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Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years - Foreign Affairs (2) - Nairaland

Nairaland ForumNairaland GeneralPoliticsForeign AffairsStory Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years (26358 Views)

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Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by madridguy(m): 4:03pm On Sep 24, 2017
Why always Africa shocked
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by ahnaija: 4:03pm On Sep 24, 2017
Most countries in Africa, including Nigeria, need to be recolonised....
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Pat081: 4:04pm On Sep 24, 2017
12345baba:
Togo still better than Nigeria.
in ur own eyes abi
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by ibkgab001: 4:05pm On Sep 24, 2017
I read it all... it is better Be governed or miss governed by your self than to allow foreigner to rule you " kwame Nnkuruma"
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by jdluv(f): 4:05pm On Sep 24, 2017
they dont have juju they should borrow from india and arrange apple for him like abacha
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by J0hnTrevolt(m): 4:08pm On Sep 24, 2017
Wonderful write up very educating.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by babapressy(m): 4:08pm On Sep 24, 2017
Hmmmmm
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Seyilome(m): 4:11pm On Sep 24, 2017
aleeyus:
But Togo is like local government for Naija eye cool

Rule, ruled, rulled or ruler Who cares about Togo
Why do some people conclude things like this, Togo is bigger than entire south east of Nigeria even not bigger than Oyo and Osun states joined together, and Togo is still far better than Nigeria, i went there three weeks ago and electricity did not blink with better roads.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Seyilome(m): 4:13pm On Sep 24, 2017
Pat081:
in ur own eyes abi
My friend I swear Togo is better than Nigeria
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by ehix89(m): 4:14pm On Sep 24, 2017
12345baba:
Togo still better than Nigeria.
Huh, Togo better than Nigeriahuh, is your brain overheating?
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by ehix89(m):
Seyilome:
Why do some people conclude things like this, Togo is bigger than entire south east of Nigeria even not bigger than Oyo and Osun states joined together, and Togo is still far better than Nigeria, i went there three weeks ago and electricity did not blink with better roads.
All you guys capitalise on is electricity, what is the average per capital income of a huge number of Togolese , how many percent of the population lives above $2 per day, what is their standard of living like, comparing Nigeria to Togo is a joke.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by cstr1000: 4:20pm On Sep 24, 2017
I would have no problem with dictators if they are as cerebral as lee kuan yew of singapore or Benjamin Netanyahu who is a democratically elected president anyway who knows what they are doing, because sometimes you need continuous progressive leadership which can not be guaranteed in infantile democracies.
But when you have the likes of buhari , gnasiingbe and co posing as dictators with nothing in their head, that is when the saying becomes true that the worst democracy is better than the worst dictatorship.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by ako1tse: 4:20pm On Sep 24, 2017
ehix89:
Huh, Togo better than Nigeriahuh, is your brain overheating?
Togo is better in terms of steady electricity, security, social life is far better. if naija could just have steady light just imagine how great naija would be.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by jaychubi: 4:21pm On Sep 24, 2017
Even if there is no limit to tenure it can't happen in Nigeria. Togo too dull anyway they are smaller than most local government in Nigeria
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by hatchy: 4:24pm On Sep 24, 2017
What da heck? 50 years is no beans bro!

I always say it that Blacks are its own enemies.We blame the colonialists for all our failures in governance but the truth remains that the Black man is totally unfit for governance.
He is extremely wicked and heartless and would thrive on the blood of his own kind rather than allow others participate in governance.

We blame the colonialists for our failures for the provision of basic amenities and infrastructural development long after they have granted us independent and gone.
There is little or no improvement to what the colonialists left behind because the common wealth is pilfered away by those saddled with the responsibility of using it our the good of the people.

The Nigeria railways for example witnessed a dramatic down turn and became an eye sour the moment the British handed the affairs to manage it ourselves. The same thing can be said of other public utilities that are meant to serve the people.

I begin to wonder why 99.9% countries that is inhibited and ruled by blacks never make any progress. This is because the black man is totally unfit to manage itself,resources and is extremely wicked and greedy.
He is subhuman and not supposed to be handed certain position or office to manage.

