Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has called for “collective attention and a united response” among ECOWAS defence chiefs to restore democratic governance in Niger.

Mr Musa spoke during a meeting of the defence chiefs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Wednesday in Abuja.

The meeting was attended by 10 countries, including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Liberia, Ghana, Gambia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Benin, and Senegal. Other member states, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, and Burkina Faso, were absent.

The meeting was in response to the directive of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS during its extraordinary session in Abuja on July 30.

Mr Musa, the current president of the ECOWAS Committee of CDS, said the decisions taken at the meeting would have far-reaching implications for the ECOWAS region.

“We must face the challenges of restoring democratic governance in Niger head-on, drawing on our shared experiences, wisdom, and collective resolve,” he said.

Since its establishment, Mr Musa said the ECOWAS had remained steadfast in promoting economic cooperation and regional integration, adding that this compelled them to convene the meeting to address the current situation in Niger.

“We are not oblivious to the complex challenges that lie ahead. The task of restoring democratic governance in Niger is fraught with potential hurdles and complications.

“However, we cannot afford to be hamstrung by these challenges. Instead, we must confront them head-on, drawing upon our shared experiences, wisdom, and the strength of our collective resolve,” said Mr Musa.

The Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, ECOWAS, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said the authority of the Heads of State of ECOWAS was committed to eradicating all forms of unconstitutional takeover of power in the sub-region.

Mr Musah said the region was currently confronted with two existential threats that were mutually reinforcing.

According to him, the first one is the asymmetric environment characterised by terrorism, refugee flows, and poisoning of inter-communal relations, which have led to the second existential threat, the return of the military to power in the region.

He said there had been about eight to nine successful and unsuccessful coups in West Africa in the last three years, adding that all members of ECOWAS were led by a democratically elected president three years ago.

He said there was a need to demonstrate that the ECOWAS could go beyond backing and that it could also bite.

“We also need to restore constitutional order in the country by reinstating the overthrown president. Those are the two clear instructions given by the heads of state, and they have given the military leaders, led by General Giani, seven days to make good the directives of the heads of state.

“Today is the third day, but when the seven days elapse, anything can happen, and as the heads of ECOWAS have said, nothing is off the table.

“So, respected chiefs of defence staff of our region, this is a clarion call to you. This is a test of the will of our militaries to demonstrate that we have a democratically minded military whose responsibility is the protection of the state.

“So diplomacy is being given a chance to succeed, and as we said, the military option is the very last on the table.

“And if we can avoid that, a peaceful resolution is our preferred option, but we have to prepare for all eventualities,” he said.

(NAN)