$20m democracy fund Launched in West Africa amid surge in pro-military sentiment

A coalition of international donors has launched a new $20 million West Africa Democracy Fund (WADF) to promote democracy in the subregion, following growing pro-military intervention sentiments.

The fund, set up by the Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Luminate, and Open Society Foundations, was launched in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Monday, with the mandate of strengthening democracy across the region.

In recent years, there has been a rise in pro-military sentiment within the regional bloc. Since August 2020, six coups have taken place in four West African countries – Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Guinea. There were coup attempts in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.

There have been popular support for the successful coups, making regional blocs threats or the application of sanctions ineffective.

The fund is intended to support West African states currently facing various democratic challenges and, over three years, will back initiatives aimed at increasing citizens’ engagement with democratic and political transitions in the respective countries.

The launch of the fund was attended by representatives of the Nigerian government, former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, ECOWAS officials, civil society organisations, and others.

Not all gloomy in the region — Shettima

In his speech, Vice President Kashim Shettima decried the erosion of democratic institutions in the region, particularly the rising number of coups. However, he highlighted some of the progress made within the same period.

Mr Shettima, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties (Office of the Vice President), Aliyu Moddibo, cited the recent elections held in Liberia, Senegal, Nigeria, and other countries.

“The vice president also wants to remind us that, amid this despair about democratic reversals, most especially in West Africa, we are encouraged by elections that have been successfully held in countries such as Liberia, Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria.

“But we are not oblivious to the fact that these elections are not perfect – as no election is – but we are hopefully doing our best to ensure they reflect the true yearnings of our people.

“We subscribe to the notion that there are basic standards of electoral transparency that every election must meet. However, the continuous practice of democracy will perfect that,” he said.

In his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, called on donors to support the building of institutions that uphold democracy in the region.

Mr Tuggar, who was represented by Sefiu Olaniyan, said most of the institutions in the region are not strong enough to check the actions of leaders.

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The minister warned that the struggle for a better nation is not going to be easy, adding that only strong institutions can preserve democracy.

“Most of the time, the democratic institutions in West Africa are weak, and so they cannot stand up against strong leaders. They often fail to stand up for the people.

“So, for those raising funds for democracy, we should know that it is not going to be easy. There is a whole lot of work that needs to be done. These institutions need to be strong enough that, no matter how powerful a leader is, they cannot alter or pervert the course of justice,” Mr Tuggar said.

Earlier, the Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation, Akin Kekere-Ekun, expressed the Foundation’s readiness to support the aims of the fund.

He also highlighted the level of disillusionment with the existing status quo.

“Afrobarometer surveys confirm this growing disillusionment, revealing that while 80 per cent of African citizens reject one-man rule and a significant majority oppose military interventions, they remain dissatisfied with the actual delivery of democratic governance,” he said.

Mr Kekere-Ekun stressed that this has created a widening gap between the demand for democracy and the supply of effective, accountable leadership.