After England’s dramatic ousting of Nigeria’s Super Falcons today in their Round of 16 matches, six countries have qualified for the quarter-final of the ongoing 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup being played in New Zealand and Australia.

Naija News reported earlier that England defeated the Super Falcons of Nigeria 4-2 by penalty shoot-out following a goalless draw in 90 minutes and extra time played.

Australia, meanwhile, defeated Denmark 2-0, thanks to goals from Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso. The Round of 16 fixtures will continue on Tuesday as Colombia will clash with Jamaica, while France will tackle Morocco.

The six countries that have already qualified for the 2023 WWC are; England, Australia, Netherlands, Spain, Japan and Sweden.

England and Australia were the latest countries to book their places in the quarter-final stage after beating Nigeria and Denmark, respectively, today.

“What will Tinubu look like after this time out? Studies upon studies have shown that leaders who drag their nations into unnecessary war expose themselves to a condition that threatens their retention of political power. Luckily for our president, his puny Senate has saved his face for him with a soft landing. But let him stop acting Reagan without the depth of Ronald Reagan. As Emeritus Professor Toyin Falola said in a private group discussion yesterday, Tinubu’s friends should tell him to recalibrate: “His handling of the coup in Niger is terrible: he forgets the large Hausa population; he forgets the Yoruba-Sabarumo alliance in Niger which can cause genocide to his Yoruba people…he forgets refugees; he forgets the pipeline passing through Niger to Morocco; he even forgets the rams needed for Ileya. His friends should tell him to recalibrate. As Mr. Macaroni would ask: “Are you normal?” Is Tinubu normal? In my only public piece on him, Adán, I explained the danger he represents, using the bat as a metaphor: a shifting character that feeds on its environment, destroys it, and moves away.”

One of the bitter lessons Bola Tinubu may have learnt in his abortive war against Niger Republic’s military junta is that with northern Nigeria, blood will always be thicker than water. In this matter, Niger Republic is blood; Nigeria, especially the part of it outside the Muslim north, is water. Northern Nigerians will not sacrifice their brothers and sisters in Niger for anything, not for a nebulous concept called ‘democracy’ and definitely not in defence of Western interests.

Last week, I looked at the geography of West Africa, its map and where Niger stands. I queried the rigour (or, even the wisdom) in ECOWAS slapping border closure on Niger when it should be clear to the leaders there that you cannot close a door you do not control: Benin Republic and Nigeria which are in Niger’s southern borders have frontier populations that would do anything to protect their brothers and sisters in Niger. Niger’s northern borders are shared with non-ECOWAS members, Libya and Algeria, who share very strong Muslim brotherhood ties with Niger. The other borders are with Burkina Faso in the southeast, with Mali in the west, and with Chad in the east – all under military rule, like Niger.

The last five days have been very testing for Nigeria. Tinubu last Thursday sent Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar (a retired Brigadier General) and General Abdulsalami Abubakar to Niamey to negotiate with the coup leaders. They came back empty-handed. That very day, northern Nigeria issued a carefully worded warning to Tinubu’s government to back off the course of attacking Niger. The north spoke through its umbrella group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), which described a military action against Niger as “certainly not an adventure to be led by Nigeria.” The people on the other side, the north said, are “our brothers and sisters.” It reminded Tinubu that Nigeria and Niger “share a long historical border of more than one thousand five hundred kilometers with families and communities sharing common facilities including farmlands, markets, cultural bonds, and languages for many centuries predating the Trans Saharan Trade and colonial times.” Still, the president did not appear to have read the North. On Friday morning, Tinubu sent a letter to the Senate asking for approval to carry out ECOWAS resolutions on the Niger crisis. Military intervention is one of those resolutions. On Friday night, northern senators released a statement urging their colleagues from other parts of the country to join them to reject that call for war. The Senate on Saturday afternoon voted against the war plans of ECOWAS. Its chair and our president, Tinubu, can now smile away from the odious shame of defeat.

Because of Niger Republic, the North was restive throughout Friday and for much of Saturday its volcano was humming. Northern Nigeria was saying that it wouldn’t have Nigeria fight Niger, a country with which it had been one family before the British created Nigeria. Uthman dan Fodio was born in Maratta in the Tahoua region, present-day Niger; he died in 1817 in Sokoto, present-day Nigeria. Read Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. Nothing, not Nigeria, not democracy, neither coup nor pressure from any patron abroad would make northern Nigeria cut its family tie with Niger. What clever leader walks so headily into a trap as Tinubu has done? He is, however, lucky; he has a Senate of night soil men that has helped him to clear the mess. But why did he think he could pull off a military campaign against Niger by Nigerian forces? Who would have helped him pull the trigger and fire the tanks? Why did he write the Senate? Why did he not look carefully at the ethno-religious demography of the Senate before unleashing his war whim on that chamber? He should have weighed the options he had.

