After almost two weeks of a standoff between coup plotters in the Niger Republic, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), both parties are now ready to dialogue.

Immediately after the military ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, on July 26, West African leaders, and indeed world leaders, condemned the usurpation of constitutional rule in the West African country and called for its restoration.

This was reechoed, by the regional bloc on July 30, when it gave the coup plotters a seven-day ultimatum to restore constitutional order by returning the democratically elected leader to office or face dire consequences.

The ultimatum, which came four days after the coup d’état was a product of the emergency meeting of ECOWAS leaders in Nigeria. It was not the only measure deployed by ECOWAS to help in restoring democracy to the Niger Republic. ECOWAS leaders also asked member states to shut their land and air borders against the Niger Republic, as well as freeze the country’s assets within ECOWAS states.

But reacting to the ultimatum, the coup leaders refused to dialogue with the ECOWAS’ delegation to Niamey, which was led by former Nigerian military leader, General AbdulsalamiAbubakar (retd), with the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar also in the team.

This visit was, however, followed by the show of support to the military junta in Niger, by leaders of Mali and Burkina Faso, who promised to provide military support for the Niger Republic should ECOWAS go ahead with its threat of military intervention. There were also insinuations that Guinea Conakry might join in the provision of military support since the current leaders of these three countries equally got into power through coup d’état, and have also been suspended from ECOWAS.

It was when the cat and mouse game between the Nigerien junta and ECOWAS appeared unending and uncertainty loomed in the region, that stakeholders, especially religious leaders fearing that the situation may escalate decided to intervene.

Sanusi also met with leader of Niger Republic military junta, General Tchiani.

The first was the 14th Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and then some Islamic scholars.

The team of Islamic scholars included Kabiru Gombe, the secretary of Jamatul izalatul bid’a waikamatul sunnah; Yakubu Katsina, director of Daawah of JIBWIS; Dahiru Bauchi, represented by Ibrahim Bauchi, and Khalid Aliyu, the secretary-general of Jammatul Nasril Islam and Chief Missioner of Ansarudeen Society of Nigeria, Abdulrahman Ahmad. Bala Lau led the team of Nigerian Islamic scholars to meet with Abdourahmane Tchiani, the coup leader in Niamey.

Following the Nigerian Islamic scholars’ visit to Niamey, Tchiani not only agreed to meet with the ECOWAS team, but he also apologised for not accepting to discuss with the General Abubakar-led ECOWAS team and gave reasons for the decision.

Commenting on how the matter has panned out thus far, a former Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia, and Professor of Political Science/International Relations, Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Professor Babafemi Badejo, said that ECOWAS and others have to stop living in denial.

“A coup has taken place and consolidated. It can be reversed if the hard-line positions are realistically handled. Diplomacy is, any day, superior to force and sanctions. Sanctions and threats, as well as, the actual butt of force have negative repercussions on both sides,” he said.

He insisted that ECOWAS has to focus on the restoration of constitutional order as opposed to the restoration of President Bazoum. “Diplomacy is not an event; it is a process. It takes some time for negotiations to yield success if we do not continue to blow hot and cold at the same time.”

Badejo noted that before the Nigerian and ECOWAS leaders thought about military intervention, they should have considered several factors. According to him, “Has the necessary resolution of the United Nations Security Council been sought with certainty that there will be no veto making an ECOWAS war illegal as ECOWAS got stopped over Cote d’Ivoire? Has costs and benefits analysis been done by the Nigerian authorities for the short, medium, and long-term, especially under the current financial problems that Nigeria is facing?

Islamic scholars after the meeting with the coup leaders

“Given the refusal to reimburse Nigeria’s efforts in Sierra Leone and Liberia in the past, is Nigeria able to fund a possible war with Niger Republic as others in ECOWAS cajole her to lead, and as usual carry most, if not all of the yoke? How will the ECOWAS leadership close Niger’s borders with Mali and Burkina Faso – countries with sympathetic military regimes to those in power in Niger, and the possible availability of counter air power instruments?”

Badejo continued: “Has Nigeria pondered on a perceived weak Niger Republic entering into a wider alliance(s), including with other stronger governments, organised and unorganised terror franchises?

“Has the Nigerian government carefully reflected on the Nigerien views, popularity, or not of the coup plotters, and the implications of this for any military action? Is Nigeria prepared to lead a process towards a truncated ECOWAS? Is Nigeria acting swiftly to please external interests, without thoughtful consideration of the all-round implications for ECOWAS, Nigeria, and its people if a Libya-type internationalised war starts next door?

He further said: “Diplomacy is superior to threats of the use of force that may be difficult or impossible to implement. Preventing coups in West Africa is not by sanctions and threats, but by addressing leadership deficit and corruption, curtailing negative external pressures, as well as the building of credible institutions to provide for the needs of the people.”

Similarly, Professor Freedom Onuoha, of the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria Nsukka, noted that the coup plotters deferred to the Muslim leaders obviously in recognition of the respect shown them by the religious leaders, and to slight ECOWAS, especially having been convinced that ECOWAS leaders did not treat them with due respect by giving them just seven days to return Bazoum to office.

“I do not see the coup leaders accepting to return power to the ousted president given the possibility of a retributive trial of junta leaders, as well as the fact that doing so will invalidate any justification that the junta presented earlier as the reason for removing him in the first place.”

On better ways that ECOWAS could manage sundry crises going forward, Onuoha said that the regional body needs to recognise that any demand that it makes to the military, including the possible transition to a democratically elected government must be very realistic, measured, and forward-looking in the light of the complicated internal politico-economic and security situations within ECOWAS member states that could frustrate united front against the junta as well as the constellation of external forces in support of the Junta such as open solidarity from Mali and Burkina Faso and tacit support from Russia.

