Civil-Military Relations: The Military and African Politics

Conflict Trends Magazine, No. 4, 2003. pp. p.48-50

By MWALIMU George NGWANE

The reasons for military interventions (militocracy) in Africa are as varied as they are complex. They range from personal grievances to the political and economic kleptocracy of civilian regimes. In a struggle to cope with this predicament between the devil of tyranny (as in one party systems) and the deep sea of anarchy (as in multiparty systems) military rule has often been invoked. The balance sheet has largely been negative,with very few being benign, that is serving the interests of the people whether in a short or long political life span.

Soldiers as power-mongers
The 1960 civilian leadership in Africa was basically pan-African to the extent that some failed to cover enough ground in their own national territories.This gave leeway to soldiers as power-mongers.Among the prominent military take-overs in the 1960s were those in Congo (Kinshasa) in November 1965 by Colonel Joseph Désiré Mobutu, and in the same year in Algeria by Colonel Houari Boummedienne; in Nigeria in January 1966 by Major Nzeogwu followed later by a counter-coup by Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi; a month later in Ghana by Colonel Akwasi Amankwaah Afrifa; in Togo in January 1967 by Lieutenant Colonel
Etienne Gnassingbe Eyadema; in Mali in 1968 by Lieutenant Moussa Traore; and in Libya in September 1969 by Colonel Muammar Ghaddafi.
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