QUESTION OF THE DAY
West Africa until the change in constitution to extend terms in Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea and the coup d’état in Mali and Guinea was beginning to lead the continent in limiting terms of sitting presidents in order to promote peaceful transfer of political office at the highest level to promote political stability.
Of recent some sitting presidents have either been unwilling to serve two terms by not supporting term limits in their constitution or are trying to meddle with their constitution to remove term limit so that they can continue to remain in office. Hence coup makers have also been waiting for opportunity to seize power by unconstitutional means with the excuse of fighting the excesses of executive power. However, they do not create credible alternative arrangements to justify that they are not intending to wield excesses of executive power. Political instability is beginning to creep into West Africa in which many lives could be lost in the street as power hungry sitting presidents try to change their constitutions and power-hungry coup makers try to seize power and extend their stay longer than they are welcome by a population that is yet to know what it means to be powerful sovereign citizens in a republic who could prevent living president from serving two terms and soldiers from struggle for power.
