By Perpetua Onuegbu
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa) has expressed concern over the resurgence and normalisation of military rule in parts of West and Central Africa.
The organisation warned that the trend posed a major threat to democracy, stability and regional integration, especially with the rise of ‘military populism’ in Francophone Africa.
Dr Dauda Garuba, Director of CDD-West Africa, stated this in Abuja on Wednesday while releasing the organisation’s background paper titled “Militarism Reloaded: The Rise of Military Populism in Francophone West Africa”.
According to him, recent coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea are not simply reversions to old authoritarian patterns but expressions of a more sophisticated, ideologically packaged form of militarism.
“Far from being isolated disruptions, these military interventions present themselves as national corrections, cloaked in the language of sovereignty, anti-imperial resistance, and Pan-African revivalism.
“But beneath the surface of patriotic slogans and digital virality lies a strategic attempt to consolidate power, silence dissent, delay transitions, and reconfigure what legitimacy means in postcolonial Africa,” Garuba said.
He explained that the appeal of military populism is rooted in public frustration with democratic failures, insecurity and inequality.
However, he warned that its allure was deceptive as regimes increasingly postponed elections, suspended constitutions, and curtailed civil society under the guise of national security.
Garuba added that in the Sahelian states of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, military juntas were now manipulating digital platforms to spread disinformation and mobilise support.
He said the regimes also cultivate parallel narratives in which the army is portrayed as the “saviour of the state”.
He stressed that this evolving phenomenon carries serious regional implications.
“ECOWAS, once a bulwark of democratic norms, now struggles to enforce its own red lines.
“The weakening of regional institutions, coupled with a geopolitical pivot away from traditional allies, threatens to undermine decades of democratic progress across West Africa,” he said.
According to him, CDD-West Africa, in partnership with regional organisations, will over the next eight months conduct in-depth research on how military populism spreads and is sustained.
He said the centre would monitor digital propaganda, analyse ideological framing, and assess the threats posed to elections, civic space and regional cohesion.
“The goal is to generate evidence-based insights and practical recommendations to safeguard West Africa’s information environment and strengthen democratic resilience,” he added.
Garuba urged African governments, civil society, regional bodies and citizens not to mistake military populism for genuine reform.
“Coups are not answers to civilian failures; they are only accelerators of fragility. The time to act is now.
“It is essential to underscore this before narratives harden, institutions crumble, and another generation of citizens grow up believing that the gun, not the vote, is the legitimate path to power in Africa,” he said.
(NAN) www.nannews.ng