On Friday, the media was awash with reports coming out of Turkey concerning the state of its democracy and an attempted military coup. Fortunately, this was averted due to the strong will of the Turkish people to retain the country’s democracy, even in the face of a fatal power seizure process. As a result of this, there are now discussions on how the Turkish experience could unfold in an African country.

According to reports, following a surprising airspace escape of Erdogan’s plane from the rebel soldiers, the aircraft safely found its way into an already hostile Istanbul. The Turkish President then sent a message on social media to citizens, urging them to take to the streets against the soldiers who already had some major infrastructure in their control, including media houses, the Turkish intelligence and the parliament in the capital city of Ankara.

Now, with 290 dead and 6,000 people suspected to be linked to the coup attempt detained, the most popular questions have been: Who masterminded the coup attempt? What really stopped the Turkish coup plot? So far, President Erdogan has insisted that the US-based Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gulen, was behind the attempt, although, Gulen has since denied any involvement. Nevertheless, taking the glory away from the people of Turkey will be very difficult as they showcased their extraordinary willpower during this time. Storming the streets on a night of horror was probably one of the hardest decisions some of them would have ever made, all in a bid to uphold their democracy and not necessarily to keep Erdogan in power.

Will Africans do the same if they find themselves in a similar situation? Maybe, maybe not. Related to this, Gulen was quoted to have reacted to the Turkish coup attempt by saying “Turkey is not an African country where coups replace democracy.” Taking a look at Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, none of the past nine coups d’état were met with widespread resistance from civilians. In fact, the December 1983 coup which overthrew a democratically constituted government and brought on board a soldier, Muhammadu Buhari, as the Head of State, was reportedly celebrated by some Nigerians, perhaps, for the reasons given to justify the coup then. However, does anyone think Nigerians or Africans, today, will take to the streets for the sake of democracy? Or for the sake their President?

Unquestionably, democracy  guarantees a better chance of ‘freedom’ and regard for human rights, when compared to a junta-led country and this is why it is celebrated worldwide against all odds. In the meantime, the reaction of Nigerians to the recent Turkish coup attempt makes it really difficult to accurately predict whether or not a Turkey-like civilian response would ever greet an African coup attempt.

Over time, the dividends of democracy may not have truly reflected on the living conditions of Africans, but a violent stifling of democracy has not proved to be a better option either. Like the common saying goes, “the worst of democracy is better than the best of a military rulership.”