 Now, following the recent unrest in some part of the African continent overtaken by the military par, the director general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Professor Housao Sage, has blamed the incessant military roles on the Sahel region on extremism interference. Professor Odage was of the view that Nigerians earned the credibility to lead in exemplifying democracy since the end of the country's military role, Jacinta Obuco-Hassmore. What is the world without its second largest and second most populous continent, Africa? Let's talk about African politics, and you will agree with me that with the recent wave of cues in some countries, there is need to begin to raise questions, concerns and conversations as to why and how to tackle the deep-seated menace in Africa. Throughout the ages, there have always been ups and downs with democratic regimes in Africa, but the continent has also tasted and recorded successful democratic rules to date. Take Bokina for example, Rock-Mar-Christian Kaburi was elected president in the November 2015 general election, winning a majority in the first round of voting. Upon taking office, he became the first non-interim president in 14 years without any past ties to the military until now. More worrisome is the reaction of citizens to the recent military takeover. The jubilation and celebration among citizens of these countries could suggest the fall of democracy and acceptance of military rule. We had an exclusive chat with the director general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Professor Ehosa Osage, on the reason that dirty political games in Africa have persisted. He linked the crisis to the extremism in the Sahel region, but opined that it was not enough reason for military overthrow. The people are at the receiving end of these atrocious situations, but does that then warrant the military taking control unconstitutionally of the reins of power? I'm sure that those who have had the experience of democracy and the experience of authoritarian regimes, especially those associated with the military, know the difference. In Chad, under the Chadian law, the speaker of parliament should have become president, but the military council stepped in and deserved parliament in the name of ensuring stability. In Guinea, Special Forces commander Konu Mamadi Domboya led a coup in September 2021 against President Alpha Konde, saying he enacted because of poverty and corruption in the coastal state. And in Mali, the coup followed weeks of anti-government protests over rising insecurity, alleged corruption and a failing economy. Professor Osage pointed that international organizations and civil society have a great role to play to ensure these countries return to constitutional order. One hopes that the major powers in all of these international organizations that have the interests of these countries at heart would engage civil society and not state forces. A country like Nigeria, having returned to a civilian rule on 29 May 1999, is arguably not perfect. But according to the NIA boss, Nigeria still has the credibility to show other countries in the continent the way to go in making democracy work. Nigeria's moral authority has been strengthened and enhanced by the democratic stability that the country has enjoyed. And Nigerians themselves realize that in comparison to non-democratic regimes that we had in the past, nothing really compares. It's democracy. So when Nigeria has these kinds of interventions, the interventions are a very strong conviction. And you know, Nigeria has the credibility, you know, to say to people that this is the way to go. On his final words, he said no conversation to COP crisis without the proper involvement of any country's citizenry. We will make sense. We must look inwards. We must engage the people, engage civil society. Governance is no longer simply the monopoly of governments only. There are notions of co-governance. We must also find out what these people want. And I think the experience in Sudan has taught us very well that you can no longer take the people for granted. The throes here is that though the quality of Africa's democracies are uneven, shallow and compromised, however, it could get better when all hands are on deck. Center Ubiukou for PLOS TV Africa.