- Former Presidential Candidate Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim urges President Tinubu to reconsider sending troops to invade Niger, citing potential security escalation
- Olawepo-Hashim emphasizes that Nigeria lacks a national interest in Niger, suggesting diplomatic solutions and a policy of Non-Aggression and Non-Alignment
Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a former Presidential Candidate, has urged Nigeria’s President and Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to reconsider his decision to commit Nigerian troops to the invasion of Niger in response to the ECOWAS resolution to reinstate the country’s ousted civilian government.
According to a statement issued by Olawepo-Hashim’s media office in Abuja yesterday, “the invasion of Niger Republic may achieve the goal of removing the military Junta in Niamey, but it has the potential of escalating the security problem in the North West and North East of Nigeria as the remnant of the fleeing men loyal to the Junta will hibernate in forests between Nigeria and Niger to escalate what the bandits have been doing to Nigeria in the past few years
After the country’s military chiefs defied an ultimatum to restore the elected president, leaders of West Africa’s regional bloc in Abuja last Thursday maintained that they are seeking a diplomatic solution but have not ruled out using force to resolve the crisis, saying that all options are still being explored. It also demands that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum be released unconditionally and reinstated.
While vague, the threat of an invasion heightens tensions in and around Niger. This uranium producer was a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents wreaking havoc in the Sahel region before the coup.
Olawepo-Hashim, on the other hand, reiterated that “nations go to war primarily to protect their national interests, but in this case, there is no national interest of Nigeria at stake in Niger to warrant a commitment of Nigerian troops,” adding that the problem in Niger is an internal Niger problem at best and a Francophone problem at worst.
According to him;
Nigeria must return to its traditional foreign policy of pursuing peace and security in Africa, policy of Non-Aggression and Non-Alignment. We must remain Non Aligned to the interests of any foreign power at the Global stage as formulated by our founding fathers at independence. The policy of Non-Alignment championed by Nigeria and India earned the nation respect and friendship all over the world.
He stated that;
Africa cannot afford another security mess similar to what happened after the invasion of Libya and overthrow of Muammar Gadaffi in 2012 that destabilised the entire Sahel region, and Nigeria is still battling with the consequences in mounting security problems in the North West and North East regions.
While noting that military intervention is now regarded as an aberration worldwide, he nevertheless urged the ECOWAS to employ “constructive engagement and diplomacy” in ensuring that democratic structures are restored in the country.”