Aside from ECOWAS demanding the return of the ousted president, what other demands should be tabled by ECOWAS, Onuoha observed that it appears as though the ECOWAS is negotiating from a position of weakness given that its military ultimatum was a flop from a strategic point of view.

“What the ECOWAS can realistically demand is the safe release of President Bazoum and his family members; agreement on the timeline for transition to a democratically elected government, which will certainly take about eighteen months at the minimum; convening of a transitional authority or government to oversee the transition process; and exclusion of the junta from participation in the elections.”

Onuoha, however, implored the coup leaders to seize the opportunity to negotiate with ECOWAS and find an acceptable framework for the transition to a democratically elected government, especially in the light of the deterioration of the security situation in Niger Republic due to the redirecting of available forces to guarantee junta or regime security which created security vacuum being exploited by violent extremist groups and the biting effect of sanctions on the local economy and people.

Bazoum (Photo by Issouf SANOGO / AFP)

On his part, Professor Tayo Adeshina of the Department of History, University of Ibadan, speaking on the possibility of the ousted president returning to power, stated that it might be hard to imagine because it is now likely to turn into an ego problem between the president and his former protector.

“The way out may be an interim government that would not involve both of the actors. That will be the route to peace now. Since the commander of the brigade of guards who overthrew his boss has sympathizers and followers it will be unhealthy to return one or both of them to power. The soup has become sour now.”

On better ways ECOWAS can manage the crisis going forward, Adeshina stated that ECOWAS must recognize that the water has become muddied and to ensure peace, both actors must be persuaded to leave the scene for an interim arrangement. “No shot fired, no loss of lives, and no wasting of assets and resources.”

ECOWAS is demanding the return of the ousted president to office, and this is the cardinal point that it has continued to make since the incident occurred, but Adeshina thinks that returning the president to office now is not a good idea because “he has been thoroughly embarrassed and diminished. So, just arrange a safe passage out of the presidential palace for him, but the military must also step back.”

He added that the “coup leaders should lay down their arms, be given safe passage out of the presidential palace, provide a buffer force (not a fighting force), and then help create a new presidential guard. After the process has been completed, ECOWAS needs to address the French exploitation of Francophone countries once and for all.’’

Beyond just issuing threats after the military takeovers, what peer review mechanism can ECOWAS put in place to halt the recurring usurpation of constitutional governments in the region, a former director general of the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, Professor Bola A. Akinterinwa, argued that the problem is not simply about putting in place a peer review mechanism, but more about the nature of a coup d’etats.

Akinterinwa, now a lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, said: “In other words, what are the causal factors of the coup? Is the coup a military or a non-military coup? Is the coup a coup to change the government to govern, or a coup to ensure the people’s protection and survival? Is the coup externally sponsored? Whose interests are at stake in coup-making?

“Some unconfirmed reports have it that the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum had earlier spoken about France being unwanted in the country, and this explains why the pro-French Nigeriens wanted him out of office. This means that even if France is openly condemning the coup, there is no way France would not want to have Bazoum removed.

“Consequently, it is the answers to my questions that can help in seriously deterring coups d’états in Africa. Let us look at the first and second coups in Mali, which are generally described as a coup within a coup, because the first coup took place on 18 August 2020, and the second coup occurred about nine months after, in May 2021. The coups were people-oriented even though the military, led by Assimi Goïta led the coup. The Malians began the coup-making publicly through weeks of public demonstrations against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. In this regard, which interest will any peer review mechanism seek to protect? The elected president and his government, or the Malian people who elected the president?

“In halting recidivist coup incidents, emphasis must first be placed on differentiating between military and civilian coups so that it is not the people that are first made the target of sanctions, or declaration of war. Besides, it is not only the unconstitutional change of government, especially the sit-tight presidential politics, in which the leaders smartly, but fraudulently change constitutions to prolong their stay in power, but also the fraudulently rigged elections that produced presidents that are being protected by the ECOWAS and foreign governments.

“It is unbelievable that ECOWAS is condemning unconstitutional changes of government while also abetting, or acquiescing to illegal election riggings. Why condone election magouille and then adopt hostility towards an unconstitutional change of government?” He asked.

At the heart of most unconstitutional changes of government is usually a lack of good governance. So, how can West African leaders promote good governance in their domain, and what role can the African Union play in this?

Akinterinwa agreed that lack of good governance is more often than not, at the epicentre of coups-making, arguing that the role of the African Union cannot, but be to show greater commitment to the policy of non-acceptance of unconstitutional change of government.

“Showing greater commitment must begin with monitoring and ensuring fairness, justice, and equity in the governance of all member states of the African Union. The Peer Review Mechanism already begun at the level of the African Union should also be vigorously sustained and done at least twice yearly.

“One implication and message of the coup plotters in the Niger Republic is that greater emphasis is indirectly being placed on national sovereignty over supranational sovereignty of the ECOWAS. The coup is a rejection of the supranational authority of the ECOWAS. This cannot, but be a major source of concern, particularly in light of the many countries publicly expressing support for the coupists. While the cases of Guinea Conakry, Mali, and Burkina Faso can be understandable because they are currently under the AU-ECOWAS sanctions, that of Algeria is quite difficult to understand. True, Algeria has explained that its national security will be threatened by ECOWAS military intervention in Niger as the Niger Republic shares a border with Algeria.

“This is why Algeria has indicated that she will be supporting the coup makers. Consequently, one good way of promoting good governance is first, to avoid rigged and controversial elections as the basis of bringing politicians to power. Additionally, more regular peer review of rule-based governance in member states is strongly recommended.

“When governance is driven by fairness and equity, it will be unlikely to have civilians supporting coups d’états. Every stakeholder must therefore learn and accept that democracy is not simply about electioneering, but particularly about evolving a culture of transparency, and accountability, evolving democratic culture by particularly avoiding belligerency and settling societal misunderstandings by the principles of peaceful co-existence.

