Don’t wage war with Niger, Northern leaders warn Tinubu

The Northern leadership under the aegis of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has warned President Bola Tinubu to avoid going into war with Niger military junta.

The group gave the admonition while calling for a dialogue to resolve the issue in a statement issued by its General Secretary, Murtala Aliyu, on Friday.

According to ACF, military deployment and intervention to phase out the coup plotters in the Niger Republic will not guarantee peace and stability in the ECOWAS sub-region.

ECOWAS had earlier directed the closure of land and air borders between member states against the Niger Republic over a military coup d’état that removed democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, from office.

The Authority of Heads of State and Governments of ECOWAS, which Nigeria chairs also issued a seven-day ultimatum to the military in Niger Republic to restore the ousted President.

In the following development, Tinubu also wrote the Senate to seek military intervention on the Niger military junta if they are recalcitrant in a bid to capture them and restore democracy in the ECOWAS country.

The statement reads in part, “ACF, however, views with concern the unfolding events in Nigeria’s immediate neighbour, the Republic of Niger, and the potential impact on the region.

“The measures being contemplated should have taken into consideration the historical antecedents and mutual interests of the two countries and weighed the consequences of the use of military force.

“While the ACF recognises the ECOWAS position to bring pressure to bear on the perpetrators, nevertheless the military option shouldn’t be a prerequisite for Nigeria’s and the Community’s continuing efforts to enthrone democracy in the region in the 21st century.”

ACF noted that though military intervention might yield a temporary solution, the result will come with repercussions for Nigeria as a leader and the regional body.

“To this end, ACF notes that while it supports the position to restore democratic rule in Niger, it calls on the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government under the able Chairmanship of President Bola Tinubu, that it should toe the path of dialogue and diplomacy and certainly not force, in resolving the current impasse in Niger in the interest of peaceful coexistence with our brotherly neighbour and stability of the ECOWAS region,” it added.