A rejoinder for Dr Abdallah. Firstly, President Bola Tinubu did request for approval to go to war but with a caviart that should the Military government refuse to hand over power as requested by the ECOWAS leadership.
Once this blanket approval is gotten, funds would be sought through supplementary Budgetary allocations and off they go. In fact but for the refusal of the Senate, war is almost inevitable, because the coupists would fear the loss of power as well as their lives. More importantly, ECOWAS has already given a deadline, this means with it’s expiration, the only available option is the use of force.
The consequences of that is loss of civilian lives, destruction of properties, the institutionalization of mistrust between people who have lived together, intermarried, traded and shared the same values for centuries, just to satisfy the interest of the West especially France, perceived generally in Africa as the worst imperialist. We must be careful about comments from enemies of Nigeria and it’s neighbors.
Niger stood by us during the civil war, we cannot therefore, repay them with an unending war of destabilization. We therefore, hail our Senators for rejecting the proposal, and rejoice with the general public for their resentment.
ECOWAs should have come up with a global resolution that Coups are no longer acceptable in WA, or generally in Africa. Raise a standing army that would constantly and without recourse to any Government fight any military purse anywhere within it’s territory with a prior approval from any Government. Gradually, Coups will be a thing of the past. Now we are faced with Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and still counting giving a blank cheque support to the regime in Niger. We will simply divide ECOWAS into two armed camps ther by further creating disunity to a people struggling for Unity.
Umar Mustapha Madawaki (Otumba)
An Adamawa APC stalwart