Talking about weighing options before actions are taken. Reports say our North was/is not just against military action against Niger; it is also against plunging the neighbouring country into darkness by the Nigerian government. Watching your brother’s back is what family means. We supply about 75 percent of Niger’s electricity. This was disconnected some days ago on the orders of Tinubu. How wise was that option?

Long after this coup flood would have dried off, its tributaries will continue to ravage Nigeria-Niger relations. How right (or righteous) was that act of disconnection of electricity from Niger? Or how legal or illegal was it? The use of international waters is governed by international law moderated by bilateral/multilateral treaties, agreements and Acts. For River Niger (post-colonial), there are about six of such, starting with the Act of Niamey of 1963, the Agreement of November 1964, the Niamey Agreement of 1973, the 1980 Convention, the Protocol of December 1982 and the Water Charter of 2008, among others. These laws lay out “general principles for equitable and reasonable participation and use of the water of River Niger” and obligated parties “not to cause harm to other states” in accordance with the laws. A key agreement here was the decision not to have River Niger dammed by any of the upper-course states so as not to injure downstream Nigeria’s hydroelectric dams while Nigeria undertook to supply electricity to the upper riparian countries. Until last week, Nigeria kept to that agreement; but Niger Republic has long violated the pact. Our neighbour is building an ambitious dam,
Kandadji Dam, with a height of 280m, a length of 8,780m and a reservoir covering an area of 282 hectares. The dam, 489km away from Nigeria, should be ready by 2024 – next year- or 2025, but the injury envisaged in 1963 is already taking its toll.

The Niger Basin Authority manages River Niger for all its riparian states. Its National Focal Structure (NBA-NFS) meeting of 14 July, 2017 discussed what it described as “the dwindling flow of the River Niger, the development of Kandadji Dam project upstream of River Niger and other related issues.” Whatever that meeting decided did not stop Niger from going ahead with the project. In September 2021, the now deposed President Bazoum visited the construction site, he sounded upbeat and said that “all the obstacles have been lifted..in a few months you will see the project taking shape.” He explained that the dam was aimed at addressing dependence on Nigeria for electricity supply. Bazoum’s predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou, who started the project, was also quoted as explaining the dam’s objectives: “It is not only a question of producing electricity, but also of regenerating the river’s ecosystem, while creating the conditions for local development.” What has happened to the treaties and their implications? Article 17 of the 1964 Agreement says “The Act of Niamey together with this Agreement may be denounced by any one of the riparian states after the expiration of a period of ten years from the date of its coming into force.” The Agreement goes further to prescribe the procedure for the denunciation. Did Niger Republic follow that process before starting the project in 2017? If it did, what did our government do? Because blood is thicker than water, Niger’s negative activities and their ‘injurious effects’ went on under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari without a word of protest from our leader. He, instead, feted Issoufou and his successor, Bazoum; they feted him so much also that he publicly announced that he would relocate to Niger if Nigeria became unliveable for him.

If northern Nigeria needs to throw the south of Nigeria into the Atlantic to save Niger Republic, it will. This should not rile us. A former US Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, once noted that “the Niger-Nigeria border is artificial.” He said “it was drawn in the colonial period by London and Paris…to check German expansion in West Africa rather than recognition of ethnicities or other indigenous factors.” Niger’s population is 25.25 million. The Hausa share of that figure is 13.07 million – more than half of the total. We have Fulani, Kanuri, Tuareg Arabs in our northern population; Niger has them too. So, the people along that axis share much more than geography; they see no border, what they see is family. An American political scientist, Williams Miles, about 18 years ago looked at what he called “local versus external perceptions of Niger-Nigeria boundary” and submitted that “for the border-line Hausa, identity is not zero-sum: feeling more and more Nigérien/Nigerian does not result in diminution of their ‘Hausa-ness'”(see Williams F. S. Miles, 2005: 297). Their ethnicity and religion are their country, not Nigeria, not Niger. In that corridor, you can’t define the concepts of citizenship and nationality and get them right. Each person there belongs, daily, to the country where dawn meets them. Miles (2005:307) says that in 1998, the Nigeria-Niger Border Commission identified eight ‘Nigerian’ villages in Nigerien territory and nine ‘Nigerien’ villages on Nigerian soil. He adds that there are tens of villages halved between the two countries and that there are “inhabitants with farmland straddling the boundary (who) had to choose one colonial side or the other. French subjects were not supposed to farm on ‘English’ territory, and vice versa. As a result of ‘intermarriage’ (e.g., a ‘French’ Hausa man marrying an ‘English’ Hausa woman) and ensuing inheritance
complexities, it has become quite possible for a son to claim his family and heritage in Niger, even if he himself grew up in Nigeria and is a citizen thereof.”

If Tinubu did not appreciate these facts before he started his Niger misadventure, he should now. His teacher is the torrent of negative vibes from northern Nigeria because of its twin brother- Niger Republic.

