The former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-rufai has warned President Bola Tinubu and the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) against declaring a military attack on Niger, it is a declaration of civil war against northern Nigeria.
El-Rufai, in his reactions to the Niger coup, gave the warning in a tweet on Tuesday morning.
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 Niger Republic are one and the same as those living in Northern Nigeria
“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,” Mr El-Rufai said.
He added, “Indeed, the people of Niger Republic are one and the same as those living in Northern Nigeria. Let us bend, therefore, over backward to avoid this civil war between brothers.”
El-Rufai’s warning comes after he fell out with Mr Tinubu over a ministerial appointment, weeks after ECOWAS charged its troops to be on standby to restore constitutional order in Niger, following the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum by members of his presidential guards in July.
On August 10, at the second extraordinary summit on the socio-political situation in the Republic of Niger held in Abuja, ECOWAS president Omar Alieu Touray gave a directive for the regional bloc’s forces to be on standby to attack the beleaguered country.
“We direct the committee of defence staff to activate the ECOWAS standby force with all its elements immediately,” Mr Touray said, adding that the action was to “restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.
President Tinubu, the ECOWAS who presided over the summit, pointed out that the ongoing political crisis in the Niger Republic was a threat to the stability of Nigeria and other West African countries.