By Olukayode Idowu
The Ulama Forum in Nigeria has cautioned Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Economic Council of West African States (ECOWAS) to thread softly and not rush into declaring war on Niger, to force the coupists to vacate office and restore the democratically elected government ousted penultimate week.
They argued that the declaring a war on a sovereign nation over the choice of how it wanted to be governed is in itself undemocratic and must be avoided at all cost.
The statement signed by all states leaders of the Ulamas reads
Preamble:
The Ulama Forum in Nigeria held an emergency meeting on Wednesday August 2, 2023 over the current delicate situation in the Niger Republic. The meeting focused on the matters at hand that are potent with risks as to the peaceful neighbourly relationship between Nigeria and Niger as well as the stability of the region as a whole.
The Forum is particularly worried by ECOWAS ultimatum given to the Coupists to restore power to the person they overthrew within one week (which was vehemently rejected by them) or face the wrath of the Union, which presumably include employing violent means against a sovereign member. Having considered the far reaching implications of such an eventuality, the Forum makes the following observations, and advances some suggestions accordingly, in the interest of the governments and peoples of the Sahel region and by extension that of the world order in general. OBSERVATIONS
1. The Military intervention in Niger republic, like those that took place in the Sahel region before it is sad, most unfortunate, and deserved condemnation by democratic minds and all peace loving people the world over.
2. Notwithstanding the preference which many people have for democracy and its principles, the choice for the route to good governance is strictly that of citizens of each country. It is the right of the people of Niger to fight for the restoration of democracy in their country, if they so wish and any attempt by anybody, anywhere, other than in Niger, will tantamount to employing undemocratic means to achieve a democratic end.
3. The ultimatumn given by ECOWAS to the current leaders of Niger goes counter to democratic protocols and it encroaches on the sovereignty of the country.
4. Given the general and widespread insecurity now bedeviling the Sahel, any international war of the nature that some people are mulling will not only compound the security challenges of the region but will also make governance more difficult as more and more people will be militarized while food insecurity will bite harder.
5. It is certain that the vast majority of people in Nigeria are not, and will not be, in support of war with an erstwhile good neighbour which always looks towards Nigeria as a senior partner. A war between these countries will harm friendship, cause economic hardship, worsen humanitarian crisis, and leave hard-to-heal wounds on each party.
6. Worse of all, the putative war will render the region a theatre of war vulnerable to the exploitation of foreign interests. No, we cannot afford to fight a proxy war on behalf of resources-hungry world powers whose interests lie in our continuous subjugation.
7. The leading role of ECOWAS to protect and secure the region from all foreign intrusions would be stretched beyond limits and dispose to divide and rule between the traditional lines of Anglophone and Francophone by those bent on stealing the resources of the region, by illegitimate ways and means.
8. Once the region is destabilized and divided upon itself, the healing process will be a long run one and fraught with vulnerabilities.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In view of the foregoing, the Ulama Forum urgently recommends as follows:
1. Nigerian government, and by extension the ECOWAS, should retract from treading the undemocratic path of issuing threats or employing violence and, instead, take to the more enlightened and more informed diplomatic protocols in assisting Niger Republic to restore its democracy.
2. The Nigerian National Assembly should wake up to its constitutional responsibility of critically looking into this issue and exercising the necessary check on the Executive and prevent Nigeria from going into needless war.
3. Faith based organizations in the country, from across the faiths, should embark on preaching for peace in the region and maintaining the good neigbourliness that has long existed between Nigeria and Niger.
4. The Ulama Forum calls upon the Muslim Ummah to embark on earnest prayers for Allah’s mercy in touching the hearts of our leaders so that they listen to the voice of reason and not to succumb to the influence of subterranean hands.
5. It is vitally important for the Nigerian government to consider its current formative stage and the security threats that are spread all over the nation which are stretching its resources and capabilities than to rush into an avoidable conflict with a neighbour at the behest of global politicking.
6. The Forum commends the latest diplomatic initiative of sending envoys by ECOWAS to engage the military leaders of Niger in a robust and constructive dialogue. This is indeed, the right way to go and it should be explored to the maximum extent.
May God protect us from the schemes of the hidden and open enemies of the
region.
Signed This Day Friday 17th Muharram 1445 AH (4th August 2023)
Aminu Inuwa Muhammad MSW, MFCE
Convener 0803 943 4089
Engr Basheer Adamu Aliyu Secretary 0806 084 4088
LIST OF LEADERS OF THE ULAMA FORUM
S/N
NAME
DESIGNATION
STATE
01
Malam Aminu Inuwa Muhammad
Convener
Kano
02
Prof. Mansur Ibrahim Sokoto mni
Member
Sokoto
03
Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar
Member
Kano
04
Dr. Sa’id Ahmad Dukawa
Member
Kano
05
Dr. Abubakar Muhamad Sani B/Kudu
Member
Jigawa
06
Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu
Member
Kaduna
07
Prof. Muhammad Babangida Muhammad
Member
Kano
08
Prof. Salisu Shehu
Member
Bauchi
09
Prof. Ahmad Bello Dogarawa
Member
Kaduna
10
Mal Ahmad Bello Abu Maimoona
Member
Katsina
11
Dr. Muhammad Alhaji Abubakar
Member
Borno
Member
12
Malam Muhammad Lawal Maidoki, Sadaukin Sokoto
Sokoto
13
Malam Aminu Aliyu Gusau, Modibbon Gusau
Member
Zamfara
14
Mal Shehu Muhammad Maishanu
Member
Zamfara
15
Prof Muhammad Amin Al-Amin
Member
Katsina
16
Barrister Ibrahim Muhammad Attahir
Member
Gombe
17
Dr. Salisu Ismail
Member
Jigawa
18
Dr. Abubakar Saidu
Member
Gombe
19
Engr. Ahmad Y. M. Jumba
Member
Bauchi
20
Amir Abdullahi Abubakar Lamido
Member
Gombe
21
Dr. Ibrahim Adam Omar Disina
Member
Bauchi
22
Prof. Ahmad Murtala
Member
Kano
23
Prof. Usman M. Shuaibu Zunnurain
Member
Katsina
24
Malam Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa
Member
Kano
25
Engr. Basheer Adamu Aliyu
Secretary
Kano