BY GODWIN OBI
President Bola Tinubu, last night met with the governors of states that share a border with Niger Republic.
According to the official photograph released to media, the governors who met with the President at the Aso Rock were Ahmed Aliyu (Sokoto), Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Idris Nasir (Kebbi), and Dr. Dikko Radda (Katsina).
This meeting was organized as part of the President’s efforts to gather feedback and insights on the situation in Niger.
Recently, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), under the leadership of President Tinubu, had considered the possibility of military action against Niger. However, this was rejected by the Senate.
Meanwhile, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and Archbishop of Owerri, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji, has urged President Tinubu to dissuade ECOWAS heads of state from deploying the military to restore democratic leadership in Niger Republic.
The cleric said while it was wrong to remove a democratic government by force, it would be equally wrong to waste innocent lives in the quest to use force to remove the Niger Republic coup plotters. He recommended dialogue to resolve the leadership crisis in the West African country.
Ugorji spoke, yesterday, during a pastoral visit to inaugurate the Mary Mother of God Catholic Parish, Upe, Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State.
He recalled that about a week ago, ECOWAS heads of state met in Abuja, to deliberate on the recent coup d’etat in Niger Republic.
“At the end of their meeting, they gave the coup plotters one week to restore democratic leadership in Niger or risk military intervention. This marching order expires today (yesterday). They reasoned that it was wrong to change a government by force; they are correct, but we also believe that shedding precious human blood is equally wrong. Two wrongs can never make a right.
“We are begging President Bola Tinubu to dissuade ECOWAS heads of state, to resist the temptation of going to war, against the coup plotters. We beg them to stop the imminent bloodshed that will trail the military intervention. We have wasted a lot of human blood in Africa. We have also wasted precious human lives in Nigeria, and we cannot continue in this ugly fashion for whatever reason. For now, we don’t know who is sponsoring the coup plotters. We equally do not know who is behind the decision of the ECOWAS heads of state. This may be a story for another day. The media is awash with the news of some countries that have already declared their full support the country and their military strongmen. Russia may also be there, without our knowing,” he said.
Ugorji said while coup d’etat was condemnable, war was not an alternative for whatever reason. This is even as also condemned the manipulation of election results saying it was also another shade of coup d’etat.
“President Tinubu should please, not launch any military expedition in Niger Republic. Let us not forget that during the ECOMOG expedition, Nigeria not only played a major role, but also bore the brunt of the losses in human and material resources. ECOWAS heads of state should please, think of what should be the fate of the organization, if they begin military intervention in Niger.
“We have been saying that palliative measures do not cure economic hardship. In the same vein, wars do not resolve misunderstandings. It is better to dialogue instead of going into a full scale war, which nobody can precisely tell when it will end.”
Ugorji reminded the Federal Government that if Niger Republic is attacked, Nigerien citizens will scamper into Nigeria for safety. This is not what we should pray for, especially as we are currently battling with our sagging economic climate,” Ugorji said.
Also, NigeriaNetwork of Peace Journalists (NNPJ), Kaduna State chapter, has appealed to President Tinubu and ECOWAS leaders not to deploy force in Niger.
In a statement issued by its leader, Ibrahima Yakubu, it stressed the need for ECOWAS to sustain peace talk and dialogue with the military junta.
“We stand for peace and dialogue for the unity of the entire black nation, while encouraging ECOWAS to use the medium of diplomacy to resolve the situation. We from various media organisations across the country have joined hands towards making calls for peace talks and dialogue with the aim of resolving the situation in the region.”
Yakubu said the best way to go is to use diplomacy “and when it fails, deploy sanctions that would compel the initiators of the coup to have a rethink towards sustaining democracy.
The act of diplomacy can help towards better communication and negotiation, image management and policy implementation to address future occurrences in the Sahel region.”
It called on local and global media organisations to reduce the hype about the issues relating to Niger Republic.
“We are all brothers from the same region, we strongly believe that peace talk and dialogue are the best approaches to resolve the current situation. We appeal to ECOWAS to use all available means of diplomacy towards bringing an end to the situation for peace and stability in West Africa and the continent at large, ” Yakubu said.
It stressed the need for African countries to promote and sustain democratic government for development and success in the region
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