Why Gabon's Coup is Different

[@TheGbelcher]

I’m beginning to doubt whether all countries with “Democratic” in their names are fully committed to the democratic process.

[@osheridan]

From what I understand, the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste is the only democracy with Democratic in its name.

[@andrewlakhach4806]

Democracy is a totalitarian reign of democrats you know:)

[@rosam674]

Democracy is a colonial import to Africa. Africans have misunderstood and interpreted it in a disastrous way. Because it is foreign. Not a good fit for the diverse demography. What is best for Africa is to go back to traditional communal systems of governance that were based on consensus. These are native to the continent and worked well before colonialists disrupted them. There was no poverty and no rampant corruption then.

[@maddogbasil]

I guess that's what happens when you've got French Guns behind your head 🤷‍♂️

[@neutralboi1984]

​@@osheridanFederal Democratic Republic of Nepal

[@hisvin]

The father, the son and the nephew, the story of Gabon, a family story.

[@royalroyal2210]

And never once any calls for intervention for their sham democracy

[@farhanatashiga3721]

Looks like all this happened because little cousin isn't getting the allowance he wanted

[@abimaelrequena3315]

H D

[@ssf7777]

​@@farhanatashiga3721😊

[@individual746b3]

I'm imagining this as a southen us country advert abouta brand of whisky or cookies

[@dorianodet8064]

I mean, as of now, the military deposing a corrupt dictator with public support and no bloodshed don't seem very concerning. What they'll do now raise question though.

[@alexlehrersh9951]

Be carful.Nigeria and his friend want to invade

[@Inkan1969]

You can never trust military coup leaders. The sooner they leave, the better.

[@LarzGustafsson]

That's what Ghadaffi did in Libya too. But NATO had to murder him.

[@Inkan1969]

@@LarzGustafsson That's not what at all what he did. Gadhafi trapped the Libyan people in a 42 year old dictatorship that should've ended in 1969.

[@DoubleWhopperWithCheese]

​@@Inkan1969he wasn't a good guy by and means but to say he didn't help the lives of ordinary Libyans would be a bit of a lie, stability, free gas and electricityc (and I think water)

[@bababababababa6124]

This is the only one of these coups that might end up beneficial for the country it’s happening in. Gabon is by far the wealthiest and most stable country out of all of the coups recently

[@ANDREALEONE95]

The leader of the coup is Bongo's cousin. Don't except much

[@fongangamassana6034]

It’s the complete opposite. The other countries have much better chances of improving their situations than Gabon after this coup . Just seeing who is in charge and looking at their actions tells you everything.

[@CoolManCoolMan123]

​@@fongangamassana6034Well, other coups are considered bad because Russians involved.

[@Rosannasfriend]

All African COUPS are good. Don’t let the stupid western propaganda convince you otherwise, lol.

[@samuilpetkov497]

@@CoolManCoolMan123 Not only, look at the rise of violence and terrorism in Mali, CAF and the other countries lead by military juntas.

[@khanoclast]

You say around 4:20 they were a politically stable country, yet they were ostensibly a dictatorship supported by France and a metric crap-tonne of oil. So they were as stable as Libya, with France instead of Italy in their history.

[@DoctorCyan]

France was a lot closer to Gabon (and all the former colonies in Africa) than Italy ever was to anybody else. Big, big difference.

[@Burnt.Ice.Cream.]

France "gives" independence to a colony, placing a group at the head of the country, puppets who let France loot the resources while closing a blind eye on the abuse of power, corruption and looting that the "presidents" of these ex colonies do themselves. Without these poor countries with tones of resources France would not be the power it is today. If only it benefited the french population, but it doesn't, the majority of french people struggle, the majority of people of the colonies and ex colonies live in misery, If anyone wants to see how France sees its former colonies and present colonies (french territories) all it takes is looking at how poor and degraded those places are. Liberté, égalité, fraternité, the biggest lie ever proclaimed by the French governments.

[@ethanyoung.]

@@DoctorCyan Very true. Another difference is that the removal of Ghadaffi was followed by deep, fractional political violence that persists to this day. We will see if that difference soon becomes a shared similarity in the proceeding months.

[@savioblanc]

A stable dictatorship might sometimes be a better option than a chaotic democracy, that will lead to civil war and bloodshed. The choice is between one Mafia Don or multiple gang lords all vying for power. Both are terrible options. But sometimes you gotta choose the less worse option.

[@peterporkeresq.2817]

Of course, you get 'political stability' when one family has been ruling for over 50 years.

[@TheSpiritombsableye]

If this is the full story, I am not complaining about a coup over there.

