By Pelumi Adeniyi (Nigeria)
On Sunday, the 30th of July, leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were quick to converge in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, for an emergency meeting.
This was as requested by Nigeria’s President Bola Hammed Tinubu, the bloc leader, who, like many other African leaders, especial in the Surestin, mut have en walking on a lump of On the 27th of July 2023, 3 days before the ECOWAS emergency meeting, the Junta boys Of Niger sacked the incumbent president Mohamed Bazoum and sent a torrent of shock down the spine of civilian leadership across Africa. This was coming barely a few months after many were still regurgitating over a similar occurrence in Burkina Faso. In fact, the Gabon coup soon followed suit a few weeks later, stoking more torrents of havoc on the continent’s autocrats and misrulers alike.
Tinubu Ecowas, like many other African leaderships like Paul Biya of Cameroon, who has instantly reshuffled his military hierarchy, knows what is at stake if something is not done to restore the democracies of these places.
Military coups can be like wildfire in the desert. The more left untouched, the farther it spreads. Thus, the Abuja emergency meeting presented the opportunity to make a speedy cocktail of ideas on how to douse the fire.
But what have they done, and what diplomatic strength and might they really have to stem the tide?
If for nothing, Ecowas partly carries on its neck like an albatross the ignoble sobriquet: “The toothless backing dog” of its bigger brother– the African Union (AU). The AU is a body that has shown in various capacities the institutional willingness to end conflict in Africa. Unfortunately, the end results always leave no impression. This exposes how much the body lacks the operational capability to effect a meaningful impact on a crisis.
The body’s inability to effectively reduce the conflicts in Liberia, Rwanda, and the Comoros are just a few of the cases to mention.
This organizational impotence of ECOWAS’s big brother, The AU, explains to a degree why the former also punches below its weight. Especially in the matter of ending conflicts as coups in the West African sub-region. If gold rusts, what should iron do?
At the 30th July emergency meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, ECOWAS, as expected, voiced out: demanded the “immediate release and reinstatement” of Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s elected president, who had been held hostage by the military following the coup.
The body also gave the military in Niger a one-week ultimatum to comply and warned it would take all measures necessary – including force – to restore constitutional order.
Fast forward to this present date, only one thing has the coup leaders done in response—-and that is —defying the ultimatum!
What necessary measures have the Nigeria Ecowas meted out following this? Nothing! Absolutely nothing as capable of animating the Juntas into ‘repentance.’
Instead, they, being not unaware of the toothlessness of the ECOWAS bark, grew bigger heads. In a more recent move, the body and its big brother, the AU, opted to wade in diplomatically, but the Junta defiantly foiled the attempt. They either refused to meet or blocked officials from the institutions from visiting the country.
As far as the news keeps briefing, Nigeria and ECOWAS have called for more emergency meetings. And it is possible there would be nothing politically and diplomatically efficient enough to bury the crisis in Niger than these gatherings.
Would these meetings birth a solution and restore the democracies of Niger and these other West African nations? Only time will tell.
Pelumi Adeniyi is an experienced content specialist with multiple professional experiences, including political editor at Scooper News Nigeria. He holds B. A in Linguistics and African Languages from the University of Obafemi Awolowo. He is a staunch believer in the Pan-African cause and was with Legit.ng as a Human-Interest Writer. He can be reached via:
pelumiadeniyi247@gmail.com
