Adamu Garba, a prominent figure within the All Progressives Congress (APC), voiced his concern, alleging that the Western nations, specifically the United States and France, have laid a strategic trap to ensnare the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in an all-out conflict within the region.
On Sunday, Adamu Garba related this assertion through an official statement posted on his verified Twitter handle.
The APC chieftain stressed the importance of avoiding any military intervention in Niger, as it could lead to grave consequences for Nigeria.
It is worth noting that General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the alleged mastermind behind the coup attempt in Niger Republic, has been issued a seven-day ultimatum to relinquish power and restore authority to Mohammed Bazoom.
The resolution was part of the decisions reached during an emergency meeting of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, which took place in Abuja on Sunday.
Garba appealed to President Bola Tinubu to maintain his courage and not yield to any persuasions from France and the U.S., encouraging ECOWAS to undertake military action against Niger.
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In his appeal, the APC chieftain called on Tinubu to opt for a non-kinetic and diplomatic strategy to resolve the incident in Niger.
Garba stated, ‘The West, under France and the U.S have perfectly set a TRAP for ECOWAS to go into a total war in the region. Any mistake of military intervention in Niger means we are done with.’
‘President Tinubu must be courageous enough to resist French and U.S pressure on ECOWAS to wage any military action against Niger. We must use a non-kinetic, diplomatic approach.’
‘If we make a mistake of involving military means in Niger, we may end up inviting more internal problems to ourselves and to the effort we made so hard in building a democratic government in place.’
‘The truth of the matter is, West Africa has failed to protect democracy. Our only option now is to learn from the failures and prevent repeating it, not to completely destroy our region in the interest of Western Powers, against our security interests.’
Garba’s assertions reflected a deep-seated lack of trust in the Western nations’ encouragement for military action in response to Niger’s coup dilemma.
He expressed apprehension over the possibility of these foreign powers having ulterior motives, intending to ignite conflict in the West African region, in order to create favourable conditions to exploit Africa’s resources without hindrance.