Liborous Oshoma, a lawyer and political analyst, has stated that in 1979, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was then a military head of state, wanted to transition power to a civilian government, African leaders advised him against it, claiming that such a move was not in line with African traditions. Oshoma made this remark during a discussion on Kaakaki, in reference to the recent military coup in Gabon.<\/p>\n
How can we effectively address the problem of coup d\u2019etats by highlighting the tendency of African leaders to cling to power?<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cIn 1979 if you read Obasanjo\u2019s book, my watch. He said in 1979 when he was preparing to handover, some leaders in Africa at the OAU level called him and said handing over is not an African thing. That\u2019s to tell you the mentality of the African leader, that what we operate is a monarchy system of government and so he shouldn\u2019t set a bad precedence by handing over power. And that was why he was celebrated for merely handing over power.<\/p>\n
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And that\u2019s why Goodluck Jonathan was celebrated for conceding defeat. Because it is alien to African leaders despite the poverty, despite the fact they are unpopular, they want to sit tight.\u201d<\/p>\n