President Bola Tinubu’s staunch supporters and All Progressive Congress, APC, Chieftains, ex-governor of Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai and a former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode are leading voices among the party faithfuls cautioning against ECOWAS invasion of Niger Republic.
This latest warning came after Niger Republic military coup plotters told ECOWAS it has begun a 3-year transition plan to return the country to democratic rule, a decision that has been rejected by the ECOWAS.
Reacting to the Niger Impasse, former governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai in a tweet warned that a war against the Niger Republic is like taking up arms against brothers.
He tweeted, “TUESDAY THOUGHT: As ECOWAS beats the drums of war, I recall the 1970s rock classic by Dire Straits – ‘Brothers in Arms’, because a war within our subregion is a war between brothers. Indeed, the people of the Niger Republic are one and the same as those living in Northern Nigeria. Let us bend therefore over backwards to avoid this civil war between brothers.”
The former governor is the latest APC member and Tinubu supporter in the last presidential election who has publicly warned against engaging in military warfare with Niger Republic.
Earlier, A former minister of aviation, Fani-Kayode, in a recent essay Titled “BEWARE OF COUP BELT”, believed that attacking the Niger Republic would have dire consequences on the Economy and security of Nigeria.
He pleaded with President Tinubu to shun the idea of invading Niger as it could plunge the entire Sahel region into a terrorist zone.
He said, “…We must approach the entire matter with the utmost caution, wisdom and care.
“If the Niger Republic and her allies deliberately open a corridor for the elements of ISIS, AQIM, ISWAP etc to move into Benin and Togo, ECOWAS’ weakest link, then the whole of Nigeria’s western borders, from Sokoto to Lagos, would be vulnerable to terrorist attacks.”
“Already some of the elements have penetrated into Niger State, around Borgu and Shiriro, very close to the Benin Republic and some states in the South West of Nigeria.”
Earlier, The African Union suspends the membership of the Niger Republic over the coup that ousted President Mohammad Bazoum from office.
Many foreign diplomatic analysts believed that the suspension from AU might be sending a signal to ECOWAS that the African body was backing its military offensive against the West African nation.
Recall Russia and South Africa had equally called for the restoration of democracy in Niger, including the North African countries of Algeria and Libya.
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