Can we leave Niger alone to decide what it wants? It is not the first (and won’t be the last) to suffer a military coup. My people say that it is with one’s mouth that one rejects what one does not want to eat. When Nigerians wanted democracy, we were in the trenches for almost two decades fighting for it. We’ve not heard a word of condemnation of the coup from inside Niger. Al’ára ní ara ò ro òun; why are we taking analgesic on behalf of neighbours who insist they feel no pain? Nigerians are hungry, they are talking food; their president is talking war. Should it be like that? Why the undue interest in Niger’s affairs by Nigeria and its ECOWAS? We can understand the superpowers and the unease around them that almost threatens a world war. There is something in Niger for them. Canadian news agency, Reuters, last Friday gave a further hint. It wrote that Niger Republic has strategic significance for the United States, for China, Europe and Russia given its uranium and oil riches and pivotal role in the war with Islamist rebels in the Sahel region. Niger has one of the largest uranium deposits in the world. It, in fact, accounts for about five percent of global uranium supplies. United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) statistics shows that France, with 56 operable nuclear reactors, has one of the largest nuclear power programmes in the world. Its nuclear reactors generated 361 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2021 – 68 percent of the country’s annual electricity generation. That feat is from Niger’s high-grade uranium. Niger gives electricity to rich France, but because Africa has leaders who sleep on their brains, uranium-rich Niger has no reactor – and cannot have a reactor; over 80 percent of Niger is in darkness and the country itself is one of the world’s poorest.

So, why is the world in turmoil because of a tiny, poverty-ridden country in backwater Africa? The drivers of global politics do not get serious to benefit others. In international relations and politics, national interest is an instrument of political action; it justifies anything and everything. And, because Africa’s husbands’ national interest must prevail at all times, sometimes without their footfalls being heard, they use, misuse and misgovern our leaders; they send them on slave errands. That is very manifest in the current Niger debacle. Tinubu and his brother West African presidents should reread 17th-century poet, Jean de La Fontaine’s tale of The Monkey and the Cat: “shrewd, wily monkey convinces unwitting (or downright stupid) Cat to pull chestnuts from a hot fire. Cat scoops chestnuts from the fire one by one, burning his paw as he does so; Monkey eagerly gobbles them up, leaving none for the Cat.” They should also read about Vladmir Lenin’s “useful idiots”, a ‘simple’ people routinely used cynically by their lords and masters to push a cause they know little or nothing about and is of no benefit to them.

What will Tinubu look like after this time out? Studies upon studies have shown that leaders who drag their nations into unnecessary war expose themselves to a condition that threatens their retention of political power. Luckily for our president, his puny Senate has saved his face for him with a soft landing. But let him stop acting Reagan without the depth of Ronald Reagan. As Emeritus Professor Toyin Falola said in a private group discussion yesterday, Tinubu’s friends should tell him to recalibrate: “His handling of the coup in Niger is terrible: he forgets the large Hausa population; he forgets the Yoruba-Sabarumo alliance in Niger which can cause genocide to his Yoruba people…he forgets refugees; he forgets the pipeline passing through Niger to Morocco; he even forgets the rams needed for Ileya. His friends should tell him to recalibrate. As Mr. Macaroni would ask: “Are you normal?” Is Tinubu normal? In my only public piece on him, Adán, I explained the danger he represents, using the bat as a metaphor: a shifting character that feeds on its environment, destroys it, and moves away.”

Because Tinubu is famed to be smart and wise, this final word should be enough counsel for him.

In a dramatic turn of events, coup leaders in Niger have issued a rallying call to the nation’s citizens, urging them to prepare for the defense of the homeland. The move comes after the expiration of a deadline set by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which had demanded the swift restoration of democratic governance in the country.

General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the long-standing head of the Presidential Guard since 2011, took to state television to declare himself as the leader of the newly formed “National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland.” This proclamation signals a consolidation of power among the coup leaders, as they appear poised to defy international pressures to relinquish control.

The ECOWAS deadline had given the coup leaders a clear ultimatum to return power to civilian rule, following the ousting of the democratically elected government. As the deadline passed, tensions escalated, with General Tchiani’s broadcast raising the stakes even higher. The international community watches with bated breath as the situation unfolds.

The Nigerien population finds itself at a critical juncture, torn between loyalty to democratic principles and concerns for the stability of their nation. The call to arms by the coup leaders has left many citizens unsure of the path forward, as they grapple with the potential consequences of resistance against the newly established authority.

ECOWAS, a regional bloc known for its commitment to upholding democratic norms, has condemned the coup and its subsequent power grab. The organization had implemented targeted sanctions and diplomatic pressure in an effort to restore civilian rule. However, General Tchiani’s televised announcement has cast a shadow of uncertainty over the effectiveness of these measures.

While the international community remains united in its condemnation of the coup, the situation on the ground is becoming increasingly complex. The people of Niger now face a difficult decision as they navigate the call to defend their homeland against the backdrop of escalating tensions and political uncertainty.

