President Bola Tinubu, has appealed to African leaders to respect democracy, rule of law in a bid to ensure political stability in the continent.
President made this appeal while speaking a high-level event organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the margins of Fifth Mid-Year African Union (AU) Coordination Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.
The President also called on the United Nations to take firm stance against military coups.
Tinubu also urged African military institutions and states to recognize and respect the need for democratic renewal.
The Chairman 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.
In a statement, presented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa, Tinubu 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.
Tinubu 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.
He stated, ”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, according to a statement by his spokesman, Dele Alake, said, ”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.