[@jamese5936]

Gabon actually has hope. The people there aren't too quick to violence like the Sahel region which is why inspite of the poverty it has been fairly stable. At this point only the military can really f this up. If they just run free elections and ban the previous family from holding any position of power, then this could really be the beginning of a free Gabon.

[@goganii]

​@@jamese5936doubt it Why would the military abandon power? Also I heard that one of the coup leaders is from the Bongo family aswell

[@Julia-Richter]

It's not the full story, as we don't know, if the coup will improve the situation.

[@MimOzanTamamogullar]

​@@goganiiThe democracy in my country was also established by the military which is far from ideal but better than a dictatorship.

[@derrickthewhite1]

Its a lot harder to object to this one... but lets make sure that we don't rate these new leaders too high just because the old leaders were corrupt.

[@Roytulin]

At 0:43, I should note that Sudan is not a former French colony, it is a former British-Egyptian territory, and de facto a former British colony.

[@Vhmvd]

They never showed it tho! The first map was referring to where recent coups happened.

[@farhanatashiga3721]

He said many not all.

[@Roytulin]

@@farhanatashiga3721 You read the lines the wrong way round. ‘All former French colonies’ would include Indochina, small parts of India, and even some current French overseas departments. ‘Many former French colonies’ does not indicate that many but not all of those shown are former French colonies, but that many but not all of the former French colonies experienced it.

[@Ava-wu4qp]

I think this specific coup might actually be justified. While the likely instability is rather unpalatable, what good is stability if it's holding up a system hurting so many people?

[@alexlehrersh9951]

Hypocrit. if this was justified then Niger too

[@MrRedsjack]

Sometimes stability is worth more than Money. So many times I have seen corrupt African states which had unfairly low but somewhat acceptable standard of living fall into civil war and be completely ruined for decades. Better to eat a smaller meal than to get shot. Also with stability even if ruined by corruption there is usually growth. Gabon average salary of 500$ is far ahead of most of the rest of Africa. Also Gabon jobs are mostly comfortable goverment jobs with only minimal work requirements that the Bongos gave to people to secure their loyalty almost a form of welfare. Also Gabon has almost free healthcare (85% of all medical bills paid by the state, 100% for maternity and a few others) which isn't completely crap and free education up to high school. If a war starts and different armed group fight over the oil fields like in Libya Gabon people will see how bad things can be.

[@sabin97]

no. all of them are. europe(which includes canada, usakistan and australia, as the ruling classes there are european)needs to realize the days of slavery are to be ended, by force if necessary.

[@gtasaints]

@@MrRedsjackyes good thing China has a very stable government!

[@T-h-a-t_G-u-y]

@@sabin97

[@scvboy1]

I love how this guy frames basically an absolute monarchy as “political stability”. By that logic North Korea would be more “politically stable” than South Korea since the south has suffered many coups while the north has “stable leadership”.

[@___.51]

He doesn’t even know what he’s saying, the man just reads out loud relevant Wikipedia and news articles. This content is the definition of a polished turd.

[@papastalin6816]

I mean if we were in the 20th century than yea. NK was more stable and technically is still more stable than SK.

[@WXRBL666]

cuz it was supported by the Western countries, hence 'politically stable' instead of a dictatorship

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

Yes. It is. Political stability doesn't necessarily mean a government is 'good'. Absolute monarchies could be pretty politically stable, relatively speaking.

[@scvboy1]

You would never here a western commentator refer to North Korea as "politically stable" though.@@merrymachiavelli2041

[@kwabenakone8057]

What makes this coup different is that they fell from Macron's grace despite some 110 French companies operating in Gabon. Hence, Bongo's call for help in English😂

[@konstador]

Exactly

[@VMohdude-]

And Bongo only fell from grace of France because they started investigating his corruption links😂

[@MrRedsjack]

​@@VMohdude- France sentenced several bongo family members to jail

[@leopoldnguessan4639]

Under Bongo, Gabon is in the Commonwealth

[@tcjusttc5418]

The irony, after shutting the international observers from the elections, and shutting down the internet. The irony of sending a video through the internet for help must not be lost on him.

[@udayshnkr420]

Hearing 'Gabon' and 'Bongo' in quick succession while being high is something else.

[@tola1526]

Some corrections: 1. Gabon is Central, not West Africa 2. Sudan was a British colony, not French

[@mightyx5441]

H.....how did he get those wrong that like the thing i can eye from looking at a map

[@quatreunhuit]

0:40 > former french colonies. > Shows Sudan

[@hamada3ido125]

i guess its recent war between the the army and RSF, so he shows countries with sighs of instability.

