On Friday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission) insisted that, if all other efforts fail, using military action would be necessary to reinstate the expelled, democratically elected President of the Republic of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum.
At a news conference to explain the ECOWAS position on the Niger problems, the President of the Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, said this. He voiced concerns that military involvement was quickly returning to Africa and that it was time to stop the spread.
President Touray reassured the Nigerien people that the regional organisation is working to restore civilian rule and political stability in the nation and is concerned about their wellbeing.
On July 27, the democratically elected President of the Republic was ousted by the military coup.
The military action was welcomed by the populace, but the ECOWAS leadership gave the junta a seven-day deadline to restore the elected Bazoum or face further involvement in whatever form.
Following the seven-day period, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government started working to find a peaceful solution to the standoff, with requests from many parties to proceed cautiously in order to prevent the violence in the area from escalating further.
However, President Touray believed that the recent events in the Republic of Niger added to the number of regional coup d’état attempts, which is why Heads of State and Government agreed that “this is one coup too many and resolved that it was time.”
He continued by saying that it was particularly sad that the issue in Niger had arisen at a time when the nation was performing rather well in terms of security and economic expansion.
Touray instructed those contesting the legitimacy of the decision of the ECOWAS Heads of State to conduct further study in order to justify the anticipated use of military action to reinstall Bazoum.
He scowled that the decision to send in the military against the junta had been taken out of context and repeatedly misrepresented in the media as a declaration of war against the Niger Republic or a plot to invade the nation, despite the numerous prohibitions against military government and sanctions provided in the various articles and chatters.
“It is more terrible that certain powerful people in the neighbourhood have supported this story that has been propagated on social media as the undisputed gospel truth. These people have casually disregarded the community’s valiant attempts to work with the junta to undo the attempted coup.
For the avoidance of doubt, let me to emphasise unambiguously that ECOWAS has neither declared war on the people of Niger nor is there a plot, as it is being claimed, to ‘invade’ the nation.
“To restore constitutional order, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government has only triggered a full-scale application of sanctions that includes the use of legal force.
It was stated by ECOWAS.
The numerous missions that have been dispatched to the nation and our collaborative efforts with our allies, including the African Union and the UN, can speak to the region’s use of other components of its instruments and engagement with the military authorities.We are optimistic that our diplomatic measures will result in the intended result and prevent the need for the use of force. Nevertheless, work on getting the force deployed-ready continues.
“As a result, the technical wings of the decision-making organs, including the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff, have also been directed to prepare the community enforcement mechanism in case it becomes necessary to deploy the force,” the statement continued.
Touray stated that only after negotiations fell through did the Heads of State and Government decide to apply the provision allowing for the use of legal force in Niger.
“The welfare of the people and the nation is a major priority for us.
“Historically, military governments haven’t proven they can handle complicated political, social, or security concerns any better.
“Let me reiterate that the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, which is currently chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has decided to work for the peaceful restoration of civilian rule in Niger Republic without delay and to use all the instruments at ECOWAS’ disposal to the achievement of this goal,”
