An Associate Professor at the School of Law, University of Ghana, has said that contrary to some arguments, a military takeover does not solve any problem for the country involved.

Speaking on Newsfile, on Saturday, Prof. Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua stated that in recent coups that have plagued West Africa, statistics indicate that the situations upon which the coups were established have worsened.

“If we just take the example of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau, they said that they came to power because of the security situation, and they will make it better, has it become better? Certainly not. A secondary issue they raised is corruption, has corruption been dealt with? Certainly not.”

“Some statistics indicate that the situation in Burkina Faso for example has been made worse since the time the military regime came to power, and so military coming to power don't necessarily solve a problem,” he said.

Prof Appiagyei-Atua noted that coups are only necessary on condition that the country has no main sitting government, there’s a high level of instability and the country is tearing apart.

“But, those that orchestrate the coup should not have in mind that they want to take over and rule, they just have to restore democracy. So after a coup, immediate steps should be taken to return the country to democracy and the military will go back to the barracks.”

However, he fears that that may not be the case for countries with military rule; adding that there may be more coups to come.

Prof  Appiagyei-Atua stated that West African states have failed to recognise that issues with their government, including corruption-related activities and bad governance, are contributing to the unconstitutional attempt to take over power.

He stated that more people, especially the youth, are showing support for coups adding that “the environment is changing in such a way that you cannot guarantee democracy at this moment, more coups may occur.”

His comment comes after soldiers in the West African country of Niger announced a coup on national TV, on July 27.

They said they had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions and closed the nation's borders.

West African leaders following the coup threatened military action against Niger's junta after it took power.

The leaders gave the junta seven days to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, who is being held captive.

But, the ruling military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso warned Ecowas against any intervention in Niger, insisting any military action against the new regime would also be tantamount to a “declaration of war” against them.

However, Niger’s ousted leader has urged the US and “entire international community” to help “restore constitutional order” to the country.

In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, President Mohamed Bazoum said he was writing “as a hostage”.

In his newspaper article, Mr Bazoum warned the coup, if it succeeded, would have “devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world”.