“Let me ask a question, can we talk about good governance when the ECOWAS failed to inform Mali and Burkina Faso about current developments in the Niger Republic? True, ECOWAS refused to carry Mali and Burkina Faso along because they are currently under ECOWAS sanctions. But should this be enough reason if we are mounting pressure against coup-making? Can a house divided against itself do anything tangible in the Republic of Niger? Good Governance is a priori, a culture that has to be evolved and developed. This is my position.”

If both parties refused to shift ground and ECOWAS decides to send troops to the Niger Republic what could be the implications for countries in the sub-region, especially as many of them are battling with dire internal security challenges?

Akinterinwa said that the implications can be many. “First, the ECOWAS cannot but begin to seek international support simply because the ECOWAS cannot be said to have the military capacity and capability to confront the Niger coup plotters successfully without engendering discomfort at the domestic level.

“Second, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led ECOWAS will have a dogfight battle to do with many countries, including suspended member states of the ECOWAS, Algeria from North Africa, and the Wagner group of professional mercenaries and Russia to begin with. The further intrinsic implication here is that the war will have a known beginning, but the end time can at best remain speculative.

“Third, the ECOMOG cannot be quickly and easily resuscitated in a fire brigade manner. Fourth, the ECOMOG is not solvent enough to engage in that type of emergency warfare, and will, therefore, have to rely on Nigeria to a large extent in the conduct and management of the war. Fifth, sharper divisions between and among Francophone African countries will be more pronounced and Francophone African hostility vis-à-vis France will also reduce not simply the French, but also, the Western influence in Africa. This cannot but have the potential to be to the advantage of Russia.”

Akinterinwa further said that this is why President Tinubu must learn how to make haste slowly, as well as, avoid making very undiplomatic statements when addressing sovereign states.

“Forty per cent of the people of the Niger Republic can be living under extreme poverty, to borrow the words of the World Bank in 2019. However, this does not suggest that the ECOWAS can easily overrun the Niger Republic, which has shown readiness to confront the ECOWAS on the battlefield. In essence, it should be noted that the war one prepares for is always different from the one that is imposed on someone.

“If President Tinubu does not thread more cautiously, the Niger Republic saga can seriously undermine his presidency at the domestic level, if not his removal in an indecent manner. If he is weeping because of constitutional democracy, this cannot be enough. What will be enough is weeping and also seeing clearly, not when the rain is gone in the manner of Johnny Nash, but when it is still raining as demanded by Nigeria’s situational reality.”

The industrial action embarked on by resident doctors who make up the bulk of medical experts in Nigeria’s tertiary hospitals has crippled health activities in hospitals across the country.

While patients are left stranded, with pockets of skeletal services in some government hospitals, LEADERSHIP Weekend’s investigations revealed that patients have resorted to seeking the services of military hospitals for medical attention.

Our findings showed that most of the patients rejected at public hospitals have turned to either private clinics or military hospitals to seek medical care.

For instance, major surgeries have been suspended at the Parklane hospital, Enugu.

A relative of a patient who had gone to the hospital for a surgery disclosed that no doctor at the surgery department agreed to accept the sister for an operation.

But it was observed that most of the patients have now resorted to the 82 Division military hospital in Enugu.

Our correspondent who visited the hospital sighted many patients who were rejected because of the ongoing strike seeking for treatment.

It was further observed that relatives of patients who came for surgery have relocated them from Parklane hospital to another place.

Similarly most wards in public hospitals in Lagos were empty yesterday following the indefinite strike embarked on by medical doctors under the auspices of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

On a normal day, most of the wards/departments would be crowded with patients and their relatives waiting to be attended to.

However when LEADERSHIP Weekend visited the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) from 12:30 pm to 1pm on Wednesday, almost all wards were empty.

Some of the nurses, who spoke with our correspondent, confirmed that since the resident doctors went on strike, hospital services at LASUTH have been greatly disrupted.

“The only thing we give to patients with emergency cases, especially wounded cases, is first aid treatment, after which, we would tell them to go to private hospitals.

“We can’t even refer to them because it is the job of the doctor to do so.

So, we the nurses just do the best we can and tell the patients to go to private hospitals,” a nurse in the surgical department, who spoke anonymously, told this paper.

Meanwhile, a security man in the critical unit at LASUTH was seen telling a patient and her relative to go home, as there is no doctor to attend to them.

“Don’t you know that doctors are on strike? There is no doctor to attend to your mother. As you can see, everywhere is empty, not because we don’t have patients, but because we have been sending them home, as there is no doctor to attend to them,” the security man further stated.

The relative, who simply introduced herself as Mrs Adaku, told LEADERSHIP Weekend that her mother did a test last week, noting that “the test showed that she is having kidney failure.

“The lab scientist told us to commence treatment as soon as possible, hence the reason I brought my mother here. We don’t even have the money for private hospitals.  We were thinking that since doctors didn’t embark on the protest, they may as well call off the strike.”

At the oncology department of the hospital, no new patients were allowed to go in, as the security man at the department made sure no one gained entrance.

It was learnt that most of the patients rejected at public hospitals have turned to either private clinics or military hospitals to seek medical care.

For instance, a visit to the headquarters 661, Nigerian Airforce Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, situated inside the SAM ETHNAN Airforce Base, showed that most civilians were treated.

 A doctor who spoke with LEADERSHIP Weekend revealed that since the NARD Strike, there has been an inflow of civilians coming to seek medical care at the hospital.

“We welcome them. As much as we can handle the case, we treat them. We offer 24-hour tertiary level services, which include general out-patient consultations, emergency services, in-patient care, obstetric care, surgical care (orthopaedic, ENT, Urology and paediatric surgery etc) and general paediatric care.

“We also have specialist clinics for cardiology, Nephrology and family medicine. We also have a dental care department, an eye clinic. We offer laboratory services and radiological services like ultrasound, echocardiography and renal dialysis,” the doctor revealed.

