The United States Consul General in Nigeria, Will Stevens, has said, unlike other African countries, Nigeria has enjoyed 25 years of uninterrupted peaceful democratic succession, which he found worthy of emulation.
Naija News reports that Stevens made this known on Wednesday, while addressing students during the launch of the “Recycling Waste to Wealth Challenge,” a competition for secondary school students at Abeokuta Window on America, located at the youth development centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Recall that since 2020, Africa has experienced coups in seven countries, most recently recorded in Niger Republic and Gabon. 
Speaking on rising military takeovers in African countries, the U.S. Consul General blamed some leaders’ refusal to relinquish powers after spending decades in the government, which often leads to democratic instability.
According to him, the African continent faces enormous challenges, ranging from climate change to food insecurity, and only democratic stability can help the continent in resolving its problems.
To overcome the coup challenges, Stevens asked African leaders to embrace the tenets of democracy and ensure a peaceful transition of power like in Nigeria.
His words, “I hope and feel that you (Africa) can fix the problems and the problems are big; its climate change which leads to flooding, it is plastics pollution, it is food insecurity, it is the backsliding of democracy in the region.
“Obasanjo served two terms and left power, he set the precedent in Nigeria of you serving and then you step aside for your successor.
“Nigeria has enjoyed 25 years of presidential succession. President Buhari just did the same thing, he served his two terms and then he stepped aside, that is a big deal in democracy, peaceful transitions of power, that is a huge thing to be proud of, It does not happen very often.
“There are Presidents of neighbouring countries that have been there for a very, very long time, 20, 30, 40 years, this leads to democratic instability, it leads to coups. Nigeria is the fourth largest democracy in the world, you just had a successful presidential transition, successful elections, this is something you should not take for granted. The idea that people can come into power, they can serve and then leave is really cool.”
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