Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar may perhaps have expressed Nigeria’s willingness to move into any member country of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries to quash any coup d’etat, insisting that Nigeria’s intervention in Benin Republic should be the norm whenever democracy is threatened in the sub-region or Africa at large.
The Minister also revealed that there are ongoing talks to resolve the issue of Nigeria’s plane and soldiers detained in Burkina Faso.
Tuggar, who briefed journalists in Abuja on Thursday on the sideline of the ongoing 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Minister meeting, said Nigeria will be happy to assist and support member states in distress.
The Minister, who had his Beninese counterpart, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari by his side during the interaction with journalists, was quick to add a caveat, saying such an intervention would have to be on request of the authorities of the distressed member state.
He noted that such an intervention would be made possible when there is close working relations amongst members of the States, such as the one that exists between Nigeria and the Benin Republic.
Tuggar said: “Well, we are all aware of what transpired in the Republic of Benin and the fast reaction that followed and the coordination to ensure that democracy remains untampered in Benin and it was successful, and it is an exemplar of what really should obtain whenever democracy is under threat in our region and indeed on the African continent as a whole.
“And, of course, the foundation of all of this is the close working relationship and understanding between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.And it stands as, as I said, an exemplar and an example to other countries to use the individual agency because my brother and I were communicating with each other from the very beginning and the fast reaction and communication between us and several of our colleagues is what led to the thwarting of this attempt to undermine democracy by way of an unconstitutional change of government.
“So, it’s individual agency, it’s the understanding and the long relationship and history between the two countries and also for us in Nigeria, it is standing by the Trinibu administration’s four Ds of which, as you know, we keep repeating, it’s democracy, it’s demography, it’s development, it’s diaspora and democracy always gets mentioned as the first of the four Ds.”
Tuggar, on the swift relations to quash the Benin’s coup d’etat, said: “ The swiftness and the deftness of individuals like Minister Shegun Bakari, basically, you know, because he got in touch with me and we were talking to each other and the two presidents were equally involved as quickly as possible. So all credit goes to President Talon and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“So this is what we need and for everybody to be allowed to play their own role so that those handling intelligence do the intelligence. Those, you know, dealing with security deal with security. We the diplomats are allowed to communicate and play diplomacy. And that way everything comes together.
“Part of the challenges that we’ve had in the past is those that are supposed to be playing one role try to play another.”
Tuggar, while reacting to criticism by some quarters of Nigeria’s intervention in Benin Republic despite security challenges in the country. said: “Nigeria’s internal problems are inextricably linked to the external problems. So we would not be doing ourselves any good if Republic of Benin has a problem and we don’t help in tackling it and tackling it decisively. The insecurity problem that we’re facing today, like I said, is a regional problem.
“It is a Sahelian problem. It is a Lake Chad Basin problem and the factors that are affecting us are mostly exogenous. The security problem we’re facing today is tied to the dysfunctioning of Libya, the fall of the Gaddafi regime.
“It is tied also to the conflict in the Sahel and the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region, in Mali, in Burkina Faso, in Niger and beyond. So we have to understand that. And it is what is cascading down into Nigeria.
“The weapons, the fighters. So when you see conflict happening in Zamfara, in Katsina, in Sokoto, in Kebbi, it moves down to Benue for instance and only then is it framed as a religious conflict. It’s the same conflict that is happening in Katsina that is happening in Benue and that is happening also in the Sahelian states and the Lake Chad.
“And it did not help matters that after the change of government in Niger, Niger opted out of the multinational joint task force that had been so effective in fighting Boko Haram. So we have to understand it that way, not to simply isolate it.
“So how much more if we allow, while we’re sitting idly by, a crisis in Republic of Benin, which is our neighbor to the west. We already have issues to the north. So why would we sit by and not participate? And besides, like I said, the relationship between Nigeria and Benin is a very special one. They are our closest neighbor, so it is incumbent upon us to act.”
He added that: “Nigeria has always been ready, willing and able to help. When the timing is right, when everybody plays the role that they’re supposed to play, and not just in Nigeria, but in other countries, then we’re able to avert these sort of occurrences.
“But when we have situations where people are crossing the lanes, then we lose time and the reaction time becomes late. And then you’re presented with a fait accompli.”
