The arrest of Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan by the soldiers loyal to Alassane Ouattara may end the civil war that started after Mr Gbagbo refused to give up power after losing in the 2010 elections.
It is a classic case of abuse of power and tendency to cling to power against the will of the people. Gbagbo, though his tenure as the President of Ivory Coast had ended back in 2005, he kept on postponing the elections in a clandestine bid to remain in power. But, when elections were held in 2010 under the strict vigilance of international organizations, he was voted out and Mr Ouattara was declared the winner. The verdict was widely accepted by other nations in Africa and Europe.
The forces loyal to Gbagbo started a civil war that was fast engulfing the nation. It’s the innocent who suffer when despots like Gbagbo get intoxicated by the power. He was a professor and a popular man when he came to power by winning an election.
It’s shocking how despots like him neglect people of their own country and indulge in amassing wealth and stuffing it in Swiss banks. And it is even shocking to know that people living in these countries without trying to organize and protest against such governments. I know they are silenced by brutal means, but in the contemporary world where information is ‘leaking’ everywhere and enlightening the minds, it is possible to fight against the injustice by making people aware of the realities of their regions.
It is outrageous when few people control the resources of a nation, actions of their countrymen and loot them at will.
