Coups: Africa and the Barrack Revolts

Between 1952 and 1981 there were no less than thirty-one coups or military takeovers in Africa, thirty of which took place between 1963 and 1981. Babatope's historical narrative describes inter alia, the coups in Nigeria, Ghana, Zaire, Upper Volta, Sierra Leone, Togo, Benin, Central African Republic, Mali, Congo Brazzaville, Uganda, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Liberia and Niger. Drawing parallels between the various examples he explores their causes, rooted predominantly in history and foreign influence, tribal wrangling for power and corruption, and the exploitation of illiteracy. He shows that eighteen of the coups were against civilian power, and thirteen against soldiers in power, of which only three could rightly be considered revolutionary - Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia. He argues that every military regime has been an unmitigated disaster, and that only democracy, modelled on the kind of African socialism developed by Nyerere can bring about real improvement. Obafemi Awolowo has written the foreword to the book.