As the world holds its breath, the fate of Niger hangs in the balance. Will the citizens heed the call to defend their homeland, or will the pressure from ECOWAS and the international community push the coup leaders to reconsider their course of action? The coming days will undoubtedly shape the trajectory of this crisis and determine whether Niger can find a path back to democratic governance.

Source: Spectator Index

The ECOWAS delegation to Niger led by former Nigerian military leader Abdulsalami Abubakar was humiliated Thursday by the Nigerien junta as the members were prevented from leaving the airport, PREMIUM TIMES can report.

A Nigerian government source briefed about the visit told this newspaper that the three-man team sent to negotiate with the junta leaders was not allowed into the country.

Before departing Abuja, the delegation had informed Niamey of its mission and the latter showed readiness to receive them, the source said. However, this turned out to be a plot to humiliate the sub-regional bloc.

ECOWAS on Wednesday named Mr Abubakar, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray and the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar III, as envoys to Niger. They were expected to engage all stakeholders robustly with a view to doing whatever it takes to ensure a conclusive and amicable resolution of the situation in Niger for the purposes of African peace and development.

According to the source, the delegation was received from the aircraft at 6:00 p.m. Thursday, when they arrived at the Niamey airport, by a five-man team led by General Moussa Barmou (Head of General Staff). The general, however, told them that they could not be allowed into the city, citing security reasons.

The delegation was taken to a room in the airport, the source told PREMIUM TIMES.

Pictures of the delegation and Niger soldiers sitting at a table emerged online last Thursday with many thinking that was part of the official meetings the ECOWAS delegation was sent to hold.

However, contrary to public perception, the picture was that of the ECOWAS leaders being kept in a room at the airport by the soldiers who came to receive them.

After about five hours of pleading to be allowed into the city to see the leader of the junta General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the team left Niger making no headway.

The ECOWAS delegation was told to return to Nigeria while the junta reviews their request and revert. They arrived in Nigeria at about 1:00 a.m. on Friday.

Third Delegation

The Abdulsalami-led delegation is however not the first delegation to be sent to Niger by ECOWAS. It is in fact the third.

In the early hours of Wednesday, 26 July, when President Mohamed Bazoum was still detained and the coup had not been officially announced, a three-member team led by the Director General of Nigeria’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, was also sent to negotiate with the coup leaders.

Former Governor of Katsina Aminu Masari and Chief of Air Staff Hassan Abubakar were part of the team, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

They were quickly dispatched to Niger when the news of President Bazoum’s detention came in.

However, as soon as the delegation left Niamey, the coup was declared; a clear indication that the mission failed.

Another delegation was sent after the coup was officially announced. The delegation was sent on the day the ECOWAS Heads of State met in Abuja in an emergency meeting convened by the chair, President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria.

The President of Chad, Mahamat Dérby, was sent to Niger where he met with the junta leader, Mr Bazoum and former President Mahamadou Issoufou.

He offered the junta a “soft landing” which was also rejected.

The Chad leader shared pictures he took with Mr Bazoum and the coup leaders on the social networking platform, X (formerly called Twitter).

Après avoir effectué ce matin un séjour éclair de consultation à Abuja au Nigeria sur l’invitation du président Nigérian, Président en exercice de la CEDEAO, j’ai bouclé mon déplacement par une visite au #Niger qui traverse une crise politique majeure.

À Niamey, j’ai eu des… pic.twitter.com/jxiM0TCiXS

— Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno (@GmahamatIdi) July 30, 2023

Benin’s President Patrice Talon was also sent to Niger. However, it remains unclear if he made the trip.

When asked about the outcome of the visit of the Abdulsalami-led delegation, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Adamu Lamuwa, last Friday said “Negotiations are ongoing, it is too early to preempt the outcome of the discussion.”

PREMIUM TIMES also reached Mr Tinubu’s spokesperson Ajuri Ngalele for comments. In response, he shared a post he made on X which read, “H.E. President @officialABAT on Sunday evening met with Governors of States that share boundaries with Niger Republic at the State House in Abuja. The meeting was part of wider consultations by the President on the situation in Niger.”

The governors of Sokoto, Kebbi, Yobe, Katsina, and Jigawa were in attendance at the meeting.

ECOWAS last Sunday issued a seven days ultimatum to the Niger putschists to ensure a return to democracy. However, the deadline lapsed Sunday night and there has been no formal announcement of the next line of action by the regional bloc.

ECOWAS defence chiefs met in Nigeria between Wednesday and Friday last week agreeing on a plan of action.

“All the elements that would go into any eventual intervention have been brought out here and been refined, including the timing, the resources needed and the how and where and when we are going to deploy such a force,” said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security at the meeting of defence chiefs.

President Tinubu last week notified the National Assembly of the ECOWAS resolutions including the possibility of troops deployment. Parliamentary approval would be needed to deploy Nigeria’s troops.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Senate opposed troop deployment and advised Mr Tinubu and ECOWAS to explore a political solution to the crisis.

