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Ghana becomes record fifth African nation to take over from ruling party this year
Ghana’s vote brings to an end a remarkable 12 months in African politics, which have seen five transfers of power – more than ever before. This “annus horribilis” for governments has now also brought opposition victories in Botswana, Mauritius, Senegal and the self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Even beyond these results, almost every election held in the region this year under reasonably democratic conditions, has seen the governing party lose a significant number of seats.
This trend has been driven by a combination of factors:
*the economic downturn
*growing public intolerance of corruption
*and the emergence of increasingly assertive and well-co-ordinated opposition parties.
The trend is likely to continue into 2025, and will cause trouble for leaders such as Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, whose country goes to the polls in September.
One of the most striking aspect of the elections that have taken place in 2024 is that many have resulted in landslide defeats for governments that have previously appeared to have a strong grip on power – including in countries that have never before experienced a change at the top.
The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) that had ruled the country since independence in 1966 was crushed in October’s general elections.
As well as losing power, the BDP went from holding 38 seats in the 69-strong parliament to almost being wiped out.
After winning only four seats, the BDP is now one of the smallest parties in parliament, and faces an uphill battle to remain politically relevant.
There was also a landslide defeat for the governing party in Mauritius in November, where the Alliance Lepep coalition, headed by Pravind Jagnauth of the Militant Socialist Movement, won only 27% of the vote and was reduced to just two seats in parliament.
With its rival Alliance du Changement sweeping 60 of the 66 seats available, Mauritius has experienced one of the most complete political transformations imaginable.
Senegal and the self-declared republic of Somaliland also saw opposition victories.
In the case of Senegal, the political turnaround was just as striking as in Botswana, albeit in a different way.
Just weeks ahead of the election, the main opposition leaders Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko were languishing in jail as the government of President Macky Sall abused its power in a desperate bid to avert defeat.
After growing domestic and international pressure led to Faye and Sonko being released, Faye went on to win the presidency in the first round of voting, with the government’s candidate winning only 36% of the vote.
Even in cases where governments have not lost, their reputation and political control have been severely dented.
South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) retained power but only after a bruising campaign that saw it fall below 50% of the vote in a national election for the first time since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.
This forced President Cyril Ramaphosa to enter into a coalition government, giving up 12 cabinet posts to other parties, including powerful positions such as home affairs.
The recent elections in Namibia told a similar story. Although the ruling party retained power, the opposition has rejected the results and claims the poll was badly manipulated after it was marred by logistical problems and irregularities.
Even with the flaws, the government suffered in the parliamentary election, recording its worst-ever performance, losing 12 of its 63 seats and only just holding on to its parliamentary majority.
As a result, a region that is known more for governments that manage to hold on to power for decades has seen 12 months of vibrant, intensely contested, multiparty politics.
The only exceptions to this have been countries where elections were seen as neither free nor fair, such as Chad and Rwanda, or in which governments were accused by opposition and rights groups of resorting to a combination of rigging and repression to avert defeat, as in Mozambique.
Three trends have combined to make it a particularly difficult year to be in power.
In Botswana, Mauritius and Senegal, growing citizen concern about corruption and the abuse of power eroded government credibility.
Opposition leaders were then able to play on popular anger at nepotism, economic mismanagement and the failure of leaders to uphold the rule of law to expand their support base.
Especially in Mauritius and Senegal, the party in power also undermined its claim to be a government committed to respecting political rights and civil liberties – a dangerous misstep in countries where the vast majority of citizens are committed to democracy, and which have previously seen opposition victories.
The perception that governments were mishandling the economy was particularly important because many people experienced a tough year financially.
High food and fuel prices have increased the cost of living for millions of citizens, increasing their frustration with the status quo.
In addition to underpinning some of the government defeats this year, economic anThis is not an African phenomenon, of course, but a global one.
Popular discontent over inflation played a role in the defeat of Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party in the UK and the victory of Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the United States.
What was perhaps more distinctive about the transfers of power in Africa this year was the way that opposition parties learned from the past.
In some cases, such as Mauritius, this meant developing new ways to try and protect the vote by ensuring every stage of the electoral process was carefully watched.
In others, it meant forging new coalitions to present the electorate with a united front.
