President Bio Faces Dilemma

By Edwina Sia Janga

With the declaration by ECOWAS of one-week ultimatum to the Military Rulers in Niger to reinstate the ousted President or face Military intervention, Sierra Leone has been put in a tight spot, leaving President Bio in a dilemma; to either support the intervention and risk plunging the bilateral relationship existing between Guinea and Sierra Leone into jeopardy, or abstain and jeopardize his position with ECOWAS.

Against this development, the military leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea have all declared their determination to support the regime in Niger against any intervention. They even suggested that their reaction will go beyond borders, implying that they are prepared to attack the countries of ECOWAS that support such an action. Furthermore, it appears as if it is going to be a war between the Anglo-phone and Franco-phone countries.

It is an open secret that Nigeria and Guinea provide the bulk of the ECOWAS military force for any intervention, and since Guinea has disclosed its opposition to the said plan, it will mean that the regional bloc will have to look for alternative troop supply from other member coutries. Currently, Cameroon, another Franco-phone country, is opposed to military intervention.

In order to enforce his declaration of war against the Niger regime, President Tinubu of Nigeria appealed for endorsement of his plan from his country’s Senate, which out rightly rejected military intervention and suggested diplomatic engagement. The ECOWAS Chiefs of Staff of the respective countries in the bloc, also recommended diplomacy than an all-out intervention, stressing that Military intervention should be the last resort.

In an interview on ARISE NEWS, A Nigerian Television Channel, Amb. Joe Keshi, a Nigerian Ambassador, said that coups are a result of bad governance and the failure of governments to seek the interest of the people. He questioned the impulsive reaction of the ECOWAS bloc to the Coup, stressing that it was too hasty and should have been given enough thought. He furthered that the problem of Mali has not been addressed by the bloc before jumping to another country.

Amb. Keshi maintained that what ECOWAS should do now is to look into the causes of Coups and see how they can address them and prevent further coups. Among the things he picked out as the causes of coups are bad governance, failure of governments to address the welfare of its citizens, and the urge of Presidents to interfere with the constitutions of their respective countries to stay in power. He also named poverty as an integral part of the cause, as citizens live in poverty whilst their leaders live in affluence.

In the case of Sierra Leone, President Bio should tread cautiously, so as not to get the country involve in anything that will jeopardize the lives of his compatriots. It should be noted that Guinea, who has openly supported the Niger regime and expressed determination to fight any military action against Niger, even beyond borders, is our next door neighbor and has a strong army, which helped us during our 11 years’ senseless war. Furthermore, they now have presence in Yenga, and should they decide to actualize their threat against an ECOWAS Force, Sierra Leone could be targeted, if not militarily, but economically. It should be noted that the peoples of both countries share culture, trade, and a lot of intermarriages have taken place among them, and as such, any war that would affect them, will spill over to us.

While the ECOWAS has imposed sanctions against Niger, it is believed that the sanctions may not yield the desired results, as Niger shares boundaries with some 7 West African countries, of which Cameroon, Guinea, Mali etc. are examples. Also, a lot of citizens of Niger do business and even intermarry with Nigerians. An International Security Expert, David        Otto, also maintained that such pronouncement by the ECOWAS was premature and should have been thought through by the various heads of government. He maintained that any military action against Niger will be counter-productive, and urged for diplomatic solution.

Here in Sierra Leone, many residents and political analysts are warning of the catastrophe that could befall the nation if we join the ECOWAS in this planned military intervention, or even support it. They maintained that in the midst of the current fragile peace, the focus of the government should be on peace and not to join or support any intervention that has the potential to plunge the country into a war it is ill-prepared for.

The USA maintained that it will continue Humanitarian Aid to the country and will not stop all the services rendered to Niger to help the people and would be assessing the situation as time progresses.