When the late 26-year-old fruit seller, Mohammed Bonazizi was deprived of hishand-cart in Tunis in order to demand bribe by local officials in December, 2010, little did they know that they were, by that very act, igniting an already charged tinder box that will spiral into an inevitable and unstoppable fire of protests, that will ultimately engulf and consume the 23-year-old regime of the President, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.Yes, the hapless seller Bouazizi had reached the end of his tether, having graduated from college, yet, without a decent job and had to make do with selling fruits in a kiosk in the heart of Tunis. Week in week out, he contented with the incessant. harassment of local officials, who come to confiscate his wares in a bid to demand baksheesh (bribe). Not seeing any way out of his unenviable lot in life, Mohammed set himself ablaze in a broad daylight.This young mans suicide resonated with many ordinary Tunisians with dismal prospects in a country where many graduates struggle to find work, sparking an unstoppable torrent of anger. Within an ace, sporadic protests had begun as thousands of youths took to the streets demanding an end to the oppressive regime. Essentially, they demonstrated against unemployment, corruption and poverty in the land. Fired by the fervor of youth, the Tunisian revolution has begun.And that Revolution brought about widespread change in the economic, Socio-politics of this North African country. First, it led to the ouster of the President, Ben Ali who abdicated the presidency, fleeing to Saudi Arabia. Then, it brought about the release of political prisoners who were long languishing in jail under the oppressive rule of Ben Ali. It also brought about the emergence of a new order in terrns of a unity government which will oversee the conduct of fresh elections within six months. Thus, the stage is set for a permanent change in the affairs of this 55-year-old country.The Tunisian uprising has provided the Third world with a precedent that ultimate political power actually resides in the hapless masses of the people.And that they reserve the right to bequeath such power to whomsoever they wish. And to whosoever they believe can bring about the good life to the greatest number of the people. As such, leaders who are entrusted with power to lead had better beware that there is always a day of reckoning. For Ali, it took him 23 years to come to such a day. But come, it surely did.The wider implication of the Tunisian revolution is to the Arab world where authoritarianism still holds sway. A possible indication of this can be inferred in the recent uprisings in some Arab countries like Algeria, Yemen, Jordan and Egypt following the same mode of protest. The despotic leadership in these countries are afraid and palpably jittery of a possible replication of the Tunisian uprising in their own domain. Thus, the fear of popular protests has become the beginning of wisdom for these hegemonists.The government says at least 78 people have died since the start of the uprising, while the UN has put the toll at about 100. However, the tidal wave of change has not gone far enough for many, still angry at the Ben Alis familys appetite for property and wealth. Former prisoners are seeking a Peace and Reconciliation Commission to examine past abuses. Even policemen long viewed as protectors of Mr Ben Alis regime assembled outside the Interior Ministry, demanding the creation of a labour union for the police. Uniformed police officers went on rampage, demonstrating against the inclusion of some allies and cronies of the ousted president in the transitional government. They demanded outright exclusion of such accomplices of Ben Ali from the unity government.With street politics the order of the day, politicians have been scrambling to appease the crowds. Mr Mohammed Ghannouchi, the long serving Prime Minister under Mr Ben Ali, who is currently the leader of the unity government and other members of the interim cabinet have resigned their membership of the ruling party, Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) of the former president. To further instil confidence in the interim government, Mr Ghannouchi has announced his intention to quit politics atter the conduct of the elections.Opposition members of the government have argued that it would be unrealistic to exclude the vast RCD, which dominates both the cabinet and Tunisias civil service. Despite the continuing political crisis, calm is fast returning to the country after looting and infighting in the capital, Tunis, recently between the army and rebels of Mr Ben Alis security force.The imperative for the call for the ouster of the President can be situated in the historical context by which Mr Ben Ali emerged as the President of Tunisia in 1987. Before then, he was Prime Minister under the aging President, Habib Bourguiba, who headed the Republic after Tunisia gained independence from France on 25 March, 1956.Bourguiba, who upon assumption of office, promptly assumed the title, President for life ruled what was largely, a one-party state. The Presidents left-wing party, the socialist Destourien Party (PSD) dominated political life and punished its opponents with censorship and imprisonment. The 1960s saw a short-lived socialist experiment that finally gave way to increasing economic liberalisation in the 1970s under the influence of Prime Minister, Hedi Noura. By the middle of the 1980s, the state started to face serious problems as the ailing Bourguiba became increasingly unable to effectively rule the country. Bourguibas presidency was marked by serious economic instability toward the end of the 1980s followed by serious unrest.A party called Islamic Movement (MTI), an effective organisation with a large base of support, challenged the governments stability. In response to the movement, the president appointed General Zine el-Albidine Ben Ali, a former head of the security services, to be the Minister of Interior. His main task was to dismantle the MTI. FolIowing thousands of arrest and the successful dismantling of the MTI, the President appointed Ben Ali the Prime Minister.No sooner had Ben Ali become the prime Minister than he became overtly ambitious. He eyed the presidency and began to seek means by which to attain to the number one post. Exploiting the terms of the constitution, he worked in tandem with a team of medical doctors who declared Bourguiba unfit to govern based on health grounds. Thus, Prime Minister Zine el-Albidine Ben Ali assumed the duties of President on November 7, 1987. As such, Mr Ben Ali rose to power on the wings of blackmail. And since, whatever goes around, comes around, is it therefore any strange that the same president was blackmailed out of officeIt is instructive to note that Mr Ben Ali served a record 5 terms in office. In his first term, Ali dismantled the old oppressive regime by allowing increased freedom of the press, releasing political prisoners and legalising political partifa: The PSD party was renamed the Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique (RCD) and legislation was passed implementing a multi-party system. Today, there are six legal opposition parties in Tunisia, but most of them lack the necessary resource to be effective, and they are still prohibited from criticising government policies. Thus, the first coming of President Alis government brought with it economic and political stability, focusing extensively on health care, womens right and education. However, despite these reforms, Tunisia is still extensively a one-party state.Prince Fafoluyi wrote in from Ondo State.
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