Political analysts are still debating the political situation in Mali, amidst the worldwide condemnation on the overthrow of a democratic government on Tuesday 18, 2020. Ideologically a democratic government is considered as the best option for countries all over the world, and evidently it is spelt in a constitution how such a government should be removed from power which in most countries is through the ballot box Removing a democratic government through other means rather than the ballot box, as in the case of Mali should be an eye opener, hence eventually steer an academic debate within the field of political science.
With the new breed of politicians that are venturing into politics in Africa in this day and age, certainly the current perspective on democracy should be urgently revisited, otherwise events would continue to defy and define circumstances of the day. The debate should not be whether it was right or wrong to overthrow a democratically elected government which in this case is secondary, and that debate should be left within the realms of academia.
However, the fundamental issue should be about morality – the liberation of the thirteen million Malian people who were being abused for seven years under the supervision of the former President Ibrahim Boubakarr Keita. In the perspective of a utilitarian, the overthrow of the erstwhile Former President is morally correct because the outcome will produce the greater good for the greatest number – The end justify the means.
My analysis
What happened in Mali is a classical and necessary revolution that the famous English philosopher John Locke wrote in one of his treatise “political philosophy” that “it is the right or duty of the people of a nation to overthrow a government that acts against their common interests and/or threatens the safety of the people without cause.”
The idea of the right to a revolution by the people is not new throughout history in one form or another, the belief in this right has been used to justify various revolutions, including the American Revolution ( 1775–1783), the French Revolution (1789 -1799) the Russian Revolution (1917-1923 and the Iranian Revolution in 1979) According to the Bible in the Old Testament story of Hezekiah, rebellion against the King of Assyria to make the case that God is on the side of any people rebelling against unrighteous rule, though it hath the name of rebellion, yet it is not an offense before God, but that which he allows.
Equally, in the last chapter of The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli exhorts the Medici family to take up violent insurrection ‘to liberate Italy from the barbarians’. He explains how the political circumstances of the day give justification for the Medici’s right of revolution: Evidently, the government of former President Keita was acting against the common interest of the Malian people which threatens their peace and safety as a result, rampant corruption, bad governance, gross violation of human rights, tribalism and nepotism was the order of the day, the economy was in shambles, the judiciary was a puppet to the ruling government.
For the Malian people they knew it was a matter of time that they will revoke the power of the president and annul the agreement signed in the social contract. For seven years the Malian people waited patiently for President Keïta to fulfill his own side of the social contract he signed with the people of Mali in 2013, unfortunately he reneged with impunity, and took the people’s power for granted whilst depending on the security apparatus to protect him at all time.
Interestingly most of the factors that led to the down fall of the former President Keita are common among the ECOWAS countries which implies two things: a reminder that no matter how a president tends to make him/herself powerful, the ultimate power belongs to the people, secondly, the politics of intimidation through security apparatus is not sustainable, therefore one of the best ways to successfully rule in a nascent democracy within the ECOWAS countries is through politics of inclusion.
The Malian case should serve a warning shot to other despotic dictators within the sub region to know that the people’s power is supreme and should not be taken for granted. In conclusion, the political circumstances of the day such as rampant corruption by government officials, gross human rights violation and no respect for the rule of law, bad governance, tribalism and nepotism at its best, dysfunctional judiciary system give justification for the Malian people’s right to a revolution:
By Abdul B Kamara – Chief