President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will make a broadcast to the nation on Monday, July 31, 2023 at 7 pm.

Television, radio stations and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority and Radio Nigeria for the broadcast.

Dele Alake
Special Adviser to the President
(Special duties, Communications & Strategy)
July 31, 2023

West Africa’s regional economic bloc threatened a military intervention to remove the leader of a coup in Niger unless the junta reinstates the nation’s democratically elected president.

The warning by the Economic Community of West African States came after thousands of people rallied in the capital, Niamey, on Sunday in support of the junta and staged a protest at the French Embassy in the centre of the city. France, the former colonial power in Niger, said it will retaliate if any of its citizens are attacked.

Ecowas, as the bloc is known, imposed sanctions on Niger on Sunday, including closing air and land borders , freezing the nation’s assets at the regional central bank, and halting energy transactions. It demanded the immediate release and return to power of President Mohamed Bazoum, and said it was treating his detention by the coup leaders as a “hostage situation” for which it would hold them responsible.

“In the event that the authority’s demands are not met within one week, we will take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the republic of Niger,” the bloc said in a statement after a meeting in Abuja, the capital of neighboring Nigeria. “Such measures may include the use of force.”

Read more: What’s Driving Coups in Niger and Across West Africa?: QuickTake

Any military intervention by Ecowas would be the first since the bloc deployed troops in Gambia in January 2017, when President Yahya Jammeh refused to step down after losing a presidential election in December 2016. Jammeh relinquished power shortly before the troops entered the nation’s capital.

Niger is considerably larger than Gambia and would require the coordination of troops from Ecowas’s 15 member states, stretching from Nigeria to Mauritania. The bloc’s defense chiefs of staff are to meet “immediately” to discuss the potential military intervention, it said. 

Chad’s military ruler, Interim President Mahamat Deby Itno, was in Niamey on Sunday to meet the junta leaders and help resolve the crisis that began on July 26, when the presidential guard led by General Abdourahamane Tiani detained Bazoum. Tiani declared himself Niger’s new leader two days later. 

The coup leaders, who are believed to be backed by all the segments of the security forces, have so far ignored previous calls by Ecowas, the African Union, the US and France to release Bazoum and return to their barracks. Previous sanctions imposed by Ecowas on junta leaders in countries including Mali and Burkina Faso failed to overturn coups in those countries.

Read more: Six Things We Know About Niger’s New Military Leader

Niger has long been a key ally to the European Union and the US in the global fight against jihadists in the region. It receives almost $2 billion in annual development aid, according to the World Bank.

France, which has 1,500 troops stationed in Niger, said it had suspended aid that amounted to €120 million ($132 million) last year. The EU, which has committed €503 million in development aid from 2021-2024, has announced “the immediate cessation of budget support” and security cooperation.

France has uranium mines in Niger operated by companies including Orano SA. Niger was the world’s seventh-largest producer of the metal last year, though its output has more than halved in the past decade, according to the World Nuclear Association.

US security and development assistance was also “in jeopardy,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference on Saturday.

Read more: US Mulls Freezing Aid to Niger as Coup Condemnation Grows 

Niger has been considered a reliable partner to the West in Africa’s Sahel region, which has experienced persistent political and economic instability. France and the US maintain bases in the country as part of international efforts to fight jihadists, while the EU sees it as an ally in its efforts to tackle illegal immigration from Africa.

The coup in Niger creates a belt of military-run countries that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, many of which are less friendly with the West than they are with Russia, which has made inroads in the region in recent years partly through the Wagner Group.

[Bloomberg]

Welcome to our live coverage of the highly anticipated clash between Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Nigerian national women’s football team, the Super Falcons, are riding a wave of confidence as they seek to extend their impressive six-match unbeaten streak.

Since the 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in the Revelation Cup five months ago, the Super Falcons are yet to taste defeat in any match afterwards.

Now, Coach Randy Waldrum’s squad faces off against Ireland in their final group game in what promises to be an enthralling encounter.

Against all odds, the nine-time African champions have defied expectations in Group B, emerging as the leaders heading into this crucial match.

After securing a well-deserved draw against Canada and delivering a thrilling victory over co-hosts Australia, the Super Falcons find themselves on the brink of qualification for the Round of 16.

While Nigeria boasts an illustrious history as one of only seven countries to have participated in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since its inception in 1991, this tournament marks Ireland’s maiden appearance on the global stage.

Despite facing elimination after consecutive losses to Canada and Australia, the Green and Whites will undoubtedly be eager to salvage some pride as they face the formidable Nigerian side.

The Super Falcons know their fate lies in their own hands, and they will be keen to build on their impressive performances.

Coach Randy Waldrum’s charges are expected to unleash their attacking prowess and play with utmost determination to secure a convincing victory and qualify for the Round of 16 in style.

