A few hours after the Authority of Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) resolved to deploy troops to the Republic of Niger to flush out the military junta that sacked the government of President Mohammed Bazoum, some eminent Nigerians have advised President Bola Tinubu against the use of force to resolve the crisis.
The eminent Nigerians led by a former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and one-time Chief of Army Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai (rtd) said diplomacy rather than military force was preferable in resolving the standoff.
The group argued that considering the long-standing cordial relationship between Nigeria and Niger, there was a need for Tinubu to align his approach to the restoration of democracy in Niger to Nigeria’s national interests.
In an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu titled: The Niger Coup d’état: Aligning ECOWAS and Our
Other prominent Nigerians who endorsed the letter included a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega; a former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Abubakar Bakarabe Mahmoud (SAN), Prof Jibrin Ibrahim, Prof M J Kuna, Dr Kole Shettima, Dr Hussaini Abdu, Malam Kabiru Yusuf, Mrs Maryam Uwais, Kabiru Adamu Moufta’u Baba Ahmed, Dr Usman Bugaje and Dr Yahya Hashim.
Apparently faulting the responses of the Tinubu administration to the crisis, the group said that the cutting off of electricity supply to Niger has broken a longstanding treaty obligation which may ultimately harm Nigeria’s national interest, especially from the perspective of the Kandadji dam is currently under construction by the Nigerien
government.
The group observed that the apparent rising wave of popular support for the putschists might create a situation in which the role of Nigeria would be seen as being at variance with the interest of the Nigerien people and in support of external interests.
“Already, there is an orchestrated campaign in the social and traditional media portraying Nigeria in a negative light as an agent of France and the United States.
“The strong presence of French, American and to a lesser extent of Italian security personnel and assets, including a large US drone base creates a situation that could easily transform an intervention for the restoration of democracy into a complex proxy war fought out by foreign interests engaged in the new geopolitical repositioning of world powers.
” In this regard, the current security challenges of insecurity around the Boko Haram insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts, banditry and mass kidnapping might all be exacerbated as the flow of arms, violent extremism and armed banditry spread and deepen in our sub-region.
“Nigeria has a serious humanitarian crisis, with millions of internally displaced persons and hundreds of thousands of refugees including in Niger. It is important to prevent the worsening of the humanitarian crisis,” the group warned.
In its interventions, the group said, Nigeria must provide assurances to the Nigerien people of Nigeria’s commitment to maintain friendship and fraternal relations with the government and the people of Niger.
“In that light, the Federal Government must improve Nigeria’s strategic communication showing actions undertaken are in tandem with the country’s long-standing commitment to the protection and consolidation of democracy within Nigeria, ECOWAS and Africa. (New Telegraph)
