• Hausa Edition
  • Podcast
  • Conferences
  • LeVogue Magazine
  • Business News
  • Print Advert Rates
  • Online Advert Rates
  • Contact Us
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Leadership Newspapers
Read in Hausa
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Football
  • Others
    • LeVogue Magazine
    • Conferences
    • National Economy
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Football
  • Others
    • LeVogue Magazine
    • Conferences
    • National Economy
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Leadership Newspapers
No Result
View All Result

Niger: Tchiani Needs More, Not Less Pressure

by Leadership News and Usman Ahmed Tudun Doki
2 years ago
in Opinion
General Tchiani

General Tchiani

Share on WhatsAppShare on FacebookShare on XTelegram

Leaders of member nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under the aegis of the Authority of Heads of State and Government are scheduled to hold a summit meeting in Abuja on Sunday, December 10.  One “leader” that will not be there is General Abdourahmane Tchiani, who seized power in Niger Republic last July. ECOWAS had suspended his country, along with other member nations such as Mali, Guinea Conakry and Burkina Faso where soldiers also seized power from elected governments.

Advertisement

Niger Republic has concentrated the attention of ECOWAS leaders in the past five months, not because it was the first or even the only case of unconstitutional change of power in the region. Maybe it was because the political situation in the country was much more stable than the other three before the coup. The political situation in Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso had been rather murky for some time, easily compounded by a deteriorating security situation in the latter two, caused by insurgents, separatists and jihadists. In Niger Republic however, there was a stable and quite respectable democratic government in place, headed by President Mohammed Bazoum.

In the wake of the July coup, ECOWAS leaders suspended Niger Republic from their councils and imposed sanctions. Nigeria in particular cut power supply to the country and closed land borders. This latter move is painful for Nigerian traders too who benefit a lot from cross border trade. It is certainly more painful for landlocked Niger Republic, which relies heavily on imported, as well as smuggled, Nigerian goods and fuel for most of its needs.

Despite those measures, General Tchiani and his rebel military colleagues have so far refused to accede to any of the regional leaders’ demands. Not only have they refused to restore the elected government to power, but they have as yet no transition to civil rule program and no firm promise to restore constitutional rule in their country. In fact, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar said recently that the Nigerien junta refused even a scaled-down Nigerian demand to release President Bazoum and his family, for them to go and live abroad, not necessarily in Nigeria.

Tchiani and his colleagues are hoping to drive a wedge between ECOWAS leaders and break their united front. In addition, they are trying intimidatory tactics such as forming a “united front” with military-ruled neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso. Although Guinea and Chad are also ruled by soldiers, those two countries have not joined the cantankerous alliance of the other three and are more receptive to calls by African Union. Chad of course is not an ECOWAS member state, so the regional body does not apply pressure to it since it is not a signatory to ECOWAS protocols.

RELATED

That Call By The Turkish Government

That Call By The Turkish Government

5 hours ago
Kwara Hosts 2024 Best Nollywood Awards In November

UBEC, NGF And AbdulRazaq’s Blueprint For Basic Education

1 day ago

When ECOWAS leaders gather in Abuja on Sunday, this matter of Niger Republic is likely to feature prominently in their agenda. Already, there is a strong lobby to soften sanctions on the military junta, by ending the sanctions regime and reopening borders, especially with Nigeria. There is a strong lobby, fuelled by the Nigerien regime, in Nigeria and in other ECOWAS member states, to achieve this aim.

Such a move is very unwise. Without added pressure, the junta in Niamey will probably take years, if ever, to return the country to constitutional rule. Added pressure is even needed for them to accede to the short-term demand of freeing President Bazoum and members of his country to be able to live free lives abroad. 

Increasing activities of separatists and terrorists along Niger Republic’s long borders with its neighbours should also be a serious cause of concern to ECOWAS leaders. By claiming to withdraw its participation in the Joint Multinational Task Force of Chad Basin states as well as expelling French troops that were helping in the fight against terrorists in its northern borders, Tchiani and his men are already exacerbating a worse situation. Urgent steps should be taken at the ECOWAS summit to arrest the drift and the danger that it poses to the region and to the African continent as a whole. Tchiani needs more pressure, not less.

– Tudun Doki, a retired diplomat, writes  from Kano

 


We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →

Join Our WhatsApp Channel




Tags: Tchiani
SendShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Kaduna Indigenes Display Culture, Honour Kinsmen

Next Post

Issues In Tinubu’s Oversized Delegation To COP28

Leadership News and Usman Ahmed Tudun Doki

Leadership News and Usman Ahmed Tudun Doki

You May Like

That Call By The Turkish Government
Editorial

That Call By The Turkish Government

2025/08/05
Kwara Hosts 2024 Best Nollywood Awards In November
Opinion

UBEC, NGF And AbdulRazaq’s Blueprint For Basic Education

2025/08/04
Turning Brain Drain Into Bridges
Backpage

Turning Brain Drain Into Bridges

2025/08/04
Experts Brainstorm On Environmental, Health Sustainability At UNITE Summit
Editorial

The Ticking Time Bomb Called Climate Change

2025/08/04
Okello Oculi’s Last Safari
Backpage

Okello Oculi’s Last Safari

2025/08/03
Local Government Autonomy….Concerns Mount Over Non-execution Of Supreme Court Ruling
Editorial

Nigerian Courts’ Ambiguous Judgments

2025/08/03
Leadership Conference advertisement

LATEST

Philanthropist Pledges Investment In Real Estate Business

Dangiwa Lauds ARCON On Summer Skills Acquisition Centre

REA, Esodora Sign MoU To Boost Energy Access Nationwide

Abbey Mortgage Appoints Okonkwo As ED

Leadway Assurance, Ecobank Partner On Tailored Insurance Solutions

Linkage Assurance Revenue Hits N22.2bn In 2024

Heirs Insurance Partners Influencers, Drives Insurance Literacy

Police Arrest 5 Suspected Ritualists In Akwa Ibom

Keyamo, Rewane, Others To Discuss Aviation Financing At LAAC Conference

‘Nigeria First Policy To Enhance Patronage of Local Tech, Products’

© 2025 Leadership Media Group - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Football
  • Others
    • LeVogue Magazine
    • Conferences
    • National Economy
  • Contact Us

© 2025 Leadership Media Group - All Rights Reserved.