Economy
Despite the clarifications by the ECOWAS Commission that the deployment of the regional standby force will not translate to military intervention, Nigerians are losing over N13 billion weekly due to the closure of the Nigeria-Niger border. Perhaps, border closures should be reviewed by ECOWAS to ease the pains being inflicted daily on the citizens of both countries, while the ding-dong affair on the crisis continues.
By Goddy Ikeh
THE announcement of the suspension of Niger Republic from the African Union did not come as a surprise to many Nigerians since the pan-African bloc is expected to support the decision taken by the sub-regional body, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, on the political crisis in Niger. The suspension of Niger is in response to the July 26 military coup in Niger. ECOWAS had since imposed several hard-hitting economic sanctions against Niger and it has placed its troops on standby incase the diplomatic and other interventions fail to restore constitutional order in the troubled West African country.
In announcing the suspension of Niger from the pan-African bloc on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, the Peace and Security Council of the AU said in a statement after its latest meeting that dwelt on the situation in Niger, that its members had been warned to avoid any action that might legitimise the junta. The council reiterated its “unequivocal condemnation” of the military coup in Niger, which resulted in the ousting of democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum by the military.
While reaffirming its full solidarity with the efforts of ECOWAS in its continued commitment to the restoration of constitutional order through diplomatic means, the Council said: “The council strongly rejected any external interference by any actor or any country outside the continent in the peace and security affairs in Africa. It also rejected engagements by private military companies in the continent in line with the 1977 OAU Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa.”
The AU also urged the military to place the supreme interests of the people of Niger above all else and to immediately and unconditionally return to the barracks and submit to civilian authorities, which is consistent with the constitution of Niger. The Council also reiterated its deep concern over the resurgence of military coups as it undermines democracy, peace, security, and stability, as well as development on the continent.
Meanwhile, the ECOWAS envoy to Niger and former military Head of State of Nigeria, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, has expressed optimism that the crisis in Niger could be resolved diplomatically.
Gen, Abubakar, who formally presented the terms given by the military junta to the sub-region for the settlement of the political crisis in the country on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 to President Bola Tinubu and Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS.
According to him, there has been exchange of correspondences between the West African regional bloc and the military junta in Niger and that the line of contact opened by ECOWAS through his appointment as envoy had been very fruitful and expressed the hope that something concrete would soon come out of it.
Despite the junta’s promise to hand over in three years, which had been rejected by ECOWAS and the recent statement by the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, that ECOWAS was more likely to go to war with Niger, Gen. Abubakar, said: “hopefully diplomacy will see the better of this. Nobody wants to go to war, it doesn’t pay anybody, but then, our leaders have said if all fails and I don’t think all will fail, we’ll get somewhere we’ll get out of this mess.”
While the efforts at resolving the crisis continue, millions of Nigerians, especially those living in the seven states bordering Niger are groaning and counting their losses daily on the hardship brought about by the closure of the borders between Niger and Nigeria.
For instance, local media reports stated that about 8.5 million Nigerians living in border towns and communities have continued to count their losses running into N40 billion. According to the reports, since the federal government closed the border on August 3, perishable goods like onions, tomatoes, pepper, potatoes and livestock are lost daily, while trade worth about $226.34 million is at risk of collapse. The seven states that are bordering Niger are Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno.
Recent findings by The Guardian newspaper showed that these states are losing about N13 billion weekly to the border closure to trade, farms, and markets shutdown. According to the Guardian, the prices of locally produced rice and other products in these border towns increased because smuggling and other cross-border trading have been halted, worsening economic conditions of the residents. It gave the price of a 50kg of local rice which was selling for N17,000 before border closure now goes for N30,000, while imported 50kg of rice sold for N30,000 now sells for N55,000.
The other products affected by the border closure, according to the report include edible fruit and nuts, peel of citrus fruit or melons, raw hides and skins and leather, edible vegetables and certain roots and tuber, dairy produce; birds’ eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, and others, while Nigeria exports such as mineral oils, bituminous substances, tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes, salt, sulphur, plastering materials, lime, cement, plastics, fertiliser have been halted.
Speaking on the border closure and its effects, the Chairman of Arewa Economic Forum, AEF, Ibrahim Dandakata, stated that the border closure is hurting Nigerians and that businessmen in northern states have over 2,000 containers of perishable goods that are stranded at the border.
“Financially, our members lose N13 billion per week at the Nigeria-Niger border. It has affected us very badly in the North. We benefit more from the trade between Nigeria and Niger and so we suffer more than the Nigeriens under the current border closure,” local media reports quoted Dandakata as saying.
He suggested that farmers and traders could be saved from further losses if the Maje border post between Nigeria and Benin Republic in Kebbi State is reopened to serve as an alternative route.
According to him, the 2022 statistics put formal trade between the two countries at $234 million (N171 billion), while informal trade is estimated at $683 million (N515 billion) mostly on perishable commodities.
“With the closure of the border, the average weekly loss is about N13 billion in value of trade. Since the closure is on major borders between Niger and Nigeria in Jibia in Katsina, Illela in Sokoto and Maigatari in Jigawa, we strongly recommend the immediate reopening of Maje/Illo border station in Kebbi State, which Nigerian traders use to access Benin Republic and Niger Republic,” he said, warning against resorting to war against Niger.
According to him, military intervention in the Niger crisis could wipe out all the gains that Nigeria recorded in the fight against terrorism in Northern Nigeria.
“If that military intervention starts, arms will flood Nigeria. The crisis will not affect Northern Nigeria alone. It will spread to all parts of Nigeria, the sub-region and indeed the whole region,” he added.
