• ‘Let Govt Balance ECOWAS Interest With National Interest’
Some eminent Nigerians have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider national interest above the regional interest in the Niger Republic crisis. They urged the President to deploy diplomacy and prioritize the sustenance of the relationship between Nigeria and Niger.
The Group of Eminent Nigerians, in an open letter titled: “The Niger Coup d’état: Aligning ECOWAS and Our National Interest,” condemned the sacking of the constitutional government of President Mohamed Bazoum of the Niger Republic.
The August 9 letter was jointly signed by former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega; former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), Gen M. L. Agwai (rtd), Prof Jibrin Ibrahim, Prof M. J. Kuna, Dr Kole Shettima, Hussaini Abdu and Malam Kabiru Yusuf.
Others are Mrs Maryam Uwais, Kabiru Adamu, Moufta’u Baba Ahmed, Dr Usman Bugaje and Yahya Hashim. They called President Tinubu’s attention to the age-long bilateral relationship between the two countries and urged caution in attempting to restore a constitutional government in the Sahel nation.
They hailed the immediate steps of President Tinubu, Chair of the Authority of Heads of State, on the matter. They, however, observed that with the brotherly relationship that exists between the two countries, the Federal Government should ensure that any measure to be taken for the restoration of constitutional government should not be allowed to harm the Nigerien people.
They frowned at the cutting off of electricity supply to Niger, maintaining that such action was a violation of the longstanding treaty obligation, which may ultimately harm Nigeria’s national interest, especially within the perspective of the Kandadji dam currently under construction by the Nigerien Government.
They also cautioned that a rising wave of local popular support for the putschists might create a situation in which the role of Nigeria is seen as being at variance with the interest of the Nigerien people and in support of external interests.
The eminent citizens called the attention of President Tinubu to an orchestrated campaign in the social and traditional media portraying Nigeria in a negative light as an agent of France and the United States.
They further observed: “The strong presence of French, American and to a lesser extent 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.”
The group expressed fear that the current security challenges of insecurity around the Boko Haram insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts, banditry and mass kidnapping may 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.
“It is, therefore, important that as a Nation, we align our approach to the restoration of democracy in Niger to our national interests.”
The group then urged President Tinubu to create conditions for the restoration of Trach 1 as well as Trach 2 diplomacy by making a gesture to the putschists through measures such as the withdrawal of the threat of the use of force.
They further prayed for “immediate deployment of Track 2 diplomacy through traditional rulers, religious leaders and civil society to urge the junta to open doors to diplomatic discussions between the two governments – Nigeria and Niger as well as the Authority of Heads of State of ECOWAS”.
They further urged the President to “provide assurances to the Nigerien people of Nigeria’s commitment to maintaining friendship and fraternal relations with the government and people of Niger.”
They want the President to “improve Nigeria’s strategic communication showing actions undertaken are in tandem with our long-standing commitment to the protection and consolidation of democracy within Nigeria, ECOWAS and Africa and make clear our collective resolve towards the full restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”
