Kofi Ampeah Woode
Within the space of two-weeks, the Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) holds a second 2-day extraordinary meeting on directives received from the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, in relation to the Political Situation in the Republic of Niger, where President Mohamed Bazoum has been deposed by his military Presidential Guard.
The second 2-day conference commenced on Thursday August 17 2023, at Ghana’s military headquarters at Burma Camp, Accra, with nine ECOWAS CDSs to ensure that the ECOWAS standby force is activated, and to put in place a strategic plan to restore and maintain order in Niger.
The CDSs are from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, Benin, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia, while Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Niger were not present as a result of sanctions imposed on them by ECOWAS, with Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau absent with permission.
Making a presentation at the commencement of the conference, the ECOWAS Commissioner, Political Affairs, Security and Peace – Ambassador Dr Abdel-Fatau Musah said the 2nd extraordinary meeting after the one on 2 to 4 August 2023 at the Defence Headquarters of the Nigerian Armed Forces in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria, flowing from which their conclusions and proposals submitted to the Authority of Heads of State and Government on 10th August 2023 in Abuja, were termed quality.
As part of decisions taken during the session, the Authority directed the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff to immediately activate the ECOWAS Standby Force with all its elements, and ordered its deployment to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger, after reviewing the evolving political situation in Niger, since the coup d’état on the 26 July 2023.
The Commissioner said, in a move to consolidate their grip on the power, the military authorities have taken several decisions, including appointing members of Niger’s National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) and new chiefs in the security sector. Similarly, the military authorities have dismissed several officials who expressed their support for President Mohamed Bazoum and called for his reinstatement.
More importantly, the military authorities have appointed Mr. Ali Lamine Zeine, previously Africa Development Bank (AfDB) Representative in Chad and former Finance Minister of Niger, as Transition Prime Minister on 7 August 2023 to lead a Transition Government.
He added that, the military authorities in Niger failed to respond positively to ECOWAS diplomatic efforts, and characterized their responses by a series of provocation and move to impose a kind of fait accompli on the ECOWAS Authority.
He revealed that ECOWAS, led by the Chair of the ECOWAS Authority – His Excellency (HE) Bola Ahmed Tinubu, sent a delegation on 3rd August 2023, led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd.) – former Head of State of Nigeria, but they were confined to the Diori Hamani airport in Niamey, under the pretext of an explosive security situation hostile to ECOWAS, where they met a CNSP delegation led by General Salaou BARMOU.
A joint ECOWAS, AU and UN diplomatic mission deployed on 8th August 2023 to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis was aborted, Dr Fatawu further said, following a communication from the CNSP indicating their unavailability to receive the mission, even though the CNSP received a joint Mali-Burkina Faso delegation on 7th August 2023.
“The truth of the matter is that the military authorities in Niger appear to remain defiant, and to be copying from the playbook of their fellow putschist countries in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali, despite the Authority’s efforts towards a peaceful solution to the crisis as we all wish.
It is within that context that we are gathered here today to deepen reflection and complete the assignment given by the Authority to get ready, in case the Community were to resort to the ultimate means of force to restore the constitutional order in Niger. These two days will be used to fine-tune some pending issues and details”, he said.
Ghana’s Defence Minister and Member of Parliament for Bimbilla – Mr Dominic Bingab Aduna Nitiwul, said ECOWAS is faced with a crises that was thought to have disappeared over 15 years ago, when all 15 members of ECOWAS had chosen the path of democracy and civilian government.
He said while Southern and Eastern African countries were busily attracting investments towards development, were attached with coup d’états, while other regions did not have same, and had attracted investments, while West Africans wallowed in poverty and depravity.
He continued that the loss of human lives, deterioration of critical infrastructure, abandoned food crops, states losing large parts of their territories to unfortunate incidences resulting from activities of terrorists, continued illicit trans-border crimes, have weakened the states by these acts.
The Minister charged the Generals, to continue being professional, loyal and dedicated troops, as their armies stand on the threshold of history, to use the tools and equipment provided for them by the people and their governments to protect their territorial integrity, and to enable the people of West Africa choose their leaders through free, fair and credible elections.
“You did it in Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, to some extent, the world did it in la Cote d’Ivoire”, Mr Nitiwul rounded off.