Meanwhile, Algeria and Egypt have joined the league of countries, organisations and concerned Nigerians, who have opposed any form of military action in Niger and suggested the adoption of negotiations and dialogues in resolving the crisis.
Following the warnings by ECOWAS and the threat to activate its troops on standby if the junta in Niger fails to restore constitutional order, the other groups that have voiced their opposition to the use of force included the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum, the Northern Elders Forum, the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE.
These groups have argued that any military action against Niger could cause issues for Nigeria, as Niger is the nearest neighbour, while the CPPE has warned that any military intervention could be damaging for Nigeria, with yearly financial cost estimated at $2 billion.
With the flurry of opposition against the use of force in restoring constitutional order in Niger and the perceived misinterpretations of the decisions of ECOWAS on its political crisis, the ECOWAS Commission has clarified its position on the crisis, saying that ECOWAS will continue to pursue diplomatic initiatives towards the restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Niger without compromising the option of the deployment of the regional standby force.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, told a news conference on Friday, August 25, 2023 in Abuja that ECOWAS would continue to pursue diplomatic initiatives towards the restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Niger without compromising the option of the deployment of the regional standby force.
He reiterated that the military option was decided by the Authority of Heads of State and Government in order to stem the contagion of coups d’état following the three successful and three failed attempted coups in the region.
“The current development in the Republic of Niger adds to the list of attempted coups d’état in the region so you can understand why the Heads of State and Government have decided that this is one coup too many and resolved that it was time to end the contagion.
“The decision of the Heads of State and Government to activate the clause providing for the application of legitimate force in Niger was reached only after due consideration of how political dialogue alone has unfortunately failed to deter coup plotters in the region.
“The precedents in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso are unsettling and underline the reason why the Community was obliged to take such a hard but legitimate stance, backed by the ECOWAS Community law which I must stress again was subscribed to by all the Member States, including Niger Republic,” he said.
According to him, in the interim, the region is employing other elements of its instruments and engaging with the military authorities as can be attested to by the several missions that have been fielded to the country and the joint efforts with partners, including the African Union and the UN, adding that the region is hopeful that these diplomatic efforts will yield the desired outcome and make the deployment of the force unnecessary
He recounted some of the diplomatic initiatives deployed by the Authority including the first mission sent by the Chair of the ECOWAS Authority on 26th July, 2023, the second mission led by H.E. Gen. Abdu Salaam and H.E. the Sultan of Sokoto which held a meeting at the airport as well as a planned joint mission involving the AU and the UN which was aborted.
“I am glad to report that the most recent mission was received by the President of the CNSP, the Prime Minister and members of CNSP. The mission also saw President Bazoum,” he said.
He characterized the coup in Niger as a “tragedy for our regional efforts at consolidating democracy after the political crises of the 90’s as exemplified by the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone,” emphasizing that “through the collective efforts of our community, the region was stabilized and the foundation for democracy and the rule of law restored. Indeed, until about three years ago, all leaders in the ECOWAS region were democratically elected.”
The President dismissed as ‘misrepresentation,’ reports that the Community has declared war on the Niger. HE noted the decision to deploy a regional force is in line with the spirit of obligations under the Community instruments to which the Republic of Niger is a signatory.
“For the avoidance of doubt, let me state unequivocally that ECOWAS has neither declared war on the people of Niger nor is the deployment of the regional force an “act of invasion”
“The ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government has only activated a full-scale application of sanctions which includes the use of legitimate force to restore constitutional order,” he added.
In invoking the sanctions and related actions, Touray said the Heads of State and Government of the Community relied on the provisions of the 1991 ECOWAS Declaration of Political Principles; the Revised ECOWAS Treaty of 1993, the 1999 ECOWAS Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security as well as the 2001 Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
Moreover, Touray clarified that the actions of the Community have been guided by a recognition of its obligation within the context of the spirit of solidarity and collective responsibility that underlines the ECOWAS integration arrangement, adding that ECOWAS recognized the Republic of Niger as an important member of the family which is neither targeted for destruction nor its people be allowed to suffer in the hands of enemies within or without.
“We are deeply concerned about the wellbeing of the people and the country as historically, military administrations have not demonstrated any capacity to better deal with complex political, social and security challenge as the security situation in countries under military government have rather deteriorated, as national territories are being lost to terrorists under their administration even though this has become the main justification for their intervention,” he added.
He therefore urged the military junta to reconsider its action and listen to the voice of reason as the regional leaders will not condone a coup d’état, reminding them of their responsibility for the security and safety of President Bazoum, members of his family and government.
Responding to questions from various journalists, Touray said: “Whatever the community is doing, we are doing it for the ordinary brothers and sisters in Niger who have no contribution to this. It is ECOWAS role to serve and work for the ordinary members of the community. Nigeriens remain our brothers and sisters and whatever is being done is being done in their interest.’’
“We remain on the side of the people of Niger. We just think it is fair for them to enjoy democracy, freedom that we are all enjoying. The people of Niger deserve to move freely within the community. So whatever ECOWAS is doing is being done in the interest of the people of Niger and the people of the ECOWAS region,’’ he added.
Perhaps, this clarification by the ECOWAS Commission would go a long way in dousing the tension created by the possible use of force in resolving the crisis in Niger and the negative consequences on Nigeria, which is already battling with crushing economic and insecurity challenges.
A.
-Aug. 28 2023 @ 02:53 GMT |
Tags: AEF Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar H.E. Gen. Abdu Salaam Ibrahim Dandakata Omar Alieu Touray
