Worried by recent cases of hijack of constitutional authorities through military coup d’etat in Africa, President Muhammadu Buhari has solicited the support of European leaders in preserving democracy on the continent.
President Buhari initiated the campaign for Europe’s support on Thursday during a roundtable discussion on Peace, Security and Governance at the ongoing 6th EU-AU Summit in Brussels, Belgium.
According to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, President Buhari also stressed the need to nip the root causes of extremism, conflicts and tensions in Africa at inception.
In his contribution at the roundtable, the President noted that recent developments in a few of the countries on the continent had seen soldiers, through the barrels of guns, hijack power and expel popularly and constitutionally elected administrations, describing the situation as worrisome.
He, however, appealed to European leaders, as partners in promoting democracy and good governance, to lend their weight behind measures put in place by the African Union (AU) to stem the tide of unconstitutional leadership changes.
“Africa has continued to witness different waves of violent extremism, community- based conflicts and inter-ethnic tensions, notably in rural areas. For many decades, our continent has been deprived of political stability and socio-economic development due to terrorism and violent extremism.
“More worrisome is the current state of democracy on the continent, which has become a great source of concern to many of us, with increasing cases of unconstitutional change of governments across the continent, particularly in West Africa. This is in addition to the challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic.
“The African Union has often responded to these challenges through its different structures, such as the African Peace and Security Architecture and the African Governance Architecture.
“Through enhanced collaboration with our development partners, especially the European Union, we can identify areas of cooperation for quick and substantive results.
“As leaders and policy makers, it is important for our partnership to place priority on tackling the root causes of conflicts in Africa, as well as taking measures in safeguarding peace and security, if we are to achieve the African Union Agenda 2063.
“We also call for stronger support from the European Union in the condemnation and imposition of weighty sanctions on countries that engage in unconstitutional change of governments, as well as manipulation of constitutions in favor of extension of term limits,” he said.
The Nigerian leader added that it was imperative to ensure that election processes in Africa have outcomes that truly reflect the wishes of the electorate, as to go contrary to these is courting instability.
According to him, “we have a responsibility to reduce conflicts that stem from lack of good governance, unaccountability, corruption and social exclusion.
“Free, fair, credible and transparent elections remain crucial elements in ensuring peace and security, and promoting constitutional order, democracy and inclusive governance on the continent.
“It is therefore imperative for our partnership to also focus on strengthening election processes in Africa and prevent interference to influence the process and outcomes of elections.”
