Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have said that West Africa and indeed Africa are currently going through a perilous storm, following political instability in some parts of the continent.
They spoke yesterday at the opening session of a high-level dialogue organised by the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA).
The two-day event, with the theme, “West Africa: Rising to the Challenges of Consolidating Democratic Governance” was held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Also at the event were former President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President of The Gambia, Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang; former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma and Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, among others.
Obasanjo, who is chairman of CoDA, in his welcome address, condemned military take-over of democratically-elected governments in some African countries, saying democracy in West Africa and indeed Africa requires urgent attention.
He lamented that coup d’etat, election fraud and political violence and instability had crippled the growth of Africa.
Obasanjo said that the only way African continent could develop is through peaceful democratic transition of governments.
He said: “In recent years, we have witnessed a return of coup d’etat, election fraud and political violence, resulting in instability and threatening the developmental gains we have made in the last couple of decades.
“I feel very sad and it gives me great concern when I see the democratic system we have painfully built collapsing. And I believe there must be a solution because the problem is human and all human problems can be solved by human beings.
“Peaceful co-existence has been a hallmark of Africans even before the emergence of colonial era and we cannot accept anything less in this modern age.
“We need stable environment to grow our economies and ensure that countries develop in a sustainable way.”
Osinbajo, while delivering his keynote address, bemoaned military incursion into democratic regimes of some African countries.
He urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and other African organisations to rise up to the challenge and do more in ensuring political and economic stability of West Africa and Africa at large.
Osinbajo said: “We must not allow our continent to become as it was in the cold war era.
“Our commitment to democratisation must be predicated on the aspiration of our people and not from the whims of foreign powers.
“The recent spate of military coups across the continent and attempts at military coups not only portends the risk of a damaging democratic recession, but it also takes us back to the circles of extra constitutional disruptions that plagued us decades ago.”
