The United States Consul General in Nigeria, Will Stevens has attributed the growing trend of military takeover of government in Africa to the refusal of some leaders to relinquish power after their tenure in office.
Stevens lamented that Africa faces huge challenges, ranging from climate change to food insecurity and only democratic stability could help the continent in resolving its problems.
The Consul General stated this on Wednesday while addressing students during the launch of the “Recycling Waste to Wealth Challenge,” competition for secondary school students at Abeokuta Window on America, located at the youth development centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The Recycling Waste to Wealth Challenge is a U.S. government-supported enterprise competition for students in vocational and technical colleges in Ogun State.
Stevens while speaking on how Africa can overcome its challenges, said leaders of the continent must embrace the tenets of democracy and ensure a peaceful transition of power.
He noted that Nigeria has enjoyed 25 years of uninterrupted peaceful democratic succession and urged other African countries to learn from Nigeria.
The Consul General said, “I hope and feel that you (Africa) can fix the problems and the problems are big; it is climate change which leads to flooding, it is plastics pollution, it is food insecurity, it is the backsliding of democracy in the region.
“Obasanjo served two terms and left power, he set the precedent in Nigeria of your serve and then you step aside for your successor.
“Nigeria has enjoyed 25 years of presidential succession. President Buhari just did the same thing, he served his two terms and then he stepped aside, that is a big deal in democracy, peaceful transitions of power, and that is a huge thing to be proud of, It does not happen very often.
“There are Presidents of neighbouring countries that have been there for a very, very long time, 20, 30, 40 years, this leads to democratic instability, it leads to coups.
“Nigeria is the fourth largest democracy in the world, you just had a successful presidential transition, and successful elections, this is something you should not take for granted. The idea that people can come into power, they can serve and then leave is really cool.”