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Momodou
Denmark
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 Posted - 29 Dec 2010 : 20:02:49
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Dailynews Editorial: The Case of Ivory Coast Should Be an Eye Opener for Others
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
This paper subscribes to the decision taken by the sub-regional body Ecowas to resort to legitimate force, if necessary, if Ivory Coast’s self perpetuating president Laurent Gbagbo refuses to cede power as a loser.
Ofcourse this means Daily news disapproves The Gambia’s reservations to a decision unanimously agreed to by West African heads of state in Abuja and by extension the whole world.
Since the disputed elections, Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo has been isolated and the situation should remain so, until he accepts the decision of the people of Africa that “enough of him.”
It is time to act and act now. Not a single life should be lost because of Gbagbo.
It is said that when gentility fails, brutality follows. And since Gbagbo continues to unheed to gentle, diplomatic advises to quit, nothing less than throwing him out will compensate – infact minimally compensate the lives lost, properties destroyed and thousands displaced all but because of his sheer greed.
This macabre game of power consolation should no longer be condoned in Africa. A state is not a personal property. The sovereignty should reside in the people on whose consent leaders should have the mandate to rule.
The fact that the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo refuses to relinquish power to the President elect Alassan Ouattara is enough of how greedy some of the African leaders can be.
It also speaks volumes that most African leaders lack the democratic qualities to rule. One may be tempted to ask: If power was not misused why fear relinquishing power to the elected person? The likes of Gbagbo are many in various presidential palaces across the continent of Africa. But be warned that the days are over for such attitudes to accommodated African presidents.
However the stand taken by the regional grouping, the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS) is sending a clear signal to whoever thinks as president, you own the people and the state in which you are given mandate to govern.
Leaders should accept that they are only people’s servants. It is wrong for a leadership to think that they are the lords of the people. It is noteworthy that is a bigger body that can use legitimate power to flush those kind of leaders out of office.
Elections are the only true means of effecting a genuine democratic change of government without bloodshed and only if the candidates contesting are genuine people. But it can be otherwise too if those contesting are not genuine and only care for their own selfish ends. No other form is yet in place to facilitate the transfer of power from one leader to another better than elections. This is why election is seen as conflict resolution mechanism.
Those sitting presidents who have flouted the rules for reasons best known to them have misused power to an extent that they fear losing power and concede defeat. They have misused the power entrusted to them by the people so much that they fear that it will turn on them at all cost. This melancholy and fear make them to cling on to power by any means necessary. That possibility is what is no longer possible. Isn’t that an eye opener for incumbent presidents?
The ECOWAS is no more a toothless bulldog that does not bite it was taken for. It has sharpened its teeth for any bite for justice. As we go to press the representatives in the persons of the President of Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, and Benin are in the capital city of Abidjan to convey a strong message to the incumbent Laurant Gbagbo to hand power to President elect Auattara or face legitimate force. The three will on behalf of their colleagues tell Gbagbo to step down as a must as quickly as possible or face legitimate military force.
ECOWAS has done it in Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Though slightly under a different circumstances but it all has to do with dictatorship, what is happening in Ivory Coast is nothing less than dictatorship and greed.
Leaders should not wait to be forced to adhere to democratic principles. The use of force comes only in a situation where there is no choice. No genuine African will boast of using guns against their fellow Africans. Gbagbo’s continued cling on to power has already cause lost of lives, displacement of people in fear of their lives, and lot more havoc. In whose interest is Gbagbo doing all this? It is not in the interest of the ordinary citizens of Ivory Coast. But as the saying goes, “what goes round comes round”, sooner or later Gbagbo will dance to the tune.
Can this not be a lesson for the many that are thinking like him, should they lose elections? No individual state is bigger that a region. ECOWAS deserves commendation for its readiness to a serious move in Ivory Coast. It is not fair for the entire country to suffer because of a chosen few. The continuous leadership of dictators on the continent will only hinder our speed of progress.
Source: Dailynews
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