he doesn’t care the cost. But ECOWAS should. The community cannot afford to wait until Senegal becomes another basket case before weighing in.