Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has requested that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) strike Niger Republic without the use of Nigerian armed forces.
In a statement headed ‘ECOWAS VERSUS NIGER: WHO IS FOOLING WHO?,’ Fani-Kayode claimed it would be wrong for Western nations to exploit Nigeria to invade other West African countries.
He also stated that ECOWAS’ planned military involvement in Niger Republic lacks Nigerian support and, if carried out, would be a tremendous mistake for the region.
ECOWAS leaders, according to Fani-Kayode, should ensure that the Niger problem is resolved through diplomacy and force.
The statement reads: “We worked hard, took many bullets and took great risks to put this Government in place, and we not only have a big stake in it, but we must also ensure that it succeeds.
“Apart from our unalloyed loyalty and unflinching support and our commitment to assist him in weathering every storm and stabilising the country, there is only one thing we owe the President, and that is always to tell him the plain truth.
“Today, the truth is that the pending attack on Niger Republic is unpopular at home and, if unleashed, would be a monumental error. If ECOWAS must go into Niger in the name of wanting to restore constitutional order, so be it but let them do so without any Nigerian troops.
“Let the French and their Franco-phone allies in our sub-region, with American intelligence and logistical support, do the job on their own and leave us out of it. It is only if our nation is attacked or our sovereignty violated that we should get into the fray.
“Outside of that and until then, we should use only diplomatic means to settle the issue and not allow ourselves to be drawn into an unnecessary and bloody regional war, the end of which no one knows.”
