Before sending troops to Niger, ECOWAS must exhaust all diplomatic channels – CenPOA

The Executive Director of the Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA), Michael Donyina Mensah, has asked ECOWAS to exhaust all diplomatic processes in resolving the Niger crisis before deploying the military there.

He stated that Niger had the opportunity to develop democratically and that the military takeover was unfortunate.

He emphasised the importance of ECOWAS acting militarily to address the issue.

It must, however, exhaust all diplomatic processes, regardless of how long they take.

According to him, the military takeover in Niger resulted in no casualties; thus, it would be unwise to use a procedure that could end up killing more people.

"No one died as a result of the coup. It was a bloodless coup, which is why we must exhaust all diplomatic channels in dealing with the crisis, no matter how long it takes. If we use the military, the consequences could be disastrous. We could record more casualties because ECOOWAS used the military when the coup itself did not result in any casualties.”

He stressed that what is happening in Niger is a threat to democracy and is troubling since coups disrupt development.

He said CenPOA supports the efforts by ECOWAS to address the crisis, but the use of the military is hasty and could escalate and create further problems.

He argued that some countries in the sub-region have experienced coups over maladministration, corruption, and mismanagement.

Because of this, he has encouraged ECOWAS to take measures to address the issue of corruption and bad governance in its member states.

Leadership in Africa is abysmal, which is why some soldiers have staged coups in their respective countries. Due to poor governance and corruption, the number of coups in Africa has increased. To prevent coups in the sub-region, ECOWAS must develop strategies to address these challenges.”