How residents of border communities view Tinubu’s role in Niger crisis

 Many residents of border communities in Northern Nigeria believe President Tinubu has the power to escalate or stop the crisis.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and ECOWAS Heads of Government. [Premium Times]

The proposed military action against Niger’s junta by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was a great cause of concern for residents of border communities in Northern Nigeria.

Following the toppling of President Mohamed Bazoum’s government by his presidential guard led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, the ECOWAS imposed some sanctions on Niger to restore democratic order in the country.

Some of the stringent sanctions include the suspension of all commercial transactions, suspension of power supply and suspension of all financial assistance from the Central Bank of West African States.

To quicken the reinstatement of the ousted president, the ECOWAS threatened the junta with military action if they failed to reinstate Bazoum within seven days.

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Ousted President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger visited President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, just last Tuesday, July 18, 2023. [NTA]

But the coup plotters stood their ground and dared the ECOWAS to do its worse. It was an invitation for war as the junta seemed ready for a confrontation.

The development sparked anxiety in Nigeria as residents of border communities in Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi and other states that share borders with the Republic of Niger were thrown into a panic due to their close relationship with Nigeriens.

However, while the bone of contention is largely between the ECOWAS authorities and the junta, many residents of border communities in Northern Nigeria believe President Tinubu, who emerged as ECOWAS Chairman 41 days after his inauguration has the power to escalate or stop the crisis

Saleeh Usman, a resident of Daura in Katsina State said the prevalent sentiment of the people living close to the Niger border is that Nigeria is going to war against its neighbour.

Daura, the homestate of former President Muhammadu Buhari shares borders with the Republic of Niger. [TheCable]

He said, “The people of Katsina, Jigawa, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi state are actually not happy about the decision of ECOWAS to take military action against Niger,” due to their pre-colonial relationship with Nigeriens.

Usman explained that the relationship strengthened by a common language, culture and marriage “has become so close that a man living in Nigeria could have an uncle in Niger.”

While urging ECOWAS to reconcile with Niger diplomatically, Saleeh said if the crisis escalates, many residents of border communities in Daura would not blame the regional organisation.

“What the people know here is that there is going to be a war between Nigeria and Niger and they don’t even know ECOWAS because they had come out en-mass to vote for President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to protect the lives and properties of the people of Nigeria,” he said.

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Another northern youth who spoke to this writer but doesn’t want his name mentioned said the recent protest in Kano was a demonstration of the north’s rejection of the move by the ECOWAS.

The junta leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani. [DW]

The source buttressed Usman’s claim, saying the prevailing narrative about the Niger crisis does not acknowledge ECOWAS but Tinubu.

According to him, “Everybody thinks it is Nigeria against Niger, nobody is talking about ECOWAS. Our people don’t even recognize that. As far as they are concerned, it is Nigeria that’s going to war with Niger and our president is the one pushing for it.

“What many people are saying is that if it’s Lagos or another southern state that shares borders with Niger, the President won’t go to war. They believe he is pushing for this because it won’t affect his own people directly. That’s the narrative. That’s what the majority of people are saying at the moment,” he said.

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But contrary to Usman’s view, Naufal Ahmad, the Co-founder and Chief Strategist of Kirkira Hub said northerners may not be as highly educated as their southern counterpart, but due to the political consciousness, they understand the role of ECOWAS and the influence Nigeria wields in the region.

“We understand that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the leader of ECOWAS and Nigeria is somewhat a superpower in this region. Whether or not President Tinubu chairs ECOWAS, Nigeria is always going to play a critical role in solving geopolitical crises. So we have this two-fold situation, we are the largest economy; we have the largest military capability, the largest population, and our president is the chairman of the region, of course, we do understand that.

“But then again, the weight is even more on the fact that Nigeria is going to be the one that is going to make most of the decisions and it would also have to bear the cost as well as all of the other baggage involved in this” Ahmad said.

He submitted that Nigeria can stop the crisis if President exercises Nigeria's political and economic hegemony on other West African countries.

On the relationship between Nigerians and Nigeriens, Ahmad maintained that the proposed military action by ECOWAS would destroy the existing inter-marital relationships and economic interdependence between the people of his state and Nigeriens.

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“People from Niger come to Katsina to buy a lot of things that they need and we also go there to buy some things from them. Katsina is just less than an hour from Niger and we have lots of borders. There is a lot of concern as to what the war would cause to our relationships”, he said.