The Director of Democratic Futures in Africa at the Open Society Foundations, Dr Chukwuemeka B. Eze, has warned that African leaders who fail to recognise the continent’s shifting political tide will be remembered unfavourably by history.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Dr Eze gave a sharp assessment of ongoing unrest in Togo and the growing demand across Africa for accountable governance, especially on issues of term limits and people-centred democracy.
“Africa is witnessing the emergence of a new political dispensation,” Dr Eze declared.
“This is championed by a new generation of leadership. New political cultures are emerging, and new forms of people power.”
He warned that those in power who fail to “read in between the lines… will be on the wrong side of history.”
His remarks come in the wake of recent protests in Togo, where constitutional amendments—widely seen as an attempt to allow President Faure Gnassingbé to extend his rule indefinitely—have sparked widespread opposition.
Dr Eze, a former head of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), argued that these developments are not isolated.
“Even while I was still heading WANEP, post Emmanuel Bombande’s era, we had alluded to that. When Mali happened, we were very clear that there were remaining countries that would soon go in the same direction—and we have been vindicated.”
He noted that over the past decade, new intersectional, intergenerational, and de-tribalised coalitions and pressure groups have emerged across the continent.
He cited movements in Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, and the Sahel—such as Occupy Parliament, Recall Your MP, Text Your MP, End SARS, and Free Senegal—as examples of non-partisan, non-ethnic mass actions.
“These are not movements built on political ideologies. They are organising around socioeconomic justice, rather than even stolen elections or human rights violations. And they are asking a simple question,” he explained.
According to Dr Eze, the driving force behind this activism is a frustrated generation demanding to reclaim their promised future.
“These are people who have been promised over time that the future belongs to you. They now want to interrogate that future.”
He described this shift as a redefinition of democracy in Africa.
“In my opinion, the reimagination of democracy in Africa can no longer belong to the political elites. The youths are asking critical questions. The women are asking critical questions.”
He stressed that this groundswell is not limited to urban centres.
“It is happening in rural centres as well. They are questioning what democracy is delivering for them.”
Dr Eze insisted that states can no longer dictate the meaning of democracy.
“The states can no longer decide what democracy should deliver to the people. The people are saying, ‘This is what we want democracy to deliver.’”
He identified term limits as a recurring fault line triggering instability in the region.
“To that extent, term limits have always been a very controversial issue and a trigger to most of the political instabilities we have had, at least in West Africa.”
His final warning was emphatic:
“That’s why history does not lie.”
