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I rest my case … too late for Dadis!

Author: SEM Contributor

Moussa Dadis Camara, the out gone Head of State of neighbouring Republic of Guinea, would have been a worldwide respected and highly recognized military personality by now had it not been for his display of sheer arrogance and insensitivity. He shot himself in the leg, thereby putting his distinguished military career to a complete end and at the same time jeopardizing his very safety. What he deserves now is life imprisonment or death… and nothing good.

When following the death of President Lansana Conteh he took over office as Head of State, he was seen by many as God-sent, judging by his level of education, his enviable track record in the Guinean army and of course his initial utterances.

That was why when he told the whole world that he came to help find a lasting solution to the unsatisfactory political dispensation in his country by conducting within a period of six months free and fair elections in which neither he nor any member of his junta regime or military personnel will partake in, everybody, except the extremely critical minds, took him for his words. December 2009 was the time he himself slated for the said elections.

Not too long after the sweetness of power started getting up his head, he suddenly changed his mind, making it known that he needed more time to put things in place for the elections and that he was now interested in running for the hot seat.

His sudden change of mind, coupled with the inhumane massacre of 133 or more pro-democracy protesters and the unwarranted victimization or elimination of senior military generals deemed as threats, culminated in his current fate. You can’t eat your cake and have it.

He also succeeded in dividing the Guinean army, thereby putting at risk the relative peace in the country and by extension the sub region, and at the same time making himself an obvious target of an assassination plot or a bloody coup. He survived just that when in early December, 2009, a close aide of his opened fire at him, leaving him with a life-threatening injury in the head. He was subsequently rushed to Morocco for special medical attention, with assistance from the Senegalese government.

Since then, his continued relevance in the quest for solution to the Guinean political debacle became questionable, more so when his absence in the country has been viewed by many as a blessing in disguise and the beginning of a lasting solution.

From being a junta leader, Dadis has now turned himself into a fugitive, having sought asylum from the Government of Burkina Faso just few days after the Moroccan authorities turned down a request by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to have him arrested to answer to charges of gross human rights abuse.

Few days ago, the President of Burkina Faso, Blasé Campore, got Dadis to officially declare his deputy as interim Head of State of a government that will oversee a smooth transition to a democratically elected civilian administration.

Although many people have described Dadis’ move as a step in the right direction, I have the thinking that such a move would not have been necessary in the first place had the guy, a big time opportunist, conducted himself in a civilized and acceptable manner.

It is a fact that the 133 or more innocent civilians who were brutally murdered, the scores of helpless women who were openly gang raped and the spate of shameless looting that characterized the pro democracy demonstration that ensued, would have been averted had Dadis maintained the assurance he gave to the world that he will relinquish power to a civilian regime in December 2009.

This is the reason why I firmly believe that Dadis who would have been a dead man by now had that bullet penetrated deep into his head, should be made to ever live to regret his actions.

He is a disgrace to humanity and intellectualism. He ought to have known better, taking cognizance of the fact that the world today is a global village where the tenets of democracy, human rights and good governance should be kept alive and kicking as best as possible.

I rest my case!!!

Theophilus Sahr Gbenda, UK

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One Comment on "I rest my case … too late for Dadis!"

I rest my case … too late for Dadis! | Sierra Express Media | burkina on Thu, 21st Jan 2010 7:53 pm

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