Stay with PREMIUM TIMES for live updates as we bring you minute-by-minute coverage of what promises to be a thrilling encounter.

Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m. Stay tuned for all the action!

Nigeria Starting XI
Nigeria: Chiamaka Nnadozie (GK), Ashleigh Plumptre, Osinachi Ohale, Toni Payne, Asisat Oshoala, Christy Ucheibe, Uchenna Kanu, Blessing Demehin, Rasheedat Ajibade, Halimatu Ayinde, Michelle Alozie.

The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met in an Extraordinary Session in Abuja, Nigeria on 30th July 2023, under the chairmanship of H.E. Bola Ahmed TINUBU, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority.

The Extraordinary Summit was convened in response to the latest political developments in the Republic of Niger since the 26 th July 2023 coup d’état Present at the Summit were the following Heads of State and Government and mandated representatives:

• H.E. Patrice TALON, President of the Republic of Benin.
• H.E. Alassane OUATTARA, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.
• H.E. Adama BARROW, President of the Republic of The Gambia.
• H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO, President of the Republic of Ghana.

• H.E. Umaro Sissoco EMBALO, President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau.
• H.E. Bola Ahmed TINUBU, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
• H.E. Macky SALL, President of the Republic of Senegal.
• H.E. Faure Essozimna GNASSINGBE, President of the Togolese Republic.
• H.E. Rui Alberto DE FIGUEIREDO SOARES, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration of the Republic of Cabo Verde.

• H.E. Amb. Dee-Maxwell SOAH KEMAYAH, Sn, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia.3

• H.E. Rupert DAVIES, High Commissioner of Sierra Leone to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS, Republic of Sierra Leone.

• The Representative of President Bazoum, Republic of Niger.

The Summit was also attended by:

• H.E. Dr Omar Alieu TOURAY, President of the ECOWAS Commission.
• H.E. Moussa Faki MAHAMAT, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
• H.E. Leonardo Santos SIMÃO, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General For West Africa and the Sahel and Head of UNOWAS

• H.E. Abdoulaye DIOP, President of UEMOA Commission

The Authority, having:

Received the Memorandum of the President of the ECOWAS Commission on the political situation in the Republic of Niger; Extensively discussed the latest developments in the Republic of Niger that have been marked by an attempted overthrow by members of the Presidential Guard of the Constitutional order in the Republic of Niger and the illegal detention of the legitimate Head of State His Excellency President Muhammed Bazoum as well as members of his family and government;

Recalled, with appreciation, the immediate steps that HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chair of Authority, has taken in the form of statements, communiquės, mission and consultations with regional, continental, and world leaders;

Taken cognizance of the condemnation of the attempted coup and the illegal detention of President Bazoum and members of his family and government by the neighbouring countries, the African Union, United Nations, European Union, United States of America, China, Russia, la Francophonie, the Commonwealth, the OIC and other partners;

Recalled the principle of Zero tolerance for unconstitutional change of government as enshrined in the ECOWAS and African Union Protocols and other instruments;

Resolve as follows:

• Affirm that His Excellency President Mohamed BAZOUM remains the legitimate elected President and Head of State of The Republic of Niger recognized by ECOWAS, the African Union and the International community; In this regards, only official acts of President Bazoum or his duly mandated officials will be recognized by ECOWAS;
• Condemn in the strongest terms the attempted overthrow of constitutional order in Niger and the illegal detention of His Excellency President Mohamed Bazoum, President and Head of State of Niger, as well as members of his family and Government;
• Call for the immediate release and reinstatement of President Mohamed Bazoum as President and Head of State of the Republic of Niger, and for the full restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Niger;
• Reject any form of resignation that may purportedly come from His Excellency President Mohamed Bazoum;e. Consider the illegal detention of President Bazoum as a hostage situation and hold the authors of the attempted coup d’état solely and fully responsible for the safety and security of His Excellency President Mohamed Bazoum, as well as members of his family and Government;
• In the event the Authority’s demands are not met within one week, take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force; To this effect, the Chiefs of defense staff of ECOWAS are to meet immediately;
• Hold accountable all those responsible for violence and terror against lives and properties of innocent citizens and residents;
• Condemn the pronouncement of support by foreign governments and foreign private military contractors;
• Express appreciation to the various governments and partners for their stance and solidarity with ECOWAS;
• Appoint and dispatch a special representative of the Chair of the Authority to Niger immediately to deliver the demands of the Authority;
• In the meantime, the following measures are to be applied with immediate effect:

1. Closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Niger;
2. Institution of ECOWAS no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger;
3. Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS Member States and Niger;
4. Freeze of all service transaction including utility services;
5. Freeze of assets of the Republic of Niger in ECOWAS Central Banks;
6. Freeze of assets of the Niger State and the State Enterprises and Parastatals in Commercial Banks;
7. Suspension of Niger from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, particularly, EBID and BOAD;
8. Travel ban and asset freeze for the military officials involved in the coup attempt. The same applies to their family members and the civilians who accept to participate in any institutions or government established by these military officials;
9. Calls on WAEMU and all other regional bodies to implement this decision.