[PREMIUM TIMES]

BBC's coverage of England's crucial Round of 16 clash with Nigeria at the Women's World Cup has come under heavy fire as the match commentary seems to be out of sync with the on-screen visuals.

Nigeria's Ashleigh Plumptre crashed a wicked shot off the underside of the crossbar just after the quarter-hour mark in England's encounter as the Super Falcons piled early pressure on the European champions.

But if you were watching the BBC coverage live on terrestrial TV, you heard about Plumptre's dangerous strike from commentators Robyn Cowen and Rachel Brown-Finnis before you saw it.

The bizarre and discombobulating moment was not in isolation, and the broadcast experience was only exacerbated as Nigeria's early salvos continued to be reported audibly seconds before their on-screen occurrence.

And viewers of England's knockout round match have been less than impressed with the perceived lag, with one viewer slamming the broadcast as a "mess of an experience to watch" and another branding it as "annoying".

Other unamused viewers have called out the heavy price paid for their TV licence and the subpar live coverage from the BBC.

Some fans, however, have found the humorous side of the strange delay, commending Cowen and Brown-Finnis for their apparent verbal prescience.

Nevertheless, plenty of others have not found similar mirth at having such a critical game spoiled for them in real time.

The BBC share the rights to this summer's Women's World Cup with ITV, with the broadcasters sharing coverage of England's matches throughout the tournament.

The Lionesses welcomed back midfielder Keira Walsh into Monday's starting line-up in what arrived as a delightful surprise for England fans after the Barcelona star had seemed to sustain a serious knee injury during England's second group stage match against Denmark that threatened to put a premature end to her World Cup journey.

[mirror.co.uk]

Niger Republic is waiting for a response from the West African regional bloc, Economic Community Of West African States, ECOWAS, after coup leaders in Niamey ignored a deadline to reinstate the ousted president – a move the bloc has warned could lead it to authorise military intervention.

ECOWAS has said it would issue a statement on its next steps in response to the junta’s refusal to cave in to external pressure to stand down by Sunday following the July 26 power grab.

The bloc has taken a hard stance on the region’s seventh coup in three years. Given its uranium and oil riches and its pivotal role in a war with Islamist militants, Niger also holds importance for the United States, Europe, China, and Russia.

On Sunday, as the deadline expired, the junta closed its airspace until further notice, citing the increased threat of military intervention.

An escalation in the standoff with ECOWAS could further destabilise one of the world’s poorest regions, which is in the grip of a hunger crisis and battling an insurgency that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee.

ECOWAS defence chiefs have agreed on a possible military action plan, including when and where to strike, if the detained president, Mohamed Bazoum, is not released and reinstated.

Any military intervention could be complicated by a promise from juntas in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso to come to Niger’s defence if needed.

On Sunday, Italy said it had reduced its troop numbers in Niger to make room in its military base for Italian civilians who may need protection if security deteriorates.

[DailyPost]

Two different but related cries ring in my head. “Let the Poor breathe” and “I don’t want to die.” The first is the cry across the country as the masses are being suffocated by inflation and over 90 million poor get hungrier.

The second is the plaintive cry of young medical doctor, Vwaere Diaso, whose calling is to save lives. However, when her life was in danger with her limbs broken by an heartless system, her blood flowing from various parts and she knew her life was ebbing and she desperately needed help, her dying cry to her colleagues was: “I don’t want to die.”

Dr. Diaso graduated from medical school in 2022 and was two weeks away from completing her housemanship at the Island General Hospital, Odan, when last Tuesday, August 1, 2023 she routinely took the hospital lift from her ninth floor official quarters.

Now, for some years now, doctors at the hospital said they had complained about the poor state of the lift. As soon as she entered the lift, it took a downward plunge crashing to the ground floor. There were people around, including on the ground floor, who knew somebody was in the lift, but a rescue team did not arrive until 40 minutes later.

Dr Moye who was at the scene narrated what happened next: “They tried to use rods to open it, to be sure it wasn’t a joke. They finally opened it and the sight was gruesome. Muffled sounds of excruciating pain and agony became apparent.”

”Her forehead had a horizontal cut, her mouth had another one and she had raccoon eyes. She was lying in between the base of the elevator and the ground floor, with the engine hanging over her head, which meant any miscalculation in movement, she’ll be crushed to instant death.”

”She was literally sandwiched in-between the hanging engine and below the ground floor with blood on broken glasses and fractured limbs. It’s not a sight to describe.”

”I remember telling her to relax that help was coming. She said: ‘Don’t tell me to relax, tell them to get me out of here’. We eventually got her out and she kept saying she thinks she’ll die.

”Emergency care was almost zero and inside a hospital for that matter.”

So, youthful Dr. Vwaere Diaso died an avoidable and agonising death, another monument to a dysfunctional system; all that is left are her grieving family, mournful colleagues and a Tribunal of Inquiry.

