Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, legal counsel for the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, expressed his thoughts regarding the recent coup d’etat in Gabon. He deemed the coup unfortunate and emphasized the need to learn from this incident.
Highlighting the situation in many African countries, Okutepa noted the prevalence of democratic despotism and dictatorship, where the will of the people is often suppressed by those in power. He observed that these nations often hinder the proper functioning of democratic institutions and lack adherence to the rule of law, resulting in a deficit of constitutional democracy. He also pointed out the vast disparity between the affluence of those in power and the suffering of the ordinary citizens who are impoverished.
Okutepa shared his perspective in a lengthy tweet from his Twitter account as seen in the screenshot below, shortly after news of the coup emerged. He suggested that the soldiers’ actions were fueled by their frustration with the greed of politicians.
Furthermore, he called upon African leaders to rectify internal issues to curb the occurrence of military coups across the continent. He stressed the importance of embracing true democratic values, respecting people’s rights, and avoiding imposition of power.
This recent coup in Gabon follows a similar incident in Niger Republic less than three months ago.
BurstMedia (
)
