The Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF), has cautioned President Bola Tinubu and the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS), against ordering a military intervention in the Niger Republic.
Recall that a general and former head of Niger’s presidential guard, Abdourahamane Tiani, overthrew democratically-elected President Mohamed Bazoum to declare himself as the new Head of State.
President Tinubu, as the chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), had said the regional body would do everything in its power, including deploying force, to ensure that stability returns to Niger.
The ACF warned that military intervention in the Niger Republic would have negative consequences for Nigeria.
The General Secretary of the Forum, Murtala Aliyu, in an issued statement yesterday, urged the ECOWAS to dialogue with those behind the coup in Niger Republic.
Numerous calls from countries and bodies including the ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) to reinstate Bazoum have been ignored, even as a delegation of the community failed to achieve results on Thursday.
Speaking on the situation, ECOWAS had said it was necessary to show that it could not only bark but also bite. However, in a statement on Friday, the ACF frowned at the consequences of a military action, considering the relationship between Nigeria and Niger.
Murtala Aliyu said both countries have shared a long, historical border joining families, farmlands, markets, cultural bonds, and languages.
According to him, “The ACF believes the peaceful relations with our broader communities and stability of the entire region should be paramount. A military intervention might yield temporary solution, but the repercussions on Nigeria as a leader and the regional body would impact negatively on future relations and a herculean task to rebuild”.
Aliyu noted that Nigeria’s democratic system has inspired many countries in ECOWAS to tow the same path, adding that a military interference against “our brothers and sisters” negates the concept of democracy.
“ECOWAS is a shining example of a functional Regional Economic Cooperation (REC) on the continent which should be sustained”, he said.
