In this powerful episode of Majalisa, host Rimamnde Shawulu Kwewum sits down with political scientist Dr. Joel kemie, speaking from Portugal, to unpack the dramatic attempted coup in the Benin Republic – and what Nigeria’s “swift response” reveals about power, insecurity, and geopolitics in West Africa.
On 7 December, a faction of Benin’s National Guard and officers styling themselves the Military Committee for Refoundation (CMR) attempted to overthrow President Patrice Talon. Led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, they reportedly attacked the president’s residential area in Cotonou, seized the state broadcaster (SRTB), went on air to announce Talon’s removal, suspended the constitution, dissolved institutions, and closed borders.
Within hours, the Beninois authorities called for help. According to official claims, Nigeria deployed fighter jets and special forces, helped bomb and chase out the coup plotters, and restored Talon’s government. Reports later emerged that Tigri’s wife was injured and his daughter killed in the operation.
Dr. Ikemi argues that this intervention raises three big questions.
First is the sovereignty debate. He contrasts Nigerian elites’ loud opposition to talk of U.S. intervention – including recent statements about “Christian genocide in Nigeria” – with their apparent comfort in sending jets across the border to crush a coup in Benin. If foreign intervention is unacceptable in Nigeria, why is Nigerian intervention in a neighbour suddenly legitimate?
Second is the idea of “swift response”. Dr. Ikemi notes that the same state that can mobilise jets and troops in hours for Benin has failed to act decisively against bandits, Boko Haram, ISWAP, kidnappers and jihadist networks at home. He points to years of mass abductions, daily killings, negotiations with bandits, and accusations of sabotage within the security system. Despite huge security budgets – running into trillions of naira – insecurity appears to have become a lucrative political economy rather than a problem to be solved.
Third is the geopolitics and jihadist threat. The conversation explores France’s influence in Francophone West Africa, Nigeria’s fear of the “contagious effect” of coups, and the porous Nigeria–Benin border. Dr. Ikemi links the presence of Al-Qaeda–linked JNIM in northern Benin and their claimed attacks in Nigeria to Abuja’s desire to prevent both a military takeover and a deeper jihadist foothold along its western frontier. He also makes the controversial case that jihadist activities in Nigeria are tied to attempts to reshape power and religious dominance within the federation.
Throughout the episode, Majalisa digs into whether insecurity has become a bargaining chip for power-grabbing in Nigeria, how pre-election patterns of violence shape outcomes, and why more Nigerians are now openly asking for external help against bandits and terrorists.
If you care about Nigeria’s security crisis, coup waves in West Africa, France’s role in the region, and the future of democracy and 2027 politics, this is a conversation you cannot afford to miss.
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