APA-Libreville (Gabon) As beleaguered President Ali Bongo remains under house arrest effectively isolated from his family and allies in Libreville after being ousted in a coup, attention is slowly shifting to the reasons which explain why the military took matters into their own hands.
Bongo 64, has been in power since the death of his father in 2009, winning two controversial elections before the latest one on August 26th 2023 which the opposition claims had been rigged heavily in his favour.
Opportunistic coup
The timing of the coup provides a window to understanding the depth of frustration that had apparently permeated all strata of Gabonese society over what many dismiss as ‘dynastic rule’.
It comes as Bongo despite a failing health since he suffered a stroke in 2018 was poised for a controversial third term after being declared the winner of the latest vote which the opposition had dismissed as a charade.
Perhaps nothing points to the political divisiveness in Gabon more than the realisation that Mr. Bongo’s own uncle was one of the contenders for the presidency he had occupied for 14 years.
Watchers of the political situation in Gabon say Bongo’s over 60 percent of the vote as announced by the electoral commission belies the widespread dissatisfaction in the oil-rich country where Wednesday’s coup has been widely welcomed by people fed up with seeing one family at the helm since 1967.
Several generations of Gabonese have been ‘helpless bystanders of history’ as power transitioned from the late Omar Bongo, in office for 42 years to his son Ali after the former died in 2009.
Ali Bongo’s own presidential guards led the insurrection against him, opportunistically taking advantage of this public disenchantment to launch their coup which has triggered wild celebrations from flag-waving citizens in cities such as Libreville, the capital and the country’s second largest city Port-Gentil.
Tentative leader Brice Oligui Nguema was hoisted triumphantly into the air by a group of his own soldiers after it became clear that Bongo’s political control had crumbled around him, bringing a sudden end to 56 years of his family’s grip on power.
In a desperate clutch at straws, a disheveled Bongo appeared on a video calling on his friends around the world to ‘make noise’ and come to his rescue.
Although the reaction of Gabon’s international partners, the African Union and the central African bloc CEMAC have been condemnatory, it decidedly lacked the force of convictions other recent coups had elicited from these same quarters.
Former colonial power France, a staunch and longstanding ally of the Bongo dynasty seems paralysed by its own indecisiveness despite joining the AU in condemning the coup.
After all it is Francophone Africa’s eighth coup in three years, after civilian administrations were dislodged in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad.
However, these recent epidemic of coups has been happening against a backdrop of anti-French, anti-imperialist sentiments in much of the European country’s sphere of influence.
Supporters of successive coups have been denouncing France and welcoming a resurgence of the Russian presence in their countries, prompting many analysts to suggest the end of the so-called Francafrique, a term which explains a complex web of French interests in its former African colonies.
Last March protesters took to the streets in Gabon ahead of a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron whose country has over 400 soldiers based in the central African country.
They were protesting against the continuing presence of French military bases in the country.
Bongo’s ailing health leaves its toll
Since Mr. Bongo was afflicted by a stroke in 2018, issues of his successor have surfaced in Gabon but each time it was indicated that the deposed president was strong enough to continue and even go for a controversial third term.
Images of Mr. Bongo had showed an ailing president in a physical state that was no longer capable of tackling the vagaries that come with a leadership role. There are reports that he had been unable to keep the whole power structure together.
Oligui and his fellow putschists had sensed blood and moved for the kill.
Thus when Bongo appeared hours later on a video fighting for political survival, to many his physical and mental state did little to inspire hope from his remaining friends that saving him was the right thing to do or allowing the coup to succeed and negotiate a quiet retirement for him.
Perennial cost of living crisis
Gabonese have long complained about the rising cost of living which since the end of the coronavirus pandemic had failed to improve.
Gabon despite being an oil-rich member of OPEC is regarded as one of the poorest countries in the world.
The dividends from oil have not trickled down to the average Gabonese, fueling widespread resentment against the ‘Bongo dynasty’ who are accused of corruption and acting like pawns to a ‘paternalistic imperialist game’.
WN/as/APA