[@jatinkumar7287]

When politics is all about family then these results happens. Even major countries like India has this problem where it's party push one politician child to be elected over other party members.

[@miniaturejayhawk8702]

Its not a problem, its natural. Dynasties have and always will exist in politics. Its beneficial to everyone involved because it provides consistency. We all know the saying: "Like father, like son."

[@guydreamr]

Exactly, look what happened to us here in the US when Bush Jr was elected. 🤣🤣

[@simonwesthoff5121]

Better yet, Bongo’s cousin is head of the Presidential Guard that overthrew him

[@danishh8454]

Indians have option to choose thrir leader

[@vooyas.mp4]

The fact that Bongo Sr. was in bed with French oil companies tells us everything we need to know.

[@alexanderx33]

What a fun sentence. "Clearly Bongo Junior isn't actually popular in Gabon"

[@evilmex1962]

day without a coup is day wasted

[@DrVictorVasconcelos]

So, it was already a self-coup situation. Military coups are always bad--popular coups are ideal in these situations, but this one doesn't seem as bad as the recent ones. By the way, people: don't take term limits for granted. Time in power changes people. T >= 10 years is problematic.

[@toyotaprius79]

T>=10 for change over? Ireland for example

[@pomx89]

@@toyotaprius79 Admit it, it's bad!

[@tomitiustritus6672]

I'm not sure what you mean with "popular coup". As far as i understand, a coup d'etat by definition is when a part of the state aparatus takes over the state in a swift strike(coup=strike). By definition not a popular impulse, although sometimes celebrated by the public. Sorry if that's nitpicky, but i see "coup" being used a lot in a facetious way to discredit revolutions or revolts.

[@insu_na]

@@tomitiustritus6672 there are different types of coup, there are military coups, congressional coups or revolutionary coups (among others) with popular coup he probably meant a coup that is endorsed and supported by the general populace

[@tanostrelok2323]

@@tomitiustritus6672 "Revolution" most often just means a coup carried by the left

[@chrisdavis6264]

As a resident of Gabon, the country literally partied for days. Peolle knows that this is not the 15th century anymore…. So far, so good here. No violence. If Ali tries to seize back power, then I will guarantee there will be violence

[@KingofAwesomness14]

so bongo did this to himself. He took a stable nation and threw it away, now he will most likley die, be exiled. or both. Such is the story of a good number of african countries. And have some connection to France. Either coincidences are popping up or something far worse is brewing.

[@AL-lh2ht]

France did not invest well into their colonies, and messed with them far longer. While most British colonies, and others, are doing much better then former French. This proves the inherent inferiority of French culture and that their pretending to be high culture and better was a long con scam, much like the devils lies.

[@bachvandals3259]

Its the arab spring all over again

[@TheOmegaXicor]

Probably Russian punishment for aiding Ukraine with arms

[@Rosannasfriend]

The leader of Niger also did it to himself. The people of Niger support, the COUP there.

[@goganii]

​@@bachvandals3259it's not comparable at all

[@finikama]

1:15 Gabon is not a West African Country. It is a central African Country.

[@terrynewsome6698]

Small correction sudan isn't a former French colony, it was a formerly British colony

[@ferna4872]

Yeah the British destroy everything

[@makeytgreatagain6256]

Gabon isn’t in west Africa either. But these lot don’t know much

[@lucaslevinsky8802]

He didn't highlighted Sudan in blue

[@erfinder23]

I think its more abit the fact that sudan had a military Coup last year.

[@Copyright_Infringement]

Honestly, this coup seems actually to be in the interests of the people, which is a nice change of pace

[@ricardokowalski1579]

I would like to have less "people" or "volks" and more citizens

[@Copyright_Infringement]

@@ricardokowalski1579 okay fine, the interests of the _citizenry_ And why are we German allovasudden

[@ricardokowalski1579]

@@Copyright_Infringement because "people" in english doesn't convey the precise meaning of "rambling mass of proletariats". Like the spanish "pueblo", german "volks" or french "populace". All this in opposition to "citizen"

[@TylerMarkRichardson]

​@@ricardokowalski1579why not use the English word Folks

[@ethanyoung.]

For now, at least. Turkey's slew of military interventions in the past seemed to be in the name of the people, but instead gave way to savvier dictators who knew this time to ensure that the military was over adequately funded. Will this be a shared similarity to what we are seeing in Gabon? We shall certainly see in the proceeding months.