• Express appreciation to His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President and Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the manner in which he has been conducting the affairs of the community since his election as Chair of the ECOWAS Authority.

Done at Abuja, this 30th day of July 2023.

FOR THE AUTHORITY

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will make a broadcast to the nation at 7 pm on Monday, July 31, 2023.

Dele Alake, presidential spokesman, announced this in a statement on Monday morning.

“Television, radio stations and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority and Radio Nigeria for the broadcast,” the statement read.

It is unclear what the broadcast is about but it comes at a time when the masses are complaining of nationwide hardship as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy, leading to hike in petrol price.

The president has repeatedly appealed for calm, saying his government is working hard to ensure that Nigerians live comfortably.

Tinubu attributed the current state to labour room pain, saying the gains are on the way.

His address comes on the eve of the nationwide protest of organised labour and amid the strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) who rejected the 25% increment in basic salary recently announced by the federal government.

In a communique issued Saturday after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos, the association said , it ” vehemently rejects the paltry 25% increment in the basic salary of doctors as well as the accouterment allowance”.

The association said that its earlier demand is for full restoration of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to its right value as at the time of the approval of the structure in 2009.

The communique was signed by the president of the association, Dr Orji Emeka Innocent, secretary-general Dr Chikezie Kelechi, and publicity and social secretary Dr Umar Musa.

NARD said it would continue the ongoing nationwide total and indefinite strike action until reasonable progress is made by the government to address her demands as contained in the ultimatum issued to the federal government earlier this month.

It demanded the immediate release of the circular on the One-for-One policy for the replacement of exited clinical workers for implementation, saying it could not continue to watch her members lose their lives and break down under the weight of work overload occasioned by massive depletion of clinical staff due to brain drain.

[DailyTrust]

As a precursor to the fixing of judgement date, the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja has directed all the parties to appear before it on Tuesday to adopt their final briefs of argument.

The court, in a notice it sent to the parties, invited them to adopt their written address with respect to the petition that was lodged against President Bola Tinubu by a former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as well as the one that was filed by candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi.

It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had on March 1, announced that Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, won the presidential election that was held on February 25, ahead of 17 other candidates that participated in the contest.

It declared that Tinubu scored a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat the two major contenders, Alhaji Atiku of the PDP, who came second with a total of 6,984,520 votes, and Mr. Obi of the LP, who came third with a total of 6,101,533 votes.

However, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, both Atiku and Obi approached the court to invalidate it.

The duo, in their separate petitions, claimed that they won the presidential poll, even as they challenged Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the election.

The petitioners, aside from praying the court to declare that President Tinubu did not secure the majority of lawful votes that were cast at the election, are equally seeking the withdrawal of the Certificate of Return that was issued to him by INEC.

Alternatively, they are praying the court to order a fresh presidential election, with the exclusion of President Tinubu whom they argued was ab-initio, not qualified to participate in the Poll.

The court had on July 5, concluded its hearing of both Atiku and Obi’s petitions

While Obi closed his case after he called 13 witnesses that testified and tendered several documentary exhibits, Atiku produced 27 witnesses and equally tendered exhibits before the court.

On their part, both INEC and President Tinubu wrapped up their defence in both cases with one witness each, while the APC failed to produce any witness before the court.

However, all the Respondents, in their respective written addresses, urged the court to dismiss all the petitions for want of merit.

They argued that the petitioners were unable to discharge the burden of proof that was placed on them by the law.

According to the Respondents, whereas the petitioners raised allegations that had elements of crime in them, they, however, failed to prove them beyond reasonable doubt as required by the law.

Though five petitions were initially filed to nullify Tinubu’s election, however, the Action Alliance, AA, on May 8, withdrew its case, even as the Action Peoples Party, APP, followed suit two days later by also discontinuing further proceedings on its own petition.

The Allied Peoples Movement, APM, which refused to withdraw its own petition, had on July 14, adopted its final written address, even as the court reserved its judgement on the petition.

[NationalDaily]

Niger Republic is Nigeria’s next-door neighbour. She is not the best neighbour Nigeria would desire but, as a sovereign nation, we have no control over her. Her economic statistics, population demographics, poverty and security threats – terrorism, insurgency, and inter-communal conflicts – are too much baggage for a neighbour any nation will want to have. However, like all responsible neighbours, a threat to a neighbour is a threat on you. A fire outbreak in your neighbour’s house is a valid threat to your own safety and it is in your enlightened self-interest to ensure peace in the neighbourhood. Only then can you have a measure of peace. Relating this to countries sharing borders, Nigeria needs peace at this crucial time to address her socio-economic and security challenges.

