Nigeria’s former Ambassador to the US, Joe Keshi, has said that the coup leaders in Niger Republic should release the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum to meet ECOWAS halfway and show their sincerity to dialogue.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Keshi said that he believes the coup leaders have realised the problem they caused when they didn’t acknowledge Nigeria President Bola Tinubu’s delegation led by former Nigeria Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), but he emphasised that they (coup leaders) should take some extra measures that will show their interest for discourse.
He said that the coup leaders should agree “to release the former president” to meet ECOWAS halfway.
Keshi stated, “You cannot, on one hand, say you want to dialogue, and, on the other hand, say you want to persecute the president, not for corruption, not for betraying the country but having relationships with some foreign powers.”
He also said, “I think that the current leaders of Niger, like ECOWAS leaders, are also playing the mind game.
“They followed very closely the last ECOWAS meeting. They are fully aware of, not just the division in Nigeria about going to war with Niger, but they are also very much aware that ECOWAS is divided on this issue if anything we’re hearing from Ghana is anything to go by.
“They are also consolidating and gaining more confidence in what they are trying to do.”
The leader of the Niger military junta, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, had claimed the coup was carried out to avert an imminent threat that would have affected both the Niger Republic and Nigeria.
He also apologised for not paying attention to the delegation sent by President Tinubu due to their dismay towards the ECOWAS ultimatum.
Following this, Keshi stated that, “Governments are very good in coming up with reasons that are sometimes not the true position of things.
“Whatever he’s saying, for me, shouldn’t be taken seriously now. What is most important is to find a way to resolve this issue in a very amicable way, in such a way that we do not get to that extent of military intervention.”
Frances Ibiefo
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