Per a report in the Nigerian daily, The Punch: “Troops of the Economic Community of West African States have pledged readiness to deploy its standby force that could restore the civil rule in Niger Republic should diplomatic efforts to reverse the coup there fail.

All member states except those under military rule and Cape Verde pledged to participate in the standby force at a meeting in Accra, Ghana’s capital, on Thursday.

According to Reuters, ECOWAS commissioner, Abdel-Fatau Musah, was quoted to have said, “Let no one be in doubt if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa…are ready to answer to the call of duty.

“By all means available, constitutional order will be restored in the country,” Musah told assembled defence chiefs from member countries, listing past ECOWAS deployments in The Gambia, and Liberia as examples of readiness.”

Al Jazeera quoted Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, to have said, “Democracy is what we stand for and it’s what we encourage.”

The focus of our gathering is not simply to react to events, but to proactively chart a course that results in peace and promotes stability.” - https://punchng.com/niger-coup-ecowas-ready-to-deploy-standby-forces-if-defence-chiefs/

If these reports were true, it bodes ill for Nigeria.

Questions that Nigerians should ask their president include what was he thinking when he sent his Chief of Defence Staff to Accra to plan a war against Niger when the Senate of Nigeria had met and advised him against military intervention in that country?

Here is what Section 5(4) of the 1999 Constitution says: “Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section: (a) the President shall not declare a state of war between the federation and another country except with the sanction of a resolution of both Houses of the National Assembly, sitting in a joint session; and (b) except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.”

Perhaps Tinubu’s advisers should whispers in his ears that he will not only be breaching the laws of Nigeria, but he will also breach International Law if he should allow himself to be goaded by his sponsors/curators to launch a war on Niger.

Here is the relevant portion of the UN Charter: United Nations Charter, Chapter VII:

Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression

Article 39

The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Is Tinubu who claimed to be a stricter for Rule of Law and an Apostle of democracy telling us that he is above the laws of Nigeria and the laws that govern the comity of nations? Or is he deluding himself that Nigeria is a superpower that acts arbitrarily?

Unfortunately, ECOWAS rulers (they are not leading their nations anywhere as far as we can see) cannot get it into their heads that the best antidote to military interventions in the affairs of nations is the support of the people.

The best (perhaps the only) way to do this is to make the people feel that those who govern them behave responsibly, and are in tune with them. Rather unfortunately, these rulers continue to consider their citizens as mere subjects to whom they owe no responsibility as soon as elections are over and they are esconded in their presidential palaces with all the imported appurtenances to cushion them against the shocking realities of the lives of ordinary citizens.

If all that citizens see are a cabal of the unconscionable, greedy, and gluttonous political elite who collared state resources and stuffed themselves silly with them, promoted avarice and nepotism to sickening levels, flaunt their ill-gotten wealth in the faces of the people, who threw citizens off the streets with their sirens and cowed the people by the deployment of raw state power, they will welcome anyone promise to put a stop to the insult. West Africans suffered too much under military dictatorships not to know better.

I think that this is like religion; I doubt if any sane person actually believes that there is a goblin in the sky who will provide, but people nevertheless opt to hold on to the straw.

African rulers (actually misrulers is a better term) should worry seriously by the spectacles of citizens dancing and jubilating when Khaki boys overthrew the governments that they helped put in power by their votes.

Unfortunately, rather than address the root cause of the problems these rulers are seeking palliatives. The Yoruba people would say: A kì í fi ẹ̀tẹ̀ sí'lẹ̀ pa làpálàpá. / We ought not to leave leprosy unattended and focus on treating ringworm.