In Botswana, for example, three opposition parties and a number of independent candidates came together under the banner of the Umbrella for Democratic Change to comprehensively out-mobilise the BDP.
A similar set of trends is likely to make life particularly difficult for leaders that have to go to the polls next year, such as Malawi’s President Chakwera, who is also struggling to overcome rising public anger at the state of the economy.
With the defeat of the NPP in Ghana, Africa has seen five transfers of power in 12 months. The previous record was four opposition victories, which occurred some time ago in 2000.
That so many governments are being given an electoral bloody nose against a backdrop of global democratic decline that has seen a rise in authoritarianism in some regions is particularly striking.
It suggests that Africa has much higher levels of democratic resilience than is often recognised, notwithstanding the number of entrenched authoritarian regimes that continue to exist.
Civil society groups, opposition parties and citizens themselves have mobilised in large numbers to demand accountability, and punish governments that have failed both economically and democratically.
International governments, organisations, and activists looking for new ways to defend democracy around the world should pay more attention to a region that is often assumed to be an inhospitable environment for multiparty politics, yet has seen more examples of democratic bounce-back than other regions of the world.
BBC
The Federal Government has ended the Visa-on-Arrival policy, saying that Nigeria is not a destination for criminals
The Minister of Interior Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo who made the announcement, said the policy was not effective.
He disclosed that government had noticed a pattern where people avoid travelling into the country directly by air, only to land at neighbouring countries and complete their journeys through land borders.
He described the scenario as unacceptable, saying the Federal Government would unveil a multi-faceted solution by March or April to take care of grey areas on entry into and exit out of the country.
Tunji-Ojo said in place of Visa-on-Arrival, landing and exit cards will be introduced and integrated into the solutions for travelers to complete before arriving in Nigeria.
The Visa-on-Arrival policy was introduced in 2020 as a short-stay visa issued at entry points, but the Minister said the policy failed to meet global standards and best practices as it was not done anywhere in the world.
Tunji-Ojo spoke at the headquarters of the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS) on Friday during the closing ceremony of the five-day training and capacity building programmes on Advanced Passenger Information-Passenger Name Record, API/PNR System for NIS officers.
The capacity building for 100 Officers was organised by the Nigeria Immigration Service under the leadership of the Comptroller-General of the Service, Mrs Kemi Nanna Nandap.
Tunji-Ojo said:” The Visa-on-Arrival issue is one of the core policy issues because I always tell people the visa is not just an approval of entry, it is a migration management device.
“It is a security device to manage migration into your country. So the way it is at the moment is very subjective. We are not really too objective and that is why we are automating the whole process end-to-end.
“And the e-visa solution, we are working hard to be able to meet the first of March or peradventure if we are unable, the first of April, we will hit it live.
“We will automate the system. People apply online and we will do what we need to do. That solution will be integrated with the Interpol system, the criminal records system, so that we can be able to take decisions.
“We do not want foreign attachés approving and issuing visas. It is not going to be that any more, we want to be able to screen people. This country cannot be a destination for wanted criminals in the world. Nigeria is not a safe haven for any criminal and it will never be.”
The Minister who said about 60 of the border solutions are being completed in Nigeria various borders, land maritime and air, insisted that the security of the country and her citizens remained sacrosanct under the present administration.
He said: ”Today, we have had, we have sorted the API across all of our five international airports and we are looking at working with you more on the issue of adapting some of these into our land borders because it is also very key.
“Because we realised the pattern, of recent, I think, over the last couple of weeks, that a lot of people would rather fly to neighbouring countries and come into Nigeria through the land borders to evade the API PNR system. So we have seen that pattern.”
Tunji-Ojo assured that when all the e-solutions are deployed it would be linked not only with all security agencies at home but also globally, and especially with interpol so that persons of interests can be arrested at anywhere.
Nandap commended President Bola Tinubu and the Minister for their commitment to the ongoing reforms in the NIS, saying that the reforms have changed the narratives for the better.
Oba Abdulsemiu Ogunjobi, the suspended Olorile of Orile-Ifo in Ogun State, has been freed from prison in Ilaro, two weeks after being charged with the alleged public assault of a septuagenarian.
