NIGERIA’S TINUBU SEEKS SENATE SUPPORT FOR ECOWAS INTERVENTION IN NIGER

Fri 04 August 2023:

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has written a letter to his country’s Senate, asking its members to back a regional military intervention in neighbouring Niger, where a coup toppled the democratically elected government of Mohamed Bazoum last week.

Local daily The Cable reported on Friday that Tinubu requested for “military buildup and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant”.

Regional powerhouse Nigeria currently holds the rotating presidency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which imposed sanctions on Niger and on Sunday gave the putschists a week to restore Bazoum to power or risk possible armed intervention.

Sanctions imposed on Niger by the 15-member ECOWAS include border closures and suspension of all financial and commercial ties with the country. The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) cancelled a planned 30-billion-CFA-franc ($51m) bond issuance by Niger on Monday.

ECOWAS also dispatched a delegation to Niger – headed by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar – to negotiate with the soldiers who seized power. But the team left without meeting General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the coup leader.

Meanwhile, Tchiani has said he will not bow to pressure to reinstate Bazoum. He denounced the sanctions as “illegal” and “inhumane” and urged his countrymen to get ready to defend their nation.

Tinubu who is yet to appoint ministers for defence and foreign affairs – despite sending a list of 48 ministerial nominees to parliament, is eager to stamp his authority in a region derided as the “coup belt”.

And Nigeria, which has the largest armed forces in the region and has previously contributed the most number of troops to other regional peacekeeping missions, is set to lead any intervention force in Niger.

Western countries have also strongly condemned the July 26 coup. Many of them saw Niger as the last reliable partner in efforts to battle armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the Sahel region.

Several Western nations have also cut aid, even though Niger is one of the poorest counties in the world and relies on outside help for nearly half of its annual budget.

What is ECOWAS ?

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is made up of fifteen member countries that are located in the Western African region. These countries have both cultural and geopolitical ties and shared common economic interest. The region of West Africa is located west of north-south axis lying close to 10° east longitude.

The Atlantic Ocean forms the western as well as the southern borders of the West African region. The northern border is the Sahara Desert, with the Ranishanu Bend generally considered the northernmost part of the region. The eastern border lies between the Benue Trough, and a line running from Mount Cameroon to Lake Chad.

Colonial boundaries are still reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary West African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states.