[@kisaragi-hiu]

So "what's different" is just "they're richer than neighbors"?

[@derrickthewhite1]

The Video doesn't explain it, but they're also not landlocked*, not majority muslim, and don't really share a border or culture with the other countries. The other coups have all been in the Sahel region. *yes, a couple of the sahel countries have ocean access. They still don't have great ocean access though. Gabon is built around a port.

[@prion42]

It's easy to remove someone but hard to do a better job. Guess we'll see what happens.

[@hightierplayers2454]

It could be, but its statistically unlikely. Going from a dictator to a military dictatorship is the most likely outcome because that's quite literally the stats in the history of events like this. There's only a few that have ever managed to successfully have militaries overthrow the current government and properly transition into a prosperous state without them in total control. We Koreans are one of the only examples I'm aware of where we managed something like this, and it still took half a century at least. Nobody at the start had any idea we would end up a world leader at the end of the process, so hearing people trying to act like they can see how this will turn out positively lets me know that the vast majority of supporters of these coups have no idea what actually happens. African nations will have to show they are capable of breaking the same cycle that a lot of them, and South America have been locked in for centuries. So far, few, if any, have. You can either bet on the extremely unlikely happening, or you can bet on what has happened time and time again happening yet again. Independence days are earned through strife and bloodshed by its people. If your military is doing all of the fighting, like almost all South American/African system overthrows have, your people have not done a thing and deserve to have more of the same until they are willing to actually fight (not talking, not protesting in streets) for better for themselves. You can easily tell real independence being won because it usually involves civil war where militaries are split as some believe in the old guard and some believe in the new. If a unified military did the taking-over, its very unlikely you have a situation resulting in independence.

[@ilikedota5]

You forgot about Taiwan. But what I think both Taiwan and South Korea tell us is that it only really happens if a) the dictator is intelligent enough, and supportive enough of Democracy, and b) if the people really want it, and really push for it, such that the dictator realizes its bloody civil war, or democracy. The dictator also has to be humane enough to not want to go down the civil war button though, and long term oriented enough to know its better to implement a smooth transition now.

[@derrickthewhite1]

If you get to count Korea you also should count Taiwan. And Turkey has an astounding track record in that respect (though it might be over).

[@mosaloquendo]

The last successful military coup in South America was in 1989 in Paraguay, and that process led to a flawed but ultimately democratic regime. Afterwards there were only failed attempts or questionable situations, like Pedro Castillo in Perú.

[@f1i273]

​@@ilikedota5Taiwan and Korea were also supported and backed by the US to develop how it did, huge difference that makes

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@f1i273 No it doesn't. Stop claiming credit for other nations' success. The US has plenty of autocratic allies, and has even helped put autocracies in place before (Gautemala, for example). Taiwan and Korea are the way they are thanks to their people and leaders, not cos of the US. The US allied with (for geopolitical reasons) and worked with both just fine for decades as autocratic states. And these are just two of many instances where Americans like to pretend they're responsible for all the good in the world.

[@amh9494]

The bongos of Gabon 😂😂😂😂

[@sarfokwakye8628]

The people of Gabon enjoyed political stability at the expense of these same people. Political stability can only be defined as "maintenance of the status quo", rather than the majority of the people having their needs met.

[@michaelmayhem350]

Farm hand: I'm done setting up the chicken coup Farmer: coop, there's a p in coop Farm hand: oh dear what I have done Queue attacking chickens 😂😂😂😂

[@terrynewsome6698]

Here is hoping for a better tomorrow for 🇬🇦

[@jamesbackstar8285]

Hallelujah

[@ricardokowalski1579]

7:35 tyranny is not "political stability"

[@stdesy]

I didn’t know Hanson’s MMMBop was about the 1997 Gabonese coup

[@MattJones675GR9]

I'm rolling lol

[@hoze1235]

Mmmbop to ooombe

[@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745]

Say Bongo every time the video says Bongo, it's super fun

[@halsneed6136]

It really seems that this coup, bqsed on the information provided in this video, will indeed be a net benefit for Gabon.

[@cgt3704]

I bet the next one to fall is Cameroon

[@blackblack1167]

I’ve seen some Cameroonians online say they’re hoping for one. Give it a few months.

[@cgt3704]

@@blackblack1167 i think the coup may embolden some of the anglophone cameroonians to gain independence from largely francophone-dominated Cameroon

[@idraote]

Once again, TLDR proves how conservative it is in its views. Stability is an excellent thing, but political stability achieved because a dictator is politically savvy and merciless enough to stay in power for a long time is something that may please Western government but is far from ideal internally.