He however appealed to the federal and state government to look into the demands of doctors, as the lives of Nigerians should be paramount.

But not all military hospitals are opening their doors to civilians or even have the infrastructure and personnel to manage the large influx of patients from the communities they operate in.

According to the Commander, 7 Division Hospital Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, Lt Col Adeniyi Samuel Ogunshaki, the hospital is not witnessing massive inflow of civil patients as a result of the strike by resident doctors. 

He said the situation was due to several checkpoints to be encountered by any civilian before entering the hospital. 

The commander however said that when there are emergencies resulting from attacks which affect both civilians and soldiers, the civilian casualties are first stabilised in the military hospital up to giving of blood, drips, and antibiotics, among others before they would be referred to government hospitals for further treatment. 

“We stabilise them, give them blood, drips and antibiotics before referring them to the state specialist hospital. In the state specialist hospital, we refer them to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) component. They go straight to the ICRC component which is reserved for wounded civilians in attacks. We do speak to the component before the referral,” he said. 

He said the 59 bed capacity in the hospital cannot accommodate soldiers wounded in action, not to talk of admitting civilian patients, adding that the hospital runs free services to wounded soldiers. 

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Medical Resident Doctors Association, Borno State chapter, Dr Abdullahi Yusuf, said the strike action embarked on by the resident doctors across the federation affected every aspect of surgery, including emergency surgery. 

He said notwithstanding that consultant doctors are still working despite the strike, the striking resident doctors do the major jobs in the hospitals and they are more in number than the consultants. 

Dr Yusuf further said even though surgery takes place amid the strike, the number of surgeries would reduce because the resident doctors are the workforce. 

He said the impact of the strike is that there would be delays in carrying out surgery in the hospitals, especially the emergency surgery which could in turn lead to casualties. 

He said the only way out is for the federal government to consider the demands of the resident doctors to save the country from unwanted deaths that could result from the strike action. 

Part of the demands which are critical, according Dr Yusuf, is the Medical Residence Fund which government gives resident doctors for training and research which government have not been paying,  and secondly, one-to-one replacement of doctors. 

According to him, due to the fact that doctors are, on a daily basis, leaving the country to go abroad, government should ensure that each one doctor that left is replaced with another doctor, which is not happening.

He said it takes up to two years for the government to do replacement instead of allowing the hospitals to do the replacement. 

“All surgeries, including emergencies, are affected by the strike. Although the consultant doctors could be of help during the strike, the resident doctors who are on strike do the major job. It is not like there is not going to be surgery, the number of surgery would reduce drastically because we are the workforce,” he said.

In Abuja, the Customs Hospital, Karu, has come to the rescue of a lot of patients within the environment since the commencement of the ongoing nationwide strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

LEADERSHIP Weekend checks revealed that some patients, who were receiving treatment at the Nyanya General Hospital and others, are now going to the Customs Hospital at Kuru due to the ongoing strike.

When our correspondent visited the hospital, there was an influx of patients who were waiting to be attended to. 

A pregnant woman who identified herself as Mrs Gambo said she came to the hospital for antenatal care.

Mrs Gambo said she had to leave her home very early in the morning to be able to get a number to see a doctor because of the population.

She said she stays in Nyanya and that she used to register for antenatal at the Nyanya General Hospital but because of the incessant doctors’ strike, she had to register at the Customs Hospital to avoid a situation where she would have to start rushing to a private hospital during her delivery because of strike.

Another patient, Tola Gbenga, told our correspondent that she had gone to the Asokoro District Hospital as an out-patient but she was told that the doctors were on strike and was asked to return after the strike.

She said she was advised by her sister who is a nurse to go to the Customs Hospital instead of going to a private hospital.

However, she said that she waited for a very long time before she was attended to, and that when she complained, she was told it was because of the ongoing strike by doctors in the general hospitals.

A nurse in the hospital, who pleaded anonymity, said there is usually an influx of patients in the hospital whenever doctors are on strike.

She said, “Anytime doctors are on strike, you will see a lot of people coming here. It is not as if the patients are not being attended to but because they are many, it will take a longer time for some of them to be attended to.”

In Cross Rover State, a visit to Navy Reference Hospital Càlabar showed that the influx of patients into the wards is on the increase as a result of doctors’ strike.

One of the patients at the Navy Reference Hospital, Mrs Stella Bichene, who spoke with our correspondent, expressed satisfaction with the attention given to her by the hospital because.

She said the hospital took away the frustration she got at Càlabar Teaching Hospital when she visited UCTH for medical attention.

“I was told to go back because the only doctors who come to work were doctors who only come to attend to patients briefly at antenatal units and patients undergoing delivery.

“That was why I decided to come to the navy hospital. Even though the population density of patients is higher, at least I have been attended to.”

 [Leadership] 

A visible feature in every developed society is a high degree of accountability in governance in which every public operative is held accountable for any task he is mandated to implement. The corollary is the case in underdeveloped societies where accountability is weak. Nigeria is a good example of where accounting for leadership actions or decisions is virtually non-existent despite ample evidence that the nation’s constitution places premium on the concept of accountability.

It is in fact the recognition that it would be difficult for courts to enforce the lofty ideals of Chapter 2 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999, technically called ‘Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy that the media was mandated by Section 22 to hold government accountable to the people. But then, the media has never been allowed to perform the task without hindrance. Instead, several strategies had been designed by top political appointees to ‘repress the press.’

The most effective of the strategies in recent times has been the use of the provisions of the Cybercrimes Act to arrest and detain journalists who adopt adversarial journalism to compel political leaders to account for their policies and activities. Consequently, many journalists have been scared away from the terrain especially as security agencies always ensured that media critics were never prosecuted but physically assaulted in detention camps.

