Headline

Coup: Uproar Over Obasanjo’s ‘Rethink Democracy’ Stand

Published

2 years ago

September 10, 2023

Editor

The return of coups in some African countries has created global jitters on the grounds that the epidemic of military intervention in the continent could spread more and ultimately imperil democracy.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is no less worried about the ugly development and shared his concerns in an interview with TheCable. Asked what type of democracy would work for us in Africa, Obasanjo replied: “I don’t know. But we have seen that the liberal type of democracy as practised in the West will not work for us.

We have to put our heads togethe.

Former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party at the federal level, weighed-in on the Obasanjo stand, saying: “Today, I read former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interview saying our liberal democracy is not working and we need to revisit it, and I agree with him. We must move from the political alternatives. I think we are almost on a dead end of that.

“What we need is alternative politics, and my own notion of alternative politics is that you can’t have 35 per cent of the vote and take 100 per cent. It won’t work! We must look at proportional representation so that the party that is said to have won 21 per cent of the votes will have 21 per cent of the government. Adversary politics bring division and enmity”. In this package, professor of international law and jurisprudence, Akin Oyebode; Bola Akinterinwa, professor of international relations at Achievers University, Owo; public policy expert, Faculty Member at the Lagos Business School and Head, Centre for Applied Economics, Pan African University, Dr. Austin Nweze; and Nigeria’s former Career Ambassador to Thailand, Olufunso Olumoko, react to the position of the former President. Excerpts of the Obasanjo interview:

Increasingly, we are witnessing an era of military coups in Africa again. What do you think is going on?

In 2021, when Col Mamady Doumbouya overthrew President Alpha Condé of Guinea, I recall that I travelled to Conakry. I spent two nights there. The coup leader didn’t want to meet with me because he didn’t know what I would say. They said he was out of town, which was not true. But I met every other important government official.

I met his No 2 and his speaker. I listened to them and concluded that we had a new phenomenon on our hands. I realised that they had the support of the youths and were not thinking of staying in power for four, five years. They are in for a generation. When I noticed this, I went to Addis Ababa to meet the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.

I told him that maybe he had not seen what I was seeing. That I saw this in Guinea Conakry. He said I was talking about Guinea Conakry, what about his own country, Chad? He said Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea Conakry, and Chad were thinking the same way and they were connected.

I said that was a new phenomenon in Africa. I said I was the one who in 1999 advocated that if you are not a government backed by the constitution, you should be suspended from the African Union, and these chaps don’t even mind any suspension.

I told him that all the instruments we had used in the past would not work and asked what he would do about it. He told me about his challenges, especially with his country.

So we have a situation where we have a continent where we have to rethink democracy. The liberal democracy we are copying from settled societies in the West won’t work for us.

What type of democracy would work for us?

I don’t know. But we have seen that the liberal type of democracy as practised in the West will not work for us. We have to put our heads together.

Some would say it is working in Nigeria, that it has survived 24 years…
I won’t answer you (laughs).

But what can work?

You have to put your heads together to fashion it out. You can give it any name. But we have seen that this is not working. Out of the six countries that have experienced coups, three of them are directly from elections. Burkina Faso, Guinea Conakry, and Gabon that we have just had are directly from elections. The other three are indirect, if you like.

Would you say ECOWAS could have handled the Niger coup differently?
What I said about the Niger is now what we did with Gabon, not a threat of force. Tinubu said “we are watching”. In Niger, ECOWAS has beaten the drum, and they have seen that it didn’t work. The point is this: where in Africa have the people benefited from the dividends of democracy? Tell me.

Maybe Botswana…

You don’t know the inside of Botswana. Ian Khama, the former president, cannot go to Botswana today. His father was the first president. I worked with him. As they were settling down, I thought they were making progress because the president after his father was the one who became minister of finance.

When I was military head of state, he used to come and visit us, and we would render assistance to them, and he later became vice president and president. The next one was the same way. Ian Khama, who became the head of the army, moved the same way. The one that succeeded him now is chasing him from pillar to post. That is not liberal democracy.

What of Ghana?
(laughs)
Even if not in terms of dividends of democracy but liberal democracy…
Maybe Namibia is the closest to it.

Headline

British Family Accused Of Boarding Dead Grandmother On EasyJet Flight

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

A British family has been accused of trying to board a dead relative onto an EasyJet flight from Málaga, Spain, to London Gatwick on Thursday, passengers said.

The woman, reportedly 89 years old, was wheeled onto the plane by five family members, who told airline staff she was unwell and had fallen asleep.

Witnesses said the woman was pushed in a wheelchair to the rear of the plane and lifted into her seat. Some claimed they overheard a family member tell a boarding clerk, “It’s OK, she’s just tired,” adding, “It’s OK, we’re doctors.”

