Franklin Cudjoe is a Ghanaian author and social-political commentator. He is the Founding President and chief executive officer (CEO) of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education.
Shared his thought on the coup that took place in Guinea on 5th September 2021.
He said:
Why I’m I not surprised by news of a military coup in Guinea? All the signs were on the wall and while I do not glorify coups, Alpha Conde should have heeded calls not to press on with his third term bid. Anyway, here is what IMANI and our friends IPPA in Nigeria did to shine a light on Conde’s waywardness in 2015!
I said “President Alpha Condé is using every measure available to him to evade scrutiny and accountability – he has refused to hold local elections; he proposes laws banning media criticism; he appoints a military general to oversee the national election, and his security forces have killed democracy organizers in the streets of Conakry. Alpha Condé likes to refer to himself as the ‘Mandela of West Africa’; his track record is more Mugabe than Mandela.”
Then again, on 18th June 2015, there was a reportage from IMANI which anticipated a coup.
It read:
Two leading African think tanks, IMANI Center (Ghana) and Initiative for Public Policy Analysis (Nigeria) launched a public campaign to shine a light on the remainder of Africa’s dictators. This campaign begins with calling attention to the alarming erosion of democracy and economic opportunity for Guineans under President Alpha Condé.
ShadesOfConde.org highlights the erosion of democracy and failed economic policies under President Alpha Condé
As African leaders gather in South Africa for the Leaders’ Day meetings at the African Union, Shades Of Conde has been launched to bring attention to the worsening situation in Guinea, ahead of the crucial Presidential election in October 2015.
Franklin Cudjoe, Director of IMANI Center, Ghana, said the following about the decline of democracy in Guinea:
“President Alpha Condé is using every measure available to him to evade scrutiny and accountability – he has refused to hold local elections; he proposes laws banning media criticism; he appoints a military general to oversee the national election, and his security forces have killed democracy organizers in the streets of Conakry. Alpha Condé likes to refer to himself as the ‘Mandela of West Africa’; his track record is more Mugabe than Mandela.”
Thompson Ayodele, Director of the Initiative for Public Policy Analysis (IPPA), said the following about the decline of economic opportunity and the expropriation of property in Guinea:
“Guinea could be one of the richest countries in Africa; instead, it is one of the poorest under President Alpha Condé. Foreign investment has ground to a halt in the face of institutional corruption, erosion of the rule of law, and government theft of property, from Simandou to Bel Air to Getma. As a result, the people of Guinea are suffering where 40 per cent of people survive on less than $1.30 a day and the UN Human Development Index (HDI) ranks Guinea 179th out of 187 countries.”
The situation in Guinea under President Alpha Condé is perilous:
– The country is ranked 179th out of 187 countries in the Human Development Index
– Reporters Without Borders have condemned new law proposals cracking down on the free press
– Amnesty International has condemned the shooting of pro-democracy protestors
– The International Crisis Group has warned of rising ethnic tensions caused by Alpha Condé’s policies and that free and fair elections are at risk
– Political leaders in the U.S. and Europe are calling for the international community to stand up to Alpha Condé’s authoritarian rule
The Shades Of Conde campaign website will follow closely the actions of President Alpha Condé and his cronies during the build-up to the Presidential election, to shine the spotlight on any further erosion of human rights, democratic freedoms, and media freedoms, that Alpha Condé perpetrates.