In another statement released by Kwesi Pratt, General Secretary of the Socialist Movement of Ghana (SMG), he warned that a sub-regional war will destroy “millions of lives and hamper production of goods and services with severe ramifications for the entire continent.” Questioning the moral standing of the ECOWAS leaders to invade Niger, the statement added, “Our leaders have not.. raised concern about the squalor, lack of basic amenities, or exposure ofIs Chief Admen Tinibu A puppet For france
r seem to cloud the horizon in West t Africa due to the standoff between ECOWAS and the military junta in Niger, one of the questions that continuously plague the mind of every observer is “What is ECOWAS led by its chairman, President Tinubu truly fighting for? Are they sincerely trying to restore so-called democracy or they are just puppets in the hands of the neo-colonialist, France? After the military took over in Niger, ECOWAS gave them one week to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum or face potential use of force. The ultimatum however passed without the coup leaders showing any sign of submitting to ECOWAS demands despite the numerous sanctions imposed on the country by the bloc and the international community. In response to the defiance by the military junta, the regional bloc decided to hold an emergency meeting to decide the way forward.

During this meeting, ECOWAS Chairman and Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, described the ongoing political crisis in Niger Republic as a threat to the stability of other Western African countries and to show that they were indeed serious with their threat of using force to restore democracy, one of the decisions made was to deploy a stand-by force in Niger. While this decision by ECOWAS has been applauded by France and the USA, many in Africa have protested and are firmly against it. The Amilcar Cabral Movement (ACIS-M) is one of such groups that have protested the decision by ECOWAS. Reacting to the position of the ECOWAS Heads of State, the ACIS- Movement stated that the crisis in the Niger Republic should be properly understood as a part of the unresolved questions of the independence struggle and the decolonization process in Africa. The group urged the ECOWAS Heads of State to allow Niger to solve its issues internally, warning the West African regional body not to wage war against Niger. It also said such a military intervention would serve the “imperialist interests of the United States of America and France”.

They also questioned the authority of the regional bloc to retire democracy stating that “Who are the ECOWAS Heads of State who want to restore the so-called democracy in Niger Republic? What are their credentials other than being puppets to the Governments of the US-France, that are holding their various territories in ECOWAS in bondage for imperialist exploitation and domination? What do they have to show for their misrule, other than – frauds, treasury looting, violence against dissenting voices, imposition of IMF-World Bank policies, hardships and sufferings of the majority of the people, etc, in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, and Benin Republic.
Another group, the West African Peoples’ Organization (WAPO) has also vehemently opposed the decision of ECOWAS. In a statement released on August 2nd, WAPO stated that the decision of ECOWAS is “a maneuver by colonial France and Great Britain, under the hegemony of American imperialism, to resort to armed intervention under the guise of restoring democracy and human rights in Niger,” They warned that the real purpose was to “keep Niger continually in the imperialist fold, and described the ousted President Bazoum as “servile to the imperialist powers of NATO, particularly France, which for decades has plundered its uranium.”

children to deadly radiation that the French capital imposes on the inhabitants of uranium mining towns. Our leaders have not protested the numbers of innocent citizens killed by US and French troops in their so-called counter-insurgency operations. Rather our leaders have forced through laws granting US troops full immunity for crimes committed on our soils – essentially ceding our sovereignty to foreign militaries.”

Now, while France and USA have applauded and seemingly backed ECOWAS in their decision, till today the American government has not designated what happened in Niger as a military coup because if it did, the U.S government as expected by its law, would have ceased all military assistance, technical support and diplomatic relations. Also, the French government has not stated in clear terms how many troops they would support ECOWAS with for their supposed military intervention, instead, they are even evacuating their people. This means that if they end up going to war, it would be soldiers from Nigeria, Ghana, and those African countries who would fight with soldiers from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
The fact that the ECOWAS community does not see how devastating it is that their threat of force to restore democracy will lead to Africans fighting Africans is truly baffling. How disastrous will that be for the African Continent?

This is why Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of Nigeria said that “If ECOWAS must go into Niger in the name of wanting to restore constitutional order, so be it but let the body do so without any Nigerian troops. Let the French and their Francophone allies in our subregion, 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.
Clearly, there are other paths to restore democracy in Niger so why resort to violence that would not only destabilize Niger but also West Africa? Can ECOWAS manage the consequences of the war in the region? Definitely not. So, why push for the use of force to reinstate an ally of France? If they were truly so democratic conscious why didn’t they use force to restore democracy to Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and even Chad?
It seems that everyone except ECOWAS knows that they are just a puppet in the hands of the West most especially France which wants to have continued dominance in Africa. Or maybe they know but they don’t care. Everybody has accepted Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy which is the government of the people, by the people, for the people and so, whose interest is President Tinubu and ECOWAS championing, if Nigerians do not support your decision to go to war and neither does the people of Niger appreciate your so-called help in restoring them to democracy?

At this point, ECOWAS has two choices: “Go ahead with the war leading to destabilization in the region and remain an ally of the West or focus on restoring democracy without war thereby causing France and probably the USA to lose their foothold in the country? Which will they choose? What are your thoughts? Do leave your comment down below and don’t forget to subscribe, like and share this video.