A Consortium of civil society and research think tanks yesterday launched the Regional Citizen’s Dialogue Programme (RCDP) as a collaborative initiative for preventing and responding to Unconstitutional Changes of Government (UCG) in West Africa.
By the launch which took place in Abuja, the initiative’s management structure and oversight mechanisms, responsible for guiding the process of implementation of a four-year programme for preventing and responding to UCG in West Africa, was established.
The RCDP programme lead team is comprised of the consortium partners led by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Nigeria and the Regional Centre for Governance and Security Policy Initiative (CGSPI) accredited to the 4th General Assembly of the AU ECOSOCC, with headquarters in Sierra-Leone.
Others are the Centre for Good Leadership and Journalism (DCLJ), Abuja Nigeria, and the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) based in Lisbon, Portugal, which will be supported by other regional and international actors, including the African Union and ECOWAS.
The launch of the RCDP serves as a platform to present, finalise and adopt a revised Programme Document, as well as a yearly implementation work plan for the initial phase of the project (February to September 2024).
At the end of the two-day meeting, the Programme Document, the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the Steering Committee, and a one-year project implementation Action Plan for preventing and responding to incidents of UCG in the West Africa/ECOWAS region were adopted with minor reviews.
The initiative was necessitated by the recent surge in Unconstitutional Changes of Government (UCGs) in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which has posed significant threats to the political stability and democratic progress in the region.
The troubling trend, evidenced by military takeovers and the overthrow of democratically elected governments, has cast a shadow over the achievements in democratisation, including the development of political and security institutions, electoral processes, and the safeguarding of freedoms and democratic rights amongst others.
The trend also jeopardises regional and global efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism in sub-regions like the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.
The RCDP is an attempt by CSOs to support the operationalisation of the AU Accra Declaration on Unconstitutional Changes of Government (UCG) in Africa (March 2022), and the Malabo Declaration on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa, adopted at the 16th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union Head of States on May 22, 2022.
Present at the launch were the representatives of the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs who officially launched the initiative while goodwill messages were delivered by representatives of ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs Peace and Security, the AU ECOSOCC, and the West African Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS), among others.
At a joint press conference at the end of the launch, NIPSS director of research, Prof Dung Pam Sha; RCGSPI executive director, Dr Jonathan Sandy and KAICIID senior programme manager, Africa, Agustin Nunez-vicandi, identified the recommendations/action points arrived at from the event towards tackling UCG.
These include: organise the first international consultative conference on the implementation of the RCDP; establish a functional joint secretariat, a digital innovative-information, communication and technology web portal system; and elaborate a coherent media and communication strategy.
They emphasised the prevention of UCG through education as most interventions have been too focused on post-UCG engagement yielding little results and not enough on prevention.
“Education and continuous dialogue with local actors, stakeholders, and leaders are critical to promoting a shared vision of democracy in Africa for Africans,” he said.
