The Assassination of Sylvanus Olympio of Togo and The Rise of Eyadéma: Final Part

The 1991 national conference in Togo effectively removed Eyadéma from power and installed an arch-rival, Joseph Kokou Koffigoh, as leader of a new provisional government. The victory was short-lived, however. Armed forces loyal to Eyadéma mounted a siege of Lome’s government establishments in the winter of 1991, taking Koffigoh prisoner. By mid-1992 Koffigoh had named a number of Eyadéma deputies to his inner circle, and by year’s end he was little more than a figurehead. According to Da Costa, Koffigoh, “a human rights lawyer elected to lead the transitional government through to the elections and threatened, even kidnapped, by Eyadéma loyalists, [became] a shadow of his former self.” The political crisis continued through 1992 and into 1993, with strikers demanding immediate elections and neutral armed forces. Hundreds of thousands of Togolese citizens fled to Ghana and Benin, and the international community was stunned by an assassination attempt on opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio. In March of 1993 Eyadéma’s residence in Lome came under armed attack by dissenters within the military ranks. Eyadéma survived the coup attempt and proceeded to negotiate a timetable for presidential elections with the leaders of Togo’s principal political parties. The presidential election, held late in the summer of 1993, was beset by numerous controversies. Observers from the international community—including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter—refused to endorse the results, citing “hasty planning, the lack of a credible opposition, and question marks over voter lists and cards,” to quote Da Costa. Indeed, Eyadéma’s principal opponent—Gilchrist Olympio—was not allowed to run because he would not agree to be examined by Togolese doctors to confirm his health. Olympio, who had documentation of a thorough examination by French doctors, complained that he could not safely enter Togo to undergo the examination. In Olympio’s stead, Eyadéma faced the leaders of three opposition parties. When the results of the August 25th election were polled, Eyadéma had received 96.42 percent of the popular vote. Da Costa wrote: “Eyadéma, with close to three decades of self-imposed autocratic rule under his belt, will find it difficult to claim that his victory in Togo’s …presidential elections gives him an undisputed right to remain at the helm of the West African country. … The context behind Eyadéma’s huge margin—the lack of credible opponents, as well as a paltry turnout officially put at 39.5 percent—confirmed the landmark in Togo’s march toward democracy as little more than a sham, an exercise in self-delusion by a man reluctant to surrender to the mass of forces ranged against him.” Da Costa felt that Togo would face further violence and unrest as long as Eyadéma wielded power, but other observers offered a different view. For instance, in an election-day appeal to his fellow citizens, Koffigoh characterized Eyadéma as a man who “could guarantee security, peace, and stability for Togo.” At least one citizen interviewed by Da Costa echoed Koffigoh’s optimism. “I voted for Eyadéma because he’s not just our patron, he’s our god,” a Lome taxi driver told Africa Report. “The city used to be safe, you could taxi …24 hours a day and even sleep in the streets. But now Lome is in a mess. It’s democracy that’s done this. Only Eyadéma can solve our problems.” Over the next decade, Eyadéma remained in power. Although he won multiparty elections in both 1998 and 2003, Eyadéma was widely considered to have held power by intimidation and other unfair means. Over his many years as leader of Togo, Eyadéma had placed himself so squarely in the center of Togo’s affairs that when he died of a heart attack on February 5, 2005, he left his country with “no reliable mechanisms for resolving disputes without him,” according to the Economist. Eyadéma’s legacy was seen when his loyal army quickly named his 39-year-old son, Faure Gnassingbé, as Togo’s president, a move that went against Togo’s constitution. The Togolese military’s fast installation of President Gnassingbe Eyadema’s son, Faure Gnassingbe, just few hours of his father’s death, once again, confirms the West African character – complex and turbulent, weak rule of law, weak civic virtues, fragile democracies, under current of anarchic forces, flashes of dark spiritual practices, and prone to disorder. A successful business man, Faure Gnassingbé had limited political experience, having served as his father’s minister for public works, mines, and telecommunications. Gnassingbé’s appointment as president caused such outrage in Togo and western Africa that he stepped down in order for a proper election to be held in April. He later won the presidential election and was sworn into office on May 4, 2005. Violent protests of the election and flow of refugees from Togo to neighboring countries caused ongoing instability as Gnassingbé took office. It remains to be seen if he rules with the iron fist of his father. In the February 2020 presidential elections, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma won his fourth presidential term in office as the President of Togo. According to the official result, he won with a margin of around 72% of the vote share. This enabled him to defeat his closest challenger, the former prime minister Agbeyome Kodjo who had 18%. He has been in charge since his notorious father, Eyadéma died suddenly on February 5, 2005. Sources: Book – Africa South of the Sahara: 1994, 23rd edition, Europa, 1994. http://African-research.com and https://biography.jrank.org/pages/2747/Eyad-ma-Gnassingb.html