WILL NIGERIA TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST NIGER REPUBLIC HER VERY CLOSE NEIGHBOUR AND BROTHERLY ALLY?

By Nkem Ossai

‘A country on the verge of being overrun by bandits and kidnappers wants to pick up arms against their nearest neighbour.’

No wonder God warns all nations against hatred. Because of hatred, Former president Buhari chose to develop the Niger Republic instead of the ‘Dot Nation.’ As such he wired electricity, railed roads, constructed a dam that supplies water to Niger and even provided the government officials with several trailer loads of custom-designed Mercedes Benz cars for the comfort of their leaders all free and without solicitation.

I hear that Niger is not only ready to cut ties with Nigeria but is possibly up in arms against Nigeria and indeed the entire West African sub-regional force.

It is reported that arrangements are on top gear by the sub-regional force to move  troops to restore the overthrown president whom the Junta warned that any attempt to invade Niger will be catastrophic and they will have no choice but to finish up the former president.

This should be a great lesson to Nigerian leadership that would never hear or understand. Buhari ruled Nigeria with ethnic sentiments and unbearable bias on all other tribes except the Fulani. I heard that he plans to make Niger his final resting place. Now that Niger is coming close to face not just Nigeria but the entire West African sub-regional force, will he now change his resting place? 

What is the lesson in this? I think, not all you desire is good for you. As well, not all you hate is bad for you.

A famous quote on war says, “It is not only war that can stop war but men of goodwill, conscious of their mission, can deal with such deadly enemies….Peace does not mean just to stop wars, but also to stop oppression and injustice.” Do we have men of goodwill in the corridors of power in our nation right now?

Another pertinent question is: Does Nigeria possess the military muscle to lead her allies against Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger? Is Nigeria military that has not been able to contain the menace of bandits, Fulani herdsmen and menacing kidnappers now plaguing the Nigerian space capable of sustaining long drawn conflict with her frontline nations? What about the recent interest of Russia in the sub-regional conflicts? Have Nigeria got what it takes to openly differ with Russia in the face of mounting economic woes, hunger and degradation of the citizens of this nation? There are thousands and one question for the leaders of this impossible nation to answer before contemplating a war with Niger, a desert nation.

Conscious of the debilitating effects of war, its financial burden and the economic implication as a result of the inevitable refugee inflow to Nigeria, only a psychopath will choose to go to war in a neighbouring country.  

The Russia/Ukraine war is enough to remind us that no nation should be under-estimated as far as war is concerned. At the onset of the Russian/Ukraine war, Russia had thought that they would overrun Ukraine in weeks. Almost two years into their conflict, destruction of human and material infrastructure is going on, on a daily basis with no one capable of guessing when it will end.

If our attempt at getting even with Niger is not an exercise at securing a badge of honour before the comity of nations, we must not forget that the earth is a recorder and a rewarder of good and bad deeds. Our bloated ego notwithstanding, at the appointed time, we will pay for our sins.