The saying goes: "the reality is that there are two parties in Africa - the political and the military" . And so it has come to fruition and no surprise that the military has again forcibly taken the reins of state power with the declaration by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara as President of the Republic of Guinea, following the death of longtime strongman General Lansana Conte over a week ago.

The coup d'etat has met with strong international condemnation and booting of Guinea from the continental grouping known as the African Union (AU), until democratic governance is restored; although how an illegitimate government in Zimbabwe is not comparable to that in Guinea is incomprehensible.

According to the succession of power in Guinea's constitution, the national assembly head should be in charge of the government until elections are held in 60 days. But obviously, that provision has now been flouted by the military junta which has decided to run the "show" as they please.

Remember, the Guinea Constitution, the most powerful force in Guinea has already said "NO" to Captain Camara and his junta; but they have chosen not to listen, and have in fact purged the military of any loyalist to the former regime. Surprising?

The new strongman is no stranger to open agitation against the former President and status quo of the Guinean military. Captain Camara has been part of several open challenges by mutinous soldiers for back pay from the Conte government and generals loyal to that government.

The present day "wahalah" is how to engage and interact with the new military junta. All countries of the sub-regional grouping known as the Mano River Union are democratically elected leaders; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Laurent Gbagbo of la Cote d'Ivoire and Ernest Bair Koroma of Sierra Leone. 

The inconvenient truth was that the military-turned civilian Guinean dictator, General Conte simply ditched his army fatigues for civilian attire, but still wore his military boots and was accepted as co-equal in the Mano River Union, the African Union and the United Nations for the sake of maintaining the balance of power in the region. Once a soldier, always a soldier and Captain Camara fits this mold - and this is not to demean the sacrifice that soldiers make everyday, all day in their traditional role for their country and people.

Regardless of the fact that General Conte was no democratic idealist, there is mixed reviews of his role in the 14-year Liberian conflagration. The reviews range from admiration of the late President Conte by those who saw Charles Taylor as a destabilizing "rolling stone' that needed to be stopped cold; to others who viewed his role as exacerbating the suffering, death and destruction in Liberia with his support of anti-Taylor rebels who were reportedly spawned and covertly supported by the Guinean military.

And there is also the charge that some countries within the international community practically utilized Guinea to fight a proxy war against Charles Taylor, with the aim of taking the cancer of Mr. Taylor's war machine off the sub-region.

Liberia, Sierra Leone and La Cote D'Ivoire, members of the Mano River Union sub-regional grouping in West Africa have yet to offer a comprehensive response to the coup except to beef up security along their border with Guinea as a precautionary measure.

In what has been considered an open challenge to any calls for an early return to civilian democratic dispensation, Captain, and soon to be General Camara has served notice that he needs at least two years to think about and hold national elections while at the same time is worried about those "sobels" - soldiers who turned rebels and vice versa in the region, who may want to undo his fledgling junta.

Can we expect Guinea to be kicked out of the Mano River Union grouping too or expect the recall of ambassadors from Conakry? Hardly! It is understandable that members of the Mano River Union are perplexed as how to engage and interact with this digression in Guinea due to a number of reasons. Sierra Leone considers Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers excessive, and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga, occupied since 1998.

Liberia still has hundreds of refugees from its civil war past benefiting from the hospitality of Guinea. Liberia does not have the capacity to absorb its refugee citizens if Guinea were to boot them today.

For its part, the newest member of the Mano River Union, Cote d'Ivoire has large reserves of offshore oil and gas production which it has been exporting to neighboring countries. Internal instability has somewhat crippled Cote d'Ivoire's gas and oil export earnings, and so that country looks with a keen eye to expand its trade even more to other countries like Guinea.

Additionally, the sub-region shares common ethnic groups such as the Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20% and others.

The challenge now is how elected leaders in weak nations as Liberia, Sierra Leone and La Cote d'Ivoire can pit their democratic credentials against Guinea, and at the same time try to maintain good neighborliness without 'rocking the boat" since they all need each other.

Captain Camara must realize that the key to whatever legacy he is building must have its roots in respect for the guarantor of his nation - the Guinea Constitution, respect for the will of the people, adherence to the protection of civil liberties and human rights; and above all, must return his country to democratic rule.

About the Author: Emmanuel Abalo is an exiled Liberian journalist, media and human rights activist and a former Acting President of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL). He now resides in Pennsylavnia, USA.