Just before takeoff, the cabin crew realized the woman had died, and the plane was turned around, delaying the flight by 12 hours.

Petra Boddington, a passenger, said: “easyJet, when did you start letting dead people onto planes? Seriously!” Another, Tracy-Ann Kitching, added: “I saw her being wheeled onto the plane; someone was holding her head as they passed me! A doctor on board confirmed that was already dead when they sat her down.”

EasyJet has denied that a deceased person boarded the plane. The airline said the passenger had a fit-to-fly certificate and was alive when she boarded.

“The flight returned to the stand prior to take-off due to a customer on board requiring urgent medical assistance. The flight was met by emergency services, but sadly the customer passed away,” a spokesperson said.

The Guardia Civil in Málaga confirmed officers attended the aircraft, and the woman was declared dead on board. No arrests have been made.

Headline

Russian Strike On Odesa Region Kills Eight, Injures 27

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has reported at least eight people killed and 27 others injured on Friday night after a Russian ballistic missile strike hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the attack targeted port infrastructure facilities in the town of Pivdenne, near Odesa, and damaged nearby civilian vehicles.

The strike came one week after much of Odesa was left without power, heat, and water following a “severe” aerial assault.

“Some of the injured were on a bus that was at the epicenter of the shelling. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged,” the State Emergency Service said.

Emergency officials said the deaths occurred at a port infrastructure facility. Medical teams and first responders were deployed after the strike, but their work was disrupted by “ongoing air raid alerts,” according to Oleh Kiper, head of Odesa’s regional administration.

Russia has carried out repeated attacks on Odesa in recent days, damaging port facilities, civilian vessels, and key infrastructure.

Two major bridges linking the northern and southern parts of the Odesa region have also been hit, with repairs under way, Kiper said.

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported a “massive” drone attack on the southern Mykolayiv region, which damaged civilian infrastructure and vehicles. No casualties were reported.

Odesa, Ukraine’s largest seaport and a major hub in the Black Sea region, has been a frequent target since the start of the war.

Last week, civilian, energy, and industrial sites in the city suffered extensive damage after what regional officials described as “one of the enemy’s most severe airstrikes,” leaving many areas without power and water.

Russia’s Defence Ministry has not commented on the attack.

Speaking hours before the strike during his annual Direct Line call-in show, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was yet to “see Ukraine’s readiness for peace”.

“[Russia] is ready for negotiations and for ending the conflict via peaceful means,” Putin said, adding that it was up to Russia’s “Western opponents” to end the war.

(CNN)

Headline

Aircraft Crashes In Owerri With Four Persons Onboard

Published

5 days ago

December 17, 2025

Editor

Photo: File copy

A Cessna 172 aircraft with registration number 5N-ASR, operated by Skypower Express, has crashed at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, Imo State.

The aircraft had departed Kaduna International Airport en route to Port Harcourt International Airport before diverting to Owerri after the crew declared an emergency.

The crash occurred at about 8:00 pm on the airport premises, with four passengers and crew members onboard.

Confirming the incident, the Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, said the agency had been notified of the crash.

According to the NSIB, the aircraft crashed on the approach area of Runway 17, but no fatalities have been recorded so far.

The statement said: “Following the occurrence, airport emergency services were successfully activated and arrived on site promptly. Reports indicate that there was no post-crash fire, and the runway remains active for flight operations, with other aircraft taking off safely after the incident.

“Efforts are currently underway to coordinate the recovery and evacuation of the distressed aircraft from the crash site to allow for a detailed wreckage examination.”

The NSIB said it has officially activated its investigation protocols in line with its statutory mandate

The Director-General of NSIB, Capt. Alex Badeh Jr., sympathised with the management of Skypower Express over the incident and expressed relief that no lives were lost.

Badeh Jr. added that the Bureau’s investigation team is already coordinating with relevant authorities to secure the crash site and commence a detailed investigation into the cause of the accident.

Two days ago, 11 persons narrowly escaped death as a private jet crash-landed at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Sunday morning.

The occupants, including passengers and cabin crew, were safely evacuated amid an intense atmosphere, eyewitnesses told The Guardian.

The private jet, owned by Flybird Aviation, crash-landed at about 9:30 a.m. while approaching Kano Airport en route to Abuja.

The incident attracted urgent attention, with emergency staff and other stakeholders converging at the runway to render rescue operations.

The management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is yet to release an official statement on the incident. Unofficial sources disclosed that the passengers have been taken to an unknown destination.

Several aircraft incidents have occurred at Kano Airport, with several lives lost.

The last incident occurred in May 2002, when an EAS Airline aircraft departed the runway at Aminu Kano International Airport at 1:29 p.m. local time en route to Lagos.