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Don't leave, Dadis: A little West African nation clings to legitimacy
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Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is saluted by
a young cadet at an Armed Forces Day parade this month.
Zimbabwe, like Guinea, has had to confront its illegitimacy.
(AP Photo)
Last week came the first suggestion that Guinea’s interim president, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, might extend his stay at the top. A group of supporters going by the name “Dadis Must Stay” has called for Captain Camara to be allowed to stand in the nation’s upcoming democratic elections, says the BBC. Though a relatively low ranking officer, Moussa Dadis Camara led the military coup late last year which replaced his recently-deceased predecessor, the patriarchal Lansana Conte. In a radio broadcast, Camara promised to promote democracy, said he would rid the country of corruption, and, to the apparent disappointment of Dadis Must Stay, vowed to step aside after elections.
Corruption is only one of the things holding Guinea back. After the coup, the military wasted little time dissolving the government and suspending its constitution, claiming, as reported by the BBC, that drastic measures were required to restore order and revive the economy. Guinea’s deposed leaders were accused of, among other things, failing to provide basic social services such as water and electricity, refusing to prosecute embezzlers of public funds, permitting the free reign of drug traffickers, and submitting to lobby groups that have “taken the government to ransom.” Another BBC article explains how Guinea’s anarchic state of affairs may well have inspired a violent takeover, had Lansana Conte not died of natural causes: “For ordinary Guineans life grew ever harder and it became impossible to know who was in charge. It was not uncommon for state television to announce a cabinet reshuffle which was then annulled the following evening.” The article also describes how a wave of demonstrations and strikes in 2007 was crushed by the military, leaving 150 people dead.
USAToday lists Lansana Conte as one of the so-called “African Big Men," holding out for as long as he could against Africa’s democratic "revolution" of the 1990s. He, himself, had come to power through a coup in 1984, and even after forming a political party and controversially winning elections in 1993, continued to rely on the military’s backing. Few questioned the fact that they would eventually replace him. Patrick Chabal and Nuno Vidal’s book, Angola: The Weight of History (Columbia University Press, 2008) uses the examples of Mozambique and Angola to show how democratic elections have systematically been used to legitimize dictatorships and perpetuate one-party rule on the continent. Other African rulers who’ve taken advantage of the system include Charles Taylor in Liberia, Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and, to a lesser degree, but shameful nonetheless, Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo, who, it shouldn’t be forgotten, was willing to rewrite the constitution to stay in power past his term limit. In neighboring Ghana, Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings was a notable exception.
But perhaps most relevant is the example of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhaffi. Although never agreeing to stage elections, Gadhaffi, like President Camara, was a mere captain when he came into power through a coup d’etat. The telegraph newspaper documents how, after decades of supporting anti-Western radicals, including the notorious Lockerbie bomber, Gadhaffi recently accepted the fact that he needed international markets and investment to fully exploit Libya’s oil and gas reserves. And in spite of lingering absurdities, such as setting up Bedouin-style tents on visits to foreign capitals, employing a troop of female bodyguards, and adopting the title “King of Kings,” he’s stayed the course of market liberalization. Rapid economic growth has only bolstered his confidence, evident in his ambition to preside over a proposed United States of Africa.
Captain Camara, for his part, is sitting on half the world’s known bauxite reserves, the ore used to make aluminium, reports USAToday, and Guinea is rich in diamonds, gold, and iron ore. It is also believed that, lying at the confluence of several rivers, it could potentially generate enough hydroelectric power to light up all of West Africa. Whether these resources are enough to stimulate development remains to be seen. But a strange comment from a Dadis Must Stay spokesperson, as quoted by the BBC, hints at how Camara’s regime may, like Gadhaffi’s, initially discourage foreign investment: “All of the "healthy" and "patriotic" sections of society [support] Captain Camara's continued rule, regardless of what "obscure forces in the pay of the so-called international community" might think.”
And Camara’s men have displayed even greater idiosyncrasies: Last month, as reported by the BBC, he ordered members of his elite presidential guard to get on their knees and beg for forgiveness from a Guinean army general. General Toto had recently been roughed up by the president’s men in an attempt to silence his criticism of the regime. An apologetic Camara thought it fitting that his guards should crawl in shame, and, with the army’s reputation at stake, that it should be broadcast on national television. “We are proud of our history as an army, and as a consequence we have no right to try to tarnish the image of a man who helped make [us] what we are today. We are his brothers and sons,” said President Camara, well aware of his own status as the object of Dadis Must Stay’s affection.
Guinea’s army can garner added respect if it voluntarily relinquishes power through democratic elections, but it seems increasingly likely that they will only use this authority to tighten their grip on the country’s affairs. Still, even if Captain Camara promotes himself to General, or, like Gadhaffi, somehow ends up as “King”, few will complain if he brings some legitimacy to the government, to the rule of law, and to a disaffected nation. In fact, many will thank him if he does. But no one will be expected to fall on their knees in gratitude. That would surely be taking it too far, seeing as Dadis and company would only be doing their duty as officers, and as brothers, sons, and fathers of a new Guinea.
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