Use Diplomacy In Burkina Faso Issue, Civil Societies Tell Govt

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International Nigeria have said Nigeria needs to tread carefully with Burkina Faso over the detention of Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft and 11 military personnel in the West African country.

CISLAC Executive Director and Head of Transparency International (Nigeria), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, in an interview with LEADERSHIP, said the country should instead explore diplomatic means to address the issue.

Rafsanjani stated that those advising President Bola Tinubu to use force are not lovers of Nigeria; hence, the country cannot afford an external war when it is facing the same challenges internally.

“About the Burkina Faso thing, I think Nigeria needs to tread very carefully. Because if you claim to be the leader of Africa or West Africa, you cannot do things that create credibility challenges. Nigeria, they know the rules. When an aircraft is passing through the territory of another country, a notification is required. According to the practice, Nigeria did not send a signal to Burkina Faso to let them know that they were passing. And, of course, you are aware of the political tension within West Africa, where France is suspected of seeking to destabilise the region. And then Nigeria is undoubtedly seen as the mainstream of the French.

“So, definitely, there will be suspicion about any move that Nigeria would make. And secondly, this is not the first time in the world that such an issue has occurred. They employ the most effective diplomatic methods to resolve problems. So, anybody instigating President Tinubu to go and use force to resolve this matter, that group of persons, they don’t love Nigeria, and they don’t love the Nigerian people. We cannot afford to go to war with any country. We have enough in our hands. Therefore, it is not advisable to even consider using force to obtain those things. They should use diplomacy to resolve this matter.

“In Burkina Faso, they have the legitimate right to question any suspicious move. Just like Nigeria should have the legitimacy to question anybody who would come to pass through our airspace, you know, such a thing.

In Nigeria, a Russian plane was also detained, and after a diplomatic explanation, it was released. There are several examples worldwide. And therefore, anybody trying to instigate, you know, additional suffering for Nigeria and Nigerians, is not a lover of Nigeria,” he said.

Additionally, Sylvanus Udoenoh, the executive director of the CREAP Africa Initiative, called for calm and constructive diplomatic engagement to resolve this matter swiftly and without further risk to regional stability.

He urged both the Nigerian and Burkinabe governments to prioritise transparent dialogue, respect for established safety standards, and the immediate release of the detained personnel and aircraft.

Meanwhile, Experts in international relations have warned that the 11 soldiers being detained for allegedly violating Burkina Faso’s airspace risk being jailed if found guilty, as the authorities in Ouagadougou have reportedly taken steps to bring them to court.

The federal government had said that the Nigerian military aircraft C-130 carrying the 11 soldiers headed to Portugal made an emergency landing in Burkina Faso to avert an air mishap. Still, the Burkina Faso government stated that it had violated its airspace and raised allegations of reconnaissance and espionage within its borders.

The Nigerian government had sounded confident that negotiations with the government of Burkina Faso would result in the quick release of the detainees. Still, as of Tuesday, December 16, there was no information regarding the release seven days after, as the situation appears to be deteriorating.

Public intellectual and expert in international affairs and economics, Dr Katch Ononuju, told our correspondent on Sunday that the issues are far more serious than the Nigerian government had envisaged and made the public believe, even as Portuguese authorities had reportedly denied the aircraft was headed to their country.

“We have not been told the truth about the reason the aircraft landed in the airspace of Burkina Faso, and as things are now, Burkina Faso may put them on trial,” Ononuju said, adding that the Nigerian soldiers risk going to jail if it is discovered they are carrying out a spy mission on behalf of France.

Ononuju accused the Tinibu government of working with France against the interests of Burkina Faso and other AES countries –Mali, Niger, warning that this could trigger a proxy war that would be devastating to West Africa.

He said, “Nigeria is currently working as a proxy for France, and that is not making Burkina Faso happy.

“There is a Proxy war brewing in the Sahel and West Africa, and it is hazardous, but that is our reality now.”

International constitutional law expert, Livingstone Wechie, said the situation is a grave indication of a frosty and widening regional disintegration that stems from Nigeria’s cum ECOWAS challenged position on the revolution in the Sahel States.

He said, “It is a protest by an aggrieved state, and this will continue to fester in different ways until the region rethinks its governance matrix. No doubt Burkina Faso has unfriended Nigeria, particularly with the recent infamous intervention in the Benin Republic; the Sahel states will be on very high alert.

“The breakaway regional splinter body Association of Sahel States (AES) may start infiltrating the fragile systems of the opposition states like Nigeria and others just to drive home their demands regarding poor governance in African states.”

Another expert, who does not want his name in print, said that Nigeria appears to be underestimating the action of Burkina Faso, warning of dire implications.

He said, “We don’t have a clear picture of the whole situation yet, but from the look of things, Burkina Faso is bent on using this opportunity to pressure Nigeria and probably embarrass Nigeria, because it believes Nigeria is working with its arch enemy, France. The Tinubu government has to tread carefully.”