Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has validated African youths support of coups happening in the continent.
The former President spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during an interactive session with a group of youths from Africa for Africa Youth Initiative (A4A), a platform founded by Reverend Chris Oyakhilome.
Obasanjo stated that the prevailing military coups in Africa showed that the youths were in search of liberators.
Although, the former president stated expressed his aversion for coup due his unpalatable experience under Late Sanni Abacha’s regime, he however noted that certain prevailing conditions have been encouraging military takeovers across Africa.
The former president who ruled Nigeria both as a military and democratically elected president, explained that the youths are excited by the coups in Africa because that seems to mean liberation.
Recall that since 2020, Africa has experienced coups in seven countries with the most recent ones in Niger and Gabon.
In his words, “if we don’t have the conditions that encourage them (coups), they may not happen,” stating that “we should make sure that we do everything to prevent coups from happening.”
Obasanjo noted that the youth particularly, “support most of these coups, the one in Gabon, the Coup Leader, was being carried on the head by the youths, not by old wretched men and women like me.
“So, the youth are looking for liberators, and we must bear that in mind. Why do we have to allow the youth to start looking for liberators beyond the government of the day? Why?”
He challenged African leaders to entrench true democratic principles with excellent leadership attributes to discourage coups in Africa.
“And if you have been in government for 40 years and you are not tired, maybe you need retirement,” he stated.
