Military forces in Guinea-Bissau have seized total control of the country, announcing the suspension of the recent electoral process and the immediate closure of all national borders.
The coup announcement, made from army headquarters in the capital, Bissau, comes just 72 hours after the nation held presidential and legislative elections.
The officers justified their actions by citing national “unrest and ongoing hardship” in a country long plagued by poverty, political instability, and a history of military intervention.
The takeover was preceded by intense gunfire around the Presidential Palace, which sparked panic across the city. Residents reported seeing men in military uniforms, believed to be soldiers, blockading the main road to the palace, restricting movement and heightening fears among civilians.
This event reinforces Guinea-Bissau’s reputation as one of West Africa’s most coup-prone nations, a turbulent legacy it has struggled to overcome.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
