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African Despots and Tyrants Beware! New Military Coups threaten long-serving rulers!

Writer's picture: Tamba  Aghailas Tamba Aghailas

Updated: Sep 7, 2023

Editorial by The Voice of Liberia


There is a new wave of coups d’états sweeping across the African Continent, mostly especially in former French colonies of West Africa.


As the world’s attention has shifted to the bloody ongoing Russia vs. Ukraine (proxy) war, pitting Russia against the Western NATO block led by the United States; a new phenomenon is unraveling across Africa.

Photo: General Brice Oligui Nguema led the recent coup in Gabon


Young Military Officials are taking the shortcut to power through non and/or less bloody coups d’états. This recent wave of coups began a few years back in Zimbabwe in 2007 with the ousting of long-serving African liberator, Comrade Robert Mugabe. His predecessor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who recently won a new term in office, has faced a challenge by the opposition block.

Recent wave of coups d’états includes…

  • Burkina Faso (2014, 2015, & 2022 x twice)

  • Sudan (2019 & 2023) - ongoing war *

  • Mali (2012, 2020, & 2021)

  • Chad (2021)

  • Guinea (2008 & 2021)

  • Niger (2010, 2021 & 2023) and recently

  • Gabon (2023)

Sierra Leone also recently reported a foiled coup attempt against President Julius Maada Bio, whose second term election victory has been marred by legal challenges and violence. Will this new wave of coups against long-serving despots and tyrants usher in a new era of hope for Africa in terms of socioeconomic development for its people?

Or will Africa continue to be known only as the continent having vast natural resource wealth, yet its citizens (the majority) still linger in man-made poverty and lack opportunities for advancement?


To quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Africa is in need of “leaders [who are] not in love with money but in love with justice. Not in love with publicity but in love with humanity.”


The young generation is no longer a silent majority. They are ready to sacrifice it all in order to change the status quo in their countries. They want jobs, an economy they can compete in, education and healthcare for their families, and to live on a continent that embraces technological advancement.


It is time for the African Continent and its people to rise and live up to their true meaning and potential.


You may write us at TheVoiceofLiberia@gmail.com

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