Of recent, the peace of Niger Republic has been threatened and breached. Last week, members of the elite Presidential Guard successfully overthrew the elected government of President Mohammed Bazoum and named General Abdourahomene Tchiani as President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland. This development has effectively created instability in that country and the West African sub-region. The Nigerien experience makes it the fifth  military coup in the sub-region since 2020 following earlier coup d’etat in Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea,  and Mali. As expected, the UN, USA, EU , UK, ECOWAS, Nigeria, and other world leaders have condemned these constitutional breaches. However, the world is looking to Nigeria to lead the sub-region in fighting against the contagion of coups that are destroying the democratic foundations of the past decades and turning the region into the coups epicentre of the world. The expectation is not misplaced. As the dominant regional power, Nigeria has a moral and diplomatic responsibility for ensuring stability in the neighbourhood.

There is no denying that this coup has destabilized Niger. Or that the aftermath of this destabilisation will have grave consequences on the region and Nigeria in particular. The system has notable chaos and a complete sense of unease in a country already battling with extremism and terrorism attacks from Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province fighters in addition to exponential economic hardship. The ousted President is known for his unrelenting fight against terrorist groups within his country and the sub-region. His overthrow and the resultant instability may leave room for terrorist groups in Niger to strategize,  and reinforce their actions against States within the sub-region.

Terrorism thrives in failed States with little or no legitimate government. It creates leeway for non-state actors to have a field day and act with impunity. This recent development in Niger will certainly create an additional burden for Nigeria. To be more exact, instability in Niger Republic will affect Nigeria in four significant ways. First, any security vacuum created by this instability will be used by extremist groups, criminal networks and other destabilising elements to upturn all the gains Niger and other Sahel  countries in the sub-region have made over a decade in containing these groups. When these groups thrive in Niger, they attack neighbouring countries with common boundaries with Niger. Nigeria will be the main target, mainly because she shares borders with Niger across Bornu, Yobe, Jigawa, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi States. That is the longest border Nigeria shares with any country. This poses a significant risk to Nigeria’s fragile internal security. A destabilised Niger Republic will be a free breeding ground for terrorists and provide unrestricted passage to Nigeria for Boko Haram and other terrorist groups through the Diffa region.

Second, Nigeria will most likely bear the brunt of Niger’s refugee crisis. Niger Republic, which already serves as a transit point for migrants and refugees, has a high youth population and the world’s highest birth rate. Any destabilisation of Niger Republic will lead to a massive refugee movement into Nigeria through our seemingly porous borders. Most Nigeriens can trek into Nigeria. Besides, Niger is an agrarian economy. With climate change and conflict, it is only natural for their farmers and herders to migrate to Nigeria. This will compound and exacerbate our now very challenging farmer-pastoral clashes. 

Third, the crisis in Niger will provide a valid threat to the growth and deepening of democracy in the West African sub-region. The ousted President’s election was the first democratic transition of power in a State that has witnessed four military coups since independence from France in 1960. This would be a reversal of all gains made therefore. Already, three countries in the West African sub-region are under military rule. Two others: The Gambia and Guinea Bissau’s democracy are being sustained by Nigeria. A fragile Niger signals susceptibility to unconstitutional rule in other West African (WA) democracies. Militarism and juntas leading many States in the West African sub-region do not inspire confidence and may be seen as retrogressive by other stakeholders. Each successful coup provides some cues or encouragement for subsequent ones. Like insurgencies, coups are rooted in governance failings, population conflicts and the nature of civilian and military relations within the state. The Nigerian State must ensure that such fertile grounds for coups are not in place in countries in the sub-region. Nigeria is working hard for more regional economic and political integration through the instrumentality of the ECOWAS and must work to forestall unsavoury political developments such as we have in Niger since crisis in any member-State sabotages the effort Nigeria is leading and jeopardises regional integration. 

Fourth, the coup in Niger Republic is an affront to Nigeria’s leadership in West Africa. Aside from affecting us directly as a country, it will affect our standing as regional and continental leaders. How Nigeria, as a regional power, engages and interacts with its neighbour determines how we keep our status as a continental power. Our reputation is at stake. The world is watching how Nigeria will successfully deal with this crisis in Niger. Therefore, the world expects the Nigerian State to work unilaterally or within regional and continental institutions such as ECOWAS and AU to solve this crisis. On our part, Africa remains the centrepiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy. Our nation constitutes the conscience of the world. All these attributes entrusts Nigeria with the responsibility of championing democratic tenets in and for the continent. Failure to accomplish this sacred duty would negatively impact the global perception of Nigeria as a net contributor to global power dynamics. In the execution of her sacred role, Nigeria must send a clear message that not again on her watch will a State on the continent – particularly on the West Coast – fall to the cold hands of military juntas. The world must never perceive Nigeria as a fallen power or a toothless bulldog that barks but cannot bite.

