In a significant turn of events, Gabon has reopened its borders on Saturday, just three days after they were sealed amidst a military coup that saw President Ali Bongo ousted from power.
The military coup, led by General Brice Oligui Nguema, unfolded on Wednesday, resulting in the arrest of President Bongo and the installation of Nguema as the new head of state. This abrupt shift marked the end of the Bongo family’s 56-year grip on Gabon’s leadership.
This coup, the eighth in West and Central Africa in just three years, has ignited concerns about a troubling trend of military takeovers across the region, effectively eroding the democratic progress achieved over the past two decades.
Internationally, there has been mounting pressure on the coup leaders to reinstate civilian governance. However, they declared last night that they wouldn’t rush into holding elections.
The decision to reopen the land, sea, and air borders was announced with the aim of upholding the rule of law, maintaining good relations with neighboring nations and the international community, and honoring international commitments, as stated by the army spokesperson on national television.
Notably, Ali Bongo, who assumed the presidency in 2009 following the tenure of his late father Omar, who ruled since 1967, faced criticism for what opponents perceived as inadequate sharing of Gabon’s oil and mining wealth.
Gabon’s coup is part of a broader pattern in the region, with coups occurring in Guinea, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso since 2020. These events are raising concerns among global powers with strategic interests in the region.
Just last month, soldiers in Niger Republic seized power, placing ousted President Mohamed Bazoum under house arrest. The junta proposed a three-year transition period, a proposition rejected by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which insists on a return to democracy.
Similarly, in Burkina Faso in 2002, the military ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, while Sudan experienced a military takeover led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leading to the arrest of political leaders and a state of emergency declaration.
Guinea, in September 2021, witnessed President Alpha Conde’s removal by the military, with Colonel Mamady Doumbouya taking charge. Guinea’s junta vowed to restore civilian rule by the end of 2024.
Mali, also in West Africa, had two coups within a year. In August 2020, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was ousted by the military, resulting in a transitional leadership. By May 2021, the military arrested the President and Prime Minister, inaugurating one of them as the transitional President, with a promise to return to democracy in 2024.
As the situation remains tense across various African nations, the region remains on edge, with uncertainty about which country might be the next to experience political upheaval.
