President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said the overthrow of the government in Gabon confirmed his fears that there would be more coups in Africa after the Niger Republic.

Mr Tinubu stated this when he received the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the State House. 

“My fear has been confirmed in Gabon that copycats will start doing the same thing until it is stopped,” said Mr Tinubu, according to a statement by presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale.

On Wednesday, military officers in Gabon announced that they had taken power and put the president, Ali Bongo, under house arrest, as the country became the latest in Africa to suffer an attempted coup, only weeks after mutinous troops seized power in Niger.

Shortly after the development, Mr Tinubu expressed concern about the coup in the Republic of Gabon on the West Coast of Central Africa.

Meanwhile, he said all diplomatic options would be exhausted with the military junta in the Niger Republic before any military intervention. 

Mr Tinubu also reiterated the non-acceptance of forceful removal of a democratic government, urging the sultan to return to the Niger Republic for more dialogue with the junta.

“I must thank you for your several visits to Niger Republic, Your Eminence, but you will still have to go back.

‘’We are neighbours with the Niger Republic, and what has joined Nigerians together with their great people cannot be broken. Nobody is interested in a war. We have seen the devastation in Ukraine and Sudan. But, if we don’t wield the big stick, we will all suffer the consequences together,” the president said.

Mr Tinubu noted that under Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Nigeria instituted a nine-month transition programme in 1998 that led the country into a new era of democratic governance.

The president said such action could be replicated in the Niger Republic if the military authorities are sincere.

On the hardship many Nigerians face post-fuel subsidy removal, the president assured that all ongoing reforms would reposition the economy and benefit most of the population in terms of opportunities, infrastructure, healthcare and education.

He told the delegation that the federal government was collaborating with state governments to provide land for pan-national animal husbandry and agro-allied production and processing facilities for mass export, job creation and revenue generation.

“If Nigeria is still looking for vaccines for basic health issues, if infant and maternal mortality is rampant, then we should examine ourselves. I will commit to consulting with other leaders, like the NSCIA, and we will meet the needs of our people,” he said. 

Vice President Kashim Shettima also said the president had budgeted N50 billion to support rebuilding lives and property in the North-West and North-East.

He said this gesture had a new focus on dialogue to address security challenges and complement the kinetic efforts. 

The Sultan of Sokoto pledged “one hundred per cent loyalty” to the president, affirming that a leader can only reach a position by God’s will, not man’s.

(NAN)