The loud cries of “Let the Poor breathe” eventually penetrated the hallowed chambers of the Senate. But to the Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it was a joke. So they turned it into a comedy skit. Senator Akintunde Abiodun who had moved a motion that another round of increased electricity tariff should not be visited on the populace had repeated the cry: “Let The Poor Breathe!”

The President of the Senate, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, then sarcastically put to voice vote a motion that the Nigerian poor should be allowed to breathe:  ”The prayer is that, let the poor breathe, and Senator Mustapha has seconded that the poor should breathe. Those who are in support of the additional prayer that the poor should be allowed to breathe, say ‘aye’ and those who are against say ‘nay’”. The Senators crooned ‘aye’ and the chamber burst into laughter.

The laughter was not unexpected; our situation is not different from 1821 when the poet, Percy Bysshe ‘PB’ Shelley wrote: “The rich have become richer, and the poor have become poorer.” Our Senators get such jumbo pay, that to mention their humongous monthly pay, has become treasonable as such revelation can lead to a national revolt. Additionally, they award ‘Constituency Project’ contracts to themselves which does not pass through contract scrutiny, open award and accounting process; they account for and to themselves. Again like former President Muhammadu Buhari cried out for years without taking steps to curb it, the National Assembly, NASS, has a tradition of padding the country’s annual budget for their own private interests. As I write, there is a N500 billion palliative targeted at the poor and the NASS has a princely cut of N70 billion from it. If this largesse were to be divided equally amongst the 469 member-NASS, they will each get about N150 million. You see why our Distinguished Senators can afford to mock the poor?

Then, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, seems primed to invade our neigbours in Niger Republic over the military coup in that country. Nigeria is expected to provide the bulk of the invasion force. Secondly, such an invasion would be quite problematic unless Nigeria participates. This is because the three other members of ECOWAS having land borders with Niger: Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso, are opposed to the invasion. In fact, the last two along with another ECOWAS member, Guinea, have pledged their support to Niger were ECOWAS to invade. The three other countries having borders with Niger: Chad, Algeria and Libya, are not members of ECOWAS and are unlikely to allow ECOWAS troops use their countries to facilitate such an attack. Chad, although an ally of France – a country that desperately wants the invasion – is also ruled by a military junta; Algeria is opposed to any invasion that can send refugees across its borders, while Libya is a failed state with four contending governments.

Even if the Nigeria executive were to support the invasion, under Section 5 of the Constitution, it needs the express approval of the NASS to levy war. Specifically, 5(4)b states that “except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria”.

In compliance with this provision, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wrote the Senate expressly stating that the “actions expected” of Nigeria include the: “Military build-up and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the Military Junta in Niger Republic should they remain recalcitrant.”

The Senate on Saturday, August 5, 2023, rejected the President’s request for the deployment of Nigeria military personnel to Niger. Rather, it advised President Tinubu and “other leaders of ECOWAS to strengthen political and diplomatic options and other means with a view to resolving the political impasse in Niger Republic”.

However, Senator Akpabio in briefing Nigerians on the resolution of the Senate claimed that the President never requested for the deployment of the Nigerian military for action in Niger. I had to go back to read the President’s letter and concluded that while President Tinubu wrote his request in the official English language, Chief Akpabio must have read it in his native Anang language.

I will like to use this article that focuses on “Wind of change” to exhort all parties to seek —albeit exhaustible —the plethora of options for peaceful resolutions, to ensure all parties — the Military Junta, their allies and the hierarchy at the ECOWAS secretariat, both at daggers drawn —to return to the negotiating table, depleting all possibilities to avert another needless war, another excuse for wanton bloodletting. This is an avoidable proxy war at best, Africa needs investments not munitions.

Let me begin with the golden words of Kofi Atta Annan, a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan profoundly posited: “The Arab spring reminds me a bit of the decolonisation process where one country gets independence and everybody else wants it. How about us, when do we get it, when do we make our move? And you have a situation where someone has been in power for decades, where the integrity of elections, democracy and security have really not been debated or discussed and most people suspect that elections are rigged and that the democratic rotation that elections are supposed to ensure doesn’t really happen. And when this goes on for a while you are sitting on a powder keg.”

Sadly, and unfortunately, African countries have had conditions common for coups, like poverty and poor economic performance. When a country has one coup, that’s often a harbinger of more coups. The Niger Republic coup is the seventh military coup in West Africa in less than 3 years and is a threat to Nigerian democracy. Niger Republic is strategic in the fight against jihadists in the Sahel of Africa. Therefore, the need to be circumspect as we consider the options available for the delicate situation of our close neighbors particularly the Niger republic sharing borders with many of our States in the Northern part of the country.

Across the Sahel, jihadist conflict that began in Mali more than a decade ago has left millions of people exposed to relentless attacks and caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Jihadists have exploited failures by governments to tackle corruption and provide inclusive governance in low-income, ethnically diverse countries. The impact of the climate crisis has added to insecurity in a region reliant on agriculture. A lack of opportunities for young and fast-growing populations, and a proliferation of weapons, are other factors.

