International relations expert Dr. Julius Kwaku Kattah has posited that the coup staged in Guinea should be a wake-up for Africa leaders who are manipulating their constitutions just to stay in power for more than two terms.
Dr. Kattah speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm noted that because African countries were encouraged to unite as one since the era of Nkrumah, whatever happens to a country in the sub-region could affect others.
On Sunday, September 5, 2021, Special forces in Guinea dissolved the constitution and shut the country’s land and air borders.
The coup plotters announced a ‘national committee for assembly and development’, and said the constitution would be rewritten.
The new military leaders announced a nationwide curfew “until further notice”, saying it would convene President Alpha Conde’s cabinet ministers and other senior politicians at 11 am (11:00 GMT) on Monday.
Reacting to this, Dr. Kattah explained that African leaders must desist from holding onto power when their time is up, they must step aside and allow democracy to thrive.
He stated that because of the charter for unity, if one charter is affected by a coup or conflict, automatically, it goes down to affect the sub-region and the whole of Africa.
It is relatively clear that African leaders must go according to the constitutional rule and democratic dispensation, using the tool of citizen participation of good governance, human resource and leadership.
”We cannot live in a country where the patriotism of a citizen in a country like in Africa could be singled out without the total liberation of Africa. We need total liberation of Africa, we need each and every country in Africa to be united and have a democratic dispensation so that we can push for social-economic development. Trade must flow in Africa,” he suggested.
By: Rashid Obodai Provencal/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
