NIGER COUP LATEST: NIGERIA BACKTRACKS, OPEN NIGER BORDERS

 

A military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani had on July26 2023 overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic.

The Economic Community of West African States, led by Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a swift reaction convoked an emergency meeting of the regional body.

At the meeting of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, held in Abuja the Nigerian  capital on Sunday 30th July 2023, a seven-day ultimatum was issued to the military junta in Niger Republic to restore ousted President Muhammed Bazoum to office.

The extraordinary session of the Authority was presided over by its Chairman, President Bola Tinubu in Abuja. The decision was taken after its deliberations on developments in Niger Republic where President Mohamed Bazoum has been held by members of his presidential guards for days and the Commander of the country’s Presidential Guards, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, on Friday, declared himself the Head of a Transitional Government.

The ECOWAS body affirmed its recognition of Bazoum as the legitimate President of Niger Republic and as well announced the imposition of land border closures and suspension of all commercial flights between Niger Republic and ECOWAS member states

Sanctions against Niger included;

·            Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS Member States and Asia. Freeze all service transactions including energy transactions.

·            Freezing of assets of the Republic of Niger in Aqua Central Bank. Freeze of assets of the Niger State and the state enterprises and parastatals in commercial banks.

·            Suspension of measure from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, particularly EBID

In response, Sahel West African nations signed a pact that will allow them to cooperate against threats of armed rebellion or external aggression.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger signed a mutual defence pact, as the three Sahel countries aim to help each other against possible threats of armed rebellion or external aggression.

The charter, known as the Alliance of Sahel States, bound the signatories to assist one another – including militarily – in the event of an attack on any one of them.

In what appears a diplomatic volte-face, the Economic Community of West African States giving excuses for humanitarian concerns has lifted economic sanctions placed on Niger, Mali, and Burkina-Faso last year in a bid to make them restore democracy in the three countries.

After long hours of deliberation by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at the extraordinary summit on the region’s political, peace, and security situation held at the State House in Abuja the regional body retraced its step on the imposed sanctions.

By the time of the ECOWAS extraordinary summit in February, Tinubu was already advocating a different course.

“We must re-examine our current approach to the quest for constitutional order in four of our member states.”

ECOWAS, through its president, Dr. Omar Touray, announced the regional body’s decision to suspend the sanction, which includes the opening of the land and air border to Niger as well as a no-fly zone for all commercial flights, should be executed with immediate effect, based on humanitarian reasons.

Along with unfreezing all of Niger’s assets at EBID, the bloc also lifted the ban on any financial transactions involving the bloc’s central bank and between ECOWAS states and Niger. ECOWAS also suspended the sanctions placed on the elections of Mali to the bloc including the travel ban placed on the members of the junta and their families.

In line with the ECOWAS decision, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has confirmed that Nigeria will reopen its borders with Niger and lift other sanctions on its northern neighbour, less than a year after a military coup made the country a regional pariah.

The confirmation follows the decision of regional bloc to lift economic sanctions against Niger’s military government, which overthrew and detained President Mohamed Bazoum on July 6 2023.

“Today, I have directed the opening of Nigeria’s land and air borders with the Republic of Niger and the lifting of other sanctions against Niger Republic with immediate effect in compliance with the decisions of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its extraordinary summit on February 24, 2024, in Abuja where we had agreed to lift economic sanctions against the Republic of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea,” Tinubu wrote.

Combined with the lifting of financial and economic sanctions against Guinea, whose military seized power in a 2021 coup, the move suggests that Nigeria and ECOWAS have abandoned their previous efforts to politically and economically isolate West African military regimes which they previously decried as illegitimate.

Following Niger’s coup, the regional bloc threatened military intervention in the country, and activated a standby force to be used as a last resort if diplomatic efforts failed to resolve the crisis.

But with Bazoum still in detention, and the country led by military ruler General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who last pledged a return to civilian rule within three years in August 2023, ECOWAS and Nigeria have changed their approach.

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The lifting of the sanctions will see the end of the ECOWAS no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger, the resumption of commercial and financial transactions between Nigeria and Nigeria, and the unfreezing of utility services and electricity to the country.

Assets of Niger, including its state enterprises and parastatals, will be unfrozen in commercial banks and in the central banks of Ecowas member states. Travel bans on government officials and their family members will be repealed.

Nigerians and Nigeriennes, especially those living near the borders and cross-border traders and businesses see the development as welcome and cheering news.

Some diplomatic observers feel the sanctions were hurried and uncalled for ab inito. They described the ECOWAS volte face as merely face saving. ECOWAS should have exhausted diplomatic measures before making threats that could not be executed.

Another school of thought believes it is never too late to make amends, that the ECOWAS decision was better than keeping up with a wrong decision that will end up an ill wind that blows no one any good.