[@DandyDNA]

If you think TL;DR is conservative you're mental, lol

[@emmaatkins8678]

Why don't commenters like you ever back up your digs with actual facts? I don't care to listen to someone who just insults others with no proof to back it up. Just makes you seem lazy and antagonistic.@@DandyDNA

[@seadkolasinac7220]

Video spent about 10 seconds answering the question in the title...

[@Firkinnel]

The winner is always the man with the biggest stick !

[@Miller0308]

Well it’s also kinda weird that the leader of Gabon is Muslim in a country with less than 10% of the population identifying themselves with Islam. I wish the best for the Gabonese people and hopefully the coup can succeed

[@hagnat]

i find it kind of hilarious that you seem to have an easier time saying Gabonese names than you do Portuguese ones

[@jmjedi923]

Tbf most of the names in this video are "Bongo"

[@victorugo3875]

​@@jmjedi923😂

[@henrymach]

Political stability against ousting a known corrupt? I'll always choose the latter

[@ikinloch4618]

Nothing better to watch when you can’t sleep at 5am

[@cianmurtagh468]

Genuinely wish Africa the best in driving out colonialism

[@drscopeify]

Africa has been without colonialism since the 1960s, I think you mean without dictators. The problem of Africa are dictators who take power for 50 years.

[@lucasfernandes0002]

@@drscopeify France has been a de facto colonial power in west africa since 1960, same for Belgium and Congo before the 2000's war

[@bigevil1001]

@@drscopeifyDo not be fooled by the myth of decolonization.

[@drscopeify]

@@bigevil1001 I agree but it's a balance of both issues. African nations have allowed dictators to take power without push back and that will need to change.

[@keshi5541]

@@drscopeify colonialism is over but neocolonialism still continues to plague africa

[@Keln02]

Remember the African Coup drinking game?

[@r-t9266]

That map of the countries who have recently suffered a coup is absolutely insane to look at. An entire region of the world is distabilised.

[@tommwasaha-ft7db]

Gabon is not a west African country, it's in Central Africa. Sudan 🇸🇩 wasn't a former French colony.

[@danielmwendwa791]

TLDR Africa is needed now, surely.

[@Peters_Milk]

Will Ghana be next? Nigeria? Republic of Benin?. Most Africans are tired of poverty. In all these places the people are in support of the coups.

[@DUCKDUDE4100]

Let's all just hope that the gabonese military end up re-establishing democracy. I know it's a long shot, but we can hope.

[@JimmyM1975]

I doubt it will for a long time. It’s possible for some coups after a bunch of years will turn into democracies but I doubt it will happen any time soon

[@tomhenry897]

Be a success if start letting the people enjoy the fruits of the country

[@donotreplydumbpeople3866]

They can't restore something that has never been there, you asking then to CREATE DEMOCRACY, this video does not explain the main reason why hes been overthrone

[@theconqueringram5295]

Gabon's coup is probably the best out of all the other ones due to how long the last guy was in power.

[@UndiagnosedGarbage]

Saying "for the sake of political stability" in Gabon is the equivalent of saying ending slavery would be bad for the economy on a slave reliant state.

[@sb782]

France seems like the main reason for all this

[@Welgeldiguniekalias]

60+ years of independence and still you won't hold them accountable for their own failings. 😔

[@sb782]

@@Welgeldiguniekaliasumm seems like helping a man become a dictator has a effect on the nation and how many years did France own the place?

[@skp8748]

​@@Welgeldiguniekaliasindependence where 😂😂😂

[@only_fair23]

​@@WelgeldiguniekaliasIn this case, it actually applies. They literally supported the dictators rise

[@no-nx3ip]

@@Welgeldiguniekalias100+ years of brutal colonisation can’t be erased by a few decades of dictators loyal to france 😂 you are deluded

[@MAGAeminem]

🎼I think I'm turning Gabonese 🎵

[@codymtl]

Loving the stache bro 〰️

[@tcjusttc5418]

the common thread is France. A lot of Africans are tired of the "rule by puppets" tactics.

[@Ruicarrico]

And this is the solution? Any of the other coups in the region result in a return to a regular remocratic regime? 🤔

[@tcjusttc5418]

@@Ruicarricocoups are probably not going to solve the issue. But if people condemn the coup without highlighting the reasons why people are revolting, the cycle will repeat itself. France helped the Bongo family keep power for 56 years because of oil exploration for Elf. And the people are still in poverty

[@Ruicarrico]

@@tcjusttc5418 I'm not a expert and I have limited knowledge of Gabonese politics, but do you believe the military are going to devolve the power to the electors or they will sell to other buyer?

