Junta Leaders in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso
Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa) has raised concerns about the growing wave of military rule across West and Central Africa, warning that it jeopardizes democratic progress, stability, and regional unity.
Director of CDD-West Africa, Dr. Dauda Garuba, addressed this issue in Abuja on Wednesday during the release of a background paper titled _Militarism Reloaded: The Rise of Military Populism in Francophone West Africa_.
Garuba highlighted recent coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea, describing them as part of a sophisticated “military populism” trend rather than mere authoritarian throwbacks.
“Far from being isolated disruptions, these military interventions present themselves as national corrections, cloaked in the language of sovereignty, anti-imperial resistance, and Pan-African revivalism,” he explained, adding that such regimes often “consolidate power, silence dissent, delay transitions, and reconfigure what legitimacy means in postcolonial Africa”.
He noted that public frustration with democratic failures, insecurity, and inequality fuels this trend, but warned that military juntas often exploit these sentiments by postponing elections and restricting civil liberties under the guise of national security.
In Sahelian states like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, Garuba pointed out, juntas manipulate digital platforms to spread disinformation and portray the military as the “saviour of the state” .
This trend weakens regional bodies like ECOWAS, which struggles to enforce democratic norms, threatening decades of progress.
“ECOWAS, once a bulwark of democratic norms, now struggles to enforce its own red lines,” Garuba stated.
To counter this, CDD-West Africa plans an eight-month research initiative with regional partners to study the spread of military populism, focusing on digital propaganda and its impact on elections and civic space.
“The goal is to generate evidence-based insights and practical recommendations to safeguard West Africa’s information environment and strengthen democratic resilience,” Garuba said (NAN).
He urged governments, civil society, and citizens to reject military populism as a false solution, warning, “Coups are not answers to civilian failures; they are only accelerators of fragility.
It is essential to underscore this before another generation grows up believing that the gun, not the vote, is the legitimate path to power in Africa” (NAN)