This crisis is a significant challenge for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria who doubles as the leader of ECOWAS. Both roles put him at the fore of dealing with this crisis. Thankfully, he has vowed to show no tolerance for coups in the region. By that proclamation alone, he has started the hard work to re-establish Nigeria’s regional leadership and end the crisis in Niger. He started well by following a clear strategy for dealing with the situation by first condemning the coup in toto and commencing diplomatic engagements to stem the tide.

President Bola Tinubu sent a planeload of his senior officers to press the Niger military to abort the takeover. Although the mission may be unsuccessful at the moment, this kind of leadership from within the region is commendable. The new Nigerian and ECOWAS leader has continued to engage with world leaders such as the US Vice President, the Secretary-General of the UN, Heads of State of countries within the sub-region and other vital stakeholders to fashion out the best multilateral approach of a lasting solution to the problem. He is galvanising the ECOWAS and AU for a collaborative institutional approach. Yesterday 30th July  in Abuja , ECOWAS leaders made a cocktail of significant decisions aimed at dislodging the junta  . It includes imposition of no flight zone , air and land boarder closure , financial sanctions, without ruling out the use of force . The international community will be watching out how far ECOWAS can go in its resolve to restore constitutional order . 

In searching for the results to this political crisis, we must come to terms with its anatomy by conducting a near infallible diagnosis of the symptoms it presents. There is a nexus of local, regional and global factors at play in this crisis. We must highlight this connection, especially while articulating a comprehensive solution to this crisis and laying the foundation to prevent coup d’etat from being staged in any other country in the sub-region going forward. This is especially important given the role France, as former colonial masters with more cultural, political, economic and military ties, plays in the emerging milieu. The ousted President has a robust link with France and that window can come in handy. However,  recent global events have seen the possible push by the Russian/Chinese hegemonies to take control of some African countries and push out the US and her Western allies. Some African militaries are counting on this emerging global divide and are taking their chances knowing there are opportunities of having the backing of either of the powers after a coup. 

Every international or multilateral intervention must dispassionately examine the root cause(s) of the leadership crisis and the unmet needs or unresolved conflicts that are driving coups. There is the need and no effort should be spared to strengthen Niger’s institutions and broader civil society, provide more economic investments and support intense diplomacy. The latter may include use of military force to produce regime change. The enduring solution to the Nigerien debacle is this. Nigeria, other principal voices in the subregion and global actors must work in collaboration to pull Niger back from this or any future military dictatorship.

“ECOWAS on Sunday slammed border closure on Niger because of the coup there. Let us look at the political map of that country. It is bordered in the north by non-ECOWAS members, Libya and Algeria. It is bordered by Benin and Nigeria in the south where local people along the borders share farms and streams with their kin on Niger’s side. Niger also shares borders with Burkina Faso in the southeast, with Mali in the west, and with Chad in the east. Is ECOWAS aware that all these countries are, like Niger, under military rule? So, how effective will the closure be?”

Six contiguous states across Africa, from Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean to Sudan on the Red Sea, have suffered eight military coups since 2020. The United States Institute for Peace (USIP) noted and wrote the above in relation to last week’s coup in Niger Republic. It described the situation as depressing. It is. Depressing means upsetting and distressing, painful. It also means disheartening, heartbreaking and heart-rending. Each of those words will fit an experience of betrayal where trust is invested. Ousted President Mohamed Bazoum would use those words too, especially when it was announced that the head of his guards was the one who sacked him. The violent process is called coup d’etat; Napoleon Bonaparte did it after his Egyptian military campaign in October 1799; it crowned him emperor, a virtual dictator in 1804.

Coups are sometimes redemptive and corrective; they are many times ruinous. The December 1, 1983 issue of the Nigerian Tribune carried a front page story headlined: ‘Metroline takes off in 1984.’ It was about Lagos State and the UPN government there thinking ahead. Exactly one month after that report, a coup d’etat killed the metroline dream; the result is the intractable snarled-up Lagos traffic we feel today. When the Nigerien coup story broke last week, I asked a reporter in his late 20s what he knew about coups de’tat. He started ‘blowing’ grammar but I understood his limited knowledge of what I asked. To him, coup was a mere subject of discussion; to my generation, it is a lived experience, a permanent scar. I told the young man of our experience in the 1970s, 1980s and the ’90s when we slept under a ‘regime of hope’ and woke up with ‘renewed hope’ under another regime without having a say in who ruled us and for how long. The last time we experienced a coup was November 1993, about thirty years ago. ‘Impunity’ and ‘arbitrariness’ were the words the young man used to qualify what I described. He was right. What rules coups is not the law as we know it. It has its own rule, its own morality – might is right, what Charles Darwin (and Herbert Spencer) called “survival of the fittest…an overthrowing of the moving equilibrium wherever it presents the least opposing force…” It is a capricious supplanting of the Rule of Law with the rule of men in its crudest form.

