Human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner Omoyele Sowore has raised alarm over what he describes as “phoney coups” unfolding in West Africa, warning that instability is increasingly being used as a political tool rather than a genuine threat to democracy.
In a statement, Sowore pointed to recent events in Guinea-Bissau, where a former president allegedly invited military intervention to avoid announcing elections and handing over power to an opposition figure with a popular mandate.
According to him, the episode was not a seizure of power to restore order but a manipulation of force to derail democratic progress.
Turning to the Benin Republic, Sowore suggested that President Patrice Talon may have been aware of a coup plot and allowed it to unfold. He argued that the incident served as a political diversion, shifting public attention away from Talon’s growing unpopularity.
Sowore described this as a troubling trend where instability is deliberately manufactured to ensure political survival.
Sowore’s remarks underscore his long-standing opposition to military intervention in politics, reiterating his call for #RevolutionNow as a path toward genuine democratic accountability across Africa.
