Posted by Many Nigerians are advising caution in light of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government’s resolution from last week about the military coup in the Niger Republic.
According to the 460play, the ECOWAS gave General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the coup’s mastermind in the Niger Republic, seven days to restore President Mohammed Bazoom to office.
The choice was made as part of the decisions made during the emergency meeting of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja.
A severe warning that ECOWAS might use force if the coup plotters failed to restore political stability in seven days was among the other resolutions adopted at the conclusion of the conference, according to DAILY POST. The regional body also ordered an immediate meeting of the chiefs of staff for the armed forces of its members.
The leaders decided to close the land and air borders between ECOWAS nations and Niger, as well as impose a no-fly zone over all commercial flights to and from Niger, according to Omar Alieu-Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission.
Additionally, he declared on behalf of the group that all business and financial activities between ECOWAS Member States and Niger would be suspended. This included freezing all service and energy transactions as well as the assets of the Republic of Niger in ECOWAS Central Banks.
The attempted subversion of Niger’s constitutional order and the wrongful detention of His Excellency President Mohammed Bazoum, the country’s head of state and president at the time, as well as members of his family and the government, are strongly condemned by ECOWAS.
“Hold the perpetrators of the attempted coup d’etat wholly and entirely accountable for the safety and security of His Excellency President Mohammed Bazoum, as well as members of his family and government, and treat President Mohammed Bazoum’s wrongful incarceration as a hostage crisis.
“If the requests of the authorities are not satisfied within a week. Take all necessary steps to reestablish the Republic of Niger’s constitutional order. The use of force may be one of these measures. The ECOWAS chiefs of defense staff are to convene right away in order to that effect,” the resolution stated.
The following heads of state and government as well as designated representatives attended the summit: President Patrice Talon of the Republic of Benin and President Alassane Ouattara of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, respectively, are His Excellency. President of the Republic of the Gambia, Adama Barrow. Addo Dankwa Nana President of the Republic of Ghana, Akufo Addo.
The President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, General Omar Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embaló, is one of the others. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Presidents of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall, and the Republic of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé. the president and head of state of the Republic of Niger, the president and head of state of the Republic of Cape Verde, the president and head of state of the Republic of Liberia, the president and head of state of Sierra Leone, and the president and representative of the Republic of Liberia, Julius Maada Wonie Bio.
Others include Mr. Job, President of the Commission of UMR, Omar Al Turia, President of ECOWAS, Musa Faki Muhammad, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and Leonardo Santos Simo, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel.
However, in a perilous turn of events, the military-run governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea have publicly endorsed the Niger coup, defying any threat of an attack against the junta republic.
Burkina Faso and Mali warned that any military action against Niamey will be seen as a declaration of war against their countries in a joint statement on Monday.
A day after ECOWAS threatened to use force to restore deposed Niger President Mohamed Bazoum if the coup plotters would not comply within seven days, the warning was carried on their national broadcasters.
They stated that they would not enforce sanctions against Niger because they were “illegal, illegitimate, and inhumane against the people and authorities of Niger.”
Some Nigerians, however, have expressed differing opinions over the potential for military intervention in the Niger Republic and have cautioned against Nigerian involvement in what they have called a proxy war.
Because of their proximity, some people think that any armed invasion of the Niger Republic simply represents a conflict between Nigeria and Niger.
In an interview with DAILY POST on Tuesday, Barrister Mike Ejiofor, a former director of the Department of State Services (DSS), expressed his opinion that Tinubu will rely more on diplomacy and negotiation to stabilize the situation in the Niger Republic.
Ejiofor cautioned that since the country is already dealing with its political and economic problems, it may not have the resources to waste like in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The security expert cautioned, however, that poor governance leads to military coups and urged politicians to be aware of, responsible for, and responsive to their constituents’ desires.
“Democracy is advancing around the world, but the West African sub-region is regressing as a result of coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and now Niger. Because Nigeria is a neighbor, the one from Niger even portends doom for that nation.
The ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, of which our President is the chairman, have given the juntas seven days to cede control and reestablish democracy, or else they will be subject to military force.
“I think such action should be carefully considered because, despite the fact that we deplore military coups, poor governance is what is causing all of these military coups, in my opinion.
“We have observed how the populace is responding, even destroying the offices of political parties and attacking politicians; this demonstrates the populace’s ire.
“Therefore, it is a lesson that our officials should be aware of, accountable to, and responsive to the people. You can see an uprising that is worse than a coup in addition to a coup.
“I believe the indicators are not encouraging, but the government and ECOWAS should also give this some thought, as they will ultimately depend largely on Nigeria if military action is initiated. We face our own political and economic difficulties. The resources that were squandered in Liberia and Sierra Leone do not exist here.
What are our foreign policy objectives if you plan to remove the junta by force?
“I think President Tinubu’s administration will rely more on diplomacy and negotiation to avert a crisis,”
APC leader Adamu Garba claimed that the United States and France had set up a trap for the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, to enter a full-scale war in the region.
According to Garba, any military operation gone wrong in Niger might be the end of Nigeria.
On Sunday, he tweeted about it using a verified Twitter account.
Garba encouraged President Bola Tinubu to have the guts to defy French and American demands to have ECOWAS take military action against Niger and instead choose a non-kinetic and diplomatic course of action.
“Under the leadership of France and the United States, the West has expertly constructed a TRAP for ECOWAS to enter a total war in the region. Any error in military action in Niger indicates that we are done.
“President Tinubu must have the guts to resist pressure from France and the United States to have ECOWAS take military action against Niger. We must adopt a diplomatic, non-kinetic strategy.
According to Garba, “if we commit the error of using military means in Niger, we may end up inviting more internal problems to ourselves and to the effort we made so hard to put in place a democratic government.”
Shehu Sani, a former congressman and social critic, issued a warning that Nigeria should oppose any violent invasion of the Niger Republic and provided a list of thirteen arguments in support of his position.
Sani pleaded with Tinubu to resist the pressure to start a war with a neighboring country and then be left stranded.
He argued that no country in West Africa have the military strength necessary to initiate or maintain a conflict with the Niger Republic.
“President Tinubu should not allow himself to be pushed into starting and igniting a war with a neighboring country only to be left stranded later,” he stated.
Everyone will be reliant on Nigeria since “no west African country has any military capability to start or sustain a war with the Niger Republic.”
The social critic further stated that Niger had assisted Nigeria in its fight against terrorist organizations and that it is presently sheltering more than 303 thousand Nigerian refugees, but he cautioned that this situation might not last in the case of conflict.
In the meantime, Tinubu has been asked to use caution and prudence in how he responds to the coup in the Niger Republic by PDP chieftain Daniel Bwala.
Former federal legislator Bwala urged him to use all available measures to resisted the temptation to send troops to Niger and to instead engage in diplomacy, insisting that Nigeria does not want military action anywhere in Africa.
“Mr. President should use prudence and moderation while deciding how to respond to the coup in Niger. We don’t want military action anywhere in Africa, that much is evident. No matter how flawed democracy is, we will continue to promote it through active citizenry.
“PBAT need to stay out of what seems to be a proxy battle. It is advisable to use every effort to thwart the temptation to send troops to Niger. A stable Niger is crucial to our country’s security. Engage diplomatically; make use of the force of travel, trade, and economic sanctions, etc., but refrain from militarizing diplomacy, advised Bwala.