An interesting Perspective on the Gabon ‘coup’
The Gabon coup is a carefully orchestrated scam – here’s why..
On August 30th, the world woke up to reports of a coup in Gabon.
Reportedly, after disputed elections, the military had stepped in, truncated the election process, nullified the elections, closed the country’s borders and dissolved the government including all institutions of state.
There were reportedly widespread celebrations by Gabonese women hailing the coup and the ouster of erstwhile president Ali Bongo, who between himself and his father had ruled Gabon for 56 years.
Ali Bongo himself is an invalid, barely able to walk or speak, and must have become a serious liability if not an embarrassment to his French masters who have helped him and his family maintain a stranglehold on power in Gabon these past 56 years.
Other videos show a group of military men, hailing the head of the presidential guard, one General Clotaire Oligui Nguema as the new president.
Everything seems on the level, a military Junta, riding the wave of recent coups in French West Africa steps in to liberate a suffering people from the stranglehold of another sit tight dictator propped up by French special interests in one of it’s 14 colonial holdings in Africa.
Except, this isn’t the case. This unfortunately is the French trying to be clever by half.
What are the facts? For starters, Ali Bongo suffered a devastating loss in the elections. Instead of stepping aside and allowing a new chapter in Gabonese politics with an unknown opposition leader backed by the popular will of the Gabonese people, he and his French masters simply truncated the process.
Back in August 2016, when he, Ali Bongo, lost to Jean Ping, he simply created a state of emergency and held onto power using the institutions of state at his disposal.
This time, being enfeebled after a stroke in 2018, being an embarrassment to his French masters and not able to execute a similar playbook to 2016, his nephew and trusted confidant, head of the presidential guard has stepped in to ensure that the opposition is kept out.
The international community, following the wave of recent coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger, naturally assumes this is a coup in the same mold. The Gabonese people, happy to be rid of the Bongo dictatorship are out celebrating.
What is clearly not being said is that the opposition won the election and the Bongo family, who have control of the army have truncated the process to prevent the opposition taking over.
The sizeable french Army based in Gabon has not lifted a finger. Ali Bongo, who is supposedly under house arrest has made a video asking for people to make noise.
Many have been taken in by this scam.
The cynical French have done it again, successfully prevented a democratic transition of power to an opposition leader they cannot rely on to protect their interests through a carefully orchestrated sham coup, riding a wave of legitimate coups in French West Africa.
The days ahead will show the impossible hand the French have, as the Clotaire ace up their sleeve may turn out to be a pair of duds.
Written by Fidelis Ndeh-Che
What do you think?
