00:00Guinea-Bissau, a small West African nation experienced a military takeover, the latest in a wave of coups across the continent.
00:14The coup unfolded during a recent presidential election on November 26, suspending the constitution and imposing a curfew.
00:23President Umaro Sissoko Mbalo is confirmed detained at the General Staff Headquarters in Bissau. His whereabouts now secured by the military.
00:34Since 2020, Africa has endured at least 10 successful coups, including in Mali, Chad, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Nije, Gabon, and now Guinea-Bissau.
00:47Just weeks ago, on October 12, Madagascar joined this troubling trend.
00:53This event highlights deep-rooted issues, weak institutions, leadership failures, and economic struggles gripping the region.
01:02Notably, this is not Guinea-Bissau's first coup. The country has faced at least nine since gaining independence in 1974.
01:11Among those caught in the initial chaos was former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who was stranded in Guinea-Bissau as head of an election observer mission.
01:21However, there has since been a critical development. Jonathan, alongside the other international election observers, has now been safely escorted to the airport and has left the country.
01:33In a nation of just 2.2 million, this coup exposes a fragile state gripping with instability, nearly 50 years after independence, amid allegations of governance failures.
01:46The Nigerian government has issued a strong statement condemning the coup as a grave threat to democracy and regional stability, urging restraint, peaceful dialogue, and respect for the will of the people as expressed through the election, while warning that perpetrators will face consequences.
02:06As the Guinea-Bissau military promises a transition, questions arise, will this lead to reform or deepen the crisis?
02:15With immediate concern for the safety of international observers such as Jonathan now reserved, the world watches closely.
02:23This remains a pivotal moment for Guinea-Bissau and Africa.
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