After his attempts at ministerial appointment hit the rocks, former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufa’i, appears to have regained his voice. In what seems a rebound, he cautioned the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) against military intervention in Niger Republic.
According to the former governor, any move in that direction, would mean a declaration of Nigerians in the North who have a relationship with citizens of the embattled country. Dialogue, he argued, remained the only way to resolve the crisis in Niger.
Recall that the ECOWAS defence chiefs had on Thursday pledged readiness to participate in a standby force that would restore democracy in Niger after generals toppled and detained President Mohamed Bazoum.
However, in a statement via X, formerly known as Twitter, El-Rufa’i said, “As ECOWAS beats the drums of war, I recall the 1970s rock classic by Dire Straits – ‘Brothers in Arms’, because a war within our sub-region is a war between brothers. Indeed, the people of Niger Republic are one and the same with those living in Northern Nigeria. Let us bend over backwards therefore, to avoid this civil war between brothers”.
El-Rufa’i’s warning came as the African Union, (AU), said yesterday it had suspended Niger until civilian rule in the country is restored and would assess the implications of any armed intervention in the troubled Sahel nation.
The suspension came amidst reports of President Bola Tinubu, ECOWAS chairman, meeting with some critical stakeholders in the subregion over intervention in the crisis in Niger Republic. The meeting, it was reliably learned, was part of efforts to see a way of setting the political crisis after the military overthrew the democratically elected President.
Although the agenda of the meeting was not made public, it was gathered that the reason would revolve around averting armed conflict over the Niger Republic crisis.