[@tcjusttc5418]

​@@Ruicarrico I sincerely don't know how it will play out. Military regimes have historically been bad at governance and equity. The ideal situation will be for another set of free and fair elections to be conducted.

[@Ruicarrico]

@@tcjusttc5418 I agree 👍🏼, but if you take the other countries in the region that will not happen

[@UnnamedBridgeburner]

This one is scary for the French. With oil out of the Russian space getting shaky they have been relying on African supplies more and more. Cobbling together a number of marginal suppliers to replace the primary one. This could go very bad for all involved.

[@sodog44]

All these coups might have the unintended consequences of forcing the other nations in the region to start taking better care of their people to keep them placated, and probably purging their militaries of any people with bigger ambitions other than serving their countries.

[@chadbrad8100]

Wow Africa is quite a fun place to live

[@guydreamr]

Good overview of Gabon's recent history, but I'm still not exactly sure as to why this coup is in fact, different.

[@victorugo3875]

My takeaway is because Gabon is relatively wealthier and has had some political stability as opposed to other French African colonies that have experienced coups.

[@guydreamr]

@@victorugo3875 Good point.

[@filipepedro8272]

Cos it's not a democracy. Its more a corrupted monarchy and only benefits the elite

[@collinward1241]

Coup overthrew a politically stable dictatorship unlike the ones in West Africa were unstable democracies. Also no signs or allegations of Russian involvement in Gabon.

[@colejayengel3875]

coup d'état are something "ex" French colonies have in common tbh

[@urosradovanovic7720]

I think that bongo was put under house arrest

[@yarielrobles9003]

4:03 to be fair, a 40% poverty rate is still better than Puerto Rico, even though I assume they have a much stricter definition of poverty

[@eddifabricio3750]

Why do I feel that for most Western companies to get such fantastic "commercial deals" of oil, minerals, etc., they intervened militarily and then kept those political leaders which guarantee such deals? People under this neocolonial system do not benefit all that much, it's just the companies and the politicians. But who is to say that the new military leaders won't do the same but to benefit Russia or China instead? We have to wait and see what kind of system the BRICS will set up. It can hardly be worse than the current neocolonial system 😒

[@PeterPeter-pr2hi]

It doesn’t really apply to all Western countries, it is mainly about France. Most colonialist powers, as bad as their rule was, mainly left the African countries. The British, the Italians, the Portuguese, etc., don’t have much to do with their former colonies anymore, and whenever these countries bring up colonialism as a reason for their failures, it is less believable. It is France that’s entirely different. They still have the CFA Franc in many countries, benefitting them, they have unfair business deals with African nations, and host many military bases across their former colonies (I know that other colonial powers have military bases too, but in France’s case, it is especially noticeable how much they want to say). What happened to the French recently in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and might or might not happen in Gabon, was something that never happened in any African country after decolonisation. They kicked out troops, cut diplomatic ties, and might even move away from stuff like language and business deals. Other African countries didn’t do this with their former colonial overlords. It is also worth pointing out that the West and France have their disagreements in this. While on the surface, it might look like they agree on all this, but when you look deeper, you realise that there are massive differences. The USA STILL doesn’t refer to the events in Niger as a coup, and will most likely stay there as the French are being kicked out. They also favour diplomatic means over military ones, while France is being aggressive and desperately wants an ECOWAS intervention. If the West plays their cards well, they can still keep their ties to places like Niger. But France has to go.

[@PeterPeter-pr2hi]

I feel like the lesson of these coups will be that France cannot be a truly great power all by itself anymore. Most of Europe collaborates together as well as with the USA (whether or not the latter is a good thing is up to debate, I myself as a European have my issues with it). France however, is still stubborn, choosing its own separate way, which wouldn’t be a problem as I feel like we are too dependent on the USA nowadays, but having less dependence is something that can only be done via the EU. Hopefully France will learn this and focus on the EU, which it is a major actor in, instead of oppressing African countries despite their “decolonisation”. Unipolarity might not be a good thing as it allows the USA to wreak havoc everywhere in the name of freedom and democracy, but if multipolarity means aggressively keeping your spheres of influence everywhere like France does, it is just as bad.

[@TheSeparhim]

China is constantly debt trapping countries, make them build all infrastructure through Chinese companies so local people do not get employeed and when they cannot pay back the loans, the contract obligated them to give China unrestricted access and control to the infrastructure that was build. This is both what western countries did China over a year ago and not any better than what western countries tend to do to Africa.

