The failed coup attempt in Turkey may have come and gone but it’s effects continue to linger for the people of the European nation and the rest of the world.
The attempt by some military officers to overthrow President Recep Erdogan on July 15, 2016 came as a huge shock to the entire world. Over the last decade, it has come to be generally agreed that coups are no longer acceptable. Democracy, in different firms, had become the acceptable form of government, as a genuine expression of the yearnings of the people of any given society.
Therefore, the coup in Turkey came as a huge surprise to the international community, given converted efforts at wiping away the last vestiges of undemocratic government in sine parts of the world.
For Nigerians, there are many lessons to be learnt from the failed coup and its aftermath. The violent attempted takeover was said to have been masterminded by a faction of military officers who moved to stop Erdogan from implementing a purge of the armed forces and the judiciary. Some reports said the coup was actually staged on Friday earlier than the planned date because it leaked to Erdogan.
However, the coup failed and Erdogan went ahead with the rumoured purge. The lesson to be learnt here is that while not all decisions of government may be popular or widely accepted, the will of the people who elected such leaders cannot be subverted through an undemocratic process.
The lesson for Nigerians is that leaders must strive for good living standards for the people is that in turn, Nigerians will be propelled to defend their hard-earned democracy.
A situation where Nigerian leaders take the people for granted and hypocritically preach values that they don’t believe in cannot guarantee absolute loyalty to their leaders. Another lesson for Nigeria stems from the fact that the military had failed to realise that the people had become fed up with its incursions into power.
The failure of the coup is a string lesson to the Nigerian armed forces that any attempt to seize power will ultimately fail. Coming a few weeks after rumours of a coup plot in the Nigerian military, the lesson from Turkey should not be lost on the armed forces that it must continue to subordinate itself to civilian authority.
A third lesson is the fact that the mutineers did not open fire on civilians who rejected their putsch.
Last year’s massacre of over 1000 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria generally known as the Shiites by soldiers attached to the Chief of Army Staff, Ltt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, is still fresh on the minds of Nigerians.
That they were mowed down for obstructing Buratai’s convoy in Zaria, Kaduna State was quite galling. The example of Turkey should serve as a strong lesson to the Nigerian armed forces to be more cautious when engaging protesters. The killings of unarmed protesters in Zaria, Onitsha, Nkpor and Aba by members of the armed forces was quite high-handed and avoidable.
The military Hugh command must ensure that members of the armed forces observe rules of engagement in handling public protests. In fact, President Muhammadu Buhari would do well to follow the example of his Turkish counterpart by strengthening the Nigeria Police Force. It is quite disheartening that the military has largely taken over internal security duties.
The police and paramilitary agencies should be given the necessary support and funding to enable them to discharge their duties satisfactorily. The inclination to deploy the military in every trouble spot should be gradually discontinued.
While the coup is highly condemnable, there must be some words for Erdogan. His increasing authoritarian rule is unsettling the international community.
His quick purge of the military and judiciary has spawned conspiracy theories that he stated the coup. Some of his comments since the coup lend credence to this assertion. There is also the idea that he us pursuing an agenda to Islamise Turkey.
This is bound to deepen the schisms between the moderates and fundamentalists. It is also unsettling to other European nations, and this Islamist agenda may impede its quest for EU membership.
The lesson for Nigeria is that the principle of separation of powers must be religiously adhered to. Buhari and some members if his administration have made comments that suggested that they would not mind trampling on this revered principle have been unhelpful to the nation.
The impunity that was the hallmark of past administrations should never again be contemplated. An interesting issue about the coup was that Erdogan resorted to the social media he had heavily suppressed to rally the people against the mutineers.
The lessons for Nigerian leaders is that they must never attempt to abridge the people’s right to free expression as enshrined in Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution. Finally, Erdogan must be willing to subject himself to election at the right time.
He must avoid the temptation to usurp the will of the people and entrench himself in power for life.
