Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Five explanations for the Ivorian coup that was/wasn’t

"

1. There was really an attempted 

coup against the highly unpopular 

leader, perceived to be a French

puppet. It failed,  but the rumor mill

did not catch up with the 

changing reality fast enough."

Ifi Amadiume revealed long ago, something that political economists were missing. Marxist economic anthropologists from France obsessed about the mode of production but Amadiume pointed out that the mode of reproduction was the real explanation for social dynamics in the region. Most cultures over there are matrilineal and so descent is traced through the mother's kindred. In the case of Ouatara, his mother is believedd to be Burkinabe, meaning that although his father is Ivorien, he is not Ivorite or truly Ivorien. That accounts for much of his unpopularity. They asked him to go back home to Burkina Faso where his mother belonged and he refused, leading to the ten year civil war with Gbagbo.

Fanon had warned that the policy of Houghet Boigney to allow Africans to go to the country as guest workers was doomed to fail because national consciousness has bottlenecks that would necessitate the continuation of the struggle even after the colonizers were forced to leave because the people may keep searching for national purity in their identity. The solution lies in the erasure of the colonial boundaries to allow all Africans, home and abroad, to move freely, without visas, work legally, intermarry, run for office and go to school or start businesses wherever they prefer in the Peoples Republic of African States United Democratically.

Biko

On Wednesday 28 May 2025 at 14:22:14 GMT-4, 'Emeagwali, Gloria (History)' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Last week, the internet was rife with 

rumors of a coup in Ivory Coast.

Social media outlets amplified 

the claim. 

Here are six explanations 

for the widespread rumor:

1. There was really an attempted 

coup against the highly unpopular 

leader, perceived to be a French

puppet. It failed,  but the rumor mill

did not catch up with the 

changing reality fast enough.

2. It was a palace coup.

Ouattara  is no longer calling the

shots,  and is now a figurehead.

The  verified gunshots were 

proof of internal strife.

3. Ouattara and his backers

engineered the rumor to divert 

attention from  drone deals etc.

4. Psychological warfare against

the  regime by domestic critics, 

enemies and activists on 

social media, aimed at instigating 

a real coup.

5. The Traore effect: Wishful 

     thinking by supporters

    of Traore - hoping for regional

    geopolitical transformation.

6. A ploy to trap domestic and

regional enemies into revealing 

 allegiance- or lack of it.

    

As the situation unfolds we

watch with bated breath.

   

Dr. Gloria Emeagwali
Professor of History/African Studies, CCSU
Chief Editor- "Africa Update"
https://sites.ccsu.edu/afstudy/archive.html
Gloria Emeagwali's Documentaries
www.vimeo.com/gloriaemeagwali
www.africahistory.net
Founding Coordinator, African Studies, CCSU

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