By Omonu YG Nelson & Linda Ike
The Parliament of Economic Community of West African States, otherwise known as The Community Parliament, has restated its position on diplomatic solution to the Niger impasse.
This formed part of the consultative parley the Community Parliament’s Ad-hoc committee on Niger stalemate had with the president of ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, at the ECOWAS secretariat, Abuja, on August 21, 2023.
Recall that the military junta in Niger republic had on July 26, overthrown the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum.
Speaking with the Parliament’s press crew after the meeting, a member of the Nigerian Delegation to ECOWAS Parliament and senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, revealed that the position of the Parliament on how to handle the Niger republic stalemate remained unchanged.
Ndume explained that their stand is informed by the grave implications of a military intervention in Niger, insisting there’s no alternative to diplomatic solution.
The meeting was one of ECOWAS diplomatic troubleshooting approach to finding amicable solution to the Niger dilemma.
It would be recalled that on August 12, the Parliament held a virtual meeting on the situation in Niger republic, where most its members opted for diplomatic solution as against the decision of the Authority of heads of State, who have since settled for the use of force, to which an ECOWAS standby force has been activated.
In retrospect, military chiefs from across the region had converged on Accra, Ghana to fine tune preparations for the proposed Niger military intervention.
At the Accra meeting of military chiefs penultimate Thursday, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, told journalists that though ECOWAS had perfected plans for the military operation in Niger republic, its doors are still wide opened to diplomatic solution should the junta changed their minds.
According to Musah: “All member states except those under military rule and Cape Verde pledged to participate in the standby force.
“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.
In a twist against its earlier hard stance against diplomatic engagements, the Nigerien junta, on August 9, 2023, granted audience to the former Governor of the Nigerian Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi in Niamey. Since then, more diplomatic channels have opened between the junta and ECOWAS.
Most significantly is the délégation led by former Nigerian Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, who was accompanied by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III. They were received by the junta in Niamey on Saturday.
Despite the push and pull, on August 10,
the junta went ahead to announce a 21 member government headed by the former resident representative of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, and Gabon, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, who was named as the prime minister.
In a move analysts see as a ploy to buy time or consolidate hold on power, the junta on Sunday announced its intention to return the country to constitutional order in three years, an offer ECOWAS promptly rejected.
For the benefit of hindsight, Parliament was established under Article 6 (in the list of Community institutions) and 13 (which specifically provides its establishment) of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993. In Article 2 of the Supplementary Act, the House of Representatives of the peoples of the Community shall be designated the “ECOWAS Parliament”.
Since establishment, the Parliament has scored diplomatic high marks with timely and fruitful interventions and mediations. It would be recalled that it was the meeting of the Community Parliament with rebels around Sierra Leone-Liberia-Mano River area that birthed series of negotiations that culminated in lasting peace around the Mano River region.
The Parliament has also been relentless in efforts at mitigating crisis before they became full blown. For instance, at peak of a brewing crisis in Senegal, over tenure disputes last year, the Parliament constituted an Ad-hoc mediation committee. This move led to the prevailing peace in the West African country.
Because of the institution’s unwavering commitment to democracy as the pillar of human civilisation, the Parliament has been on its toes, interfacing with member countries, preparing for elections or facing conflict situation. These efforts led the successful conclusion of Nigeria, Sierra Leonean elections in 2023.
The Liberian general elections, scheduled for Tuesday, 10 October, 2023, has received tremendous attention from ECOWAS Parliament. Already, a fact-finding mission had visited Liberia to assess the level of preparedness and, to see areas that needs intervention.
The current effort in Niger is not the first of its kind. The Parliament’s concatenation of interventions led to the restoration of constitutional order in the Uranium-rich West African country in 2011. These instances is by no means exhaustive.
The Parliament by its numerous impacts since establishment in 1993, has proven that voices and will of the people is the oxygen that sustains democracy.