TheCable

Shehu Sani, a former senator, says the government of Nigeria should desist from getting involved in the internal affairs of Niger Republic. 

Since the military took over the affairs of the country through a coup on July 26, President Bola Tinubu, in his capacity as the chairman of ECOWAS, has been involved in measures aimed at returning the neighbouring nation to democracy. 

Speaking in an interview with NAN on Saturday, Sani, a former deputy chairman of the senate committee on foreign affairs, said ECOWAS leaders should allow Nigeriens to fight for democratic rule in their country.

He added that the coup d’etat in Niger is an internal affair and Nigeria as a superpower in the sub-region should not interfere. 

Sani condemned military intervention in the country, adding that if embarked upon, it would only lead to a war between Nigeria and Niger. 

“The takeover of government in Niger by the military was unfortunate because many people thought that military rule had come to an end and that democracy had come to stay in Africa, and especially the West coast of Africa,” he said.

“But we have seen in the past few years how democracy in the sub-region had collapsed. It happened in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, and now in Niger Republic.

“Where we are making a fundamental mistake is the way we are handling the matter. Coup d’etats are internal issues. And they do not happen within a day. Conditions are created for them to happen.

“But we should not be involved in regime change. Armed invasion of Niger will simply be a war between Nigeria and Niger because the former foots the bills of ECOWAS.

“If we are going to engage in an armed attack on the Niger Republic, who will provide the soldiers? Is it Togo, Guinea Bissau or Ghana? How many soldiers do they have? How much ammunition do they have?

“When we had our own military regimes in Nigeria, we were the ones that fought for democracy. Many of us went to prison and many of us went into exile. Let Nigeriens stand up and fight for democracy if they want to be like we did. When we had military rule in 1983 nobody came to Nigeria to reinstate Shehu Shagari to power.

“Nobody invaded Nigeria to put MKO Abiola in power. Nobody invaded Nigeria to remove Yakubu Gowon at that time to bring back Nnamdi Azikiwe to power.

“Whoever is the president of Niger Republic should be decided by the people of Niger. Let us handle the Niger coup with care.”