Former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on Sunday, raised suspicions about the foiled coup attempt in the Benin Republic, suggesting that President Patrice Talon might have been aware of the plot and could have even allowed it to unfold as a political manoeuvre.
In a post shared on 𝕏, Sowore, known for his outspoken political views, implied that Talon might have used the attempted coup as a distraction to shift public focus away from his growing unpopularity, particularly with opposition groups in the country.
Sowore said, “The situation in Benin raises equally troubling questions. There are strong indications that President @PatriceTalonPR, a deeply shady figure and a close ally of Nigeria’s @officialABAT, may have been aware of the coup plot, allowed it to unfold, and then used it as a political diversion to shift public attention away from his growing unpopularity and to help him clamp down on opposition figures as he’s always done.”
He continued by arguing that the Beninese president might have used instability as a calculated tool for political survival.
“In this sense, instability becomes a calculated tool of political survival rather than an unforeseen threat to democracy,” he said.
While Sowore strongly opposed military rule, he made it clear that coups, whether orchestrated or exploited, should never be seen as a solution to political failure.
He wrote, “Of course, I am opposed to military rule in all its forms. I am allergic to it. Whether invited, staged, or exploited, coups are never a solution to political failure.”
Sowore argued that the solution to poor civilian leadership lies not in military intervention, but in accountability, popular struggle, and the advancement of genuine democracy.
He added, “The answer to bad civilian leadership is not guns, military jackboots, and camouflage, but accountability, popular struggle, and genuine democracy. #RevolutionNow”
Drawing a parallel between the events in Benin Republic and Guinea-Bissau, Sowore pointed out disturbing similarities between the two incidents. He noted that the attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau was seen as a deliberate move by the country’s former president to avoid handing over power to an opposition leader with popular support.
“In Guinea-Bissau, the phony coup unfolded after a criminal former president effectively invited the military to intervene to avoid announcing elections and relinquishing power to an opposition figure with a popular mandate,” Sowore said.
He further emphasised that the situation in both countries did not represent a genuine attempt to restore order but rather a manipulation of military force to escape democratic progress.
“It was not a seizure of power to restore order, but a manipulation of force to escape democratic progress,” he added.
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