By Ayo Yusuf
As Military chiefs from the Economic Community Of West African States, ECOWAS, meet in Ghana this week to discuss possible intervention in Niger, there is a growing push for diplomacy by the international community and other pressure groups.
The Ghana meeting which is scheduled for Thursday and Friday follows the postponement of the earlier one scheduled for last weekend. The meeting is supposed to review plans for the deployment of a multilateral force against the Niger junta following the expiration of the ultimatum given by the heads of government of ECOWAS.
However, allthough the meeting is expected to go on, there is now less pressure for a war with Niger following the recent responses from the junta itself and from those who had met with its leaders.
The leader of the Junta, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, said on Saturday during a meeting with Nigeria’s intervention team comprising Islamic scholars led by the national chairman of Jamatul Izalatu Bida Waikamatu Sunnah, Bala Lau that he was willing to explore diplomatic dialogue to resolve the political impasse in his country. This was far from his belligerent attitude earlier when he refused even to meet with the ECOWAS representatives.
According to Mr Lau, Tchiani said, “their doors were open to explore diplomacy and peace in resolving the matter.”
He said the General expressed sadness that the Economic Community of West African States issued ultimatums without hearing the junta’s side of the matter.
This was further confirmed by Niger Republic’s Prime Minister, Ali Zeine, who said the regime was ready for dialogue and hoped that the talks with ECOWAS would take place in the next few days.
In the last ECOWAS summitheld in the Nigerian capital Abuja last Thursday, the meeting also reaffirmed the bloc’s preference for a diplomatic outcome.
Yesterday, the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said there was still space for diplomacy to reverse the coup in Niger and lauded President Bola Tinubu for his leadership on the crisis in the region.
The State Department, which said Blinken spoke with President Tinubu via phone on Monday, stated: “The Secretary commended President Tinubu’s leadership of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS), Second Extraordinary Summit on the situation in the Republic of Niger.
“He noted the importance of maintaining pressure on the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, CNSP, to restore constitutional order and to see President Mohamed Bazoum and his family released.”
In a tweet, Blinken said:
“We remain very focused on diplomacy in achieving the results that we want, which is the return of the constitutional order, and I believe that there continues to be space for diplomacy in achieving that result.”
In a similar development, President Bola Tinubu yesterday praised the solidarity of the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, on the political impasse in Republic of Niger.
The President spoke when he received the Special Envoy of President Ali Bongo Ondimba and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Gabon, Mr. Hermann Immongault, at State House in Abuja.
Tiinubu said the special message of support and solidarity from President Bongo, who doubles as the Chairman of ECCAS, expressing the full support of ECOWAS resolutions on the unconstitutional takeover of government in Niger, proved once more that military interference in democratic governance was not acceptable anywhere, and certainly, no longer so on the African continent.
“I appreciate the solidarity and support of President Bongo on the situation in Niger. We are working not to compound the problem. We have well-meaning people who have intervened. I understand the fear of our people on any form of military action.
We are working to keep the sanctions in place and we are following them to the letter. We are happy to know that ECCAS is with us on this. Interference in democratic governance is not acceptable to ECOWAS.”
In his remarks, the special envoy commended the leadership of ECOWAS and President Tinubu for the steps taken so far to restore democracy in Niger, adding that President Bongo and ECCAS were fully in support of all ECOWAS resolutions.
“President Bongo has been following your efforts and those of other ECOWAS leaders on the situation in Niger. President Bongo and ECCAS strongly condemn coup in Niger. He sent me here to tell you that he supports ECOWAS and your leadership in what you are doing to ensure democratic governance is restored in Niger.”
Meanwhile, Abdurrahman Ahmad, the national missioner of Ansar-ud-Deen society, said, yesterday that the coup leaders’ threat to prosecute ousted President Bazoum could just be a bargaining chip.
Ahmad, who stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, yesterday, said the junta “cannot afford to renege on their promise and commitment.”
He said: “I think, as far as I’m concerned, they want to be negotiating from a position of relative strength, not absolute weakness.
“The way I see the people, the way we interacted with them, they cannot afford to renege on their promise and commitment.
“This is why the president (Tinubu) also has graciously approved the continuing contact, diplomatic effort with them.
They were very receptive when we met with them. He said his government is ready for negotiations and there were no conditions, except that they don’t feel safe travelling outside of Niger.
“He assured that they were not here to stay and that they felt the most patriotic thing to do at that point in time was to seize power to save the people, their country and the sub-region.”
