Hope as Buhari takes charge of Nigeria amid chaos in Madagascar

Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari takes the oath of office at the Eagles Square in Abuja on May 29, 2015. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Matters became even more alarming as Madagascar’s Parliament last week attempted to impeach the current president amid accusations of incompetence.
  • By all indications, though, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and the EPRDF party, of which he is the leader, seem set for a credible landslide victory, challenges to the conduct of the poll notwithstanding.
  • Burundi still teetering on the brink of chaos

With the convoluted chaos in the still tottering Burundi, the month of May was a rather tumultuous one for Africa.

Matters became even more alarming as Madagascar’s Parliament last week attempted to impeach the current president amid accusations of incompetence.

There was some respite though, as Nigeria on Friday got a new president in the person of Muhammadu Buhari, a former iron-fisted military leader who claims to have belatedly espoused the values of democracy.

Already, the majority of Nigerians are reportedly upbeat about the prospects of a new man at the helm. Having been beset by serious economic problems in recent times, the country can certainly do with a whiff of fresh air.

Further, the country can also now hope that Buhari will decisively deal with Boko Haram insurgents who have for the past few years wreaked havoc in the country and even spread their awesome terror to neighbouring countries.

Against a generally chaotic economic and security backdrop, Buhari certainly has a tough job ahead of him. In a country beset with challenges such as fuel shortages, serious and recurrent power cuts and a history of massive corruption, the new president will not find it easy meeting the expectations of his countrymen.

HOPE FOR NIGERIA

There is certainly hope for a revamped Nigeria, particularly given the country’s status as Africa’s most populous nation, as well as its having reportedly overtaken South Africa as the continent’s new economic powerhouse, with huge potential for growth given a conducive political and security environment.

In the meantime, as Nigerians waxed optimistic about the future, Madagascar was undergoing the kind of political uncertainty that has become a hallmark of the often unstable island nation.

Already dogged by a reputation of unusually murky politics, the country’s latest crisis came at a time when the international community was beginning to hope that it was beginning to emerge from its chaotic past, and was finally seeking lasting stability.

As for the most recent crisis in the country, it came when Parliament on Wednesday morning reportedly voted to impeach current president Hery Rajaonarimampianina over allegations of violating the Constitution and incompetence.

Past misgivings about the future of the island were fuelled by the fact that the country was for many years in the doldrums. Its chronic instability had been aggravated when it was once again plunged into crisis in 2009 after Mr Rajaonarimanpianina’s predecessor, Marc Ravalomanana, was ousted in a coup.

Ironically, President Rajaonarimampianina has hardly been in office long enough to show his full capability as a leader, given that he assumed office on January 25, 2014 following a presidential election in December 2013.

Whereas that election was widely hailed as democratic by the international community, for some months now there have been mumblings of discontent with the beleaguered president’s leadership style.

His latest sin, according to his detractors who include almost all the members of the country’s Parliament, is that early this month, he signed a resolution for a national conference on national reconciliation.

In doing so, he was apparently treading on too many sensitive toes, particularly since the signed resolution called for the dissolution of a number of institutions, including the national assembly.

Clearly, there was bound to be very little love lost between the president and the MPs whose jobs he was putting on the line, and who have of late been demanding an array of perks that the president has declined to approve.

In the meantime, Africa’s democratic agenda continued with its recently commendable momentum as Ethiopia last weekend held parliamentary elections amid mumblings about alleged harassment of opponents of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) party.

The party has been in power for almost 25 years, and has reportedly swept the polls according to the available results from different regions. The final results will be announced on June 22.

By all indications, though, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and the EPRDF party, of which he is the leader, seem set for a credible landslide victory, challenges to the conduct of the poll notwithstanding.