Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has explained Why African youths are supporting military takeover in the continent.
The Ogun state born politician noted that the rising military coups in Africa showed that the youths were in search of liberators.
Obasanjo 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, said he would not support a coup due to his experience in the hands of late General Sanni Abacha, noted that certain conditions had been encouraging the military seizure of power across the continent.
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 they want to be liberated.
There has been a resurgence of coup in Africa with west Africa being the most hit in recent times.
Gabon and Niger Republic are the lastest countries to be hit by military takeover.
However, Obasanjo noted that we shouldn’t encourage coup in the country, 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 charged African leaders to entrench true democratic principles with God-given attributes as a way 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.