Lessons from the third Egyptian revolution By Vincent Bamigboye July 13th, 2013 by Larigold LIKE millions the world over, one watched the unfolding drama that eventually ended the 12-month Presidency of Mohammed Morsi of Egypt on July 3, 2013 exactly a year after he was elected by more than 50 per cent of Egyptian voters. It was a very terrible sad end to what one initially thought was a democratic dividend of the “Arab Spring” in the most important Arab nation. Historically, the first Egyptian Revolution was launched by the Association of Free Officers under the leadership of the charismatic Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser. This led to the eventual overthrow of King Farouq and the enthronement as President, General Muhammad Naguib on June 18, 1952 with Nasser as his deputy. Naguib lost out in an internal power struggle and was replaced by Nasser who eventually assumed the leadership of Egypt Revolutionary Command Council and the Egyptian Presidency in 1954. Nasser proved to be a popular, dynamic and visionary leader whose time witnessed remarkable achievements and changes both in Egypt and surrounding Arab countries in general. He survived several assassination attempts by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood. His premature death from stroke, at the age of 52, on September 28, 1970 resulted in outpouring of grief in the Arab World. Colonel Anwar Sadat assumed the Egyptian Presidency after Nasser. A courageous and astute leader, Sadat’s most important achievement was the Israeli/Egyptian Peace Treaty for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This has resulted in years of enduring peaceful co-existence with Israel till date. He was assassinated by dissident Army Officers loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt during the annual Army Victory Parade on October 6, 1981. His deputy, Air Chief Marshal Hosni Mubarak, survived the attack and assumed the presidency in what turned out to be Egypt’s longest-serving leader since Muhammad Ali Pasha. Mubarak presidency was characterised by widespread corruption and abuse of power. There was the persistent rumour that he was grooming one of his sons as his successor. Mubarak was in power till February 11, 2011 when he was swept aside by popular uprising by the Egyptian people. The Egyptian Armed Forces refused to suppress the insurrection in what turns out to be the second Egyptian Revolution. He is currently being tried for crimes while in government. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which succeeded the Mubarak Government conducted elections which brought President Mohamed Morsi of the Freedom and Justice Party of the Muslim Brotherhood to power on June 30, 2012. Dr. Morsi, a PhD holder and University Lecturer, turned out to be a huge disappointment in government. He allowed the interest of his Muslim Brotherhood of 750,000 members to over-ride the interest of 80 million Egyptians. Morsi’s actions were always weighed heavily in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood who took most of the available positions without recourse to due processes. He failed to reach out to the opposition. By the end of June 2013, the Egyptians had had enough and wanted him out. There were persistent demonstrations by millions while the Tahrir Square was filled with opposition and their supporters. On July 1, 2013, the Egyptian army gave the politicians 48 hours’ ultimatum to sort things out. Instead of addressing the issue at hand, Morsi was busy denigrating the Army and issuing empty threats. Morsi had forgotten that the Egyptian Army, a widely-respected institution, has a long history of saving its people from the Pharaohs, King Farouq and even one of its own in the person of Hosni Mubarak. At the end of the ultimatum, the Egyptian Army Chief, General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, in a move that enjoyed the support of most Egyptians, the Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Coptic Pope Tawadros 11 and the opposition leaders, announced the removal of Dr. Morsi. He was replaced with the Head of the Egyptian Constitutional Court (Chief Justice) Adli Mansour who now has the mandate to conduct fresh elections. That was the third time, in modern time, the Egyptian people and the Army would remove their leader in a popular revolt. What lesson, if any, for Nigeria in the Egyptian revolutions? The nearest the Nigerian people ever had on consensus was the June 12, 1993 election that was scuttled by the Nigerian army under General Ibrahim Babangida. Protest marches by the people against the annulment of the election were ruthlessly suppressed by the Nigerian security apparatus . The current political dispensation was only possible because the Nigerian army had lost credibility in governance. They however made sure they left on their own term and with one of their own, General Olusegun Obasanjo, in place. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (another bumbling intellectual in government) has held 160 million Nigerians hostage since May 1999. President Jonathan, the PDP, and, recently, his Ijaw people, assume that their interests are far greater than the collective interests of the suffering Nigerian masses. What may have prevented the Nigerian masses from popular revolt is the lack of trust for the alternative which is the Nigerian military. One cannot imagine the Nigerian military taking over the government and handing same to the incumbent Chief Justice as their counterparts in Egypt did recently. To an average Nigerian Army coupist, it would be party time! Can you imagine our respected traditional rulers and jet-owning pastors being on the side of the people? Recently retired Chief of Army Staff and former Defence Minister General Theophilus Danjuma castigated the corrupt and callous Nigerian leadership since independence. Danjuma should know what he was talking about, having been a recurrent decimal as either kingmaker or power behind the Presidency. Equally, the Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, publicly stated recently that with insecurity, corruption and pervading hopelessness, Nigeria is ripe for a revolution. Both Danjuma and Tanbuwal are members of the Nigerian establishment. They know, just like the rest of us, that all is not well with our nation. Yet all hope is not lost. As long as there are still Nigerians of conscience, the Nigerian state and its dream will be saved from the greed and callousness of the greedy and purposeless elite.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 19:56:39 +0000
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