Mr. Olawepo-Hashim, a former Presidential Candidate, has made an earnest plea to Nigeria’s President and the Chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He implores President Tinubu to reconsider the choice to deploy Nigerian troops for the intervention in Niger, as part of ECOWAS’ decision to reinstate the deposed civilian government in the nation.
According to a statement from his media office in Abuja yesterday, Olawepo-Hashim said that though “the invasion of the Niger Republic may achieve the objective of removing the military Junta in Niamey, it has the potential of escalating the security problem in the North West and North East of Nigeria as the remnant of the fleeing men loyal to the Junta will hibernate in forests between Nigeria and Niger to escalate what the bandits have been doing to Nigeria in the past few years.”
Despite the military chiefs of the nation defying an ultimatum to reinstate the elected president, the leaders of West Africa’s regional bloc emphasized during the second extraordinary summit on the crisis held in Abuja last Thursday that their aim is to seek a diplomatic resolution.
However, they have not ruled out the potential use of force to address the crisis, indicating that all options are under consideration. Furthermore, the regional bloc is demanding the unconditional release and reinstatement of the deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
While the threat of a potential intervention lacks specificity, it has heightened tensions within and around Niger. This nation, a significant uranium producer, was a crucial ally of the West in combating Islamist insurgents that had inflicted substantial damage in the Sahel region before the occurrence of the coup.
Olawepo-Hashim, however, reiterated the fact that “nations go to war primarily to protect their national interests, but in this case, there is no national interest of Nigeria at stake in Niger to warrant a commitment of Nigerian troops,” adding that the problem in Niger is an internal problem of Niger and at best a Francophone problem.
According to him, “Nigeria must return to its traditional foreign policy of pursuing peace and security in Africa, a policy of Non-Aggression and Non-Alignment. We must remain non-aligned with the interests of any foreign power on the Global stage, as formulated by our founding fathers at independence. The policy of Non-Alignment championed by Nigeria and India earned the nation respect and friendship all over the world.”
He stated that “Africa cannot afford another security mess similar to what happened after the invasion of Libya and overthrow of Muammar Gadaffi in 2012 that destabilized the entire Sahel region, and Nigeria is still battling with the consequences of mounting security problems in the North West and North East regions.”
While noting that military intervention is now regarded as an aberration around the world, he nevertheless urged the ECOWAS to employ “constructive engagement and diplomacy” in ensuring that democratic structures are restored in the country.”