Tuggar on the detained plane and soldiers in Burkina Faso, said: “So with regards to the plane in Burkina Faso, I’m in touch with my counterparts, Minister Traore of Burkina Faso, and discussing how we can resolve this delicate matter as quickly as possible.So it’s something that is being handled diplomatically. Are the soldiers still there? Yes, they are.”
He insisted that what the plane did was the right thing to have done under such circumstances; saying “It was on its way to Portugal and it developed a technical problem and was forced to land. And this is, I mean, it’s part of ICAO’s regulations. It’s, you know, internationally, you know, this is under international law.
“When you’re flying and you have a problem, you land in the nearest airport and it can happen to anybody. Tomorrow it can be a Burkina Faso plane flying, let’s say, to Kenya or somewhere and then it’s forced to land in Kano or Maiduguri anywhere else. It can be any other country.”
On his part, the Beninese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, said Nigeria’s intervention was requested to avoid bloodshed.
He said they essentially needed Nigeria’s airpower to ground the armory of the coupists who had their camp in the midst of civilian, stressing that there was no way the Republican troop would have engaged them
without huge casualties to civilians.
Bakari noted that Benin and Nigeria have shown the rest of the world that democracy still prevail in the sub-region.
He said: “I think it’s really important, it was important for all of us within our community and especially for the two leaders of Benin and Nigeria. So, respectively, their Excellency President Bola Ahmed Trinibu of Nigeria and President Patrice Talon of Benin to show clearly that, you know, ECOWAS region is still an area where democracy prevails.
“But I think a few days after what happened in Benin, it’s the best testimony towards the role and the importance of ECOWAS and the brotherhood between each country comprising ECOWAS.”
He added: “This is very important. And on behalf of the government of Benin, of the people of Benin, I really want to thank my brother, His Excellency President Bona Ahmed Tinubu, and the entire people of Nigeria, but also the entire government of ECOWAS for the support they gave to my country and the fact that all of us, we decided to stop this spreading of coups in our sub-region.
Bakari said it was important that ECOWAS member states work closely. He said: “This is very important. And we show that in our region, in our environment, you know, we cannot accept those attention to democracy.
He revealed that. “We request, you know, the intervention under ECOWAS protocol of Nigeria and other countries, so Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Ghana, who also offer their support, was after request of Benin. We request the support of our brothers and sisters, not because our army was not capable to do it, but because actually, you know, the loyalist force in Benin. I was saying that the intervention of Nigeria, the response of Nigeria under the ECOWAS mandate, was a response to the request of Benin, of the Benin authorities. Not because the Benin army was not able to respond.
“The Benin army had succeeded in preventing and repelling this coup attempt, not to put them in a camp, but simply and essentially because the President of the Republic did not want there to be significant human lives lost. And we could have, if we went there alone, it could have caused a lot of damage. And that’s why, President Patrice Talon asked for the support of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, support that we have obtained. And as my brother said, it has once again demonstrated that our regional organization, the ECOWAS, is an important tool, a tool that allows us to defend democracy, to defend the values of democracy in our regional space. And that’s the most important thing.”
Bakari, however told journalists that he could not confirm any link between the coupists and the Allaince State of Sahel.
On the whereabout of the coup leader, Bakari said as a Minister of Foreign Affairs, he cannot comment on rumours, stating that: “People in charge of the investigation are doing their work today in Benin and in partnership with our brothers and sisters from other countries.In any case, as President Talon rightly said, we’ll do everything necessary to punish people behind this attempt of coup in Benin.”
He also urged all member states to support the Benin approach, saying “because we have to stop this spreading of coups in our region.”
He said: “The success is also the result of a very strong partnership and a very strong relationship between both President Talon and President Tinubu who are strong defenders of democracy in our subregion. And this is very important.It’s truly democracy. It’s not only democracy we talked about during our summit, but they are deeply attached to democracy and they always defend this democracy. They show it during the crisis in Niger, etc.So I think the fact that there is this shared value also helps to fast track the process because when you share the same value, it’s easier to take a decision. And then after, as my brother said, we had a very granular cooperation between our both countries. At military level, at diplomatic level, at intelligence level, everywhere.So it’s easy when the two leaders take a decision to ensure that everybody, under every layer, we follow the implementation. That’s the first thing.
He also noted that Benin Is stable now after the gailed coup attempt and democracy has prevailed.
He also assured investors, businessmen from Nigeria, investing in Benin, etc. that “The situation is stable, and so, in the days to come, the military authorities will make the necessary decisions to see if they stay in place or if they continue.
Michael Olugbode
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