President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said the fear he had about the military junta in Niger Republic setting a bad precedent across the continent has been confirmed by the removal of President Ali Bongo of Gabon.
On Wednesday, soldiers struck in Gabon, annulling the recently concluded election and ending the 13-year reign of Bongo, who succeeded his father in 2009.
Speaking while receiving the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the State House, Abuja, Tinubu said all diplomatic options would be exhausted with the military junta in Niger Republic before any last resort of military intervention comes into the picture.
“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 copy cats 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,” the President warned.
Tinubu noted that Nigeria, under General Abdulsalami Abubakar, instituted a nine-month transition programme in 1998, and it proved very successful, leading the country into a new era of democratic governance. The President sees no reason why such can not be replicated in Niger, if Niger’s military authorities are sincere.