Who should run Guinea-Bissau?

'...major drugs trafficking hub.' What next do we expect? Drug wars among gangs like what's going on along the Mexico-US border?

[Personal details removed by Moderator] The way forward for stability in Guinea Bissau which is on the verge of becoming a failed state is intervention. It can start with ECOWAS, the AU and if need be, the UN. Intervention has helped other countries like mine (Liberia), Sierral Leone, etc. Falling countries should become protectorate by peaceful interventions.When one country is not stabled, others countries are directly or indirectly affected. No country is an island.

George TENGBEH
Voinjama, Liberia

i think what the world now needs to do is to prevent another Dafour on the Continent for us. the idea of the EU " leaving" the country, in my candid opinion is not the best.I also suggest the country should be ruled by a foreign power if those "greedy" politicians and army officers will not let peace prevail

Ernest K. Offen
Obuasi Ghana

[Personal details removed by Moderator]Like too many African nations, Guinea-Bissau has been a failed state for far too long. But if foreign troops from the African Union and Ecowas are going to enter the country it is important, before they do so, to agree just what their mandate is.There is no point in entering the country just to restore the authority of the president for unless the army is purged of its trouble-makers the army influence will soon creep back after they have gone. But re-empowering the government and sacking generals is not enough either for that leaves the thorny issue of the narcotics industry which pervades the country. Unless this is also tackled and the ringleaders imprisoned the country will never be stabilised. So any intervention force will have to be there for some time and in some numbers. And to pay for all this it is unlikely that the AU or Ecowas will have the necessary funds. So that will require the need for the rich countries of the world to back this comprehensive action with funds from their overseas aid budgets. But stabilising the country should not be the ultimate aim either. For after that has been done there will be a need to lay the foundations for economic growth, tackle corruption and enforce the rule of law. That will best be accomplished by inviting Portugal, the former colonial power, to come and run the country as a protectorate with a proviso that this will last for no more than 10 years. With the expertise and organsiation brought in by the Potuguese, the economy should begin to move forward, nationals would gain firsthand knowledge of how to run a modern state and the people of Guinea-Bissau could at last look forward to better times.

Willie Reid
[Personal details removed by Moderator]

I will blame Africa union(AU),and ecowas,for what is happening in Guinea bissau.if they(AU&ecowas)come out at first all this would not have happened in that thinning country.Sending in troop will not help.

What difference does it make who runs the country .... corruption, corruption and yet more corruption is the only result ... there is a blog on Nigerian corruption on the BBC web site (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-10915421%29 which illustrates just how endemic the culture of theft from the state is across sub Saharan Africa.

The only way to stop it is to ban African rulers, their supporters and their friends, from holding properties and land etc outside of their own country. Only then when stealing is transparent, and they can't flee to a wealthy 'exile', will good governance arrive in these countries. If they want good schools, hospitals, roads, education for their own families, then they will, like roman emperors of old, be forced to build them for everyone.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

I wonder whether interest in this country from a far and wide is to protect it or advance self interests. Drugs alleged to be transiting here come from somewhere and why not curtail the process from the source? It may be fair to contend that all parties sounding alarm have some interests they are not sharing with the public.
Guinea Bissau has its citizen who should be engaged in a democratic process in determining the way to stear the country. The idea of intervention is not a solution as it is only the local citizens who have mandate on how they should be governed. Intervention is imposing imperial self interests to protect and enrich a few at the expense of the majority. Let get this to a referendum and engage citizens of Guinea Bissau.

This is a great decision taken by this broher. Prevention is better than cure. The Bissau Guineans should see the reality on the ground .Coup d'etat should not be a solution to our problemsin Africa.
Therefore, please i call on all citizens of this beautiful country to embrace the coming of the regional and international intervention.
Only those who pretend to like Guinea Bissau will reject this wonderful decision.
Thanks

