The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has cautioned the government to desist from engaging in activities that could plunge the country into a coup. The takeover in Gabon is the latest in a string of coups that have taken place in recent years and comes just a month after soldiers took control in Niger. He emphasised the causes of coups, cautioning the government to be wary of the needs of the citizens.
The General Secretary of the NDC Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, speaking to Journalists in Accra, said, “Let the people decide who should be in charge. As opposed to this primitive obsession we have, that as soon as you have access to power, you must corrupt institutions, you must turn them into appendages.”
“You must destroy the businesses that support your opponents, you must create conditions that make it impossible for any other person to have a possibility of power. Yet at the same time, when you hear about a coup in another country, you jump into sending the military. Meanwhile, you are creating a situation that could lead to the same situation in your country.”
Some coup plotters have attributed governance deficits, non-fulfilment of citizenship entitlements, and frustrated masses amongst others some reasons for embarking on coups. Thousands of Gabon citizens and residents have stormed streets celebrating the military coup in their country.
Sahara Reporters reported earlier that dozens of Gabonese soldiers appeared on television on Wednesday morning and announced they were “putting an end to the current regime” and the cancellation of an election that, according to official results, President Ali Bongo Ondimba won.
Videos of Gabonese marching through the streets showed jubilant residents waving their national flag and thanking their military for liberating them.
However, Gabon’s president on August 30, called on “friends all over the world” to “make noise” over the coup in Gabon, in a clip that’s been circulating on social media. Ali Bongo said: “My son is somewhere, my wife is in another place. Nothing is happening. I don’t know what is going on.”
Source: Wilma Obuobisa Coleman