[@eldios831]

You are right....I also have a feeling that the president is also in on the coup....failing health plus his head of presidential guard orchastrated the coup....a right man and confidant....now people can have false hope of overthrowing a family dynasty...but behind the scene still puppeteering ...time will tell

[@andreasottohansen7338]

@@PeterPeter-pr2hi England does have the same problem. If they didn't, they wouldn't have gone through with Brexit.

[@greyghost2492]

0:42 guy on the right is shredded as hell, I just want to know what his workout routine is lmao

[@gehenna14]

most stable nation in africa

[@Imtylerswift]

After Botswana

[@wtr3059]

​@@ImtylerswiftBotswana is genuinely doing quite well for itself afaik

[@bababababababa6124]

I know this comment was ironic but genuinely before this coup Gabon was one of the better nations here in Africa. I think they probably still will be even after this coup, Gabonese always seem to have their heads screwed on compared to neighbouring countries

[@NaSaSh1087]

​@@wtr3059along with south africa. Majority of goods in Botswana are from South Africa.

[@gekolizzard]

Perhaps Bongo was a passenger on Preghozins plane?

[@peacejohn4344]

Bongo HAS BEEN SEEN he put up a vid talking about the people should rally behind him please look more into this.

[@leyubar1]

The famous magician with the stage name Ali Bongo was a close friend of my uncle

[@BigmanDogs]

Sounds like Bongo is at fault

[@Krox_JUK]

Glad to see people remembered Africa exists

[@guilles8905]

The way he pronounced “Gabon” made me stay the whole video

[@krimozaki9494]

So coups and dictatorships are not bad in themselves. The important thing is that they are in the interest of the West and not in the interest of its enemies, right?

[@Wurfenkopf]

Gosh it disturbs me to see you Gabon Looking so down in the dumps!

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

To be clear, people coming out and celebrating does not necessarily mean they support the military, they are just glad the Bongos are toppled.

[@Welgeldiguniekalias]

*Lenny switching the "days without" sign

[@michaeladu6120]

This is the only coup that I'm happy for and fully support.

[@alexlehrersh9951]

Hypocrit

[@ldubt4494]

​@@alexlehrersh9951no, because it always depends on what those stand for.

[@alexlehrersh9951]

@@ldubt4494 nope hypocrit

[@keshi5541]

@@alexlehrersh9951 This is a good coup. Better to have democracy rather than authoritarian rule.

[@alexlehrersh9951]

Hypocrit@@keshi5541

[@iamsheel]

3:07 and Africans get mad whenever someone says unga bonga 😂

[@orboakin8074]

There are a lot of people (some of them Africans and others not) cheering and calling for more of these coups, despite the long history of coups and military dictatorships ruining Africa. Genuinely sad. Those of us in more stable African countries should be genuinely grateful and do all we can to preserve our stability.

[@akpowarri3504]

Unfortunately for you somethings I'm identifying that seem innate in the peoples of many African nations is the deadly combination of ignorance, arrogance and envy. They are going to prey, whish and hope for your country to experience a coup also.

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

Military juntas are only unstable because the moral police keeps on being hostile to them.

[@traykunable]

If you live in one of the very few stable wealthy, equitable democracies in Africa (Namibia, Botswana and Mauritius) then you have nothing to fear. If you live in the rest of corrupt kleptocractic Africa then why are you worried about the military taking over?

[@gekolizzard]

“Stable” and Africa in one sentence? 😂😂

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

Why just fear? I would hope 🤞 the African Union finally gets rid of the governmental system intolerance and can finally fully commit to African unity. Plus, having multiple governmental systems is great for the economy 💰, as each is better at different things. Plus it would humiliate the West for being worse at peace. And the West is treated too much as a sacred cow. @@traykunable

[@huec888]

This is highly downplaying the middling of france in gabonese politics.

[@Ryies12]

Reading the wiki page for this I was just thinking "Guy sounds like he deserved it".

[@darylbas8216]

Man, look how happy those people look, because they think something has actually changed, when we all know the most likely outcome is that the only thing that’s changed is whose boot is on their neck now.

[@drscopeify]

100% they are celebrating one dictator taking over for another.

[@mocua2910]

Gabon is located at the central west of the continent not west

[@alexlehrersh9951]

No diference

[@CarlMarxPunk]

Looking at Rwanda while sweating profusely.

[@andreasioannides4545]

are we going to ignore the fact that Gabon can finally become truly democratic after a long era of dictators?

[@drscopeify]

Only if the military is willing to give up power. Once they have power and the money from it they might not be so willing to give it up, we will have to wait and see but it can be a problem.

