Aliyu Ibrahim Gebi, a former member of the ECOWAS parliament, has said that there is a consensus of measured, intelligent opinion among people who served in diplomatic circles saying the ECOWAS should not go to war with Niger, but unfortunately we are having compartmentalised discussions.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Gebi said that a senior United States diplomat went to Niger and could not see General Tchiani, but a Nigerian traditional title holder, Lamido Sanusi, went and was able to get his attention. He said, “This should tell us that perhaps the solutions we need are here at home. We have to look to our own traditional means of conflict resolution rather than going outside and looking to those who want to see us consumed by this problem we have found ourselves in”.
He stated that Nigeria has a greater role to play in solving this problem than any other country in the world. The linkages between Nigeria and Niger have been highlighted by the two visits. The formal delegation was not given access, but the former emir of Kano went, and he saw the leader of the Junta.
The former member of the ECOWAS parliament says, “I feel for President Bola Tinubu; he is caught in a very difficult position: how to balance the geopolitical politics, the responsibility as head of states and governments, and as president of the Republic of Nigeria, who just won an election that is barely three months old and is still faced with a lot of problems in Nigeria. This is a distraction that Nigeria cannot afford, and neither can Niger.
Ibrahim Gebi said there is a cascade of effects from Nigeria cutting the supply of electricity to the Niger Republic. He further said if he were to plead with President Tinubu, he would ask him, as a citizen of ECOWAS and Nigeria, to give Niger back electricity for the good of the country. “Nigeria has to be the adult in the room.”
He concluded by saying, “ECOWAS as a block needs to renegotiate the terms of engagement with not just France but every other western country.” We cannot afford to fight any proxy war, economic war, or any other grievance they may have between themselves that will pay out in our own spaces. This is the silver lining of it all: certain conversations we have been reluctant to have must begin.
This should be the awakening of the African brotherhood in the Mali national anthem. Nobody wants a war, but because we are terrible at strategic communications, the void we have left is filled with all sorts of untrue things.
“President Bola Tinubu has not ordered our fighting forces into war or to get ready for war.” We need to continue talking with Niger; channels are open; if they were belligerent and refused to see anyone, then we would have a problem.
-Catherine Amaga
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