The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, members are concerned about the recent coup in Niger, which has sparked regional tension.
War looms in the West African region, according to the resolutions adopted on Tuesday by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in Abuja.
The military overthrew Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president of Niger, on July 28th, and General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of the presidential guard, seized control and proclaimed himself head of state.
The coup plotters emphasised that the intervention was necessary to prevent “the gradual and inevitable demise” of the country and cited rising insecurity and a lack of economic growth as their justifications for seizing.
Global outrage and condemnations followed the news of the coup, and calls went out to ECOWAS, the regional economic and political organisation made up of 15 member states in West Africa, to take strong action in response to the developments in Niger.
With regard to any unconstitutional change of government among its member states, ECOWAS has consistently been adamant in its opposition. The organisation has a long history of putting its democratic protocols into practise and making sure that order is restored in nations that are going through crises.
One of its most notable initiatives was the creation of the ECOMOG regional peacekeeping force, which Nigeria led in the 1990s and the early 2000s. In several nations, including Liberia, where forces were first sent in 1990 to end the deadly civil war, this operation was crucial in bringing about peace. When Ahmed Tejan Kabbah’s democratically elected government was overthrown in Sierra Leone in 1997, ECOMOG’s intervention there was equally important.
In keeping with its unwavering dedication to democracy, ECOWAS swiftly denounced the most recent coup in Niger and demanded that the nation’s constitutional order be reinstated right away.
The ECOWAS response to the coup in Niger, however, was not uniform. On the one hand, ECOWAS has pledged to take tough action against the coup plotters and has slammed Niger with severe sanctions under the new leadership of Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. All of Niger’s borders have been closed, and trade, diplomatic relations, and financial services have all been suspended. A no-fly zone has also been established over Niger and its military leadership. If Niger’s military does not reinstate ousted President Bazoum within seven days, ECOWAS has emphasised that it will impose additional sanctions.
On the other hand, some member nations, including Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso, have sided with the Niger military junta and have warned against using force in any way.
These two nations, where soldiers had also overthrown governments through coups, declared their support for the military coup in Niger. They promised to “lend a hand to the people of Niger” in a joint statement on Monday as they fought invaders. “Any military intervention against Niger would amount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali,” Mali and Burkina Faso warned in a statement.
Additionally, they declared that in the event of an invasion of Niger, they would immediately resign from ECOWAS and take action to defend themselves and the Nigerian people.
Mali and Burkina Faso criticised ECOWAS and its leaders, charging them with hypocrisy.
“The Transitional Governments of Burkina Faso and Mali are deeply outraged and shocked by the disparity observed between, on the one hand, the promptitude and the daring attitude of some political leaders in West Africa who wish to use force armed forces to restore constitutional order in a sovereign country, and on the other hand, the inaction, indifference, and passive complicity of these organisations and political leaders in aiding States and peoples who have been subjected to oppression,”
The international community, including the United States of America, the United Nations, and ECOWAS, have strongly condemned the recent stance taken by Mali and Burkina Faso. Concerns have also been raised about the potential negative effects of military conflict within the West African sub-region.
The military options available to Niger are limited as time runs out. It can either hope that the ECOWAS one-week deadline will not result in prompt action or try to come to an understanding with the other side. However, the ECOMOG forces vastly outnumber and outgun Niger, which only has about 12,000 poorly equipped military personnel. It is obvious that Niger cannot stand a chance against ECOWAS and its tenacious military forces, particularly with the full backing of the US, France, and the EU.
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation and leader of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, urged Nigeria not to back down from leading the ECOMOG forces in driving out the Niger coupists and crushing member countries that support the junta in a statement posted on his verified Twitter account on Tuesday in response to Mali and Burkina Faso’s threat.
“Any attack on the Niger Republic by ECOWAS will be regarded as an act of war,” the military governments of Mali and Burkina Faso have declared. Two pitiful, nonsensical, unelected governments led by military dictators are issuing this pitiful and absurd threat.
The mutinous rebels and military usurpers of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, as well as their allies, must never underestimate the fighting prowess and indomitable spirit of the Nigerian military, as well as the sense of camaraderie that we as a people ignite, muster, and cultivate when confronted by an enemy from abroad on the battlefield.
