By Palladium
The hysteria over the siting of a French military base in Nigeria has strangely not abated weeks after the rumour gained traction, particularly in the northern part of Nigeria. The story didn’t make any sense, but someone originated and disseminated it in the hope it would imbue the rumour with political colouration as well as probably weaponising it. There is of course no truth to the story, and government officials have strenuously refuted the story and provided evidence of its falsity. No one could hide white Frenchmen in the Sahel, or bivouac them in nondescript accommodations along Nigeria-Nigerien borders. But Northern Nigerian elites who could send scouts to confirm the presence or planned deployment of French soldiers in Nigeria were uninterested in taking such steps. They know what they are doing.
Astonished that some Nigerian elites could be both ignorant and gullible, Niger Republic junta leader Gen. Abdourahame Tchiani added embellishments of his own. He probably understands that some Nigerians are eager to believe the worst of their leaders, so he gave them harder bones to chew. Last week he addressed his nation and accused Nigerian government of laxity in allowing the Lakurawa terrorist group to take root and flourish, to the point of now threatening Niger Republic. In fact he goes ahead to allege that Nigeria and France had colluded to arm the Lakurawa against Niger Republic, yes the same terrorist group that Nigeria is deploying huge military arsenal to combat. The aim, he alleges, is to destabilise the Niger Republic government and force its capitulation. Fortunately, other than a few hardened Nigerian irredentists, no one else in Nigeria or anyone at all in Niger Republic believes his tall stories about insurgency and destabilisation.
Gen. Tchiani is under pressure over his country’s worsening economic, security and political conditions. He will clutch at any straw to stay afloat. His fellow coupists in Mali and Burkina Faso installed as military administrators of their countries are also reportedly under pressure over worsening socio-economic conditions.
Their citizens are demanding a timetable for the restoration of democratic rule, months after they foolishly gave rousing welcome to the coup leaders, and many months after they rallied on the streets in favour of Russian presence on their soils and denounced ECOWAS attempt to compel the return of democracy. Their folly is now attracting a backlash in terms of worsening economy, human rights abuse, and faltering counterinsurgency operations against Sahelian Jihadists linked to al-Qaeda. Even their Sahel alliance (AES) has proceeded only tentatively.
The easiest part of any rebellion, whether a military coup or a revolution, is to make empty utopian promises. Some misguided Nigerians, including activists claiming to be dedicated to the cause of democracy and good governance, clamoured for revolution or coup after the 2023 polls and during the ‘end bad governance’ protests. The problem, always, is that once the coup madness is activated, no one can predict its course. It is, therefore, dismaying that some Nigerians, still clutching to the old power order, are lending themselves to the service of an ignoble cause. They focus on demonising France rather than on campaigning for Nigeria to ensure good and favourable terms in its economic dealings with other countries, including France. If Francophone countries detest France for various economic and probably political and security reasons that hark back to their histories, it is unrealistic for Nigeria to inherit other people’s conflicts. After all, France is one of the highest importers of Nigeria’s oil.
The Alliance of Sahel States (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic) has shortsightedly opted for the embrace of Russia, with China and Turkiye on the sidelines, partly because they do not want to be accountable to their regional and continental neighbours. They also resent the peer review mechanisms put in place by their ECOWAS brother states. They are at liberty to engage in political and strategic alliances, whether these make sense or not, and expose themselves to proxy wars by the great powers. After all, last September they even indicated their resolve to issue new biometric passports for their countries. What is, however, dispiriting is when members of the Nigerian elite who should know better begin to sponsor despicable campaigns to force Nigeria into shortsighted alliances and also weaponise falsehoods to destabilise their country. Elections 2027 are not too far away. They should return to the drawing board and find ways of winning polls without destroying their country or setting ethnic and religious groups against one another.
Culled from The Nation
