Leave Niger alone, address refugees’ plight – Nigerians in Niger tell ECOWAS

The leaders of Nigerian refugees in the Niger Republic have asked the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to leave Niger alone, address refugees’ plights and other problems bedeviling the West African region.

The leaders, who spoke to our correspondents through WhatsApp calls on Monday, said leaders of the West Africa bloc should prioritise solving existing problems rather than creating a new one.

One of the leaders, Babagana Bulama Nganjar, a refugee from Malam Fotori, said they spent over ten years as refugees in Niger Republic but no support has come to them from the ECOWAS or African Union (AU).

“We were displaced by Boko Haram insurgents from our home town but no single support has come to us from either ECOWAS or AU.

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“Now, they are creating a serious problem that has started displacing us from Niger, where we are taking refuge and getting support. We are not happy with the way they are handling this issue without considering the possible hardship the action would put us in,” he said.

Bulama said he lost count of the number of times they were told to be patient that security operatives would recapture, reconstruct, rehabilitate and return them to their ancestral homes.

“It’s the same promise every year and we are still here, now they want to wage war because of one person. What kind of leaders are they?” he asked.

Another refugee from Gudumbari, Malam Gana Mustapha, said the ECOWAS should be thinking on how to restore peace in Sahel, not military intervention in the host country that would reverse the relative peace being achieved so far.

“We are still waiting to be returned to our ancestral homes in Gudumbari, Abadam and other places that are currently annexed by Boko Haram militants. We are not in support of the action of the ECOWAS to intervene militarily,” he added.

“This is our tenth year under the terror of Boko Haram terrorists, but not for once, the troops under ECOWAS had come to support our course. We didn’t even know the name ECOWAS until now.

“I had witnessed two military coups in Niger within the few years I spent on earth and the country had survived them without any problem. Why is this one different?” he said.

Alhaji Gana Fannami, Abadam LGA, Borno State, said they didn’t notice any difference living as refugees in Niger Republic.

“We have been taken care of by the Niger authorities for ten years without any complaint, and we don’t want this to be a reason that our relationship with them will sour.

“In just over a week that this event unfolded, we experienced so much hardship here that many of us started thinking on how to return home,” he decried.

Alhaji Sheriff said he was an adult when the government of Ibrahim Baare Mainasara was toppled by coupists that killed him and Mamoudu Tandja and the Nigeriens had overcome it.

“But the issue of war is not something that people easily forget, it will ruin people to people relationship and the existing diplomatic relations between countries.

“We are not supporting the coup but we want this issue to be resolved diplomatically. Because, not even the rivers and lakes divide us. We are one, may God give us peace in the Sahel,” he said.