The likes of Mugabe and Eyadima should be dethroned by force and shot in the street to teach other sit tight rulers in Africa a lesson.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by 0taPiaPia(m): 4:24pm On Sep 24, 2017
and who are those idiotz in page 0 quoting the whole story just to say nonsense.. !!!
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Legolast: 4:28pm On Sep 24, 2017
US won't see this o, na IPOB matter wey no concern them den go dey put mouth. lipsrsealed lipsrsealed
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by dnawah(m): 4:29pm On Sep 24, 2017
Thandiubani:
It was Sunday Adelaja in his book, The Mountain of Ignorance who said: "The great and the mighty that use their assets and power to subjugate people are demonstrating oppression.”

Many years down the line, it is still the same old story of a few evil men using the resources at their disposal to thwart the will of the people in Africa. For how long will men of goodwill continue to watch silently while a few powerful lot trample on the masses with reckless abandon? When will African presidents close the doors of greediness and allow the will of the people prevail?

As hundreds of thousands of Togolese people - men, women, teenage boys and girls - continue to protest violently over the 50-year brutish rule of the Gnassingbe dynasty, my heart bleeds for the country.

More than 20 people have so far died since the protest for the President's resignation started some weeks ago, with the opposition also asking for a constitutional amendment to limit Presidential terms. Just three days ago, people were left in tears after a 10-year-old boy was killed by security operatives during a protest in Lomé with many others seriously injured.

Spurred by a desperate bid to cling on to power like his late father, President Faure Gnassingbe (who has been in power since 2005), son of the late dictator Gnassingbe Eyadema unleashed the army and police on the people. Security operatives teargassed, clubbed, headbutted, assaulted and brutalized the people all in a bid to retain Faure in power.

Not done, the President cut off internet and social networking access to stop people from reporting the unrest in the country. He also forced foreign journalists out of the country. With all these calculated moves to mute the people, however, the political imbroglio became a confrontation too many for the masses to stomach as they retaliated in a most dangerous way by turning on soldiers in the streets.

In fact, the internet was awash with photos of an angry Togolese woman dragging a soldier on the floor 2 weeks ago like a mere goat to the slaughter house after soldiers had reportedly killed seven protesters. His gun was taken away from him as he hopelessly begged for his life.

The history of the Gnassingbe family and its tasteless rule that spanned half a century is a disaster that stunted the growth of the region leaving 72% of Togo's rural population below the poverty line (on less than 2U$/day), making it one of the world's poorest countries in the world, according to a World Bank report. With a population of just over 6million, many had thought that Togo would evolve as a leading industrial nation due to the abundance of natural resources at the country's disposal.

The history of Togo is littered with chapters of chapters of deep frustration fueled by the dictatorial and greedy instinct of one man whose thirst for power saw him massacre hundreds of his political rivals.

Gnassingbe Eyadema, father of Faure Gnassingbe (the incumbent President of Togo) was among the military men who led the first military coup in West Africa that killed President Sylvanus Olympio in 1963. Shortly after that in 1967, he led another coup as a Colonel forcefully removing President Nicolas Grunitzky to install himself as the President, a position he held for 38 awful years before his sudden demise in 2005 onboard a plane 250 km south of Tunis, Tunisia.

During his 38-year reign, Eyadema plundered the wealth and resources of his people and was reported to be worth millions of dollars. After pocketing the military, he used the Togolese army to commit heinous crimes against the civilian population and perceived political enemies. One of such case is what happened on the 30th of January 1993, when elements of the military went on an 8-hour rampage throughout Lomé, firing indiscriminately and killing at least 12 people. This incident provoked more than 300,000 Togolese to flee Lomé for Benin, Ghana, or the interior of Togo.

A chilling report by UNICEF shows that the country bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the East and Burkina Faso to the North is one of the poorest in the world. Ostensibly, Togolese people live below the poverty line (on less than 2U$/day) even with the country's enormous natural resources.

The impact of the dictatorial rule has resulted in deterioration of social amenities, increased poverty and inability of the government to provide basic services for its people. While the Gnassingbe family and the political elite in the country enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, the common man wallowed in abject poverty.

There is high illiteracy level in the country because parents can't afford to send their children to school due to extreme poverty. Many children are forced to work in exploitative and dangerous conditions just to survive.

One in eight children will not reach its fifth birthday, according to a report by UNICEF. The report further added that only 38 percent of the population live in urban areas, making the majority of the population rural. A shocking 82 percent of the rural population live in poverty.

