Niger coup makers must seize diplomatic window
The Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed last Friday to institute a standby force for a possible military intervention to restore democracy in Niger if diplomatic efforts fail.
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Military officers deposed former President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, and have defied calls from the United Nations, ECOWAS and others to reinstate him.
The soldiers who overthrew democratically elected Bazoum in July have quickly entrenched themselves in power, rebuffed most dialogue efforts and kept Bazoum, his wife and his son under house arrest in the capital.
The defence chiefs met to fine-tune details of the potential military operation to restore constitutional order if ongoing negotiations with the coup leaders are unsuccessful.
Eleven West African nations have agreed to commit troops to a military deployment towards the cause but the leaders say they still favour dialogue.
The Daily Graphic is, therefore, urging the coup leaders in Niger to take advantage of the window of opportunity in the latest diplomatic effort by the ECOWAS to prevent bloodshed.
The paper wishes to remind the coup makers that ECOWAS has two defence protocols which expressly state that any threat against a member state is deemed a threat against the greater community.
That was why it sent troops to intervene in some member states in the past.
So, when instability rocked Niger, the fourth country in the region to suffer a coup in recent times, ECOWAS saw intervention as part of its broader mission to support and protect democracy in West Africa.
So far, Niger's coup leader has promised to return the country to civilian rule within three years.
The leader of the junta, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, made the announcement after meeting mediators from the regional bloc in the capital, Niamey.
A previous ECOWAS delegation, led by General Abudulsalami Abubakar, a former Nigerian Head of state, earlier this month, tried but failed to meet Bazoum and the coup leader.
In a televised broadcast on Saturday, he said the junta had no ambition to confiscate power, adding that the transition of power would not go beyond three years.
He reiterated the junta’s readiness to dialogue, stating that neither the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland nor the people of Niger want war.
This is a positive signal that the coup makers themselves are prepared and willing to dialogue in order to prevent a full- scale military intervention.
We must emphasise that ECOWAS has the right to enforce constitutional order, an order not marked by war, but by peace; not by division, but by unity; not by intimidation, but by mutual respect, and if diplomacy and persuasion fail, force can then be applied.
We have said before that the crisis in Niger is not just a test of the diplomatic skills of the leadership, but a test of the bloc’s commitment to shared African values.
We also wish to commend the Chiefs of the defence staff of the sub-region for giving diplomacy a chance before the use of force.
Our worry is that the Sahel region is struggling with growing terrorists insurgencies linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State and frustration over the violence has, in part, prompted the military takeovers.
We must not allow this coup to stand and, indeed, any other military takeover must not be tolerated in the sub-region.
The coup makers must either take advantage of the diplomatic window of opportunity or be crushed.
With a firm resolve and unyielding commitment, we must deepen the constitutional order and usher in a new era of zero tolerance for military takeovers.
The world is watching, and the stakes are high, so is our resolve that our leaders are not just negotiating for the present, but for our future and the future of Africa even if it means military intervention.
Let us resolve to support our leaders to halt the constitutional insanity.
