Two weeks later, there was a tutorial group discussion, the topic for discussion: Military Rule in Africa. Gloria, Esau, and Monica had joined Al-Ghazal's tutorial group.
It was a small group consisting of only eight members because Al-Ghazal liked smaller groups for discussion in his spacious office. The other members of the tutorial group were two male and three female students.
Al-Ghazal stared at the students, his eyes probing each of them before he started talking: "Well, I talked a lot about the military in my last lecture and even gave you many examples. In this group, we have heard some presentations, but we also need to go over some key issues about military rule in Africa."
The professor paused and then continued, "This is not a lecture but a discussion, and I expect each one of you to contribute in the discussion as all of you have made reference to the texts I recommended."
Gloria spoke for the first time, "I think we can start because most of us have read the texts."
There were some murmurs among the students. Al-Ghazal's years of experience made him realize some students had not read for the discussion. But then he was ready to go on.
"Do you have the statistics of the countries that were ruled by the military in Africa?" he asked.
Esau replied, "Yes professor Al-Ghazal."
"Go ahead and tell us then."
"Nearly half of the countries in Africa were ruled by the military in their national history."
"Can you proceed on and give us the examples of such countries? Or somebody assist Esau."
It was Gloria's turn to speak, "There were many such nations that were ruled by the men from the barracks. Uganda, Togo, Zaire or the Congo, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia are examples of nations that were once ruled by the barrel of the gun."
Al-Ghazal nodded and said, "Very good, Gloria. You seem to have researched well into the subject. Now the question to tutorial members is: What were the causes for such military interventions?"
A dark, tall, and slim student who sat at the back spoke for the first time, "The soldiers usually claim the economy of the country has been messed up. They also say they want to save their people from civilian rule."
Al-Ghazal frowned. Then he asked, "What's your name?"
"Brian."
"Is that all you could get? It's clear you haven't researched widely. You should be more serious about your work. You're in a university; not high school."
Brian looked down apparently shy at being reproached. Al-Ghazal regarded him coldly and then addressed the others, "Anybody who would like to assist Brian?"
Esau raised his hand. The professor saw his hand and said, "Yes; Esau. Give us the causes of military interventions in Africa."
"The causes may be classified as either the underlying or immediate reasons and…" Esau began.
"That's too broad for you to tackle alone, and you'll definitely help. Just give the class the underlying reasons and leave the rest to the group." Al-Ghazal said.
"Well, one of the underlying reasons the men in uniform advanced is that the politicians were always fighting and quarrelling among themselves. According to the soldiers, the politicians were always engaged in the war of words." Esau said.
The class listened in silence, as Esau explained. Then Al-Ghazal said, "Is that quite true? Go on."
Esau cleared his throat and said, "The soldiers could have been right in some instances when parliament in some countries was reduced to the level of a football match where members of the opposition always accused the government of the day of certain failures. The military intervened at such times to save the politicians from themselves…"
"Can you give you concrete examples of the countries that laid such claims?" Brian, who had raised his hands, asked.
Al-Ghazal smiled. He knew the young man was just trying to re-invent himself after having suffered humiliation. "Brian is right. Don't just talk in generalities. Give the relevant examples."
"I was just coming to that, but he cut me short; professor. He should wait until I come to the end," Esau said.
"Okay, go ahead."
"As I said earlier, the soldiers claimed they intervened to save the politicians from themselves. Colonel Joseph Mobutu of Congo, which was formerly called Zaire, claimed he was intervening for the aecond time in 1965 because he was too tired of being a referee between Moishe Tshombe and Joseph Kasavubu's power struggle."
There was laughter. All the group members, including Al-Ghazal were amused by Esau's explanations. He had turned Colonel Mobutu's reasons for a military takeover into a joke.
"You've made us laugh, Esau." Al-Ghazal said, "That was a good and humorous account. Go on!"
This time, the class clapped. Esau glanced at Gloria and saw she was smiling and then continued, "The other reason the soldiers usually gave was that they had come to wipe out corruption, tribalism, nepotism and many other malpractices by the civilian politicians. The politicians, so the soldiers claimed, were too busy amassing wealth for themselves to bother about the masses' interests."