Last year, the governors of two states, Ebonyi and Cross River led their peers in intimidating the media, making it impossible for political leaders to be held accountable. At the federal level, accountability has been a non-issue; even the welfare and security of citizens which the constitution recognised as the primary purpose of government was reinterpreted by leaders to be an assignment for every individual. Indeed, the immediate past minister of defence publicly asked unarmed Nigerians to embark on self-defence against terrorists and kidnappers. 

As if to firmly establish that Nigerians had transited out of the rule of law, government did not only renege on agreements it reached with major unions such as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), it sought to penalize members of the unions for asking for their rights. At a point, government accused NARD of confusing her into paying allowances to unqualified persons.

This led many analysts into wondering if management bodies and governing councils of medical institutions such as teaching hospitals set up to run such institutions did not exist. Alas, structures for the recruitment and payment of salaries to doctors in government hospitals are in place but public officials who perform poorly are never held accountable. In addition to the failure of leaders to hold their subordinates to account for tasks assigned to them, leaders are themselves never held vicariously liable for the lapses of their subordinates.

Vicarious liability is a concept whereby leaders accept responsibility for lapses in their areas of responsibility when they may not have been personally responsible for such lapses, it is enough that it was due to the failings of subordinates who are answerable to them. The concept is in vogue in civilized societies where leaders resign from office because of lapses occurring in their functional jurisdictions. For example, as far back as 1954, in the United Kingdom, a certain Sir, Thomas Dugdale who was at the time minister for agriculture resigned his appointment because an enquiry adversely criticised civil servants in his ministry over a compulsory purchase of some farmlands even though there was no evidence of Dugdale’s personal involvement. Many other countries follow the same principle. In Romania, a former minister of interior Valse Blaga reportedly resigned a week after5000 police officers went on a one-day strike in protest over a 25% pay cut. In Nigeria, no matter how long ASUU’s incessant strikes may last, no office-holder is questioned let alone to resign from office.

Successive governments in Nigeria may have for long contrived a disingenuous agreement that makes ministers of education unable to differentiate between an agreement and a negotiation thereby playing the game of ‘negotiations without end’ with ASUU. Our immediate past labour minister was perhaps craftier with his own template consisting of: a) renegotiating the contentious subject with the relevant stakeholders before signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on how government plans to redress the situation; b) converting the unimplemented MOU into a memorandum of action (MOA) a few months later when the MOU fails and c) blaming ASUU for the continued closure of universities across the country. The same template was put into use during strikes by resident doctors or other aggrieved groups. No minister of health, education or labour resorted to the principle of ministerial responsibility by resigning from office as a mark of honour. Instead each minister simply adopted any strategy at the expense of service delivery. None of them was also sacked from office by the president on account of such failure to deliver service.

Even in March 2014, when a huge indiscretion led to the death of some Nigerians, no one was held accountable. The event was supposed to be a recruitment exercise which ended in a stampede because over 520, 000 job-seekers were invited to apply for 4,500 jobs in the immigration service. Although government realized about N520 million at N1,000 per applicant as registration fees it could not organize an efficient crowd control mechanism.

The exercise thus ended with no less than 16 deaths while the then minister declined responsibility claiming that the applicants were impatient. If the supervising minister had not taken over the assignment, the Immigration service would have conducted its recruitment exercise as it always smoothly did over the years. Yet, nothing was done to the minister. On its part the Buhari administration did not also believe in holding ministers accountable. Till it left office, no one knew why the only 2 ministers in charge of Agriculture and Power it removed, were dropped.

Lack of accountability by officers mandated to implement specified tasks and the failure to vicariously hold their supervisors liable constituted only one side of the story. There is a second aspect visibly observable since 1999 in which no former head of government has been requested to account for anything since leaving office. It is as if there is a secret agreement to make the immunity granted to them while in office by section 308 of the constitution a life-time benefit. When President Goodluck Jonathan left office, some of his ministers were prosecuted for corrupt practices but no one has asked Jonathan any question.

Huge sums of misappropriated funds were reportedly traced to the then national security adviser, for which he was detained for years, yet Jonathan who ought to be privy to such huge disbursements was never questioned.  During the era of President Muhammadu Buhari similar allegations of governance lapses and large scale corruption were similarly made. Of particular note was the naira redesign policy for which everyone has continued to blame the former governor of the Central Bank. Although Buhari said only a few things throughout his tenure, Nigerians saw and heard him saying the naira redesign policy was directed and approved by him. Now, why is the former CBN governor alone in distress? 

The implications of not holding leaders liable for the deeds of their subordinates are grave. If the posture is not changed, many public officials would henceforth only act half-heartedly in office, knowing that at the end, only them would be held accountable. It is true that public officers ought to ensure that in carrying out presidential orders, due processes and procedures are diligently followed, but it does not appear fair to attribute all policy failures to only the zeal of loyal officers.

Indeed, the principal cannot be completely exonerated from blame concerning a subject for which he would have received accolades if the same policy had succeeded. In other words, anyone who gains from a successful policy ought to be part of those to blame where the policy fails.  It is wrong to make our presidents believe that they can enjoy eternal immunity. In addition, one way of stopping cabals who remotely control the presidency is to hold those responsible for lapses along with any president who cared little about what people did in his name.

A delegation from regional nations arrived in Niger in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to reach a peaceful solution with mutinous soldiers who overthrew the country’s president last month, according to a report by Aljazeera last night.

A plane carrying the delegation reportedly landed in the capital Niamey at about 1pm (12:00 GMT), yesterday, a day after the bloc’s military chiefs said they were ready to intervene to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.

Niger’s governing military council confirmed the arrival of the ECOWAS representatives, headed by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar.

A previous ECOWAS delegation led by Abubakar earlier this month tried and failed to meet Bazoum and the coup leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani.

Representatives from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, came to Niamey and joined efforts by United Nations Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simao, who arrived on Friday, in trying to facilitate a resolution to the continuing crisis.

