Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu addresses West African leaders at an extraordinary summit on Niger, in Abuja, Nigeria, August 10, 2023 [Screen grab/AFP]
Metropolis Desk-
After the coup leaders disregarded their earlier warning to use force to restore democracy, West African chiefs of state launched an emergency summit in Nigeria on Thursday to explore a fresh strategy for dealing with the military coup that took place in Niger last month.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu remarked in his opening remarks to the heads of state of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that the group would be considering solutions since the coup “poses a threat… to the entire West African region.”
The head of ECOWAS, Tinubu, said during the conference in Abuja that “it is our duty to exhaust all avenues of engagement to ensure a swift return to constitutional governance in Niger.”
Since the democratic leadership was overthrown on July 26, the coup plotters have refused to cede control and release President Mohamed Bazoum, disobeying an ECOWAS deadline of August 6 to restore Bazoum.
A new administration was announced by the coup leaders in Niger just hours prior to the meeting. Mahamane Roufai Laouali, identified as the “secretary general of the government,” announced 21 ministers on state television throughout the course of the previous night without outlining any more government initiatives.
Uncertainty surrounds the presence of representatives from Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Niger, whose military leaders have allied with Niger. The presidents of Burundi and Mauritania, who were founding members of ECOWAS but left the organization in December 2000, were there, according to Ahmed Idris of Al Jazeera, who was reporting from Abuja.
According to a source close to one of the Niger-based mediation teams, Al Jazeera was informed by the coup leaders that restrictions should be loosened to allow for the flow of food and medicine supplies as well as the restoration of electricity.
But since the group is still pushing for Bazoum’s restoration, it is still uncertain whether ECOWAS will give in to any such demands.
“If the coup is allowed to succeed, it might damage ECOWAS’ reputation and portray it as weak… authorities in this country are keen to avoid anything that could represent a severe danger to democracy, Idris said.
The arrested leader and his family are reportedly staying in the presidential palace without electricity or running water, and they have gone days without eating anything fresh, according to Bazoum’s party. Following this, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded “his immediate, unconditional release and his reinstatement as Head of State,” a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The summit in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, might be a turning point in the deadlock. The leaders of the group are anticipated to come to an agreement on the next course of action, which may entail military intervention, which, according to an ECOWAS official, would be a last choice.
The coup leaders “called the bluff” on the bloc’s seven-day deadline, according to Sadeeq Garba Shehu, a security analyst and adjunct professor at the Marshall European Centre for Security Studies.
From Abuja, he told Al Jazeera that the ECOWAS and its leaders were at a turning point. Shehu stated that moving forward with the threat of using force “is a position that is fraught with dangers and uncertainties.”
“First, will all the members be willing to back up their words with deeds? How many ECOWAS members are willing to take such step? How many people are willing to fund that? Shehu continued, pointing out that West African leaders also have to take into account domestic concerns from their own communities.
Idris cautioned that ECOWAS might still be adamant about wanting to see a democratic administration in place in Niamey.
There is a lot on the line because of how things stand and how worried people are about the recent wave of coups in West Africa (five in less than three years). Democracy timeframes have been altered numerous times in Burkina Faso and Mali, and now we have Niger, he said. The coup leaders in Niger have been emboldened by the situation in those nations, and it may inspire ambitious military in other countries to take up guns and overthrow democratic governments.
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, a former governor of the Nigerian central bank, met with coup leaders on Wednesday in Niamey, presenting a glimmer of hope for discussion after earlier ECOWAS missions had been rejected.
In addition, Sanusi assured the Nigerian press in Abuja that “interventions are ongoing and will continue” after meeting with Bola Tinubu, the president of Nigeria and the chair of ECOWAS.
“Public diplomacy is necessary at this moment. We shouldn’t leave it up to governments. To find a solution that works for Africa, for Niger, for Nigeria, and for mankind, all Nigerians and all Nigeriens must be involved”, he said.
Sanusi, a former emir of Kano in northern Nigeria, is the head of the Nigerian order of the Tijaniyyah, a Sufi Muslim sect with Algerian roots that has widespread adherence in West Africa, including Niger.
When Al Jazeera contacted him for comment regarding the mission to Niamey, he did not react.
A further escalation will further destabilize the Sahel region of West Africa, one of the poorest places on earth where ongoing armed group warfare has driven millions of people from their homes and exacerbated a famine crisis.
In recent times, Niger had done better in containing the violence than its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso. In addition, it grew in importance as a Western ally in the fight against armed groups in the wake of coups in the other two nations that occurred between 2020 and 2022 and strained ties with longtime allies.
The military regimes in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso have stated that any military intervention in Niger would be viewed as a declaration of war against them. ECOWAS, the UN, and Western nations have been exerting pressure on the coup leaders to step down.
Issouf Ouedraogo felt it made no sense for the new authorities of Burkina Faso to back the Niger coup because the settings were different in his own city of Ouagadougou.
Regarding the frustrations that led to two coups in Burkina last year, he remarked, “Burkina was in a situation of degradation and acute insecurity.”
“Niger, on the other hand, was in a stable situation,” he said.
Source- Al-Jazeera
