Panic Across Africa As Army Seizes Power In Gabon

There is palpable panic across Africa following a coup in Gabon and the seizure of power by the army.

The coup is coming amidst political turbulence in nearby Niger where there has been a faceoff, between the recently installed military administration there, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

In the Gabon coup, mutinous soldiers, took over national television, announcing cancellation of recent election results and the dissolution of all state institutions.

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The man who has been at the helm of affairs, President Ali Bongo Ondimba, his son Noureddin Bongo Valentin, along with other high-ranking officials, were arrested on charges of treason, corruption, and falsifying official documents, agency reports say.

A controversial election had returned President Ali Bongo Ondimba for the third time, triggering unrest countrywide and panic across Africa.

Niger’s military leadership, the masses of youths across west coast of Africa appear to back the takeover most citing bad economy, sit-tight leadership and appendage of African economies to that of the west.

The return to power for the third time, in a controversial election, believed to have triggered the force change of guard by the soldiers claimed in Gabon.

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Even across the west, leaders are reappraising their treatment and relationship with former colonies, with the French leadership coming live recently to recant what it calls illtreatment of Africans across time.

In Gabo, French oil company TotalEnergies has announced the suspension of operations to secure employees even as Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso are still grappling with similar military takeovers in their homelands.

One of the military officers, Brice Oligui Nguema, had appeared in a video, hailed by many, suggesting he might be the leader of the coup.

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Speaking to the French newspaper, Le Monde, he said a top echelon of the military would be meeting today to pick a leader amongst them to head a transitional government.

As the panic across Africa spreads, in Nigeria particularly, there is increased vituperations over the bad economy accompanies by high cost of living.