Tinubu weighs up his options as his Africa policy is thrown into chaos with Gabonese coup

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is weighing up his options as his foreign policy suffered another major serious challenge after soldiers ousted the government of President Ali Bongo in Gabon and placed him under house arrest.

Over recent weeks, President Tinubu has been grappling with a recent coup in neighbouring Niger Republic where he gave the junta that seized power there an ultimatum to stand down. With the prospect of military action looming in Niger Republic looming, President Tinubu's Africa policy has been thrown into further disarray with this Gabonese coup.

In Gabon, the soldiers seizes power from President Bongo after what they termed as flaws in the recent general election in the central African country. They pointed out that the organisation of the recent general elections of August 26, did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot, so much hoped for by the people of Gabon.

They had also cited irresponsible and unpredictable governance, resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion, with the risk of leading the country into chaos. Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu's spokesman, said the presidency is watching closely with deep concern the seeming autocratic contention apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent.

He added that President Tinubu as a man who has made significant personal sacrifices in his own life in the course of advancing and defending democracy is of the unwavering belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun. For now, President Tinubu is still studying the situation.

Mr Ngelale said: "The president affirms that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to the constitutional resolutions and instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not at any time be allowed to perish from our great continent. To this end, the president is working very closely and continues to communicate with other heads of states in the African Union towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forward with respect to how power in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to contagious autocracy we have seen spread across our continent.”