Guinea Bissau like many tales told in Africa is indeed a very sad story.
I keep asking myself what is really wrong with us Africans? we hate each other so much such that to help our black friend progress is almost a crime to our conscience....The idea of the Ecowas sending troops is a very progressive idea but needs a lot of back up by finacial capable giants institution such as the world bank to help in the smooth operations of its mandates.However, the idea of the European Union troops withdrawing due to lack of respect by the citizens for rule of law should be condemned in strongest possible terms by all progresive and peace loving people. What the EU troops neds to do is to work in collaboration with the ECOWAS troops and if need be the UN troops in order to help restore peace and security in that country. Apart from that, all cowprits who have propelled massive killing of innocent lives, sexual assalts, drug trafficking and so many evil vices in that country should be brought to book, charged by the hague and incassarated to far prisons where they never see the sun again. In addition, making a Guinea Bissau a protectorate for a number of years as a way of recovery to social development by the former colonial masters after order and security has been restored, is a welcome idea, one that should be upheld. Provided they sign an agreement with regards to how long they will be a protectorate. After that, people should be given the power to vote for their own leader whom they will dim fit to rule them. But as for now, Ecowas and the AU should send its troops with a lot of back up from the UN and other progressive nations such as the USA, Britain and all african countries to help restore peace, order, rule of law and security in that troubled nation.

I don't know where Willie Reid is writing from. I don't know if he has any knowledge of Portuguese colonialism in Africa. I don't know if he knows the history of protectorates in Africa. To all intents and purposes, there was no difference between a protectorate and a colony.

I was born in a British protectorate in Africa. I can assure you, it did not feel differnt from a colony.

Our neighbour is a former Portuguese colony. We used to hear horrendous stories of ill-treatment of our fellow tribesmen who, unfortunately, found themselves under Portuguese colonialism.

The Portuguese deliberately did not educate the people of Guinae Bissau. Their function was to provide cheap labour to the Portuguese.

I am constantly amazed at some people's nostalgia for colonialism.

We, Africans , must solve our problems ourselves. We must stop looking outside the continent for answers to our problems.

The African Union should establish a standing army and a police force. These can be sent at short notice to trouble spots around the continent. We should fund these from our own pocket. Depending on so called donors is unreliable. Personally, I'm willing to pay a voluntary tax of USD 50 per month to the AU to fund an AU army and police force. I estamate that there are at least 10 million people on the African continent who can afford such a sum.

I think Guinea Bissau have been forgetten by the international community since,thats why drug lords took over the country.

The next question in my mind is which African state will be the next failed state? On and on and on, the story will be told. I think we spend so much time in treating consequences than the cause of failure to govern.While an intervention force and government of unity are temporary measures and ofcourse costly and neccesary, the real problems in my opinion is the inability for governments to be voted freely by the citizens and as such are not accountable to the citizens but to the system that put them in place. On the other hand, Africans vote based on criteria which are far from the abilities,competence and proven records of politicians.What we should be emphasing at this time is; to re-educate the masses on their contribution to bad leadership and the need for them to change direction and push for competent leadership irrespective of the tribe, name ,religion, colour of the skin and where the great grand father of an individual comes from etc. It is common place for bad politician to take advantage of our tribal sensitivities to split the citizenry and manipulate to stay in power.It is too often pardoxical to find out that a country is seen to be enforcing peace in another nation, when the reasons for the chaos is rife in the country negotiating peace except that the crises has just exploded first in the other nation. I expect little from African Union; an organisation made up of a crop of bad leaders!. Who disputes this? These are individuals who are ready to bring chaos in their respective nations when their position is threatened through the ballot box. I think we should look beyond Guinea-Bisseau!!!!

Fail state, political instability, drug trafficking, civil disorder
amongst others is becoming charaacteristic of African. intervention has
not even help issues in Dafur and other african countries in crisis. forcasting Guinea-Bissau a fail state doesn't mean it should become a
protectorate. political instability is becoming 'african'. what we should
be asking is, what is constituting all this problem in africa? i believe
only the Guinians can settle themselves and not external interferance.
there are still in the process of democratising. so, military is not even an option. AU, ECOWAS, UN,as regional and international peace organisation can only and would always provide a temporary stability and peace that has no long term effect.Guinea-Bissau like every other African
countries would continue to face this challenges as long as they are rule by wrong leaders with tendency to promote ethnicity, parochialism,
chauvanism and selfish interest.