The director-general of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof Abubakar Sulaiman, has urged African leaders to provide good governance to stop the military from dabbling into African politics.
Some African countries, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea (Conakry) and Sudan had, in the last decade, experienced military coups, which toppled the democratic government.
Prof Sulaiman said civilian leaders could stop the military incursions in African politics by respecting the rule of law and providing good governance.
He spoke yesterday during the visit of the delegation from the East Africa Legislative Assembly to NILDS in Abuja.
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He said, “Apart from telling the military of their roles of securing the country by not dabbling into politics, it is also our duty as civilians to ensure good governance in our countries.
“If we don’t mess up as a people and allow democracy to thrive as a system of the people, the military would not have the audacity, regardless of the power they have, to dabble into politics,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has said it will partner with the NILDS to build the capacity of parliamentarians in West African countries.
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Sidie Mohammed Tunis, said a memorandum of understanding would be drafted and signed by both the parliament and the NILDS to give legal backing to their partnership.
