President Bongo Under House Arrest As Army Seizes Power In Gabon
President Bongo Under House Arrest As Army Seizes Power In Gabon
Transcript
00:00 This is TVC News Act One.
00:01 We begin with the latest from Gabon,
00:04 where the military has taken over government
00:07 after last week's election,
00:09 which declared President Ali Bongo winner for a third time.
00:13 The military officers also announced
00:15 that President Bongo has been placed under house arrest,
00:18 surrounded by his family and doctors.
00:21 The report stated that one of the president's sons
00:24 had been arrested for treason.
00:26 We have more in this report.
00:29 Gabon is a guarantor of the protection of institutions.
00:34 Africa woke up today with another shocking news
00:37 of yet again a coup in Gabon.
00:40 President Ali Bongo had been announced
00:43 the winner of the country's just concluded
00:46 presidential election on Saturday.
00:49 That announcement was to authenticate his third term
00:53 in office after 14 years of long-running leadership.
00:59 President Ali Bongo had ruled Gabon for 14 years.
01:03 He took over from his father who had ruled for 42 years,
01:08 bringing the leadership of the Bongo's in Gabon
01:10 to over half a century.
01:13 But in what looks like a final speed breaker,
01:17 the military announced in the early hours of today,
01:21 a takeover.
01:22 The coupists say their leadership starts now.
01:26 (speaking in foreign language)
01:30 (speaking in foreign language)
01:59 The announcement of Gabon's presidential election result
02:02 on Saturday was rejected by civil society groups,
02:06 which described it as completely fraudulent.
02:09 Already citizens of the Central African nation
02:14 have taken to the streets in support of the military coup.
02:17 Some say the nation must have fresh breath
02:21 of democratic transition, not family leadership.
02:25 Some African nations have in recent times
02:28 been troubled by coups.
02:30 Mali witnessed a coup in 2020.
02:35 The Republic of Chad, Guinea, Sudan,
02:39 also witnessed coups in 2021.
02:42 Burkina Faso in 2022.
02:46 And recently, the Republic of Niger.
02:48 Jacqueline Ogo, TVC News.
02:56 I'm joined now by Professor of International Relations
02:59 and Strategic Studies, David Aworowo,
03:02 for more on this development.
03:03 Prof, thank you for joining us on the news this hour.
03:07 The latest coup in Central Africa is now put into an end.
03:12 President Bogo's family's 53-year hold to power.
03:17 I'm wondering if you have drawn some relationship
03:20 between what happened in Gabon
03:22 with the reasons in other parts of Africa,
03:24 or would you say this is somewhere unique,
03:27 unique to what we've experienced in the past?
03:29 - Thank you for having me.
03:34 What has happened in Gabon just yesterday
03:40 is not unique in any way.
03:43 It's just following the same pattern we have seen
03:47 across Africa in the past three years or so.
03:53 You know, the reasons given revolve around elections
03:57 that are not credible,
03:59 and the desire to end, to truncate democratic governance,
04:04 stating that that's the main reason
04:08 why they are taking over government.
04:10 They also talked about corruption,
04:13 and they also made reference to the fear
04:16 that they will bring down one another in Gabon.
04:19 The coup leader there talked about Gabon
04:21 being a haven of peace for decades and decades,
04:25 and that that peace might be jeopardized
04:29 by the aftermath of the election,
04:34 in which Ali Bongo was supposed to have announced
04:38 to have won for a third term in office.
04:40 So there is nothing unique about what has happened in Gabon.
04:43 It simply follows a pattern of what we have found
04:46 across Africa since 2020.
04:49 - Gabon and Togo joined the Commonwealth, I think, last year.
04:54 There are just a few members of that organization
04:58 that are not previous British colonies.
05:00 This is the eighth coup
05:02 in a former French colony in Africa in the past three years.
05:07 What is it with these former French colonies and coup d'etat?
05:12 - Yeah, there is something about
05:18 the neo-colonial disposition of France in Africa,
05:23 which has affected the way the military
05:29 has responded to some of these things.
05:32 Even though France's price is served as a country
05:38 that is committed to freedom, liberty, equality,
05:44 arising from the East Revolution of 1789,
05:47 France's relations with its former colonies across Africa
05:51 has not reflected that.
05:54 It has been extremely exploitative,
05:57 which is why many of these coups have not been staged
06:01 only to overthrow leaders that were considered
06:04 to be corrupt.
06:06 They have also been staged to protest against France.
06:11 I mean, they've been seen as an arrangement
06:15 that would enable them to break the yoke
06:18 of France's control and exploitation over these countries.
06:23 So it is also not strange and unique.
06:27 Writers used to say that France
06:31 is one of those former colonial masters
06:34 that left with a folding address,
06:38 that is, that they did not leave completely.
06:39 They left, but their stronghold on their former colonies
06:43 has remained very strong and very intense.
06:46 So the coups are not surprising in some sense,
06:50 because not just to overthrow corrupt
06:52 and ineffective leaders,
06:56 but also to remove the yoke of French exploitation
07:01 and stronghold on these countries.
07:03 - There are other countries who are also on the queue
07:06 to take over the big brother role from France.
07:09 Russia and China are among other countries
07:11 that have expressed their concern,
07:13 talking about how a military takeover
07:16 could lead to instability in Africa.
07:19 Russia has a track record of showing some sort of support
07:23 to military hunters in Africa.
07:27 How much of a concern is this for the continent?
07:31 - Yeah, it should be of great concern.
07:38 Those countries that are rejecting France
07:41 and accepting Russia, they are making a very big mistake.
07:46 Colonialism is colonialism.
07:48 Neocolonialism is neocolonialism.
07:50 It is defined simply as the establishment
07:52 and maintenance of unequal relationships.
07:55 So these countries that are rushing to embrace Russia
07:59 are just leaving one master for the other,
08:01 but they might be leaving a mistress for a master,
08:04 so to speak.
08:05 So by rejecting France, that is right,
08:08 because many of these countries remain poor,
08:10 partly because of France's exploitation
08:13 of the resources of these countries.
08:15 But rushing to embrace Russia and China
08:19 as a replacement for France is a huge mistake.
08:23 As the years progress, they will see very clearly
08:26 that that is not the way to go.
08:28 The way to go is for Africans to come together,
08:31 promote pan-Africanism, you know,
08:34 synergize and bring their resources together
08:37 so that Africa can develop only one direction.
08:40 At that point, there will not be one country
08:42 exploiting the other.
08:43 But going to embrace China or Russia,
08:46 as many of these countries have done, is a great mistake.
08:51 - Another democratic interruption in Africa.
08:53 We're looking forward to how this will be resolved
08:55 in the coming days, if not years.
08:58 Professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies,
09:01 Sir David Awuroprof, thank you for talking to us
09:04 on the news this hour.
09:07 - Thank you for having me.
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