Today, at the expiration day for the ultimatum; amid all of the sugar-coating words, amid all of the sound of warmongering, many African nations IMPOVERISHED by decades of mis-governance, and political instability characterised by military coups and counter-coups, not leaving out the military as an institution which nearly lost its reputation of professionalism, discipline and patriotism as a result of misguided adventure into politics. Like Burkina-Faso, like Chad, like Niger, like Mali, like Sudan, like Guinea Bissau and Central African Republic – certainly, the “Wind of change” is blowing across the continent of Africa. Sadly, the current situation is avoidable if we are mindful of the needful

More specifically, the African Union and ECOWAS should as a matter of necessity be at the forefront of leading peace missions (operations) in Africa. Thereby, simplifying the complexity of governance in the African continent, by activating the peer review mechanism. It is thus, imperative that rethinking the idea and original vision of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) may just be the magic particularly at a time like this. Expectedly so, African Union and ECOWAS may have reacted to the situation of Niger Republic as deem necessary for the sake of unity, however the need to explore peaceful resolution should be kept open.

Flowing from the above, it has become imperative that we compare the root cause of the Arab Spring, wave of pro-democracy protests and uprisings that took place in the Middle East and North Africa beginning in 2010 and 2011, challenging some of the region’s entrenched authoritarian regimes. The wave began when protests in Tunisia and Egypt toppled their regimes in quick succession, inspiring similar attempts in other Arab countries. Is it a case of a “Wind of change” blowing across Africa? On the other hand, West Africa has recently been rocked by military uprisings. In the past three years, armed soldiers have overthrown the presidents of Mali (August 2020 and May 2021), Guinea (September 2021), and Burkina Faso (January and September 2022) and Niger Republic on the 26 July 2023. The confluence of constitutional crises in the region raises several questions. Why these three countries? Why now, in such short succession? And finally, what does the future hold for their populations, in such a situation that is uninspiring.

Additionally, With several Nigerian states sharing borders with Niger Republic, military intervention could have unintended consequences that may impact the peace and stability of both nations. Consequently, there’s a lot of feedbacks on the need to strengthen the ‘Peer review mechanism’ (APRM), and call heads of member states to order when the need arises, particularly, given the undemocratic tendencies typically characterised by issues of corruption, election rigging and sit-tight syndrome which must be discouraged. Furthermore, an advocacy of Freedom, Fair play, and Justice should replace lack of transparency, and accountability in governance currently being experienced in many of the sub-region.

In conclusion, I will like to use this article that focuses on “Wind of change” to exhort all parties to seek —albeit exhaustible —the plethora of options for peaceful resolutions, to ensure all parties — the Military Junta, their allies and the hierarchy at the ECOWAS secretariat, both at daggers drawn —to return to the negotiating table, depleting all possibilities to avert another needless war, another excuse for wanton bloodletting. This is an avoidable proxy war at best, Africa needs investments not munitions. Our people need pills, not bullets, not ration. I daresay that we’ve had too many misadventures in our checkered history as peoples of Africa.

The Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation yesterday declared that with the damning evidence before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PREPEC) in Abuja against President Bola Tinubu, he would not participate in the rerun election should the poll be annulled.
Also, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, said that there is palpable fear in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the likelihood of the court upturning the election of President Tinubu.

Spokesperson and Head of Media of the organisation, Mr. Diran Onifade, told THISDAY yesterday that President Tinubu’s legal team did not only mislead him but also effortlessly tried to hoodwink the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-man panel.
President Tinubu had last Tuesday appealed to the justices of the PREPEC to exclude the presidential candidate of the LP, Mr. Peter Obi, and his party in the event of any rerun presidential election, claiming that only he and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  Atiku Abubakar, are constitutionally qualified to recontest the rerun election.

Tinubu, through his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), and the counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had argued that should the justices of the court void the February 25, 2023, presidential election, Obi and his party should not be allowed to re-contest.
Olanipekun had while arguing his final written address, declared that Obi should not be allowed to participate in the rerun election because he came third in the race.
But the LP described the claim by Tinubu’s lawyers as an attempt to foist his position on the panel of justices, adding that if there would be any rerun, Tinubu would not be on the ballot based on the evidence before the PREPEC.

Onifade said Tinubu’s appeal for the exclusion of Obi and the LP from participating in the proposed rerun and his last-minute effort to challenge the outcome of the election in Kano State showed that he has lost the votes allegedly stolen from Obi in Rivers and Benue states.
He said: “If there will be a second election, it will be between the top two. Tinubu will not be among the top two because all the issues we raised are enough to disqualify him. The certificate forgery, the drug trafficking forfeiture, the invalid nomination of his vice, etc. All those things would have disqualified him in the first place.

