Stop the blame game, General Tchiani

Once again, the head of the military junta in Niger Republic, General Abdelrahamane Tchiani, has accused Nigeria of being used by France and the United States to destabilise his country and topple his government.

He made the allegation in an interview with the country’s national television in which he discussed issues pertaining to the developments in his country since overthrowing the civilian government of President Mohammed Bazoum on July 16, 2023.

As usual, the interview focused mainly on his unconvincing justification for the illegal and unconstitutional action in seizing power from Bazoum who is still being held in detention against all entreaties for his release and restoration of the constitutional order in Niger.

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He alleged that Nigeria was being used as a forward operating base for recruiting, training and launching attacks deep into Niger for the purpose of overthrowing the Niger junta headed by him. This was following recent attacks by terrorist groups that resulted in the deaths of about 100 Nigerien soldiers in the Tahoua and Dosso regions of the country.

General Tchiani had made similar remarks in December last year in which he levelled unsubstantiated allegations against Nigeria for allowing the establishment of military bases to coordinate insurgent operations against Niger.

In his most recent remarks, General Tchiani expanded the scope of his allegations claiming that meetings were held in Abuja involving Nigerian, French, American, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire officials where discussions took place on how to apply more pressure on Niger through coordinated insurgent and terrorist attacks to be launched from Nigeria.

As with the last remarks made by General Tchiani, the Nigerian government vigorously denied the allegations, calling them baseless, which should be entirely dismissed.

Alkassim Abdulkadir, the media aide to Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, in his statement dismissing General Tchiani’s allegations against Nigeria, pointed out that: “As a matter of principle and historical record, Nigeria has no history of aggression towards its neighbours.’’

Abdulkadir further called on the public to note that at present, several strategic infrastructure projects on telecommunications, rail and road infrastructure linking Nigeria and Niger are ongoing. He said, “These efforts are part of a broader objective to strengthen regional integration and foster shared prosperity. Under the revitalised Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission, frameworks are being developed to ensure a greater harmonious and effective relationship.”

The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, also weighed in on the issue, stating that “Nigeria rejects in totality the unfounded allegations made by the Niger Republic junta leader. Our focus remains the peace and security of our nation, our neighbours and all the West African sub-region.’’

All said, it must be stated that General Tchiani’s utterances on Nigeria are unbecoming of a leader of a country which shares deep historical, cultural and economic links with Nigeria. The unfortunate remarks from Tchiani also give a wrong impression that between Nigeria and Niger, there exists an irreversible rupture in relations. Yet the reality on the ground is that even with present challenges, occasioned by the undemocratic seizure of power in Niger by General Tchiani and his military colleagues, Nigeria has remained faithful to the special relationship that exists between the two brother countries.

As stated by Abdulkadir, even as recent as April 16, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs met with his Nigerien counterpart Bakary Yaou Sangare in Niamey, the Nigerien capital, to discuss bilateral issues. We also recall that just recently, Nigeria responded positively to Niger’s desperate request to provide petroleum products following a severe shortfall in the Niger’s fuel supply situation.

Given the record of enduring constructive relationship cutting across several fields of endeavour between Nigeria and Niger, it is clearly unreasonable and uncharitable for General Tchiani to keep up a trajectory of constant toxic comments and references to Nigeria. This is especially as those issues of insecurity, which he accuses Nigeria of sponsoring, are also being faced on a more drastic scale in Nigeria. In such circumstances, why would Nigeria ignore its vast challenges in security and seek to stoke insecurity in Niger?

It is clear from all indications that General Tchiani and his ruling military seek to conveniently divert the mounting pressure arising from the dissatisfaction of the citizens of Niger on the failure to deliver on the outlandish promises they dished out upon their coming to power. As the dissatisfaction mounts daily in several areas, the junta sees Nigeria as a convenient scapegoat for its incompetence and failures.

In repeatedly and falsely accusing Nigeria of fuelling insecurity in Niger, General Tchiani needs to know he is on a dangerous gambit that will not do his government any good. The relationship between Nigeria and Niger transcends governments and cannot be subject to the personal or group interests on both sides. Accordingly, we at Daily Trust urge General Tchiani to henceforth desist from resorting to unfounded and baseless allegations against Nigeria, which invariably tend to foul the enduring relationship between the two countries.

It is better for him to face his real domestic challenge of providing a better life for his compatriots, which he promised after forcefully taking over the government.