Who did not welcome Museveni and Zenawi? Who says all coups are evil?

I’ve been hearing some political leaders in Africa condemning the recent military coup in Niger that ousted President Mamadou Tandja and established a junta to “return the country to democratic rule.”

I know that the African Union has outlawed military takeovers and has taken steps to ostracise governments that have come to power in this fashion.

I also know that there is something untoward about soldier-boys getting notions about leaving their barracks and toppling a “democratic” government.

Soldiers and armies are there to watch over their nations’ defences, to repel external threats and prosecute their nations’ interests beyond their borders.

They may, in times of dire need, also be called upon to lend a helping hand with humanitarian work.

But they are not supposed to run governments or meddle in politics.

Fine. But that tenet would hold water only where the purported “democratic” government is indeed democratic, where the rulers rule by the rule-book and where they retain the confidence and trust of the people, a far cry from the case of Niger and Mamadou Tandja.

In effect, Tandja carried out his own coup against the constitution of his country before the barracks made a move.

There are just too many Tandjas in Africa, though their destinies have varied, some managing to overthrow their constitutions to make themselves “life presidents,” others being thwarted before long by some action that may in itself not be overly unconstitutional.

The lesson should be that if we do not want our commanders to play politician, we must also tell our politicians not to play commander, not to get into the habit of ordering their people about and imposing on them fiats that suit only the ruler’s whims.

In short, our rulers must learn to do that which the commanders cannot do: To lead their people in a participatory manner, listening and responding to the views of all — even the views of the weak and few — and crafting a consensus that, as much as possible, brings everyone along.

This demands the deployment of the soft skills of negotiation and compromise that do not sit well with command structures.

Here the soldiers cannot compete. But try to rule by command and they know amateurs are monkeying with things they know nothing about; that’s when they come in to show how it is done.

If African rulers within the AU wanted to make sense they would castigate all coup-makers, civilian and military, including those who came to power through constitutional dispensations that they then tore to pieces to eternalise themselves in power.

I’m saying, quite unashamedly, that not all military takeovers are evil; some are even salutary.