Sen. Shehu Sani, a former Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, has urged ECOWAS leaders to allow Nigeriens to fight for democratic rule in their country like Nigerians did.
Sani, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
He added that the coup d’etat in Niger Republic was an internal matter which only the Nigeriens can take a decision on.
He was speaking against the backdrop of the threat of the use of military force against the military junta in Niger by the leaders of West African sub-regional bloc, ECOWAS.
“The takeover of government in Niger by the military was unfortunate because many people thought that military rule had come to an end and that democracy had come to stay in Africa, and especially the West coast of Africa.
“But we have seen in the past few years how democracy in the sub-region had collapsed. It happened in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, and now in Niger Republic.
“Where we are making a fundamental mistake is the way we are handling the matter.
happen.
“But we should not be involved in regime change.
“Armed invasion of Niger will simply be a war between Nigeria and Niger because the former foots the bills of ECOWAS.
“If we are going to engage in an armed attack on Niger Republic, who will provide the soldiers? Is it Togo, Guinea Bissau or Ghana?
“How many soldiers do they have? How much ammunition do they have?
“When we had our own military regimes in Nigeria, we were the ones that fought for democracy.
