After the ultimatum issued by the Governments and Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the 30th July, 2023, to the military junta in Niger on the restoration of democratic order or be faced with the use of military force.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry believes that President Bola Tinubu’s plan to deploy Nigerian troops in Niger to force out the coupists in the country is hasty and ill-advised.
According to a statement signed by the President and Chairman of the Council, Asiwaju Michael Olawale-Cole, the Chamber, however, aligns itself with the regional body’s decision to restore democratic order in Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries through dialogue to achieve the objective.
The Chamber proudly recalls the game-changing role ECOWAS through the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), led by gallant Nigerian soldiers, played decades ago. Copied and praised by the United Nations (UN), ECOMOG was to become a model of peace enforcement for the rest of the world. The challenges in many spheres that the ECOWAS region faces today are succinctly quite different. Like seasons, time has changed. Economic growth in the sub-region is abysmally poor due to a high birth rate, weak productivity, manpower shortage and technological challenges.
Today’s world is more polarised, and the propensity to engage in military conflict is high. In today’s world, countries’ actions and decisions are driven mainly by their strategic intents as they pursue their goals and objectives. At the Chamber, we are stressed to expose the strategic intentions and their benefits behind the inclination to use military force, whether in the near- or far-terms.
In addition, the Chamber cautions that there may be certain undercurrents the ECOWAS leadership may not be aware of between the leaders and the populace in Niger.
Currently, Nigeria has its political and economic challenges caused by insurgency by Boko Haram and weak security infrastructure. If we do not have the security paraphernalia to deal with Nigeria’s insecurity challenges, it would be detrimental to Nigerian society and economy to deploy troops to Niger. We understand the need of the Nigerian president, President Bola Tinubu as the Chairman of ECOWAS to make an impact. However, strategic dialogue would serve the purpose better. Nigerian troops should focus on solving our security problems, as this would promote trade, attract investment, and enhance economic development.
While the Chamber backs the cutting off electricity supply to the country as one of the measures to bring the junta to its knees and the negotiating table, we do not support any decision to deploy Nigerian troops as part of the regional military force to Niger. Such a decision may have wider geographical implications. Besides, the consequences of war, if allowed to start, are likely too expensive for the weak economies of the member-states of the ECOWAS, especially at this time.
We believe top-level political, consultative, and diplomatic engagements with the putschists will likely be more effective for the needed peace in the sub-region. We, therefore, urge the ECOWAS leaders to explore these routes to resolve the Nigerien impasse.
Also the Nigerian Senate advised that Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should take other steps to reverse the coup. They have rejected the option of military action in the poor West African nation.