Due to extreme poverty, many children in the country suffer severe hunger and malnutrition; most do not have access to clean water. Many of the children are forced to drop out of school to help support their families. Yet, a particular family has held sway at the top for 50 years without anything good to offer the people. What a curse!

The need to come to the aid of a psychologically impoverished people of Togo and salvage them from the shackles of a greedy political elite whose desire for power has led to the loss of innocent lives is now. There is no better time to act than now!

Apart from human rights violations, the Gnassingbe dynasty has over time emasculated the people of Togo by denying them the good things of life.

Without mincing words, it is absolutely evil for a family to continue ruling a country with severe opposition from the people for 50 years now and the world folds its arms watching the evil fester. The Gnassingbes have been using the instrument of the state to clamp down on the people revolting against the 'witchcraft' government of Faure. The Togolese army as a whole is a slap on the face of the people. The soldiers who have over the years left their constitutionally-guaranteed position - to secure the territorial integrity of the country - and instead chose to become errand boys of the Gnassingbe family must be gathered together, castrated and banished from the Togo. For allowing itself become a thing of caricature in the hands of the Gnassingbes, a total purging of the army by way of compulsory retirement of the senior officers must be initiated to eliminate sympathisers who served during the period of this obvious political anomaly. All Gnassingbe’s political allies who participated in government must be given same music to dance, starting with the removal of President Faure Gnassingbe.

The international community - UN, EU, AU, ECOWAS - must as a matter of urgency pour hot pressure on Faure Gnassingbe to resign. It is time to end his family's stronghold on the country. This is no more time to fold arms; the people of Togo have suffered enough. The injustice and oppression from the government now using the army and police to clamp down on protesters is an aberration that must be checkmated before it is too late.

The killing of innocent people protesting the reign of an illegitimate government must be stopped and those responsible brought to book. Let it not be that the world will watch silently again while impunity and the greed of a few who want to die in power overcome the call of the masses for justice. I call on all men of goodwill to support the masses in Togo as they navigate through this political quagmire to a strong and robust democratic landscape that is participatory and all-encompassing, tailored at bringing dividends of democracy to the people. We must all join hands and end dictatorship in Africa and install a system that respects the right of the people with a responsible army loyally protecting the country instead of individuals.

The will of the people must prevail. The constitution must be followed to the letter and any manipulation must be visited with severe consequences against perpetrators. As the breeze of democratic tenets spread across the continent, those rejected by the masses must never be allowed to impose their wishes on the people by force. The people of Togo have suffered enough. It is time we all join hands and support them to swim out of this murky waters of political enslavement.

***
Alexander Thandi Ubani writes from Lagos.
He's an Editor with tori.ng.
thandiubani@yahoo.com

Source: http://www.tori.ng/news/74695/the-story-of-gnassingbe-eyadema-the-evil-dictator.html
Ok na,life is better there than here, 24hrs electricity and water.security not 100% but Ok.education far better than ours.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by VIPERVENOM(m): 4:29pm On Sep 24, 2017
12345baba:
Togo still better than Nigeria.
Guy u smoke? Togo's entire population is not half of the house flies in dat country. The last i visited, the entire lome were drinking salt water clean water was a luxury. The poverty rate is alarming. The only thing good about togo is mapouka and bread & spaghetti. Togo deseves better. dat man must go
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by chopcy(m): 4:32pm On Sep 24, 2017
aleeyus:
But Togo is like local government for Naija eye cool

