Obasanjo On Why Young People In Africa Are In Favor Of The Military takeover

Olusegun Obasanjo

Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, has outlined the reasons why African youth embrace coups that take place on the continent.

According to Obasanjo, the rise in military takeovers in Africa was evidence that young people were looking for liberators.

The former president spoke in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, during an interactive session with a group of young people from the Reverend Chris Oyakhilome-founded platform Africa for Africa Youth Initiative (A4A).

Seven nations in Africa have suffered coups since 2020, with Niger and Gabon seeing the most recent ones.

He claimed that "if we don't have the conditions that encourage them (coups), they may not happen," and that "we should make sure that we do everything to prevent coups from happening."

In particular, the youth "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," said Obasanjo.

"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?"

In order to prevent coups in Africa, he urged African leaders to enshrine genuine democratic ideas with God-given qualities.