Antony Blinken, the United States Secretary of State, has lauded President Bola Tinubu’s leadership within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) aimed at reinstating constitutional order in Niger Republic.
Blinken revealed that he had engaged in a phone conversation with the Nigerian President, discussing their joint endeavors to restore President Mohamed Bazoum to power.
Addressing President Tinubu’s role in ECOWAS, Blinken commented, “Spoke to Nigerian President Tinubu to commend his leadership of the Economic Community of West African States and discussed shared efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger.”
Spoke to Nigerian President Tinubu to commend his leadership of the Economic Community of West African States and discussed shared efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 14, 2023
President Bazoum, whose election in 2021 marked a significant milestone for the country, experienced an upheaval on July 26 orchestrated by members of his presidential guard. This sudden shift in leadership sent shockwaves throughout West Africa, where Mali and Burkina Faso have similarly faced military takeovers in the midst of jihadist insurgencies.
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In response to the escalating crisis, ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger and recently approved the deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order.” However, uncertainties loom over the feasibility of such an intervention, including internal divisions within ECOWAS and concerns for a peaceful resolution.
ECOWAS initially issued a seven-day ultimatum on July 30, urging the restoration of Bazoum’s leadership or the potential use of force. Despite this ultimatum’s expiration, the situation remains fluid. The coup leaders expressed a willingness to engage diplomatically after a meeting with Nigerian religious mediators. This diplomatic engagement followed the postponement of a scheduled ECOWAS military chiefs’ meeting in Ghana for “technical reasons.”
Nevertheless, tensions escalated as Niger’s ruling authorities asserted they had accumulated evidence to charge Bazoum with “high treason and undermining internal and external security.” This development drew stern condemnation from ECOWAS, as the bloc viewed it as a provocative move contradictory to the regime’s purported commitment to a peaceful restoration of constitutional order.
President Bazoum and his family have been confined to the official presidential residence since the coup, sparking international concern about his well-being in detention. Responding to ECOWAS’s sanctions threat, the military-appointed prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, expressed determination to overcome the challenges, despite the hardships imposed on Niger by the sanctions.
ECOWAS’s measures, including financial restrictions, power supply cuts, and border closures, have triggered severe consequences for Niger’s struggling economy, further exacerbating the plight of one of the world’s poorest nations.