President Bola Tinubu has been cautioned by the Northern leadership operating under the auspices of the Arewa Consultative Forum to stay out of a conflict with the Niger military junta.
In a statement released by its general secretary, Murtala Aliyu, on Friday, the group issued the warning while urging a conversation to settle the conflict.
The ECOWAS sub-region’s peace and stability won’t be assured by military deployment or involvement to drive away coup plotters in the Niger Republic, claims ACF.
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In response to a military coup d’état that ousted the democratically elected president of the Niger Republic, Mohamed Bazoum, ECOWAS earlier ordered the closure of land and air borders between member nations with regard to the Niger Republic.
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.