Edward Luttwak, in chapter 2 of his ‘Coup D’etat: A Practical Handbook’ (first published in 1968, republished in 1979, updated and republished in April 2016), identifies what he calls conditions that predispose countries to a violent change of government. He lists “a passivity of enforced silence, not inertia”, economic distress, and insecurity among such vulnerabilities (page 22). Were those conditions present in Niger Republic before last week? If they were, how innocent were the coup leaders in the making of the deterioration which now summoned their intervention? The new leader has been an inner part of the system since 2011. He is on record as “a staunch ally” of Bazoum’s mentor and predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou; he is still very close to him. He was very close to Bazoum until recently. When you are complicit in the making of a problem, would you not be insulting the intelligence of your audience if you advertise and hold yourself out as the solution?

Coup is the political equivalent of armed wife snatching, an act that knows no friend because it is war. In that zero-sum game of power, every actor is a serpent and the closest is always the most poisonous. General Abdourahamane Tchiani, Niger’s coup leader, was the commander of the elite presidential guard. His job was to protect the man he sacked and detained in an apparent preemptive strike. The coupist had an ancestor in Nigeria: Colonel (later Brigadier) Joseph Nanven Garba was made the commander of the Nigerian elite Brigade of Guards at Dodan Barracks in Lagos in the middle of the Nigerian Civil War. He was in charge of the personal security of the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon. Like Tchiani, Garba did the work admirably for almost a decade. Then on May 29, 1975, General Gowon was overthrown in a military coup announced by his chief guard – the same Joe Garba. In Mali, a certain Colonel Assimi Goita was in the news on August 18, 2020 for seizing power which he soon ceded to transitional President Bah Ndaw. Goita was back nine months later in May 2021 announcing that he had seized power from President Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane. He proceeded to detain the duo and became interim president and has remained in power since. What is the meaning of interim? The September 2022 coup in Burkina Faso threw up Captain Ibrahim Traore who was a key participant in the January 2022 coup that enthroned the man he sacked, Lt-Col Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba. That act of a comrade toppling another comrade was consistent with the political history of the Burkinabe. On Thursday, 15 October, 1987, the leader who renamed the country Burkina Faso, Captain Thomas Sankara, was shot dead outside the central parliament building in Ouagadougou. It was his best friend, colleague and comrade, Blaise Compaore, who was behind his death. Someone reviewed the Sankara tragedy and warned: beware of best friends.

It is not really strange that the man who sacked his president in Niger was in fact the man in charge of the president’s life and throne. Sadly, it is the way of life, and especially of power. You can’t slap someone unless you are close to the person. I counsel all leaders to choose their men with their mind’s eyes open. Whenever events like the Nigerien ‘betrayal’ happen, the Yoruba would quickly remember a head of their army, Aare Ona Kakanfo Afonja of Ilorin, who staged a coup against his lord, the Alaafin, in 1817, forced him out of power and out of life. Like the Arab Spring, the Afonja rebellion serially infected the whole of the Yoruba country with convulsions; the nation caved in to a pandemic of revolts and coups. But Afonja himself soon became a victim of his ambition.

Like Afonja, like Tchiani. The new man in Niger Republic is said to be very brave and popular among his soldiers. He holds himself out as a people’s General. Reports describe him as a veteran pro-democracy officer “who has foiled similar uprisings” in his country in recent past. He was, in fact, the one who foiled a plot to prevent Bazoum from being sworn in in April 2021. Ambitious people always speak the language of freedom. Afonja was a ‘freedom fighter’ hailed initially for standing up to the excesses of Alaafin Aole. He later built a formidable army of forcibly freed Oyo slaves of northern origin. He encouraged the enslaved to desert their owners, gave them freedom, courage and arms. He needed them for his protection but, like he did to the Alaafin, those he cultivated for his defence turned out his nemesis. Afonja fell six years after his coup at the mutinous hands of his soldiers. He was attacked, assailed, defeated and killed one very bad afternoon in 1823 by his ex-men. His attackers were not satisfied with just killing him; they burnt his corpse, denying him a decent burial. What happened to Afonja was a coup that has endured till tomorrow.