Rule, ruled, rulled or ruler Who cares about Togo
we the good people of africa do care
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Klington: 4:36pm On Sep 24, 2017
Very pathetic..
Africa and their greed for power.
The EU, UN, AU and all that, are just toothless bulldogs. Very unfortunate.
The people should learn to fight for liberation and not depend on anyone
African leaders are colossal failures
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Efewestern: 4:39pm On Sep 24, 2017
Nigeria were re thou, Togo needs you, go show your strength there..
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Seyilome(m): 4:44pm On Sep 24, 2017
ehix89:
All you guys capitalized is electricity, what is the average per capital income, how many percent of the population live above $2 per day, what is their standard of living like, comparing Nigeria to Togo is a joke.
Why do u always believe in every thing writing on paper, apart from electricity which is umber one way to modern life, Food is still available and cheaper in Togo than Nigeria, also most of Nigerians keep saying That Togo is a size of local government Area, I always laugh at them Togo is bigger than all the Five states of South east of Nigeria, even Togo is almost size with Oyo state combined with Osun state even if not bigger than. Mind u I was in Togo 3weeks ago
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Outofsync(m): 4:46pm On Sep 24, 2017
disheartening!!
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Seyilome(m): 4:52pm On Sep 24, 2017
VIPERVENOM:
Guy u smoke? Togo's entire population is not half of the house flies in dat country. The last i visited, the entire lome were drinking salt water clean water was a luxury. The poverty rate is alarming. The only thing good about togo is mapouka and bread & spaghetti. Togo deseves better. dat man must go
Yes the man must go, but clean water is luxury there bro, is pure water and bottled water a luxury, and the LOME is closed to ocean therefore the common water needs to be salty, Nigeria is worse than Togo, take it or leave it. I was there recently
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by fidelson(m): 4:58pm On Sep 24, 2017
Na the same tins Nigerians dey face na, From 1 dictator to the other
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by ehix89(m): 5:04pm On Sep 24, 2017
Seyilome:
Why do u always believe in every thing writing on paper, apart from electricity which is umber one way to modern life, Food is still available and cheaper in Togo than Nigeria, also most of Nigerians keep saying That Togo is a size of local government Area, I always laugh at them Togo is bigger than all the Five states of South east of Nigeria, even Togo is almost size with Oyo state combined with Osun state even if not bigger than. Mind u I was in Togo 3weeks ago
Com'on, would you have preferred to be called a Togolese, Lets face it what's the best thing out of Togo, I wouldn't want to believe it's cause of size Nigerians are so dominant. We have our shortcomings no doubt but we've not degenerated so low to be compared with the likes of Togo.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by omoelerin1: 5:06pm On Sep 24, 2017
[quote author=aleeyus post=60784266]But Togo is like local government for Naija eye cool

Rule, ruled, rulled or ruler Who cares about Togo[/quoteFor your eye oo. Nigeria knows the meaning of sovereignty. The state of Texas in the United States of America is almost the size of Nigeria. Its annual revenue is more than budgets of all African nations, yet it can be equated to an independent state.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Seyilome(m): 5:10pm On Sep 24, 2017
ehix89:
Com'on, would you have preferred to be called a Togolese, Lets face it what's the best thing out of Togo, I wouldn't want to believe it's cause of size Nigerians are so dominant. We have our shortcomings no doubt but we've not degenerated so low to be compared with the likes of Togo.
why not if I am, so Adebayor that is been called Togolese died, i will say it again TOGO IS BETTER THAN NIGERIA, i have been to Togo many times, Nigeria has money, population, land mass, talented people but we totally failed as a nation, Togo is only suffering from family ruler and oppressor. They have good road with closed gutter, 24/7 light, no curruption within commoner, availability of food
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by Seyilome(m): 5:12pm On Sep 24, 2017
fidelson:
Na the same tins Nigerians dey face na, From 1 dictator to the other
God bless youuuu
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by omoelerin1: 5:26pm On Sep 24, 2017
Seyilome:
Why do u always believe in every thing writing on paper, apart from electricity which is umber one way to modern life, Food is still available and cheaper in Togo than Nigeria, also most of Nigerians keep saying That Togo is a size of local government Area, I always laugh at them Togo is bigger than all the Five states of South east of Nigeria, even Togo is almost size with Oyo state combined with Osun state even if not bigger than. Mind u I was in Togo 3weeks ago
Leave those yeye guys. The size of the land area is not the determining factor of a sovereign state in the theory of state and in the eye of international law. Even if it is smaller than a state capital in Nigeria, what has that got to do with the real issue on ground now? Bunch of illiterates.
Re: Story Of Gnassingbe Eyadema, The Dictator Whose Family Ruled Togo For 50 Years by omoelerin1: 5:36pm On Sep 24, 2017
ehix89:
Com'on, would you have preferred to be called a Togolese, Lets face it what's the best thing out of Togo, I wouldn't want to believe it's cause of size Nigerians are so dominant. We have our shortcomings no doubt but we've not degenerated so low to be compared with the likes of Togo.
What are those things that make you not to be compared with Togo, aside from the size and population? Is it because of cash from oil? In international law all States are equal. That's why a country like US will respect Togo sovereignty.
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