In the past five years, Africa has experienced nine successful military coups in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Sudan. Disturbingly, some Africans, despite their painful past under military rule, now openly support coup plotters. This romanticization of military coups as liberation from either long democratic dictatorship or political failure is troubling. For instance, in Niger and Burkina Faso, where Africans have celebrated coups, there have been a series of abuses of power, human rights violations, and suppression of press freedom. To address this romanticization, there is a dire need for civic education by regional bodies. There is also a need for democratic reforms across Africa.
To counter positive perceptions of military coups in Africa, civic education must be a top priority for regional bodies like the African Union. In its 2024 report, Afrobarometer reveals that over half of Africans (53 percent across 39 countries) are inclined to tolerate military interventions. Fifty-six percent of young people (18 to 35 years old and forty-seven percent of the older generation (55 years and above) support military intervention. According to the report, the difference is possibly because the older generation still recalls life under military rule. This gap reveals a lack of knowledge about African history, particularly among young Africans.
Therefore, to fill this gap through civic education, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States must promote national awareness campaigns across all African states. With the private sector’s support, these campaigns should utilize social media and local languages to highlight the value of democracy.
The campaigns could take several forms, like public education campaigns (concentrating on teaching democratic principles and benefits) and storytelling campaigns (depicting and dramatizing the horrors of past dictatorships). The campaigns should tell the stories of how military rulers dominated Africa like gods, instilled fear, and trampled on human rights. For example, the gruesome stories of Blaise Compaore, Omar al-Bashir, and Idi Amin, who seized power as liberators but became dictators.
South Africa depicts the effectiveness of civic education. The country’s investment in educational materials and programs that teach citizens’ rights and participation in governance has yielded positive results. Through the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), South Africa operates multiple Civic and Democracy Education (CDE) programs to protect democracy. These programs conduct workshops, debates, and voter-awareness campaigns to reach young people. The IEC reaches a wider audience by partnering with educational institutions, civil society groups, and supporting NGOs promoting civic education. For example, in 2023, the organization partnered with Rhodes University to launch the #YouthVoteMatters campaign in South Africa.
Regional bodies like AU and ECOWAS can replicate this success by collaborating with grassroots civil society organizations, media houses, and youth-focused groups within and outside Africa.
Unfortunately, most elected leaders in Africa have failed to fulfill the democratic aspirations entrusted to them, resulting in widespread frustration among Africans. The 2024 report by Afrobarometer shows that the majority of Africans are open to military interventions because elected leaders perpetuate poor governance, corruption, and constitutional abuse. Citizens in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali who embraced military interventions portray Africans’ frustration. Without democratic reforms like citizen engagement, electoral reform, institutional reform, and political party reform, there is a likelihood of higher support for military intervention in other African countries.
African democratic governments need to learn from Mauritius, which was ranked the best-governed country in Africa by the 2025 Chandler Good Government Index. Like South Africa, the country has never experienced a coup since 1968. This achievement is because the country is committed to ensuring a full democratic government where all citizens have a voice and a stake in their government. Other African countries can also achieve this success through commitment to democratic reforms that would ensure, increase, and restore public trust in governance.
The growing trend of romanticizing coups d’état is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode in African countries, where corruption and bad leadership are steering unabated. It is therefore the wisest decision for African leaders and regional African bodies like the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to tread on paths that would hinder further coups. The paths include promoting civic education and democratic reforms. When these paths are pursued, the likelihood of coups and the glorification of such coups will diminish. Conversely, neglecting these paths may lead to more coups falsely presented as solutions to the deficits of democracy, especially in the eyes of young Africans.
• Samuel Sodunke is a writing fellow at African Liberty. He is on X as @sunday_sodunke.