Tinubu Urges African Leaders To Respect Democracy, Demands Action Against Coups

President Bola Tinubu, on Saturday, called on African leaders to respect democracy, rule of law, and ensure political stability.

He also called on the United Nations to take firm stance against military coups.

The President spoke in Nairobi, Kenya at a high-level event organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the margins of Fifth Mid-Year African Union (AU) Coordination Meeting.

Tinubu also urged African military institutions and states to recognize and respect the need for democratic renewal.

The Nigerian leader, who is also the Chairperson of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, said coups d’état should be discouraged in the continent, especially in the face of challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, insecurity, and climate change.

The President, in his statement, presented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa, said it was regrettable that West Africa, despite its numerous instruments and mechanisms for promoting democracy and good governance, is leading other regions in the use of unconstitutional means to change governments.

He warned that the ugly trend of the military straying into the political arena is causing threats to peace, security and stability, and engendering poverty, displacement, and humanitarian crises.

”This ugly trend has only succeeded in threatening the peace, security and stability of the sub-region and by extension the African continent, leaving in its trail poverty, internally-displaced persons and humanitarian crisis. In the same vein, this ugly trend has also led to food shortages and escalated health challenges,” the President said, according to a statement by his spokesman, Dele Alake.

”We therefore must take deliberate steps to address the root causes of unconstitutional changes and coups d’état in Africa. As a continent, we cannot make progress toward achieving the goals and targets of the UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, as well as those of AU Agenda 2063 for the ‘Africa We Want’.

”Between 2020 and now, Africa has witnessed six successful coups d’état and three unsuccessful attempts. This rise in military takeovers and unconstitutional changes in government disrupts our democratic processes and undermine stability on the continent.

”It is for this reason that I call on all African leaders at all levels to make concerted efforts in respecting the tenets of democracy and the rule of law, in order to ensure political stability on the continent,” he said.