President Bola Tinubu has said the removal of President Ali Bongo of Gabon has confirmed his fears that the activities of coup plotters in Niger Republic will set a bad precedent for other African countries.
During a meeting with members of the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs led by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, in Abuja, Tinubu said all diplomatic options will be exhausted with the military junta in Niger Republic before any last resort of military intervention will be considered.
The president insisted that any forceful removal of a democratic government remains “wholly unacceptable.”
“I must thank you for your several visits to Niger Republic, Your Eminence, but you will still have to go back. My fear has been confirmed in Gabon that copycats will start doing the same thing until it is stopped.
“We are neighbours with Niger Republic, and what has joined Nigerians together with their great people cannot be broken. Nobody is interested in a war. We have seen the devastation in Ukraine and Sudan.
“But, if we don’t wield the big stick, we will all suffer the consequences together,” he stated.
He recalled that under General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Nigeria instituted a nine-month transition programme in 1998, and it proved very successful, leading the country into a new era of democratic governance.
He told members of the council: “please don’t get tired, you will still go back there. The soldiers’ action is unacceptable.
“The earlier they make positive adjustments, the quicker we will dial back the sanctions to alleviate the sufferings we are seeing in Niger.”
