Citizens toppling oppressors is not exclusively an Arab thing

The term, “Arab Spring” soon emerged to describe the series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across North Africa and the Middle East from late 2010. Different countries were affected differently with Tunisia, and later Egypt, experiencing revolutions while major uprisings and social violence continue in Libya, Yemen, and Syria.

While the Arab world has experienced uprising and is now dealing with the aftermath, sub-Saharan Africa has had comparable experiences. In 2013, fighting started between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and SPLM-IO, igniting a high-casualty civil war. Two years later, conflict started in Burundi, triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek an unauthorised third term in office. In 2017, protests erupted in Togo, against Faure Gnassingbé's continued rule. In power since 2005, after the sudden death of his father, Faure had bypassed the country’s constitutional succession arrangements.