The ECOWAS emergency summit yesterday started well. Chairman Bola Tinubu in his opening remarks called for a focus on the use of diplomatic channels and negotiations. As I was writing this column to commend the new approach, news broke out that ECOWAS has ordered its standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger Republic.
The President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray, made the declaration while reading the resolutions of the meeting. He also called on the African Union, partner countries and institutions to support the resolution taken by the sub-regional body. ECOWAS said all efforts made to dialogue with Niger Republic military junta have been defiantly rejected by coup leaders as they condemn continuous detention of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family members. They then directed the committee of the Chiefs of Defence Staff to activate the ECOWAS Standby Force with all its elements immediately to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. The path taken is that of escalation.
Niger Republic has already been hit by the most severe sanctions regime in the history of the region. Financial transactions have been blocked, the country is very dependent on food imports, especially from Nigeria and that too has been blocked as is the case with drugs. The cut off of electricity supply from Nigeria, breaking a treaty obligation, has had a devastating effect and hospitals cannot do operations as patients die. The long history of fraternal relations between Nigeria and Niger is unravelling within one week.
There is no surprise that a significant part of public opinion in Niger Republic is upset with Nigeria over the said threat of armed restoration of democratic order using the ECOWAS Standby Force. The Nigeriens are screaming at the top of their voices that this historical juncture is for the dismantling of French neo-colonialism not democracy. There is a rising campaign, significantly facilitated by the Russian Wagner Group, that opposition to military rule is tantamount to supporting French and American imperialism. The narrative is presenting ECOWAS and Nigeria as the new lap dogs of French and American imperialism. Nigeria has not changed its position of support for democracy protection based on the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. These are our shared values which Nigeria and ECOWAS are insisting must be respected.
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Nigeria may suffer considerably if Niger withdraws its role as a buffer keeping out violent extremists from the Sahel. Cooperation with them on the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram would also suffer. I had hoped that the warm reception the putschists offered Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II, when he engaged in Track 2 diplomacy on Wednesday would have opened doors which Nigeria and ECOWAS would have reciprocated by rolling back some of the most severe sanctions affecting the supply of electricity, food and drugs so that dialogue and the search for a way forward can start in earnest. Reverting to the threat of the use of force will only make them more stubborn. The people in Niger are focusing on the immediate imperative of liberation from French imperial stranglehold and were expecting their friends and neighbours to be supportive.
We published an open letter to President Tinubu yesterday pointing out that Nigeria has high stakes on this matter because Niger is a very dear, brotherly and supportive neighbour and its people and measures taken should not be allowed to harm the Nigerien people. The cutting off of electricity supply to Niger, breaking a longstanding treaty obligation, may ultimately harm our national interest, especially within the perspective of the Kandadji dam currently under construction by the Nigerien Government. The apparent rising wave of 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.
Nigeria should be concerned about the orchestrated campaign in the social and traditional media portraying it in a negative light as an agent of France and the United States. 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. 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. It is, therefore, important that as a nation, we align our approach to the restoration of democracy in Niger to our national interests.
In line with Tinubu’s opening speech yesterday, we should have created conditions for the restoration of Track 1 as well as Track 2 diplomacy by making a gesture to the putschists through measures such as the withdrawal of the threat of use of force and cutting back at the most severe sanctions that affect the people. We should be providing assurances to the Nigerien people of Nigeria’s commitment to maintaining friendship and fraternal relations with the government and people of Niger. Nigeria also needs to improve its 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.
France has been the most malevolent of colonial powers that is not ready to give up control even 70 years of ‘independence’. Its Francafrique policy has been known for its exploitative systems designed to profit from African resources, using pressure, capital, and frequently outright force to maintain control over its former empire. As a result, many African states, including Niger, continue to face poverty and underdevelopment. The time for revolt has come. France has blatantly refused to allow its colonies to establish their own currencies so its tactics are not even hidden. Francophone Africa should however realise that it would be regressing if it sacrifices democracy to fight neo-colonialism. We require both freedom and democracy.
Over the years, France has demonstrated a pattern of intervening militarily – over 50 times since 1960 – in African countries to secure governments that remain compliant with French economic interests, particularly related to the continued use of the CFA Franc. The reality is that France has been dependent on Africa for its status as a world power for more than a century. It has imposed treaties that enslave them to France. As they combat the French, they should realise that we their ECOWAS neighbours are their friends who want them to enjoy freedom from France and democratic rights in the conduct of their affairs.
Finally, Niger should remember that it has a lot of vulnerabilities and has benefitted enormously from support from Nigeria over the years. They should be aware that Wagner might make promises but its interest is also to exploit their mineral resources. It has to be less recalcitrant if a way forward is to be found.
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