In July 2016, I wrote a piece on this page titled: “Coup in the social media era” after the attempted coup that took place in Turkey. That coup was unique for one reason – it was one of the few coups in the social media era.
Instructively, Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an outspoken critic of social media, but he turned to twitter as the coup unfolded to make a statement: “I call our nation to the airports and the squares to take ownership of our democracy and our national will.” The people heeded the call and the coup failed.
It is against this background that I viewed the statement by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, on Tuesday last week informing “the public that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. T. Y. Buratai, has received information that some individuals have been approaching some officers and soldiers for undisclosed political reasons. On the basis of that, he has warned such persons to desist from these acts.” Although Buratai did not elaborate on the political reasons, there had been fears by some Nigerians that such hobnobbing is a bad omen and may lead to a possible military intervention.
Who are the daredevil individuals and officers who cannot read the signs and know this is not the time to try such an adventure? There’s so much anger in the land and any misadventure is likely to make what is happening in Syria a child’s play. Whatever it is worth, the imperfect democracy we have now is better than any military rule. What are the chances a coup will even succeed in the first place?
I have lived through five major and one minor coup d’états in Nigeria. Back in the days, staging a coup was “easy” and follows one strategic pattern. It involves four key institutions. Once the plotters takeover Radio Nigeria (FRCN), the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL), close the airspace, land and sea borders, the first and one of the most critical stages would have been sealed. But we now have over a thousand radio and TV stations in the country. Which of these would be used to announce a coup?
In the past, when marshall music starts on radio citizens know a coup has taken place. This would be followed by the coup speech, rounding up of key figures in the previous regime if it is a bloodless coup, or killing officials if it’s a bloody coup. GOCs, brigade commanders or commissioners of police would then take over the administration of their respective states pending the announcement of military administrators.
Expectedly, there were condemnations after Buratai’s statement both within and outside the country. The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arkwright, said the United Kingdom would continue to support democracy as the only system of government in Nigeria. Arkwright further stated that anyone, who was seeking for change, must follow the democratic process which is election. “The British Government believes that democracy is absolutely critical in Nigeria. There is a democratic process here; there are elections. If you are not happy with your leaders, then you should change your leadership process through elections.
“That is exactly what happened in 2015 and it is what the British Government will expect to happen in Nigeria. So, our position is very clear; we stand for democracy, we stand for the democratic process and we stand for change, if that is what the people of Nigeria want. It has to be a choice that the people make and not a choice that is imposed upon them.” It can’t be clearer than that. Nigerians are tired of selfish individuals pushing personal agendas in the guise of “national interest”.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the ACF, Afenifere, the two factions of the PDP, others politicians, civil society organisations, leaders of thought and professionals have all condemned the revelation.
Those who fail to understand history would be unaware that things have changed and we now live in a different era. Democracy has firmly taken root in most parts of the world as one of the most accommodating system of governance. Secondly, the information superhighway has been revolutionised beyond previous recognition with countless channels for the dissemination of information. Thirdly, people are more aware than they previously were following the breaking down of walls. The global village phenomenon is now the norm and you can watch events unfold in other countries real-time. So, my reckoning: wouldn’t it be suicidal for any group to attempt a coup in this age?
It is only the uninformed, stubborn or out rightly foolish that would ignore such a brazen and ever present fact – the amazing power of social media. Erdogan who was out of the capital Istanbul on vacation at the time of the coup in Turkey used what he hitherto considered an “opposition tool,” FaceTime video call, to address the country. The phone was held in front of the television camera where he called on the people to pour out into the streets and defend democracy. The “opposition tool” came in handy when it mattered most.
Some commentators said the coup did not succeed because the plotters failed to seize communication channels – or have their own social media strategy. The failure to “neutralise” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was their greatest undoing. Had the plotters managed to block off all means of communication, Yildirim may not have been able to get his message about “an event outside the chain of command” out. That message – it was suggested – effectively isolated a lot of the plotters and galvanised government’s support base.
Back home, why is there even a rumour about a possible coup? The answer is simple: the political elite have failed to learn critical lessons of history. Any careful observer of the second republic would not fail to notice the striking similarity with current happenings; except it is nothing compared with the dare-devilry of today. Since January 19, when President Muhammadu Buhari first travelled on a medical vacation to London, the polity has refused to be stable. Politicians are plotting intrigues every day, without noticing that we are precariously perched on a cliff; a little push and we would be done. This is not scare-mongering.
Members of the political elite have failed to cultivate the discipline that should take democratic practice to the next level of stable growth and development. Rather, they are the ones reminding us when soldiers were on permanent standby. The reasons soldiers intervened were simply bad governance and corruption in the first instance. But there were also insinuations that powerful civilian friends of soldiers contributed to instigating some of the coups. It was difficult to understand what benefits such civilians derived from those coups, except that some of them benefited through appointments or became contractors.
Following the entrenchment of the democratic experience in 1999, our military has focused on professionalism. Recall that former President Olusegun Obasanjo undertook a silent reorganisation of the military when he was elected in 1999. This was aimed at flushing out those of them who were indoctrinated wrongly on the notion that power flows from the barrel of the gun.
Not to be accused of targeting certain power mongers from certain geo-political zones, who were fed on the fraudulent doctrine to ambush power on behalf of some oligarchy, and who were used to cornering strategic and sensitive military positions for themselves, from which they easily launched coups in the past, Obasanjo enthroned persons from minority groups and made them service chiefs. This was aimed at dousing tensions that certain post are reserved for certain groups or individuals.
Obasanjo’s tenure was the buffer between years of coups and democratic rule. He stabilised the polity, kept soldiers away and he handed over to the next civilian leadership. It is therefore the responsibility of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to equally manage the military and keep them away from any misadventure. It is only good governance that can achieve this.
