By Bashir Aliyu
The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reacted to the announcement by the Military Authority of the Niger Republic to the effect that Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are withdrawing from the ECOWAS, saying Nigeria will not change its policy in regard to the apparent refusal to respect the views of their people as expressed in the democratic process.
According to the press release by the spokesperson of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. (Mrs.) Francisca Omayuli “Nigeria stands with ECOWAS to emphasize due process and our shared commitment to protect and strengthen the rights and welfare of all citizens of member states.”
The statement further criticized the military authorities for engaging in undemocratic posturing which undermines the principles of rule of law that the ECOWAS has been working to achieve for several decades.
“Nigeria has worked sincerely and in good faith to reach out to all members of the ECOWAS family to resolve the difficulties we face. It is now clear that those seeking to quit our Community do not share that same good faith. Instead, unelected leaders engage in public posturing to deny their people the sovereign right to make fundamental choices over their freedom of movement, freedom to trade, and freedom to choose their own leaders,” the statement added.
The statement indicates that Nigeria will not deviate from its foreign policy objective of ensuring democracy and good governance in the region.
It could be recalled that President Bola Ahmad Tinubu has made democracy one of the key pillars of his 4D Foreign Policy Doctrine which seeks to promote democracy, development, demography and diaspora.
It is unclear whether Nigeria still seeks to continue to resolve the impasse following a series of coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and recently, Niger. The military coups in the volatile Sahel region has led to the collapse of relationship between foreign forces stationed to help stabilize the region that was already under direct threat of Islamic insurgents and rebels.
The economic fallout caused by sanctions by the ECOWAS has led to severe hardship and isolation, and from all indication, Nigeria is not going to put up with military coups in West Africa anymore, and it is willing to stand firm use its diplomatic leverage to ensure that democracy continues to flourish in West Africa and beyond.