Gabonese President Bongo delivers a video speech through the presidential office on August 30, 2023 (video screenshot). This was the first time Bongo publicly expressed his position after some local media reported that some Gabonese soldiers seized power. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
There has been a military coup in another African country, this time in Gabon, a rich country in West Africa.
According to Xinhua News Agency, in the early morning of August 30, local time, the Gabonese Election Center announced that the current president, Ali Bongo, was re-elected in the presidential election held on August 26 with 64.27% of the vote. Subsequently, more than a dozen military personnel issued a statement on Gabonese 24 TV in the name of the "Institutional Transition and Restoration Commission", declaring that the election results were null and void, saying that they had taken power, that state institutions were dissolved, and that the country's borders were closed.
The international community is highly concerned about this. On August 30, AU Commission Chairperson Faki issued a statement strongly condemning the "coup attempt in Gabon", accusing the incident of flagrant violations of relevant AU laws and political documents, and calling for ensuring the safety of Bongo and his family.
On the same day, the French government condemned the military coup in Gabon, expressed its "close attention to the development of the situation" and hoped that the results of the presidential elections in Gabon would be respected. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also issued a statement through his spokesman condemning "attempts to resolve the post-election crisis in Gabon through a coup d'état" and expressing strong opposition to any military coup.
On the same day, Bongo released about 50 seconds of video to the media through the president's office. In the video, Bongo does not use French, Gabon's official language, but says in English that he is currently in his residence and that his wife and children are elsewhere. He called on all sectors to speak out in this regard.
On 31 August, the Gabonese Transitional and Institutional Recovery Commission, the coup body, announced that General Nguema, 48-year-old commander-in-chief of the Gabonese Republican Guard (GR), would take office as Gabon's "transitional president" on 4 September, but did not announce the transition period and methodology.
Also on the same day, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, meeting on the situation in Gabon, strongly condemned the military coup d'état in Gabon and decided to suspend Gabon's membership in the African Union immediately and not allow it to participate in all activities of the AU and related institutions until constitutional order is restored in the country.
Some media pointed out that the coup d'état in Gabon is the eighth coup in Central and West Africa in the past three years, and these countries have one thing in common, their official language is French. Africa's re-entry into "shock mode" is also deeply disturbing to the international community.
This remade video footage shows some Gabonese servicemen issuing a statement through television in the early morning of August 30 local time. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Wealthy Gabon was once "unique in this landscape"
Which African family has been in power the longest since the 20th century? Qaddafi in Libya, Mugabe in Zimbabwe, or Kabila in the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Neither.
The longest-ruling African family is Gabon's Bongo father and son: Omar Bongo became president of Gabon in 1967, died in 2009 after 42 years in office, and his son Ali Bongo came to power, and has served two consecutive 14-year terms.
Gabon is rich in oil, manganese and other mineral resources, with a per capita GDP of more than 10,000 US dollars, making it one of the richest countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Since independence, Gabon has had a stable political situation, even in the era of the "cold war" when coups in Africa were commonplace.
After Ali Bongo became president, law and order were strengthened, and Gabon has long been recognized as "the least likely African country to carry out a coup". However, the Bongo family's long-term rule has also led to serious wealth accumulation and social inequality.
In particular, Ali Bongo's exile of nine brothers and a large number of his father's "old courtiers" before and after coming to power, and his mistreatment of presidential candidate Jean Ping, who was originally a key government member, when he sought re-election for his first term in 2016, have attracted increasing criticism and shaken the foundation of his government.
In response to these crises, in 2019, Ali Bongo recalled Colonel Nguema, a fellow countryman and distant cousin and father's old courtier who had been exiled to Senegal 10 years earlier, and appointed him head of the intelligence agency "General Directorate of the Special Services of the Republic", replacing Frederick, the president's half-brother, who was recognized as incompetent.
The almost forgotten "chaser of courtiers" was truly capable - after Nguema's arrival, he quickly expanded the "Special Intervention Section" directly under the president, increasing the original team of personal bodyguards from only 30 to 300 people, with nearly 100 snipers equipped with the most advanced equipment.
Apparently, Ali Bongo was also convinced of Nguema's loyalty, and six months later promoted him to the rank of commander-in-chief of the most elite Republican Guard, promoted to general.
