A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), the United Action Front of Civil Society has advised President Bola Tinubu led Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to respect the wishes of Nigeriens and avoid needless coup.
According to the group in a press statement on Monday signed by Olawale Okunniyi, Head, National Coordinating Centre, the decision of ECOWAS Extraordinary Meeting in Abuja on August 10, 2023 to put military on standby is unwholesome and portends potential threats to peace across West African region.
The statement read, “While restoration of constitutional order in Niger Republic at the shortest possible time is welcome, wisdom however demands that democracy can only endure in Niger when all parties to the prevailing crisis agree to reasonable terms in bringing about long-term peace in the country.
“We consider it disappointing for ECOWAS to create the impression that genuine diplomacy can go along with threats of military action by way of activation of invading forces against the junta in Niger Republic.
“The decision of the ECOWAS Extraordinary meeting is thus coming across as pandering to the dubious agenda of interested forces outside ECOWAS. It would thus appear that the leadership of ECOWAS is largely unpersuaded by overwhelming consensus amongst well-meaning stakeholders in Nigeria and across the sub-region who have cautioned against turning the situation in Niger into full scale proxy war.
“The leadership of United Action Front of Civil Society remains convinced that the likelihood of war and instability in the Niger Republic would be counterproductive with the possibility of spiraling into long-term armed conflicts that will hurt countries of the sub-region with unintended political and socioeconomic consequences.
“While ECOWAS is under obligation to oppose military usurpation of constitutionally elected authority in Niger and elsewhere in the West African sub-region, we cannot overemphasise that mobilisation of military response should be the last resort and should be contingent upon domestic circumstances which appears to have thrown up some complexities that should be unraveled in neighbouring Niger Republic.
“ECOWAS can only ill afford to be sensitive to the division within its rank and more so that Burkina Faso and Mali that shared borders with Niger are currently under military rule with proclamation of opposition to the continuing overbearing control of France.
‘Beyond Niger, it is thus imperative that ECOWAS undertakes rigorous and holistic assessments of the situation in the Sahel belt with the view to deploy diplomatic initiative that would promote internal cohesion in countries where democracies have become vulnerable and threatened by possibility of military coups.
“We wish to reiterate opposition to the military option as immediate response to the crisis in Niger as efforts should be geared towards de-escalation rather than escalation of tension.
“We are more concerned about the dire implications of compounding the instability of countries already troubled by the grave challenge of terrorism, which remains a potent threat to human security and sustainable livelihoods across the West African sub-region,” the group added.
“We’re also worried that the likelihood of military invasion of Niger could snowball into springing internal displacements and refugee situations in neighbouring West African countries like Nigeria.
“In the event of war between ECOWAS forces and Nigerien military, the security challenge in West Africa would be heightened across borders, while poverty amongst the citizens in countries that share borders with Niger would be aggravated beyond proportion.
“The United Action Front of Civil Society condemns the decision of ECOWAS Extraordinary Meeting and therefore calls for an urgent halt to military buildup, which could further exacerbate the tension amongst the contending interests in Niger Republic. ECOWAS should resist the urge of being goaded into unduly provoking civil unrest in Niger Republic. We call on ECOWAS to prioritise the overriding interest of the civilian population in Niger, who by all indications and for whatever reasons, appears to have demonstrated open support for the military junta. It is the conviction of the United Action Front of Civil Society that the situation in Niger remains delicate and requires painstaking consideration of decisions that best serve the collective interests of Nigeriens. While the path to the future of Niger Republic should be built on democracy, we advise ECOWAS to be mindful of fueling crises that would eventually make restoration of democracy long winded, tortuous and uncertain.
“We call on the chairman of ECOWAS, Bola Tinubu to be persuaded by the overwhelming appeals and cautions amongst critical stakeholders in Nigeria for a peaceful resolution of the raging power tussle in Niger Republic. We insist that ECOWAS should be guided by the mood and pulse of stakeholders in the West African region who are worried that the eventuality of compounding instability in Niger Republic will trigger devastating ripple effects in the neighbouring countries.
“We call on ECOWAS to be more assiduous in playing oversight roles towards ensuring that democratically elected leaders stay the course and path of constitutionalism and rule of law so as to prevent the recurrence of military putsch in other West African Countries, as in Burkina Faso, Mali and presently Niger Republic.
“We unequivocally maintain that only adherence to the tenet of constitutional democracy founded on the tripod of rule of law, leadership accountability and good governance could serve as genuine antidote to military coups,” the group stated.
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