Death that is serially killing one’s age mates is dropping a sneaky heads-up in deep proverbs. We should understand the blue-murder cries across Africa’s presidential palaces over the coup in Niger. Rebellion is like yawning; it is contagious. When Gowon was removed in July 1975, the New York Times noted that he was “the seventh African head of government to be deposed in two years.” The newspaper reported that “the previous changes in government had come in Rwanda, Upper Volta, Niger, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Chad.” Two American political scientists, Nathan Danneman and Emily Hencken Ritter, in 2014 looked at the Arab Spring and came out with a paper they entitled ‘Contagious Rebellion and Preemptive Repression.’ They noted that “rebellions in Tunisia (which was) followed soon after by challenges in Egypt, Syria, and Libya” suggested “the contagious nature of civil conflict.” Rebellion in the neighborhood, they held, “make citizens more likely to rebel at home.” In politics, as in revolutions, one thing almost always leads to another. We saw it with the 1776 American revolt against British rule; it was followed in 1789 by the French battle for independence. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 ignited a chain of events which altered the course of events in Eastern Europe. That is why the USIP (United States Institute for Peace) is alarmed that eight African countries in 2023 share not just common borders and insecurity but also anti-democratic behaviour. If you’ve been bitten by a snake before, every twerking, slithering creature would be treated as a snake. French president, Emmanuel Macron, looked deeply at what happened and declared that “this coup is completely illegitimate and profoundly dangerous for Nigeriens, for Niger and for the whole region.” If an earthworm moves like a snake, kill it as you will kill a snake. Lovers of democracy in Africa should pay attention to these events. The Yoruba have many words of warning; one of them tells the careless to watch out for the dangers which pointed sticks pose to their eyes (igi ganganran má gún mi l’ójú, òkèèrè l’ati í lòó). You escape being blinded by being proactive.

A stich in time saves nine. The ousted Nigerien leader appeared never to have heard that saying before his sack. The coup leader, Tchiani, had reportedly developed a cold war with Bazoum, his Commander-in-Chief, repeatedly “shunning official ceremonies and activities” where the president was present. He was sending his deputy, Colonel Ibroh Amadou Bacharou, who is now solidly with him in this coup. What did the toppled president do? He was reportedly considering a sack of the General. He went to sleep with a python in his rafters. The sensible would tell him that very few have ever put a date to their enemy’s death and lived to carry it out.

War chiefs can be very uncontrollable and subversive. A particular Balogun some 200 years ago controlled Ilorin and resisted his Emir as it pleased him. It took the direct intervention of the British to put him and the other Baloguns down for the emir to breathe. There were several of such men in Ibadan history. In Ilorin, it was worse. The war chiefs actively competed for power and influence with the emirs, even demanding their removal and death – exactly as Afonja did with Alaafin Aole. But Lugard at a point resolved to address the question of the powers of the Baloguns in Ilorin. Colonial records say that in September 1900, Lugard wrote to the Resident in Ilorin on the need to deal with “the most ill-disposed” of the Baloguns as a lesson to others: “I should be glad if you would accumulate a case against (Balogun) Alanamu (or whoever is the worst) without letting it be known that you are so doing”…then ‘arrest and probably deport him” (See Danmole and Falola’s ‘The Documentation of Ilorin by Samuel Ojo Bada’. 1993: 9). What Lugard said he would do, he did to that Balogun. My people say when you kill iji in the presence of ìjì, ìjì will know its place and how much it weighs.

ECOWAS on Sunday slammed border closure on Niger because of the coup there. Let us look at the political map of that country. It is bordered in the north by non-ECOWAS members, Libya and Algeria. It is bordered by Benin and Nigeria in the south where local people along the borders share farms and streams with their kin on Niger’s side. Niger also shares borders with Burkina Faso in the southeast, with Mali in the west, and with Chad in the east. Is ECOWAS aware that all these countries are, like Niger, under military rule? So, how effective will the closure be?

It is gratifying to see the whole world rejecting what happened in Niger. Niger’s old master, France, has stopped all aids to the country; the European Union has halted all help; the United States has talked tough in support of democracy even as it threads the needle with utmost care. It has to; otherwise, the bad child will run out into the warm bosom of seductive Russia. The big lesson in the whole tragedy is that democracies will endure only when it serves the people and serves them well. Coup-endorsing videos of street jubilation and attacks on politicians, their property and symbols of democracy in Niger Republic are a distressing spectacle. Democracy may be painfully problematic in Africa, but it is still the strongest bulwark against the buffettings of arbitrariness and misrule.

Price of petrol may to rise further as international market data gathered by The PUNCH revealed that the commodity has gained 20 per cent.

At the beginning of 2023, Brent crude traded around $78 per barrel. However, last week, the international benchmark hit $83 per barrel.