"What did they mean by wealth?" Brian shot up again.
"That question is irrelevant to our discussion, Brian. Just stick to the reasons for military rule," Al-Ghazal ruled and waved on to Esau, "Continue."
Esau looked at the class members and saw Brian wince. Then he went on, "The soldiers even claimed they came out as the expected saviors of the people. Well, all these reasons I've given were not the true reasons for the coups in Africa. There are those which were most immediate, which, as professor Al-Ghazal said, I leave to the other group members to contribute."
"That was very good," Al-Ghazal said and added, "Quite a remarkable performance. Now let's move on to the most immediate reasons. Is there anybody who wants to contribute?"
This time, Gloria raised her hand. Al-Ghazal saw it and said, "Go ahead, Gloria, tell us!"
"One of the most immediate reasons for coups in Africa was foreign influence. It was bad for the soldiers to succumb to foreigners for help to topple the civilian regimes…"
"Gloria," Al-Ghazal interjected. "Don't introduce ethics in our discussion or even axioms. Just confine yourself to the points you wish to raise."
She smiled, revealing her clean white teeth and dimples that formed on her shiny cheeks. "I am quite sorry, professor."
"Good. Proceed."
Then Esau saw Brian wink at Gloria.
"Before Gloria goes on, can she give us an example of a country where the soldiers intervened with the help of foreigners?" Brian asked.
"Sure. Idi Amin's coup of 1971 that toppled Milton Obote in Uganda was aided by the Israelis."
"That's right, Gloria. Are you satisfied, Brian?" Al-Ghazzal wanted to know.
"It's okay, sir."
Gloria regarded Brian and then looked at Al-Ghazzal, who nodded at her. She went on, "The other reason for the soldiers' take over was the personal ambition of the army officers. The fear of being by-passed in promotion by their junior officers actually led some army commanders to organize coups."
Gloria paused for breath. Then she continued, "At times, the coups were triggered off by tribal jealousy and animosity in the armed forces. One tribe may have feared to be dominated by another tribe. Such was the fear in the Uganda armed forces when there appeared to be jealousy between the Acholi and Langi officers for a long time from Obote's regime to that of General Tito Okello"
"I think you have given a very good account of yourself, Gloria." Al-Ghazal said. Then he touched his long red beard and added, "But what critical appraisal can we give about military regimes in Africa?"
Brian replied, "I don't exactly understand what you mean, professor?"
"A critical appraisal simply means you give your assessment about army rule in Africa; it may be positive or negative in your concluding remarks." Al-Ghazal explained. Then he asked, "Any critical appraisal or assessment from the members?"
Monica spoke for the first time, "I think that whatever the reasons for the coups, it is clear that the military regimes never lived to their promises. At any rate, they became even more corrupt than the civilian regimes they overthrew."
"That's a good appraisal, Monica. I wish the others could be as co-operative as you are in academic discussions by giving intelligent contributions." Al-Ghazal said and asked: "What do others say?"
"I quite agree with Monica's view," Esau said. "Indeed, the soldiers quickly forgot the charge of corruption they brought against the civilian politicians they overthrew and engaged themselves in corruption. For example, General Ankrah, who toppled Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, was caught red-handed receiving bribes, and he was forced to resign."
There was applause at Esau's explanations. Al-Ghazal regarded the students for a while and remarked, "That's an acceptable appraisal. Are there any other concluding remarks?"
This time, Gloria spoke. "Some military regimes became even more tyrannical than the civilian ones they replaced when they began persecuting the people who disagreed with them. It was shooting first and asking questions later."
"I agree with what Gloria is saying," Esau said and added: "In Uganda, for example, it was estimated that over half a million people died during Dictator Idi Amin's era. The soldiers began ruling people by the barrel of the gun once they came to power and forgot all about their earlier promises of restoring the country to democracy…"
"What do you mean by democracy?" Brian asked.
