On August 18, a military junta led by 37-year-old new strongman, Colonel Assimi Goita, under the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (NCSP), toppled the democratically elected civilian government in Mali. While executing the coup, the Kati-based rebel commanders swooped on the nation’s capital, Bamako, and arrested its 75-year-old President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita; his Prime Minister, Boubou Cisse; Army and Air Force chiefs; top ministers and a number of other government officials, after the president had failed to comply with their ultimatum to resign following weeks and months of protests over poor governance and lack of political will to crush belligerent Islamic insurgents.
About 24 hours after the mutiny, the president appeared on live national television to announce his resignation, saying he had no other choice, but to avoid “bloodshed”. But following pressure, the junta, last Thursday, released the president to return to his home with the security appropriate to his rank as a former head of state, as well as the possibility of having the doctor of his choice and of travelling abroad for medical checkups.
Spokesman for the junta, Ismael Wague, said, “We understand that heads of state, like Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara, are working for an easing of tensions, for a peaceful solution, even if they have firmly condemned our seizing power. We are open to discussion (negotiations). A transitional council, with a transitional president who is going to be either military or civilian would be appointed. The transition will be the shortest possible.” The junta also promised that they would enact a political transition and stage elections within a “reasonable time” but has failed to spell out any details.
Speaking after Keita’s release, President Mahamadou Issoufou Keita of Niger, who currently chairs the ECOWAS, said, “If we consider that the question of (Keita’s) release is resolved, it is not the same concerning the return to constitutional order, which pre-supposes that all troops return to their barracks”. We agree with the Nigerien president completely. This is why we join the African Union, European Union, the United States and UN Security Council to condemn the coup and demand a “speedy, peaceful and democratic” resolution of the crisis, which we see as “dangerous for democracy in Africa.”
No doubt, the August 18 coup — the second in eight years — deals a deadly blow to Mali still struggling with a jihadist insurgency, moribund economy and deep public resentment over its government. We recall that the first putsch in 2012 was followed by an insurrection in the north which developed into a terrorists’ insurgency that now threatens neighbouring Niger, Burkina Faso, and extending to Nigeria, Chad and Cameroun. Thousands of UN and French troops, along with soldiers from five Sahel countries, have since been deployed to try to stem the bloodshed while a multinational military task force is also waging war against the Islamic State in West Africa Province and Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria’s North-East and elsewhere.
We further reckon that Keita had won election in a landslide in 2013, by putting himself forward as a unifying figure in a fractured country; and was re-elected in 2018 for another five-year term with a pledge to pursue economic recovery and prosperity, and annihilate Islamic jihadists. But he failed to show commitment to fight against the jihadist revolt that has left swathes of the country in the hands of armed bandits, which had ignited ethnic violence in most parts of the country. Consequently, thousands of people have died and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes, creating a horde of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and a humanitarian crisis. That devastation has also compounded the damage to an already fragile economy in a nation with large number of unemployed young people.
Obviously, the pent-up discontent dragged on till this year, and was exacerbated following the disputed outcome of last April’s legislative elections, which had created an anti-Keita protest coalition: “the June 5 Movement”, which had organised most of the anti-government protests, including August 28 rallies to “celebrate the victory of the Malian people.”
Addressing thousands of supporters, last Friday, a key player in the mass opposition protests and influential opposition figure in Mali, Mahmoud Dicko, told the new military rulers to ensure they kept to their words because they do not have “carte blanche” to govern the country.
“I have asked everyone to come together for Mali. I am still asking this, but that does not mean the military has a carte blanche. We will not give a blank cheque to anyone to run this country, that’s over… a radical change of governance is needed. We led the fight. People have died and the soldiers who have completed (this fight) must keep their word”, to return Mali to civil rule as soon as possible, he said.
While we agree with the majority views of Malians that change in government is needed to restore the dignity and prosperity of the country, we, however, believe that this sordid development is disturbing and creates an unnecessary distraction for leaders in Africa and around the world.
We support ECOWAS call for an interim government, “headed by a civilian or retired military officer, to last for six or nine months, and maximum of 12 calendar months”. We also agree with the 15-nation ECOWAS sanctions on Mali, including the closure of borders and ban on trade and financial flows. We support the sustenance of international pressure to restore order, and the United States Government’s suspension of military aid to Mali, with no further training or support of the country’s armed forces. We insist that the diplomatic and economic pressure be maintained to compel the junta to retrace their steps, and expedite action to return the beleaguered nation to democratic governance.
We, therefore, urge ECOWAS chief envoy and former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, and his team, to accept the military junta’s commitment, last Monday, to a 12-month transitional government to be run by a civilian team. ECOWAS negotiators must ensure that the military leaders work with their civilian counterparts, including the Constitutional Court “to ensure the immediate return of constitutional order” and acceptable timetable for fresh elections. We agree with Jonathan, Dicko and other stakeholders that the only plausible option going forward is the return to civilian rule. This is why we urge the military leaders to respect their calling and return to the barracks, while allowing civilians, dedicated to democratic ethos, run the government and bring the dividends of democracy to Malians. They should not be tempted to interfere in democratic governance in future, but allow politicians disagree to agree, because it is the nature of man.