Deploying ECOWAS Standby Forces to Niger would be Counterproductive – Security Analyst
"The Coup leaders are likely to interpret the presence of the standby forces as an act of provocation, potentially escalating violence," he observed.
Security Analyst and Executive Director of the Africa Center for Human Security and Emergency Management (ACHSEM), Bill Godson Ocloo, has said that the proposed deployment of ECOWAS standby military forces to intervene in the Niger crisis would have counterproductive consequences for the sub region.
He has therefore recommended a more strategic and diplomatic approach in tackling the crisis in the ECOWAS member nation.
In an interview with Newsmen in Accra, Bill Ocloo said he fully supports the concerns of ECOWAS on the Coup d’etat in Niger as it poses a threat to regional stability “however, he respectfully disagrees with the proposed deployment of ECOWAS standby troops as a means of restoring constitutional order in that country.”
The ACHSEM Founder and Executive Director believes that such a move would have counterproductive consequences, further exacerbating the already precarious situation in Niger.
“The Coup leaders are likely to interpret the presence of the standby forces as an act of provocation, potentially escalating violence,” he observed.
Bill Ocloo urged ECOWAS to concentrate it’s efforts on offering a strategic mediation role for early restoration of democracy to Niger as the Coup leaders are strongly backed by the citizenry.
“ECOWAS must first of all look into the conditions leading to the Coup d’etat and assure the Coup leaders of it’s firm resolve to ensuring reversal of the country’s economic sovereignty to the people from the Colonial masters – It is of paramount importance that ECOWAS provides humanitarian aid to the affected population of Niger who might have endured significant suffering due to the current situation,” he advised.
He further emphasized the utmost need for collaboration between ECOWAS and the international community in addressing the root causes of such Coups, including Poverty, Corruption, Nepotism and the denial of Sovereignty and Human Rights and limited opportunities to the citizenry, adding that by effectively resolving these underlying factors that largely form the basis of Coup d’etats in Africa, ECOWAS can play a pivotal role in preventing future Coups, not only in Niger, but also in other countries on the continent.
The Security Analyst urged all stakeholders to prioritize peace, stability, prosperity and the well-being of the people of Niger and the entire ECOWAS region while remaining committed to advocating peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the Niger situation.
By Leo Nelson || Ghananewsonline.com.gh
While appreciating Mr. Bill Ocloo’s counsel to ECOWAS leaders, I’m afraid he is pouring water into a basket, despite the excellency of his counsel. You see these leaders, like almost all AU leaders, are not free to make decisions in the best interest of Africa because they have chosen by their actions over the years to be under bondage both externally and internallly. Externally they have always kowtowed to Africa’s perenial enemies since the TrasAtlantic Slave Trade. These people morphed from African slaves traders to African colonial masters by splitting the continent into pieces and sharing among themselves solely for their economic interests. After colonialism they turned into neocolonialists and continue to rape the cotinent dry but this time perniciously except for France which continued its colonialism flagrantly and arrogantly to date. They have always bought these African leaders into their bedsharing fellows with whom they jointly loot Africa’s rich resources to the detriment of its citizens. And herein lies the internal bondage. By angering their fellow citizens through these perenial lootings and impoverishment of their fellow citizens in collaboration with these perenial enemies of Africa, they are now scared of citizens uprising. So they have to highly corrupt the heads of their countries’ security to be joint beneficiaries, to ensure their loyalties for the irresponsible wreckages done to the countries. Rather than developing policies that sanction these serious national destabilizing behaviours they have unfortunately retrogesively chosen to put in place policies that protect themselves to maintain their nation-wrecking status quo under the guise of protecting democracy. For if they really meant to protect democracy, they wouldn’t be habitually closing their eyes to member states rigging elections to impose themselves on their people, often via bloody massacres as was recently done by Togo’s Eyadema and Ghana’s Akufo-Addo, or changing their countries constitution to extend their term limits, again as was done by Togo’s Eyadema and others within the ECOWAS bloc. So we see a bunch of hypocrites trying to hide behind so-called Western democracies to continue to stay in power to loot Africa to poverty in aliiance with their perenial external collaboators. Such democratic system is purely an imposition on Africa to continue its colonlal eploitation perniciously. Here is where all Africans must wake up with an unrelenting unanimous cry of ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
What these Africa’s kakistocratic kleptomaniac civilian leaders have perenially failed to do in UNITING AFRICA INTO A CENTRAL GOVERNANCE, THE CURRENT WAVE OF COUP D’ETATS WILL DO. IT’S THE LONG AWAITED LIBERATON CANDLE THAT MUST NEVER BE EXTINGUISHED OR AFRICA WILL BE DOOMED FOREVER.
Randy Sobo is a freelance journalist an an African in the diaspora.