He was brought before a Magistrate’s Court in Ifo by law enforcement, where he was granted bail but subsequently held at the Nigeria Correctional Service in Ilaro, within the Yewa South Local Government Area, until he fulfilled the requirements of his bail.
The spokesperson of Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Mr. Odukoya Owolola Olayinka, a Superintendent of NCoS, told The Nation that Oba Ogunjobi had gone home about three days ago after meeting his bail terms.
“He (Oba Ogunjobi) has gone home about three days ago,” Olayinka said.
Oba Ogunjobi was arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, assault, and conduct likely to lead to a breach of peace.
Force spokesman, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed the arraignment in his social media post, stating that the monarch was charged to court.
“The Kabiyesi Abdulsemiu Ogunjobi, who assaulted one elderly man in a viral video, in Ifo Ogun State, has been charged to court February 4, 2025, on three-count charges of conspiracy, assault and conduct likely to lead to a breach of peace.
“He was granted bail while the case was adjourned to 06/03/2025. The police will continue to uphold the rule of law and the core values of the noble profession,” Adejobi stated.
Oba Ogunjobi who was arraigned before Magistrate F.A Iroko, pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
The Magistrate granted him bail of N5m, with two sureties in like sum, and he must be a resident within the court jurisdiction.
Justice Rosemary Dugbo Oghoghorie of the Federal High Court in Calabar has convicted and sentenced the Chief Executive Officer, Micheno Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Uno Michael Eke to one year imprisonment for conspiracy, obtaining property by false pretence and money laundering to the tune of N2billion.
He was jailed after pleading guilty to four-count amended charge preferred against him by the Uyo Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Count One reads “That you, Uno Michael Eke (being the President/Chief Executive Officer of Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society); Registered Trustees of Micheno Multi Purpose Cooperative Society, MMCS, Aya Kanu Aya, (Alias Mbakara) being the Vice President of Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (now at large), sometime between June and August 2018 in Calabar within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired among yourselves to commit an offence to wit: obtaining property by false pretence and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act’.
Count two reads “That you, Uno Michael Eke (being the President/Chief Executive Officer of Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society), Registered Trustees of Micheno Multi Purpose Cooperative Society, MMCS, Aya Kanu Aya (Alias Mbakara) being the Vice President of Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (now at large), on or about the 12th day of July, 2018 in Calabar within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of Two Million Naira (N2,000,000.00) from one Kubnse Ogar Ebute by inducing her to invest the money into your Swiss golden packages through your Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society ltd under the false pretence of paying her 80% as return on investment on her principal sum on the 40th day of his investment, which you knew to be false and thereby committed an Offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”.
When the charge was read to Eke, he pleaded guilty to the criminal offence.
In view of his guilty plea, the prosecuting EFCC’s lawyer, Joshua Abolarin prayed the court to convict the defendant based on the charges before the court. The defence lawyer , Ime Umanah informed the court of a plea bargain agreement before the court and prayed for a lighter jail term for his client.
The judge, after considering the plea of the convict and evidence before the court, convicted and sentenced Eke to one year imprisonment with an option of fine of N2m Also, the convict was ordered to forfeit the following to the Federal Government of Nigeria:
Twelve wflats of 2 bedrooms each located by Goodluck Jonathan bypass, Calabar River State, two (2) plots of land (4.162 hectares and 3.391 hectares) both located at Adiabo Ikot Mboout Community Land, Odupkpani LocAl Government Area, Cross River State, two (2) plots of land located at Akai Effa, Calabar Municipality, Cross River State and eighteen (18) self-contained flats (storey building), located beside University of Calabar, Ita-Agbor, Calabar, Cross River State and N10,000.000( Ten Million Naira) recovered during investigation. The judge ordered that all monies recovered from the convict should be restituted to victims listed in all the charges.
Eke’s road to the Correctional Centre began when he was arrested for collecting huge sums of money from different unsuspecting victims with a promise of 80% return on investment within 40 days. Investigations showed that he opened different bank accounts in his name and company’s where he raked in the sum of N2 billion from his victims. The funds were used to acquire landed properties and houses in Calabar, Cross River State.
FG terminates Visa-on-Arrival policy, says Nigeria not a haven for criminals
Suspended Ogun monarch meet bail conditions after two weeks in jail
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