The True Legacy of Gnassingbé Eyadéma
A colloquium was recently organized in Togo for the purpose of honoring Gnassingbé Eyadéma. Eyadéma was responsible for the assassination of Sylvanus Olympio in 1963. In 1967,Eyadéma led another coup and seized power. He remained the president of Togo until his death in 2005.
Given Eyadéma’s role in assassinations and coups in Togo, it is curious that the colloquium sough to promote the image of Eyadéma as being a leader who was committed to peace and stability in Africa. Eyadéma’s legacy is quite the opposite. Togo is the location of the first military coup in post-colonial Africa. Togo not only set the tone for military coups in Africa, but Togo also provided a model for establishing family dynasties which was later followed by Congo and Gabon. This image of Eyadéma as a man who favored peace and stability is also at odds with the various human rights abuses which Eyadéma oversaw during his presidency.
It is important that we continue to resist these efforts to rewrite Africa’s history in such a way as to defend and honor those who worked alongside the colonial masters to oppress the African masses. When speaking of Moïse Tshombe, the man who led a Western backed rebellion against Patrice Lumumba, Malcolm X stated that Tshombe was “ the worst African that was ever born, the lowest type that was ever born.” Eyadéma belongs to that same type of African. That’s his legacy. That is how Eyadéma should be remembered.
