.jpeg "Obasanjo on why young people in Africa are in favor of the military takeover")
According to Obasanjo, the rise in military takeovers in Africa was evidence that young people were looking for liberators.
The former president spoke in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, during an interactive session with a group of young people from the Reverend Chris Oyakhilome-founded platform Africa for Africa Youth Initiative (A4A).
Obasanjo observed that certain circumstances had been encouraging the military takeover of power across the continent. He had previously stated that he would not support a coup because of his experience under the late General Sanni Abacha.
The former president of Nigeria, who oversaw the country both as a military dictator and as a democratically elected leader, claimed that the youth in Africa are enthused by the coups because they long for liberation.
Seven nations in Africa have suffered coups since 2020, with Niger and Gabon seeing the most recent ones.
He claimed that "if we don't have the conditions that encourage them (coups), they may not happen," and that "we should make sure that we do everything to prevent coups from happening."
In particular, the youth "support most of these coups; the one in Gabon, the Coup Leader, was being carried on the head by the youths, not by old wretched men and women like me," said Obasanjo.
"So, we must keep in mind that the youth are searching for liberators. Why must we permit the youth to begin their search for liberators outside of the current administration? Why?"
In order to prevent coups in Africa, he urged African leaders to enshrine genuine democratic ideas with God-given qualities.
And if you have worked for the government for 40 years and are not worn out, perhaps you should consider retiring, he added.