On Friday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Simao would meet the military rulers and other parties to try and facilitate a swift and peaceful resolution to Niger’s crisis.

“What we want to see is a return to the constitutional order. We want to see the liberation of the president and his family, and restoration of his legitimate authority,” Dujarric said.

On August 10, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of a “standby force” to restore constitutional rule in the country.

The soldiers who overthrew democratically elected Bazoum in July have quickly entrenched themselves in power, rebuffed most dialogue efforts, and kept Bazoum, his wife and son under house arrest in the capital.

‘Putschists won’t be holding their breath’

On Friday, the ECOWAS commissioner for peace and security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said 11 of its 15 member states agreed to commit troops to a military deployment, saying they were “ready to go” whenever the order was given.

The 11 member states do not include Niger itself and the bloc’s three other countries under military rule following coups: Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. The latter two have warned they would consider any intervention in Niger an act of war.

“The D-day is also decided. We’ve already agreed and fine-tuned what will be required for the intervention,” Aljazeera quoted Musah as saying.

Although he did not disclose the specific day, he added that “we are ready to go any time the order is given.”

Defence chiefs held a two-day meeting in Accra, Ghana, to discuss the deployment of a standby force to Niger as directed by the heads of state.

Musah said the bloc is still preparing a mediation mission to Niger, “so we have not shut any door.”

“Let no one be in doubt that if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa, both the military and the civilian components, are ready to answer to the call of duty.”

But for Cape Verde, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, most of ECOWAS’s 15 member-states are prepared to contribute to the joint force, he said.

On Friday, Niger’s state television said Mali and Burkina Faso dispatched warplanes in a show of solidarity.

Friday’s announcement is the latest in a series of empty threats by ECOWAS to forcefully restore democratic rule in Niger, conflict analysts said.

Immediately after the coup, the bloc gave the military government seven days to release and restore Bazoum, a deadline that came and went with no action.

“The putschists won’t be holding their breath this time over the renewed threat of military action,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank.

Mutinous soldiers are cementing their rule and appointing loyal commanders to key units while ECOWAS has no experience with military action in hostile territory and would have no local support if it tried to intervene, he said.

“Niger is a very fragile country that can easily turn, in case of a military intervention, into a failed state like Sudan,” said Laessing.
‘We will all go’

On the streets of the capital on Saturday, many residents said they’re preparing to fight back against an ECOWAS military intervention.

Thousands of people in Niamey lined up outside the main stadium to register as volunteers or fighters, and to help with other needs in case the military government requires support. Some parents brought their children to sign up; others said they’d been waiting since 3am while groups of youths boisterously chanted in favour of the military leaders and against ECOWAS and the country’s former colonial ruler France.

3 I am here for the recruitment to become a good soldier. We are all here for that,” said Ismail Hassan a resident waiting in line to register. “If God wills, we will all go.”

The humanitarian situation in the country is also on the agenda. Before the coup, nearly three million people were facing severe food insecurity and hundreds of thousands were internally displaced, according to CARE, an international aid group.

Economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS after the coup, coupled with the deteriorating security, will have dire consequences for the population, CARE said.

Previously, Western countries saw Niger as one of the last democratic nations they could partner with to beat back growing attacks linked to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) armed group, and poured millions of dollars of military aid and assistance into shoring up Niger’s forces.

Since the coup, fighters have been taking advantage of the freedom of movement caused by suspended military operations by the French and Americans and a distracted Nigerien army focusing efforts on the capital.

Last week, at least 17 soldiers were killed and 20 wounded during an ambush. It was the first major attack against Niger’s army in six months. A day later, at least 50 civilians were killed in the Tillaberi region by suspected ISIL fighters.

“The recent attacks should motivate all parties to work for as speedy and inclusive a transition as possible so they can get back to the crucial business of protecting civilians from the devastating consequences of war,” said Corinne Dufka a political analyst who specialises in the Sahel region.
“In due time, Nigeriens and their partners should look long and hard at why and how democracy in Niger faltered.”

[Vanguard]

The suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has now spent 67 days in detention under the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja without acquiring legal representation, according to sources who spoke to Punch.

Bawa is being investigated for alleged financial impropriety during his tenure as head of the anti-graft agency. He has reportedly refused to answer questions or provide written statements to DSS operatives interrogating him. Sources say he has not requested bail or release from detention.

In June, DSS agents searched Bawa’s home in Abuja in the presence of his wife and children. They also searched his office at the EFCC headquarters with a warrant. Several of Bawa’s close associates at the EFCC were also brought in for questioning about the allegations.

The DSS obtained court orders extending Bawa’s detention beyond the 48 hours constitutionally allowed in order to continue their investigation. Sources reveal the allegations include misappropriation of proceeds from the sale of assets seized by the EFCC.

In 2019, Bawa was arrested for allegedly selling 244 trucks worth N4.8 billion seized by the Port Harcourt zonal office to his cronies at N100,000 each. The trucks were worth between N20-30 million each. The former Zamfara State Governor also accused Bawa of demanding a $2 million bribe.

There are also allegations that Bawa collaborated in fraudulent deals with Bureau De Change operators together with suspended CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. The DSS is gathering evidence before charging Bawa to court.

The spokesperson for the DSS declined to comment on Bawa’s ongoing detention and investigation. With no legal counsel secured after over two months in custody, the suspended EFCC Chairman faces an uncertain future.

Democracy is a very evocative notion. In the name of restoring or defending it, presidents have wielded bayonets, levied war, and executed coups. On 10 August, 2023 a summit of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rose from its convening in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital, with an explicit order for “the deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”

The following day, the headline was “West African nations order troops to restore democracy in Niger after military coup.” But, if the idea of “ordering troops” to “restore democracy” sounds like an oxymoron, it’s because it actually is.