"That's an irrelevant question which should not be asked in this discussion and…" Monica began but was cut short.
"Monica is right. We've already discussed democracy in our earlier group discussions, and now you want to take us right back to square one. Esau, give your appraisal in a nutshell," Al-Ghazzal ruled.
"To summarize, the soldiers in power having replaced the civilian governments resembled a group of thugs in the streets whose way of life was violence."
"Another good assessment has been heard. What about the economy of these countries which were under army rule?" Al-Ghazal queried.
"The economy became bad news to the citizens," Monica spoke again. "The soldiers caused untold suffering to their people. In Zaire, which later reverted to its original name of Congo, the economy was in shambles. Mobutu's government had to depend on foreign loans since the country was bankrupt. Civil servants had to go for several months without their salaries."
"That was very true of Zaire. Is there any other nation whose economy was ruined?" The professor queried again.
Gloria came to her friend's help. "Amin's expulsion of Asians in Uganda caused the economy to dwindle, and the currency was devalued. In any case, the military governments that lived by violence usually discouraged prospective investors into their countries."
"Good," Al-Ghazal said. "So what's the greatest lesson we can learn about army rule in Africa?"
"Well, perhaps it is…" Brian began.
"No guess work here! Give facts."
Brian never wished to continue, and he just looked away. He seemed to dislike the way the professor was putting him off.
It was Esau who volunteered to answer: "The greatest lesson we learn from these military interventions is that the soldiers were no different from the corrupt politicians. Their rule was even worse because it was the use of force."
"Well argued and summarized Esau," Al-Ghazal said. "So what can we say about the soldiers' education or socialization at the time?"
"I think political education and socialization was and is widely lacking in Africa. Most of the soldiers who toppled the civilian regimes did not know or understand politics." Esau volunteered and added, "They never understood that politics also meant the allocation of scarce economic resources apart from conflict resolution. Instead, the soldiers ignored the masses and saw politics as an opportunity to enrich themselves."
Monica also observed, "It is quite true that both the masses and soldiers in Africa were never politically educated or socialized in Africa, and that was the real cause of failure in leadership."
Al-Ghazal looked at his watch. Then he said, "I think our time is over. It was a good tutorial discussion, but next time we come for discussion, make sure you take down notes because there are some points that we raise here that may not be in your textbooks."
It was time to leave, and the students rose to their feet. They walked out of Al-Ghazal's office on the third floor and went down the stairs.
Outside, the students dispersed. But Gloria, Esau, and Monica remained together.
"I'll buy you ladies coffee today," Esau suggested.
"That's nice. Let's go to the cafeteria then." Gloria said.
They walked into the cafeteria. There were not many people as they were entering. Esau told the two ladies, "Take our usual corner while I go for the drinks."
The ladies proceeded to the corner while he went for their drinks. Later, as they sat together, Esau remarked: "That was a lively discussion we had today."
"It was lively because we did our research thoroughly. Remember the many days you, Monica, and I stayed behind reading in the library?"
"Sure," Esau replied. "But the others were hardly contributing except perhaps Brian."
"He tried to contribute, but even so, his contribution was dismal, and the professor was constantly rebuking him, remember?" Monica said as she sipped her coffee.
"Yes I do. Come to think of it, I saw him winking at Gloria. What's wrong with that guy?"
"He's nuts. I just ignored him. May be he thinks I like him." Gloria said.
"I think to be active in the tutorial group; we should continue doing our research by reading in the library and discussing in our rooms." Monica suggested.
"That's agreed." Gloria said.
They went on taking the coffee as they discussed the affairs at the campus. Then Esau suddenly remarked, "I hear there is a dance today in town. The famous Orchestra Mangelepa will be on stage. I feel like dancing tonight after the wonderful performance in the tutorial group discussion. Can we go this evening?"
"Sure. We'll go. Won't we Monica?" Gloria said and invited her friend. She knew that apart from reading, both Esau and Monica loved music and dancing.
"We'll be there." Monica spoke.
"It's settled then," Esau said, and they rose to leave for their halls of residence.