APA-Dakar (Senegal) – The Economic Community of West African States must renounce any attempt to restore constitutional order in Niger by force, according to some young Senegalese who claim to belong to an African civil society group.
On July 26, the National Council for the Protection of the Homeland (CNSP) seized power in Niger and removed President Mohamed Bazoum from office. On July 30, Ecowas issued an ultimatum to the military to reinstate the democratically elected president or face armed intervention. This ultimatum expired on Sunday night without Ecowas carrying out this threat.
The bloc still wants to give negotiations a chance. It has called an extraordinary summit of heads of state for Thursday, August 10, in Abuja, Nigeria. According to many observers, military intervention will be a last resort. But the idea has met with mixed approval among West Africans.
In the Senegalese capital, Dakar, young people claiming to be part of African civil society expressed their “firm opposition” to any deployment of a regional force in Niger, and called on regional leaders to “come to their senses.”
“We condemn in the strongest terms this submission by the ECOWAS heads of state to France. The sub-regional organisation has done nothing but follow France’s lead by imposing heavy economic and political sanctions on Niger immediately after the Elysée condemned the seizure of power,” Khadim Bamba Sall said, speaking on their behalf.
They also condemned what they called the contradictions of the European Union, which never condemns “constitutional coups, but sharpens its weapons to rise up against peoples who have decided to take their destiny into their own hands.”
“We will not accept the sacrifice of our brothers in Niger. We call on all ECOWAS Heads of State to come to their senses and abandon the idea of military intervention in Niamey,” he insisted.
In the face of the stiff sanctions imposed on Niamey, they urged their “Niger brothers” to remain mobilised, united and steadfast.
“It is up to the people of Niger to decide whether to support their army or not. Western countries must not interfere in Niger’s internal affairs under any circumstances,” he said.
The coup in Niger is the fifth in West Africa since 2020. For these “pan-Africanists,” this series of coups is simply the consequence of bad governance, corruption and the subservience of regional leaders to foreign powers.
“If they want to put an end to military takeovers, our leaders must work to meet the aspirations of the people,” Sall advised.
ARD/ac/lb/as/APA