By Ayo Yusuf
Repeated efforts by the head of the military junta in Niger, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, to meet directly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for discussions has always been rejected by the Nigerian leader, sources say.
According to diplomatic sources, President Tinubu believes that consenting to such one-on-one talks with the coupists would be inimical to the efforts to restore democratic governance in the region and a disrespect to the still-detained Nigerien President, Mohamed Bazoum.
Sources close to Niger’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York confirmed that President Tinubu was approached with Tchiani’s request by a group of Muslim Ulamas who had met with him in Abuja about a month after the Niger coup.
The Ulamas conveyed the request of General Abdourahamane Tchiani to have a direct one-on-one interaction with the Nigerian President who is also the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government as a possible way to resolve the crisis.
In the meeting held in Abuja on August 24, the sources said President Tinubu blatantly ruled out the possibility of any such interaction with the head of an illegal government which came to power through a military Coup by toppling the democratically elected government of Niger.
Nigerian government sources also confirmed that indeed President Tinubu’s position is that having a direct interaction with General Tchiani would improperly legitimize a coupist whose government is not even recognised by ECOWAS.
“The President outrightly rejected the overture, insisting that ECOWAS leaders would be disappointed besides the fact that such an interaction would send the wrong signal about democratic governance in the continent.”
Some members of the African diplomatic community are of the view that President Tinubu’s rejection of a direct talk with Tchiani at this point sends a bad signal as the impasse over the Niger crisis continues without any immediate hope of resolution.
However, analysts agree that a concerted front by President Tinubu and other ECOWAS leaders remained an imperative in dealing with the military takeover.
Conversely, Niger diplomats in New York had reportedly argued that sending envoys who were themselves beneficiaries of former military governments in Nigeria to the coupists in Niger was itself a conflicting signal.
It would be recalled that former head of state General Abdusalami Abubakar and the Sultan of Sokoto His Eminence Sa’ad Muhammad Abubakar had visited Niger to discuss possible resolution of the crisis on August 19.
This was the second visit to Niamey by the former Nigerian military leader who was refused a meeting with the leaders of the junta during an earlier visit.
Khalifa Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the 14th emir of Kano who had also visited Niger released visuals of a successful meeting with the Coup Leaders.
Observers say the emir was successful in his bid to meet with General Tchiani and other members of the Military Junta because of his position as the Khalifa of the Tijaniyya Islamic sect, with significant following in Niger.
It would be recalled that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had appointed Nigeria’s former military head of state, Abdulsalami Abubakar, to lead a delegation to Niger for mediation.
And it was also decided that he be accompanied by the Sultan of Sokoto, who is believed to be influential among the Muslim community in Niger just as in Nigeria.
An Islamic delegation of Ulamas also visited with the junta leader and presented General Tchiani’s request to meet Tinubu directly but the ECOWAS leader had instead issued a statement urging the “delegation of Islamic scholars who were previously engaged in discussions to facilitate the restoration of constitutional democratic governance in Niger Republic, to expedite progress in their ongoing dialogue with the military junta.”
President Tinubu had also noted that “the military junta must be held accountable for putting the entire people of Niger Republic in jeopardy. They cannot use the gun given to them to protect the sovereignty of the country and turn it against the people of the country.”