“So, he is not going to be on the ballot. All these things that his lawyers are doing are just to make him comfortable. They have misled him and are also trying to mislead and hoodwink the justices. The justices are not foolish.
“They are claiming that the constitution says that even if it’s true that he has a case of forfeiture, after 10 years, you have been cleared. But that is not true. They are just being clever by half. The section of the constitution they are talking about has so many subsections and only one of them has the 10 years moratorium and it doesn’t cover him.

“So, if there is going to be another election, their man would have been disqualified,” Onifade explained.
On the claim that Obi came third, he said: “We talked about the figure we put together from Rivers State and Benue State. They didn’t even address those at all. When you remove what they stole in Rivers and Benue states and you add to Obi’s, their own figures would have gone down and Obi won’t be in the third position again.”

Asked if the figures in Rivers and Benue states would be enough to displace either Tinubu or Atiku, he said the issue was still subjudice, adding however, that for the APC and Tinubu to come from behind to challenge the results in Kano in the last minute, while on the other hand appealing to exclude Obi from a possible rerun, left a lot to be desired.

“We can’t prejudge the tribunal. But let’s say for the sake of your question, if you remove one million from eight million, it will go down to seven million. And when you add that one million to six million, that will amount to seven million. We have a professor that did all the calculations. It’s a pity that we didn’t have the time to carry out the calculations nationwide. They know it’s damaging to them.
“If not, how come that a state like Kano that we are not even contesting with them, was brought to the tribunal to challenge that votes were stolen from them in Kano?” Onifade queried.

He explained that “their (APC) calculation is that by the time what they stole from Rivers and Benue states are deducted, their votes would have gone down and if the tribunal grants them what they claimed they lost in Kano, it might make up for what is deducted from them.
“Even those of us who are laymen, know that their lawyers are playing mind games because it’s one thing they would say in the evidence they have tendered and it’s another that their witnesses will say under oath.

“For instance, under oath, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele admitted that their man forfeited money and it’s about narcotics trafficking. He admitted that under oath. The same forfeiture they have been going about saying that it’s a civil case. Then again, the INEC witness even though he tendered a document that the uploading on IReV was not part of the mandatory process, in his testimony before the justices, changed it and said the process included uploading through the IReV.

“The court document that they tendered, they said the case was about narcotics trafficking. That’s the exact words in that document. And then the certificate issue. The one he presented to INEC was not issued by the university. That’s a forgery,” he added.

 Meanwhile, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku, Shaibu, has said that there is palpable fear in the ruling APC on the likelihood of the court upturning Tinubu’s election.
Shaibu, in an exclusive interview with THISDAY at the weekend, said: “Now that pleadings have been concluded in the petition challenging the February 25 presidential election, it is easy to decipher that the declaration of the APC as winner of the election is standing on shaky grounds.”
He said further that there was a high possibility that the court would upturn the purported election of President Tinubu, and strengthen electoral processes in Nigeria.

“The uneasy calm in the camp of the APC is in apprehension about submissions and admission of some fundamental facts during the adoption of final written addresses in the two major petitions challenging the declaration of Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as winner of the last presidential election.
“At the adoption of final addresses, Tinubu’s camp conceded to two major facts that have made his key supporters across the country jittery on what may befall them in the final decision of the tribunal.

“Among other admitted and undisputed fundamental facts at the proceedings were that Tinubu actually forfeited a sum of $460,000 through the judgment of the United States of America’s court for his established involvement in narcotics and money laundering related offences.”
Phrank added that another fact was the unchallenged admission of the INEC that Atiku won the February 25 presidential election in 21 states of the federation, the claim which ought to have made the electoral umpire to declare him as the lawful winner of the poll.

“Besides the two major facts, the qualifications of Tinubu for the poll may also take centre stage in the scrutiny of the tribunal following the admission of the President in his INEC form EC009  wherein he admitted having not attended any primary or Secondary School in Nigeria.
“This is in contrast to his claim to the same electoral body in 1998 where in his own hand writing, admitted graduating at a Primary School at Aroyaya in Lagos and at Government College Ibadan, Oyo State.

“Tinubu’s legal team at the adoption of final address led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN conceded that the President was actually punished by an American court and was made to forfeit the $460,000 found in his bank account as proceeds of heinous crime of narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
“Similar admission was made through the APC represented by Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.

“The two legal teams, however, asked the tribunal to invoke the forgiving spirit of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution to overlook the judgment of the US court on the forfeiture on the ground that the verdict was handed to Tinubu more than 30 years ago.”
He said: “It is ridiculous that the holder of the President of Nigeria will stand before an open court and be pleading for clemency for a crime on narcotics and money laundering.

“The admission by INEC that Atiku won in 21 states of the federation which, uptil now, has not been controverted by INEC itself, is another factor giving the APC sleepless night.
“At the last opportunity to rebut the claims and denounce it, the electoral body completely slept off, fuelling the belief that the electoral umpire knows what it is doing in its entirety.”