In the aftermath of the chaos left after armed interventions led by the United States of America in Iraq in 2003 and by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Libya in 2011, however, the idea of bayonets for democracy has lost currency. A military invasion, in any case, requires more than the orders of presidents. Military planners have to design a concept of operations (CONOPS) and, these days, military lawyers too have to weigh in. The former is not-negotiable but lack of the latter has never stopped politicians from going ahead.

Thwarted by France and Russia in its desire for a UN security Council authorization of use of force against Iraq in March 2003, the USA decided to proceed nevertheless with its own coalition of the willing. Having talked up its causus belli as Saddam Hussein’s ultimately non-existent weapons of mass destruction, President George W. Bush had to find another reason for his regime change project in Iraq.

Addressing his country and the world at the beginning of the invasion on 19 March, 2003, President Bush claimed that his mission was to “disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger” so as “to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.” In other words, he was a warrior for democracy (in Iraq).

President Bush was not the first US leader to order or tolerate military action against another territory nor was he a pioneer in the business of doing that in the name of democracy. 110 years before the invasion of Iraq, during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison, armed activity by US military assets toppled Queen Liluokalani of Hawaii in 1893, ultimately leading to its annexation.

When in December 1909, President Howard Taft’s administration masterminded the overthrow of Nicaragua’s José Manuel Zelaya, it was because, as stated by then Secretary of State, Philander Knox, “under the regime of President Zelaya, republican institutions have ceased in Nicaragua except in name.” The excuse was the defence of democracy.

Some 20 years before President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, President Ronald Reagan had also invaded Grenada, a small island on the eastern Caribbean, in the name of democracy. In March 1979, the Marxist, New Jewel Movement led by Maurice Bishop and Bernard Coard had overthrown Grenada’s first prime minister, Eric Gairy, in a populist coup that initially promised “all democratic freedoms, including freedom of elections, religion, and political opinion.” Instead, on taking power, Prime Minister Bishop retrenched the constitution and parliament, preferring instead to rule by populist decrees.

In October 1983, a long-running rivalry between Maurice Bishop and his deputy, Bernard Coard, over ideological purity of the New Jewel Movement ended with the army commander, General Hudson Austin, throwing his weight behind Coard. Bishop was placed under house arrest and, following an effort by his supporters to free him, a confrontation ensued in which he and his leading supporters were massacred on 16 October 1983, leaving the Movement in the control of Marxist purists whom the United States could not tolerate.

Citing a dubious “invitation” by some states of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the USA launched an invasion of the Island on 25 October 1983. The goal, as captured in the back-dated letter of invitation by Sir Paul Scoon, whom they installed as Prime Minister after the invasion, was “to facilitate a rapid return to peace and tranquility and a return to democratic rule.”

In response, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which “deeply deplored the armed intervention in Grenada”, describing it as “a flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of that state.” Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York boiled down the case against the invasion of Grenada in a one sentence declamation: “I don’t know that you restore democracy at the point of a bayonet.”

This did not prevent President Bush’s father, the first President HW Bush, from overthrowing former US client, Manuel Noriega, in Panama, in 1989. Noriega had emerged as the effective leader of Panama and its army chief after the killing in a suspicious helicopter crash of General Omar Torrijos at the end of July 1981, followed by the systematic, often macabre elimination of his most significant opponents. By 1989, Noriega had become so dominant that he single-handedly procured the nullification of the victory in the presidential election of Guillermo Endara, an act described by the USA then as “cowardly”. On 20 December 1989, the USA launched military action to topple Noriega. Two weeks later, on 3 January, 1990, Noriega landed in Metropolitan Correction Centre, Miami. He was a criminal indictee.

A lot has evolved since then. In May 1990, ECOWAS adopted a proposal by Nigeria to establish and deploy a military intervention in Liberia, known as the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). In the eyes of many, the intervention was a thinly disguised effort to save the regime of Samuel Doe in Liberia. Doe, a Master Sergeant, had seized power in Africa’s oldest republic, Liberia, in April 1980, after killing then incumbent, President William Tolbert, before transforming himself into a civilianized soldier in pre-determined elections in 1986. His brutal and erratic rulership ultimately precipitated a murderous civil war in Liberia, which quickly threatened its neighbours with contagion.

For justification, the deployment of ECOMOG in Liberia was grounded in an invitation from Mr. Doe’s government supposedly issued under the terms of the Protocol Relating to Mutual Assistance in Defence, an agreement adopted by ECOWAS member States in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in 1981. The UN would later buy into the model of ECOMOG and of regional action in support of peace and security.

In January 2017, ECOWAS with support from the African Union and reinforced by the United Nations Security Council deployed to enforce the outcome of the election in The Gambia in which defeated incumbent, Yahya Jammeh, having initially conceded defeat, changed his mind and refused to vacate office. The victorious new president, Adama Barrow, reinforced the legal authority of the deployment with an invitation of his own.

In Niger, notably, ECOWAS and the AU are at odds.

The use of force in defence of the idea of a sovereign republic or of democracy is so high-minded that, quite often, presidents lack the patience to finesse its legality. In November 1903, military sleight of hand by President Theodore Roosevelt achieved the secession of Panama from Colombia. In Cabinet subsequently, President Roosevelt asked his Attorney-General, the appropriately-named Philander Knox, to provide the legalese in support of the operation, to which Mr. Knox is reported to have infamously responded: “Mr. President, do not let so great an achievement suffer from any taint of legality.”

The leaders of ECOWAS could desperately do with their own Philander Knox as they contemplate their options in Niger Republic. If they can find one, they may not have to worry about soiling their bayonets for democracy with any taint of legality. But they will still need a workable CONOPS. That may be the practical problem that compels ECOWAS ultimately to give diplomacy a chance in Niger.

