Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, has cautioned the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against military
intervention in Niger Republic.
President Bola Tinubu, chairperson of ECOWAS, said the bloc
had resolved to use force as a last option if the coup leaders in Niger do not
relinquish power to ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
Last Thursday, after a meeting of the bloc’s defence chiefs
in Accra, Ghana’s capital city, ECOWAS said it had begun the activation of its
standby force in Niger.
Although the defence chiefs had backed calls for dialogue as
a mediation tactic, the group said all elements that would go into any military
intervention had been worked out and were being refined.
This included the timing, resources needed and how, where
and the day to deploy such force.
In a tweet on Tuesday, el-Rufai said a war within the
sub-region would be a war between brothers.
“As ECOWAS beats the drums of war, I recall the 1970s rock
classic by Dire Straits – ‘Brothers in Arms’, because a war within our
subregion is a war between brothers,” el-Rufai tweeted.
“Indeed, the people
of Niger Republic are one and the same with those living in Northern Nigeria.
Let us bend therefore over backwards to avoid this civil war between brothers.”
TUESDAY THOUGHT: As ECOWAS beats the drums of war, I recall the 1970s rock classic by Dire Straits - ‘Brothers in Arms’, because a war within our subregion is a war between brothers. Indeed, the people of Niger Republic are one and the same with those living in Northern Nigeria.…
— Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (@elrufai) August 22, 2023
El-Rufai’s call to avoid military intervention in Niger is
the latest from stakeholders in Nigeria’s northern region.
The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) had also asked Tinubu to
exhaust all diplomatic means in resolving the crisis.
The forum warned that deploying Nigerian troops to Niger
Republic will hurt seven northern states — Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara,
Jigawa, Yobe and Borno — who share borders with the landlocked West African
nation.
Shortly after their warning, Tinubu met with governors of five of the states as part of his wider consultations on how best to address the situation.
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