Niger Republic Head of State, Brigadier-General Abdourahmane Tchiani, on Christmas night, December 25, 2024, accused Nigeria of conspiring with France to destabilise his country. France, he claimed, is working with terrorist groups to undermine Niger’s security, adding that: “Nigerian authorities are not unaware of this underhanded move.” He also claimed that the Nigerian government had been paid huge sums by France to establish a military base in Northern Nigeria.

Tchiani’s claims might have been partly based on assertions eleven days earlier by Nigerian health practitioner, Shehu Mahdi, alleging the presence of French troops in Nigeria. He had backed this with a video purportedly featuring Nigerian and French military officers.

Mahdi, apparently based on the video, had written: “Just listen to the clip below to enable you understand that Tinubu and Co are taking Nigerians for a ride, for granted, betraying all our laws, insulting our collective intelligences and on a journey to mortgage and destroy Nigeria. It is left for conscious Nigerians to open their eyes wide, act wisely, with precision, and be willing to sacrifice anything for the survival of Nigeria that few wicked people are bent on destroying. Niger is kicking them out, Nigeria is bringing them in! It seems like we will stay colonized forever! With this terrorism will never end. But why are African leaders so stupid? What in the world are we doing to ourselves? What good is France other than to steal and to destroy?” 

When I read this, I felt some sympathy for Mahdi because he is a person who seems incapable of differentiating reality from falsehood. His pranks and claims can be so childish and bizarre, that they border on some medical condition. For instance, in 2021 Mahdi accused then Katsina State Governor, Bello Masari and some of his officials, of a N52 billion corruption scandal.

He was arrested but claimed he was sick and could not stand trial. When the judge insisted he must appear in court, he was carried like an invalid with neck and back braces and crutches. In the court room he was weeping. After the hearing, he was returned to his cell where, unknown to him, the security team had installed hidden cameras. Immediately Madhi got in, he packed the crutches to a corner, readjusted the mosquito net over his bed, and resumed normal activities.

Mahdi, who identifies with a group that claims Islamic terrorists and bandits in Nigeria are liberation fighters, was a foot soldier of the infernal Abacha regime which from 1993 to 1998 imposed a reign of terror on the country. In one of the most heinous crimes of that regime, the conscientious journalist, Bagauda Kaltho, was abducted and has not been seen since then. In 2022 Mahdi tried to exculpate the Abacha regime from Bagauda’s murder by spinning a yarn that the journalist was a terrorist who killed himself while planting a bomb at the Durbar Hotel, Kaduna. But Mahdi was apparently not well briefed. For instance, he claimed he was in the vicinity of the blast on December 21, 1995 while, in truth, that blast was on January 18, 1996. Mahdi claimed that within two hours of the blast, he personally briefed the then Military Administrator of Kaduna State, Lawal Jafaru Isa, about the blast and the identity of the bomber, and that the next day he gave a similar briefing to then Head of State, General Sani Abacha. When contacted, Isa said he could not recall such briefings. On the other hand, Madhi’s other witness, Abacha is dead.

Thirdly, while Mahdi claimed that the Abacha regime was within two hours aware that the Durba bomber was Bagauda, the facts on ground show that until the end of that inglorious regime 27 months later, it was desperately trying to unravel the victim.

Mahdi is also involved in all sorts of controversies. For instance, when he was arrested in February, 2024, he claimed that it was because he had called on President Bola Tinubu to probe former President Muhammadu Buhari and some top officials of his government. But erstwhile Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, clarified that Mahdi had been arrested for trying to take advantage of his wife, Aisha, for a sum of $500,000.

It has now turned out that what Mahdi has been spreading on the internet as the video of French military presence in Nigeria in 2024, was actually a video shot in 2013, that is, eleven years earlier.

So, if the Nigerien government had put any store on Madhi’s video, it showed the low quality of its intelligence system.

Nigerian government officials have been quite prompt and direct on Tchiani accusations. Information Minister, Mohammed Idris Malagi, clarified that: “These claims exist solely in the realm of imagination, as Nigeria has never engaged in any overt or covert alliance with France – or any other country – to sponsor terrorist attacks or destabilise the Niger Republic in the wake of the undemocratic change in the leadership of that country.”

National Security Adviser, NSA, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, in dismissing claims of a foreign military base in Nigeria, said: “Even England, which colonised Nigeria, never stationed soldiers here. When France wanted to bring its troops, we refused. Why should we agree now?”

Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, also explained that: “As brothers and neighbours, Nigeria and Niger share deep historical and cultural ties, underscored by trade and economic interdependence. These enduring connections are reminders of our intrinsically linked destinies. Therefore, unfounded allegations cause needless tensions that could cause disaffection and threaten the collective progress of our region”.

While these are good reactions, we must know that our brothers and sisters in Niger Republic may not believe us. Besides, Niger has also accused Nigeria of economic sabotage. Also, the military of both countries have joint anti-terrorist patrols and operations.

So, before matters get out of hand, the Tinubu government needs to move quickly to douse tensions. Nigeria is like a person carrying burning coals in its hands; it has no time for debates or brickbats. It should immediately send emissaries to Niamey. It can follow up with a meeting between President Tinubu and General Tchiani.

Nigeriens and Nigerians on both sides of the colonial border are same people with same language and culture. We face the same issues of mass unemployment, high inflation, serious insecurity and high costs of fuel. Therefore, it is in our collective interests to work together, avoid unnecessary conflicts and concentrate on our old project of borderless, integrated communities, not just in our region, but continent-wide.

Nigeria as the bigger brother who also has no fears of foreign invasion, should take the first step. So, when is Nuhu Ribadu going to Niamey?