There is precedent for this. One week after Col. Pierre Buyoya’s (second) coup against the elected government of President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya on 25 July 1996, seven neighbouring countries initiated a complete blockade of land-locked Burundi at the beginning of August. By common consent, the sanctions “ultimately played a major role in pressuring the Buyoya government into the Arusha negotiations due to their severe cost,” which forced Buyoya in 2003 to cede power to a new president, Domitien Ndayizeye.

A lawyer & a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The leader of the military coup in the Niger Republic, General Abdourahamane Tchiani on Saturday said the army will hand over power to the civilian government within the next three years.

Recall that Tchiani and other presidential guards took over power democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum in July.

Tchiani while speaking in a televised broadcast on Saturday night said within a month, the junta will form a committee to study and form the new constitution of the country.

He spoke after meeting with a delegation of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) led by the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd).

The coup leader further stated that Niger has no intention to go to war, adding that the country will defend itself if the need arises.

He, however, added that the door for negotiation was still open.

Tchiani said, “Our ambition is not to confiscate power,” adding that any transition of power “would not go beyond three years.”

He added, “If an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think.

“ECOWAS is getting ready to attack Niger by setting up an occupying army in collaboration with a foreign army.”

In his 12-minute speech, Tchiani denounced what he called the “illegal” and “inhuman” sanctions levied by ECOWAS against Niger since the military seized power.

He also announced 30 days of “national dialogue” to draw up “concrete proposals” to lay the foundations of “a new constitutional life”.

Former Nigeria’s Military Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar has said that ousted Niger President Mohamed Bazoum told the delegation of the Economic Community of West African States delegation the challenges he has faced since he was detained by the military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani.

Abdulsalami led a high-powered delegation of the ECOWAS to the troubled West African nation.

The delegation met with Prime Minister Ali Zeine who received them at the airport and led them to the presidential palace.

They met with Tchiani, and his team for about 90 minutes and later President Mohamed Bazoum.

Speaking with journalists after the meeting with Bazoum, Abdulsalami said, “We met him and heard his side of the story. He told us what was done to him and the challenges he is facing.

“We will communicate this to ECOWAS leaders. Doors for talks are now open for a lasting solution.”

The former Head of State did not go into details of the discussion with the ousted president.

But some weeks ago, CNN quoted Bazoum in a series of text messages to a friend as saying he had been “deprived of all human contact”, with no one supplying him food or medicine.

According to the overthrown president, he had been living without electricity, a normal occurrence for all Nigeriens after Nigeria cut off electric power in response to the coup.

Bazoum said all of the perishable food he was supplied with has since gone bad, and he was now eating dry pasta and rice.

Following the approval of N180 billion by the Federal Government to the 36 states of the federation for the procurement of food items and fertilisers as palliatives to ameliorate the impact of petrol subsidy removal, a Lagos-based Civil Society Organisation (CSO) has charged Nigerians to monitor the disbursement by state governors.

President Bola Tinubu had on May 29 during his inaugural speech after taking an oath of office, announced the removal of petrol subsidy, which led to hike in food prices.

According to the National Economic Council (NEC), a sum of N5bn will be given to each state to procure 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize, and fertilizers to cushion the effect of food shortage across the country.

But reacting on Saturday, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, expressed pessimism in governors distributing these palliatives because of happenings in the past.

The organisation stated that during the Covid-19 pandemic, palliatives meant for Nigerians were locked up in warehouses across the country, to the detriment of the people.

CACOL noted that Nigerians monitoring the disbursement of these palliatives would ensure that they are not cornered by politicians.

“We would like to commend the federal government for at least heeding numerous outcries from various quarters calling for palliatives to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on the people. This administration has shown that it is feeling the pulse of the people by approving 180bn as palliatives to be shared among the states in the country,” said CACOL Chairman, Debo Adeniran.

“We are however skeptical about the capabilities of some governors to deliver or disburse these palliatives to those they were intended, going by the happenings in the past. We are all living witnesses to the way and manner some foodstuffs that were meant to serve as palliatives for Nigerians were locked up in warehouses across the country by some greedy and selfish people in power at the detriment of pauperized, traumatized, and famished Nigerians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We would also want to call on the state governors to ensure judicious disbursement of the palliatives both in cash and kind. They should ensure that these palliatives do not end in the pockets of the few powerful individuals in their various states. The people of the state should feel the impacts of these palliatives no matter how small.

“We also want to use this medium to call on our people to monitor the disbursement of these palliatives in their various states so as to ensure that foodstuffs and other commodities meant for the people are not cornered by politicians,” he added.

One Imabong William has landed in a hospital after she was doused in hot water mixed with pepper by her land lady over her inability to meet up with her rental obligation.

The land lady identified as Amaka Okonkwo allegedly carried out the heinous act after William failed to leave her house upon the expiration of the quit notice she (the landlady) gave her.

The incident happened on Thursday at Enugwu-Ukwu community in Njikoka Local Government Area of Enugu state.

Okonkwo had given William given quit notice over her inability to pay a new rent imposed on tenants in the building.

She had, however, asked for time to find a new apartment, before her landlady poured hot water mixed with pepper on her.

The landlady had since been arrested by the police, after neighbours reported her action at Nimo police Station.

Sources within the community said the victim, who hails from Akwa Ibom State, was already receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital, after neighbours rescued her.

Anambra State Commissioner for Women’s Affairs, Mrs Ify Obinabo, who visited the victim, narrated that the victim stated that she was asked to vacate the house over her inability to pay the new rent increment.

She explained that she pleaded with the landlady for some time to enable her get a new place, but unfortunately, while she was washing her clothes on Thursday, the said landlady poured hot water mixed with pepper on her from behind.

Obinabo expressed her displeasure over the incident and promised to get justice for the victim.

She warned that the Anambra State Government will not take lightly anyone found culpable of assault of any kind and went on to advise the public to always report crimes and misdemeanours through the appropriate channels for quick intervention.