“Benin has spoken, even if the coup failed, the message did not” – Kenneth
🇧🇯 *Says revolutions not always won in a day
…Sometimes they begin with a spark
By KEMI KASUMU and OUR REPORTER
“Soldiers who die in the line of duty are forgotten and their families abandoned. Northern Benin bleeds from insecurity while leaders pretend all is well. Corruption eats its roots. France exploits and controls the nation. Leaders play puppet masters. These are the grievances of a nation betrayed.”
A Pan-African activist, Ugochukwu Kenneth, has described the last Sunday December 7, 2025 shortlived military coup in the Nigeria’s immediate neighbourhood of Republic of Benin as a huge success even though the intended new government was not formed.
Kenneth, who said “Congratulations to the courageous sons of Benin, Lt. Colonel Pascal Tigri, Captain Ousmane Samary, Captain-Major Sambieni Castro, and others,” added that it mattered not whether the coup stood or not but that what was essentially necessary was that the messenger was passed to the unruly political elite not only in the scene of incident but across West Africa and the continent generally.
Ugochukwu Kenneth, who made this known in a post via his Facebook timeline on Friday December 12, was speaking to possibly corroborate reactions by The DEFENDER Newspaper on Sunday, wherein Pan-Africanists from Tanzania, Namibia and Burkina Faso said the same thing in reaction to the Beninoise developments.
“Whether the coup succeeded or not is not the point. The point is that you dared to confront a system that has silenced, ignored and oppressed the very people it claims to govern.
“Your actions exposed the truth the world tries to hide: Bad governance is crippling Benin. President Talon’s leadership is choking the nation. Favoritism within the military is destroying morale.
“Soldiers who die in the line of duty are forgotten and their families abandoned. Northern Benin bleeds from insecurity while leaders pretend all is well. Corruption eats its roots. France exploits and controls the nation. Leaders play puppet masters.
“These are the grievances of a nation betrayed.
“You have reminded Africa that resistance is not dead. You have reminded the continent that neocolonial puppetry can and must be challenged. You have reminded oppressed people everywhere that silence is not the only option.
“The people of Benin and many Africans across the continent are proud of your courage, not because of the weapons you carried, but because of the truth you exposed.
“Revolutions are not always won in a day.
Sometimes they begin with a spark, and that spark becomes a fire the people carry forward.
“History will remember you as men who stood for a wounded nation,” he said.