However, the general, who a few months ago vowed in public that he would be "forever loyal to the president", appeared as the leader of the coup d'état less than 3 hours after Ali Bongo announced his re-election as president.
As some local West African observers have pointed out, Ali Bongo was caught off guard when he suddenly set up a tight protective net, adding more uncertainty to an already volatile African society.
An exterior view of the Gabonese National Assembly building in Libreville, Gabon, April 10, 2016. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Expect BRICS to "absorb shocks" for African society
As Africa suffered from Western colonial aggression for a long time, the vast majority of countries left behind complex tribal disputes, borders and a series of political, economic and social problems at the time of independence. Coupled with the influence of the "Cold War" and the hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union, coup plots were once commonplace, and mercenaries and foreign agents were the place where clouds and foreign agents turned around.
It was not until the end of the "Cold War", with the departure of the superpowers, African countries turned their focus to economic construction and social governance, and the density of coups was greatly reduced. But Africa, especially in French-speaking Africa, seems to have suddenly switched to "shock mode" in recent years.
For example, according to the statistics of the French magazine "Young Africa", in the past five years, there have been eight successful coups d'état on the African continent to overthrow the government, and in the past three years, there have also been eight successful and aborted coups in French-speaking Africa. These include coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and, just after that, the coup d'état in Niger.
Most analysts believe that the reasons for the sudden switch to "shock mode" in Africa, especially in French-speaking Africa, which were relatively stable during the Cold War, are complex.
First of all, because France, which has traditionally acted as the "African gendarmerie" and worked hard to appease Africa for its own strategic interests, has significantly reduced its "troop contributions" in Africa due to its national strength being stretched thin and domestic public opinion generally disapproving.
Other extraterritorial powers, or pay lip service, such as the United States, which does little except participate in counterterrorism in a few regions; or seemingly contributing but "confusing moves"; African countries, on the other hand, have limited national capacity or are struggling to fill the security vacuum left by France's withdrawal.
Under the threat of extremism, internal hostile forces and social conflicts, many African leaders lack trust in the traditional military and police system, and compete to establish "pro-soldiers" such as the "Republican Guard" directly under the president. However, African countries have limited national strength, and feeding two military systems at the same time is tantamount to playing with fire, and once the treatment of "pro-soldiers" declines, or the ambitions of their leaders expand, they may become elbows.
More importantly, whether rich or poor, more and more African societies and people are tired of the inequality of wealth and inequality, and the long-standing social outlook, and are dissatisfied with France and other Western "masters" who have long been keen to maintain an unpopular status quo out of selfish interests, but ignore the wishes of local people.
At the same time, both Western powers and African regional and sub-regional cooperation organizations have neglected to varying degrees the actual situation and the will of the masses in the countries where the coup took place when responding to coups, making it difficult for international intervention to take effect.
For example, in this military coup in Gabon, on the same day that Nguema announced that he would become "transitional president", the African Union Peace and Security Council announced that it would immediately freeze Gabon's powers in that body. The AU press release said the group "strongly condemns the military coup in Gabon" and decided to immediately suspend Gabon's membership in the African Union.
However, it can be inferred from the precedent of the recent coup d'état in Niger that these measures are tantamount to scratching the itch in the boot for the Gabonese coup authorities.
In this context, some African analysts believe that as the influence of traditional Western "suzerainty" such as France fades, the influence of "BRICS" countries such as China, Brazil, and India increases in Africa, and the latter can make more contributions to the stabilization of the African "shock mode".
So, under the premise of adhering to the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, what can the BRICS do for "shocking Africa"? First of all, we should aim to play a role through Africa's inherent mechanisms, such as constructive intervention through the BRICS+ cooperation platform.
More importantly, while actively strengthening cooperation with African countries in economic and infrastructure construction, we should pay more attention to social equity and common prosperity in relevant countries, and the dividends of cooperation can only benefit all social strata, not specific strata.
In this way, we can fundamentally "absorb" the society of these turbulent African countries, which is conducive to the stability and people's happiness of these countries, and is also conducive to maintaining global peace, stability and development.
Written by / Tao Short Room (Columnist)
Editor / He Rui
Proofreading / Lin Zhao