[@smartindian8500]

Hopefully democracy is established in Gabon. Gabon has lots of oil reserves and can be a rich country. They are less unequal than Equatorial Guinea (which should be the richest in Africa but is poor due to Teodoro Obiang (who hopefully loses power soon)) but still quite unequal.

[@user-op8fg3ny3j]

Replacing a strongman with another strongman. There's no good side or bad side. Remember that previous coup attempts were put down with French assistance

[@toyotaprius79]

Aren't the French not also the strongmen?

[@bababababababa6124]

Replacing the French with ANYTHING is a better alternative. Don’t act like they were there for Africans best interests

[@petrpinc7695]

@@bababababababa6124 that Anything can be China

[@user-op8fg3ny3j]

@@bababababababa6124 yeah, that was my point of adding it. I'm saying how they were in bed with the regimes

[@user-op8fg3ny3j]

@@toyotaprius79 yes

[@maxwellhiggs]

My wife thought i had a barbershop quartet album on.

[@BruceM8]

I can't understand the level of negativity I am seeing in this video and in other news sources about this coup. While it is true, we don't yet know the intentions and possibilities of those who made this coup in Gabon, they did in fact remove a leader who had no right to rule. Unlike several other recent coups in the region, this was not an anti-democratic coup, but rather one (apparently) in support of democracy. If a suppressed people cannot overthrow a long-entrenched autocratic government by coup, then what form of uprising will win international support?

[@puraLusa]

So far I haven't seen anything coming from international actors.

[@alexpotts6520]

This is fair enough, but... are the Gabonese military planning to hold free and fair elections? 🤔 Colour me sceptical...

[@backlogbuddies]

There's a lot of reasons. It could inspire others to over throw their governments, even just ones. I do agree it seems like Bongo shouldn't have won, especially since everyone seems to be cheering on the coup unlike in Niger.

[@danielc9967]

Exactly, the West especially France is pissed of because this dictator was a French puppet, dictatorship is fine as long as you were placed there by the French masters

[@DOSFS]

Even with good intention, a Coup can set up a REALLY bad precedent that will pleque and even undermined democracy the country for a long long time (as Thai myself who still have to deal with coup and military meddling in politic). Who can't say future general wouldn't coup again but under far less justifiable reason? Maybe I am wrong and thing turns out ok for them and I hope so. But still...

[@raddish4256]

Not enough reporting on France's connection. Yes they are a petro state. They have more miles of oil pipelines than paved roads in Gabon. Small detail the new leader is Bongo's cousin.

[@solschwarz5169]

Africa, it seems, is descending into complete chaos and anarchy

[@Tebogo16v]

These are revolutions .all the ousted leaders were puppets installed by westerners to exploit resources

[@Rosannasfriend]

Africa is rising for the greater good. I’m glad I found this channel so that I can wake you people out. This is a propaganda channel. Stop watching it.

[@bloodfiredrake7259]

This is just west Africa.

[@yohighness]

No, it's just a few countries out of 54.

[@captain-chair]

Do you work for the French oil or mining industry?

[@farright118]

GDP per capita doesnt mean anything if there massive income disparity. E.g. A nation of a million slaves could have a high GDP per capita but of course slaves dont earn anything and thus it means nothing

[@Fire-ci4se]

Always happens whenever US tightens interest rate . All fragile countries are first to face instability

[@AL-lh2ht]

The stupidity here is so high. The most interesting part is the inherent racism to believe this is somehow about the US

[@yohighness]

US? 🙉

[@euroschmau]

1:55 (sorry, I just had to do this) 😂 M'ba, ba duba bop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du, oh yeah

[@dulio12385]

Bongo's likely going to be used for a Gabonese rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody.

[@JMK948]

4:28 Speaking of defense secretaries...

[@DOSFS]

So... another normal day in Africa?

[@finiavanamandresy5460]

*French speaking Africa

[@khalilsenior5378]

54 sovereign countries on the African continent. Although it is not a good look

[@abderahmandj3845_muslim]

Western colonized africa

[@IndiaTides]

When Russians attacked Ukraine, we similarly reacted. Another day in Europe. The continent was the most responsible for genocides and wars in the world.

[@yohighness]

Of course. It was also just another normal day in USA when the MAGA lunatics stormed the Capitol.

[@rubendr6510]

It sounds like something is indeed happening or even occuring

[@tr8086]

I'm happy for them!!!

[@AbsolAhm]

Man, what is with all these coups in Africa? I mean why? Its not like coups bring instant prosperity and progress.