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GuineaPoliticsTop story
Home›African Arguments›Country›West›Guinea›Guinea: We must turn this dangerous coup into a chance for renewal

Guinea: We must turn this dangerous coup into a chance for renewal

By Kadiatou Sylla
September 16, 2021
1603
3
Guinea coup leaders on state television.

A coup was never the solution to the nation’s problems. But with the right pressure, the Guinean people can turn this moment into an opportunity.

Guinea's coup leaders on state television.

Guinea’s coup leaders on state television.

On 5 September, Guinea endured its third successful military coup since independence. This time, army officers – some of them trained by the US – stormed the presidential palace in Conakry and, following a shootout, detained President Alpha Condé. Soon after, the head of the special forces Colonel Mamady Doumbouya announced on state television that the government had been dissolved and the constitution annulled.

Like in similar recent events in nearby Mali (which had a coup in May), Chad (which experienced an “institutional coup” in April) and Niger (which thwarted an attempted coup in March), the international spotlight in Guinea has focused on the mutineers and the country’s natural resources. Guinea has the world’s largest reserves of bauxite, the ore used to produce aluminium, whose prices skyrocketed to a decade-high following news of the overthrow.

However, the biggest impact of a coup is on the ordinary people who are suffering. I know. I was a young child in the years of instability that followed Lansana Conté’s coup d’état in 1984. In the ensuing power struggle, security forces abducted and tortured my mother and burned our home to the ground. My siblings and I were forced to flee Conakry and endure five years of brutal poverty before we were finally granted refugee status in the US and our family could be reunited.

As was the case back then, last week’s military takeover in Guinea did not happen in a vacuum. The country’s fragile democratic order has been failing its citizens and many people are angry at rising poverty, rampant corruption, and government mismanagement. President Condé’s decision to change the constitution so he could run for a third term in 2020 and his violent response to mass protests to this move only added to popular discontent. Given this context, it is unsurprising that many in Guinea have celebrated the end of Condé’s rule.

A coup is, of course, not the solution. Doumbaya’s military overthrow is already creating havoc for many ordinary people and is likely to exacerbate Guinea’s problems while creating new ones. However, this uncertain moment does bring the country’s issues into sharp relief and provide an opportunity for Guineans and their international allies to re-think the nation’s priorities and demand better.

Three issues

In doing so, three issues are paramount.

First, we must address Guinea’s chronically weak leadership. Ever since Guinea’s visionary first president Sekou Touré devolved into autocratic rule, this destructive pattern has been repeated over and over, first under Conté and then Condé. The current political transition provides a moment to reckon with this past and recommit to the deepening of people-centred governance with checks and balances that allow for the co-existence of competing interests.

A critical first step for Guinea’s new government should be to leverage the experience of veterans from previous administrations who served with integrity. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens ought to build on their recent experience of grassroots organising to demand the putschists deliver on their promise to transition promptly to civilian rule. Guineans must insist on a strict timeline and make clear that they will not tolerate endless meetings between the military junta and civilian leaders. They should apply the pressure necessary to demand regular updates, transparency, and a voice at the table negotiating the nation’s future.

Secondly, Guinea’s diaspora as a source of strength should be recognised. The country has many highly qualified citizens from different generations, genders and ethnic groups living abroad. Thousands of us in France, the US and elsewhere have acquired skills, social capital, and finances that can contribute to Guinea’s renewal. The bird’s-eye view our distance affords also allows us to more easily bridge the siloes that often divide our communities. The diaspora must do its part to support the efforts of compatriots in Guinea.

Finally, the international community must support the Guinean people too. Initial statements by the African Union, the West Africa bloc ECOWAS, the UN, and Western governments have rightly rejected the coup. But we now need to see actions to match this rhetoric. Guinea’s future will be driven by its people, but the outside world has a key role to play in supporting ordinary citizens’ demands, pushing for a meaningful civilian transition, and holding army leaders accountable through targeted sanctions.

Guinea is hardly the first country to birth political transformation through violence, and we must learn from this history as we seek to forge a new polity of and for our beleaguered people. We will not stand for today’s military coup nor for the mismanagement and corruption that preceded it. We must condemn the putsch, while using this moment to reflect on our shared past to build a new, more inclusive, and vibrant Guinea for the future. As Sekou Touré famously said, our task is nothing less than to “fashion the revolution with the people”.


 

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Kadiatou Sylla

Kadiatou Sylla is a philanthropic officer focused on African development and human rights. She has conducted research on counter-terrorism and worked with marginalised communities in Africa and the United States.

3 comments

  1. Hassan Arouni 17 September, 2021 at 13:01

    Hello from London. I work with the BBC radio programme, Focus on Africa. I am kindly asking you to put me in touch with Ms Kadiatou Sylla. I want to ask if she might be interested in an interview with us for our programme. I have put my details in the appropriate area below. Many thanks.

  2. Prince Foday 17 September, 2021 at 17:22

    Thanks Kadiatou for such a clarion call piece. Military coups are never fashionable in Africa as the continent has grown beyond such part. African governments remain to learn lessons of the past. President Conde fanned the flames of the country’s present predicament and he is paying the price for bad governance and Africa’ s unreviewed dictatorial inheritance. Hope the military intervention will provide a cautionary check to African leaders to rise above the old dictatorial myth. Leadership should be people-entred and shouldn’t been driven by power thirst, self wealth accumulation, bashing of political opponents and building the empire of fictitious importance.

  3. Marcus Butler 17 September, 2021 at 22:04

    Good day Ms. Sylla,

    My name is Marcus Butler and I am the CEO of Claiborne Consulting Company Ltd located in Beachwood, Ohio. I am writing you to concurr with one of your solutions to assist Guinea in successfully navigating out of this coup crisis. I myself am of Guinea descent and my company has dealt with the Guinea government in the past in an attempt to bring economic development to the country. As you indicated, Guinea could benefit from assistance from diaspora Guineans willing to offer precious assistance in this time of need. Please contact me or put me in contact with someone that I can discuss this matter with.
    I look forward to your response.
    Thank you.
    Marcus J. Butler
    President/CEO
    Claiborne Consulting Company Ltd.

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