On the other hand, petrol prices started the year at less than $2.50 per gallon. Last week, it hit $2.90 per gallon, and analysts said it could reach $3 in the new week.

A weak currency and inflation had caused a rise in the dollar against the naira to as much as N820/$1 recently, before dropping to N776/$1 as of Saturday.

In Nigeria, petrol price had risen from between N198/N200 per litre, to around N617 per litre since deregulation of the downstream sector by President Bola Tinubu on May 29.

Due to lack of functional refineries, Nigeria still imports its petrol despite being an oil producing country.

A Deputy Director, Mrs. Maimuna Lami Gogo Shiru, was over the weekend awarded with the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Award for successfully saving over N7 trillion in the cases she handled on behalf of the federal government.
She was of the 31 civil servants conferred with meritorious awards to conclude the activities of the 2023 Civil Service Week celebration.

Gogo, who is the Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law at the Ministry of Justice successfully completed over 200 cases on behalf of federal government including a case between the Registered Trustees of SERAP vs Chairman Code of Conduct wherein the federal government was saved from liability in the sum of N12 billion and Registered Trustees of Original Inhabitants of FCT Vs FGN where the latter was saved from a liability to the tune of N4 trillion.
She also saved the federal government the sum of $47.8 million in the matter against Panic Alert System.

Another awardee was Issac Anum, of the Ministry of Science and Technology, who initiated the memo that led to the formation of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and was also in the team that drafted the memo that midwife the formation of National Board for Technology Incubation.

Each of the 31 recipient of the outstanding award received N500,000 from the Aig-Imokhude Foundation while the star prize of a brand new 2022 JAC JS4 SUV was won by Mrs. Juwon Olayiwola of the Federal Ministry of Education; a 2-bedroom semi-detached bungalow won by Mr Kevin Nwachukwu of Service Welfare Office (OHCSF) and the third price, a plot of land was allocated to Mrs. Chukweke Stella Oluchi, of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

Meanwhile President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described the civil service as a fulcrum for governance, whose vision and mission were predicated on implementation of policies and programmes that will enhance national economic and multi-dimensional growth.
The president, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, made this disclosure at the Rewards and Recognition Ceremony/Gala Nite marking the concluding activities of the 2023 Civil Service Week celebration.

He noted that the event was a social gathering to appreciate the uncommon, exemplary and commendable performances of deserving civil servants.
He said the annual ritual was essential for the ongoing improvement in service delivery geared towards ensuring good governance, leading to rapid socio-economic development of our dear country.

According to him the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) would require a fit-for-purpose African Public Administration to succeed, which interrogates intra-African trade and productivity of the continent against the backdrop of the ambitious aspirations of Agenda 2063.
He added it was this that inspired the theme for this year’s Civil Service Week: “Digitalisation of Work Processes in the Public Service: A Gateway to Efficient Resource Utilisation and National Development,” further concretised the cardinal role digital technology plays in today’s workspaces, especially, in evolving a capable Public Service.

Tinubu also extolled the Aig-Imoukhede Foundation for instituting a N41 million endowment fund to reward deserving civil servants annually.
The move according to the president, would drive public sector transformation for improved public service delivery in the country.
He pledged that his administration would accord the necessary attention to prioritise the welfare of civil servants.

In his words: “As you must have noticed, the private sector is becoming more interested and committed to the value proposition of the civil servants. Their support is commendable. I am informed particularly of the support of the AIG-Imoukhuede Foundation.
“It is on record that the Foundation has instituted an endowment fund with N41,000,000.00 to reward deserving civil servants annually. The onus is now on the body of civil servants to collectively show greater dedication to its ideals.”

He therefore appreciated the Federal Civil Service as the custodian of public trust, and promise to empower it in order for them to consolidate on the gains of the on-going reforms, while also introducing further smart and radical policies and administrative measures to make the civil service more virile, competent, accountable and citizen-centred in the delivery of public services.

“It is fitting that the awardees today be adequately celebrated with fanfare. Award and recognition are instituted to motivate personnel and stimulate healthy competition among them for the delivery of high-quality services. The officers who have been adjudged worthy of recognition and awards today, are exemplars of the right values being promoted by the ongoing reforms in the Service,” he said.

“This initiative must be sustained. Let me therefore specially commend each and every one of the awardees for their dedication to service. The recognition given here today though a reward; is also a call to greater service. Be reassured that the country of your dream is possible,” he averred.

He noted his administration counts on the Public Service and the Federal Civil Service in particular, to deliver on their promise of a renewed hope even as the federal government would be unfolding very explicit cues for action in no distant time.

Tinubu said many tough, but needful policy and paradigm shifts would be emplaced to reposition governance for efficiency, effectiveness and productivity, saying that to match the expectations of the present administration, the civil service must increase its reform pace.

[ThisDay]