You are not invincible: lesson from Gabon's coup d'état

"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18)

If you think you are better, more important, or wiser than others, something will eventually happen to make you look foolish. The former president of Gabon has just discovered the dangers of pride the hard way. Military coups have been making a comeback on the continent of Africa; there have been approximately eight military coups in Africa in the last three years. A military coup is the overthrow of a government by a country's army or security forces.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, knew well the threat of military coups in his part of the world, but he swore one wouldn’t happen to him.

“While our continent has been shaken in recent weeks by violent crises, rest assured that I will never allow you and our country, Gabon, to be hostages to attempts at destabilization. Never,” Bongo declared this month as the Central African nation marked 60 years of independence from France—almost all of that time with his family in power.

Now, according to a group of mutinous Gabonese security forces who spoke on state television early Wednesday, he is under house arrest, accused of “unpredictable, irresponsible governance.” The soldiers who claimed authority said people around Bongo had been arrested for “high betrayal,” embezzlement, and corruption, though it was not clear whether the president himself faced those charges.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Bongo said in a brief video shared with media outlets hours after the soldiers’ predawn announcement. In the richly carpeted room where he sat, an image of former South African President Nelson Mandela sat on a bookshelf.

A longtime politician and one-time funk musician, the French-educated Bongo, 64, is a member of one of Africa’s political dynasties. He took office in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled oil-rich Gabon for 41 years.

His family’s longevity, perhaps, gave Bongo a false sense of confidence in the face of the military coups shaking other parts of French-speaking Africa. Ali Bongo thought he was different from the other leaders who had been overthrown. He thought he was wiser and stronger, even though his country was facing similar problems, such as economic inequality.

The man who claimed political chaos would never happen under his watch now says, "I don't know what's happening." Such is the frailty of human strength. Ali Bongo trusted in himself and his family history; he had misplaced confidence and is now under house arrest by his own soldiers. This is the result of pride.

Many of us have faced, or will face, similar falls unless we repent and put our trust in God. We may see our neighbors getting into trouble and conclude that we are wiser than they are, believing such things could never befall us. But pride goes before a fall!

Friends, anything that happens to others can easily happen to us if not for the grace of God. The Bible says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Do not put your trust in yourself or your lineage; put your trust in God. Only God can keep you safe in this world; only He can keep you on the right path. Seeing that there is no safety in pride or in the "self," let us flee from all evil paths, lest the Lord forsake us and we fall. Let us walk humbly with our God, and He will keep us in perfect peace. "Lord, remove pride from my heart" is my prayer.

https://apnews.com/article/gabon-bongo-mutiny-soldiers-president-a3322deaf184616dddc0314c61d79f03