Peter Obi to ECOWAS: Diplomacy and dialogue best options for Niger crisis

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the last elections, says diplomacy remains the most viable option in a bid to restore democracy to Niger Republic. 

On July 26, Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was deposed from office by a military junta that has gone on to form a new government. 

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held a meeting in Abuja on Thursday and resolved that all options were still on the table, including the deployment of force as a last resort. 

In a series of tweets on Sunday, Obi said the situation in Niger should be treated with urgency. 

He said Niger needs all the external assistance it can get to return to constitutional democracy.

“Recent developments in the neighbouring Niger Republic have become the subject of international attention,” Obi said.

“For Nigeria, this development is a matter of dire and urgent national interest and security.

“Inevitably, Niger is a hot-button issue for ECOWAS, as well as various international interlocutors.

“Regardless of the positions taken by various parties that have direct or tangential interests in Niger, primacy must be given to dialogue and diplomacy towards a resolution with minimal disruptive impact on Nigeria and the West African sub-region. 

“A total diplomatic resolution must take into consideration the realpolitik of the West African sub-region. 

“All national, regional and international assistance should be extended to the people of Niger to return their country to normalcy.”

Obi added that Nigeria’s role in resolving the Niger crisis remains critical.

“While ECOWAS must seek to discourage the spread of military dictatorships in West Africa, the recourse to armed deterrence must be restrained by multilateral diplomatic mechanisms,” he said. 

“What the situation in Niger urgently calls for is a concerted multilateral coalition of Nigeria, ECOWAS, the AU and the UN towards a programmed return to a democratic constitutional order.

“In this process, Nigeria’s leadership role must not be in any doubt.”