“Our nation may face difficulties and problems, but we have never been outnumbered or beaten in battle against foreign armies on foreign soil. History bears this out. The Burkinabe, Malian, or Nigerien Army will be brought to their knees and taught a lesson that will last them the rest of their lives because we are slow to enrage but unstoppable in battle.
Threatening the great nation of Nigeria with war is no small matter, and it will cost them money if it is done. Simply put, we would send them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong, and crush them under our feet like maggots, according to Fani-Kayode.
Additionally, Mr. Uzogara Tobechukwu, a policy analyst, urged the ECOWAS not to be discouraged by the threats and dissension among members over the coup in Mali in a statement obtained by DAILY POST on Tuesday. Ibrahim Traore, the 35-year-old captain of Burkina Faso, was dismissed by Tobechukwu as being no match for Nigeria.
With fewer than 12,000 soldiers and a population comparable to Lagos, he declared, “Burkina Faso is unquestionably a weak military state. Additionally, the fact that raging Islamist Jihadists control nearly 40% of the nation adds support to the argument that Burkina Faso lacks adequate defences.
“Therefore, Ibrahim Traore’s threat to attack any ECOWAS force that invades the Niger Republic in an effort to restore that country’s ousted President Bazoum is amusing as well as insulting to all sane Africans who want to see the development of democracy on the continent. It is abundantly clear that Burkina Faso’s military president must really be a big-time joker in addition to being unable to defend his own nation.
“I would advise President Tinubu and ECOWAS not to be discouraged by the possibility of escalating conflict. Now is the time to stop the growing trend of armed interventions in politics. On this, Africans must come together. If this goal is not accomplished right away, individuals like Ibrahim Traore, Assimi Goita of Mali, and Omar Tchiani of Niger will feel even more free to replicate themselves in other African nations.
Should ECOWAS declare war to overthrow the military government in Niger, the odds are in their favour. It is thought that ECOWAS has a larger collection of military equipment. Nigeria, the dominant nation in the bloc, alone has the largest armed forces in West Africa with 230,000 personnel, though not all are active-duty soldiers. According to Global Fire Power, which ranks military power, nine of the top 20 nations in Africa with the best militaries are still democratic West African nations.
Mali, which is ranked 21st, is the highest-ranked of the four nations that have recently experienced coups, with only Nigeria, which is ranked fourth, being among the top five. Even with this advantage, however, President Tinubu was urged by well-known Nigerian opinion leaders to use sanctions against Niger rather than go to war.
“ECOWAS leaders should avoid helping the enemies of Africa by launching a military attack on Niger because they did not invade Burkina Faso, Guinea, or Mali when soldiers acting under the influence overthrew democratically elected governments in those countries.
“In a region plagued by a security crisis, the government of Niger has worked with Nigeria to carry out counter-insurgency operations against Islamist militancy. At a conference of the West African Bar Association (WABA) in Accra, Ghana, human rights attorney Femi Falana, SAN said: “To that extent, the strategic and geopolitical interests of Nigeria must be taken into consideration.
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Additionally, the founder of the Advocacy Network on Religious and Cultural Existence and award-winning journalist Odimegwu Onwumere cautioned Nigeria against using military force to overthrow the Nigerien military junta.
Nothing is ever forced! What distinguishes Nigeria as a democracy if its leadership continues to support the use of force against any perceived slight? Force should not be used to resolve the coup case in the Niger Republic. For once, ECOWAS should use tact rather than always dancing to the music the West plays for her.
“Also, Nigeria had coupists, and no outside military force was used to enforce it. Africans need to know when to use their traditional knowledge and when to apply Western knowledge. Keep in mind that Europe hasn’t declared war on Russia or the Ukraine in at least a year. He advised that Africa should rise from the ruins of the barbarians.
In a similar vein, Prof. Bolaji Akinterinwa, a well-known academic and authority on international relations, urged the ECOWAS leaders to use diplomacy and bring all the parties together to reestablish long-term peace in the unrest-plagued poor nation.
Akinterinwa emphasised that Nigeria currently lacks the means to wage a war.
The West and Russia’s ongoing efforts to control Niger, he claimed, “will drag Nigeria and the rest of West Africa into a war we are not ready for.
He claimed that “Russia and Wagner are taking advantage of the way Western powers are making things difficult in the country to further their own interests.”
