The former minister said that the Gabon coup was “frankly” to be expected and “prophetic.”
Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, has predicted that there will be more military takeover of African countries.
Fani-Kayode, who said this on Wednesday while reacting to the coup in Gabon on Wednesday, said that he was not surprised by the military coup in Gabon and believes that more coups can also be expected in West and Central Africa.
In a post he made on his X, formerly known as Twitter, Fani-Kayode referred to his recent essay titled “Does Killing Nigerien Babies Bring Glory To Our Name?” where he warned about the increasing occurrence of coups in Francophone Africa due to factors like corruption, poverty and a lack of democracy.
The former minister said that the Gabon coup was “frankly” to be expected and “prophetic.”
He said he wondered whether the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) or the African Union would threaten to invade Gabon as they had done in the Niger Republic and other countries that had experienced coups.
“Sadly another coup has taken place in Africa. This time it is in the nation of Gabon where President Ali Bongo, who together with his late father Alhaj Bongo, had been in power for the last 53 years has been toppled and removed from office.
“It appears that the warning I gave in my last essay, titled ‘Does Killing Nigerien Babies Bring Glory To Our Name?’ was prophetic.
“I am not surprised that this has happened and frankly we should expect more coups in the Francophone countries of West and Central Africa for the reasons I stated in that essay.
“I wonder whether ECOWAS or the African Union will threaten to invade Gabon as well?” he said.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that top army officers in Gabon announced that they had seized power after the re-election of President Ali Bongo for a third term.
The coupists said they were annulling the outcome of the election, which the opposition had rejected and described as “fraudulent.”
The Gabon coup which occurred barely a month and a few days after the junta took over power in the Niger Republic marks the latest coup in French-speaking African countries.