Former General Secretary of the Peoples National Convention (PNC) Bernard Mornah has slammed the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) decision to send a Standby Force to Niger in order to reestablish democracy.
According to the political analyst, ECOWAS starting on a wrong note by first issuing a strong warning to send troops to Niger if the military failed to handover power to ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
Bernard Mornah explained the threats by ECOWAS to force the juntas in Niger to reinstate constitutional law will make the military harden their stands.
“If you start by threatening me, I will harden my stands. Nobody threatens my life, the more you threaten me, the more I become embolden to do what I want to do.” he said.
Any attempt by ECOWAS to go and use force over there is a declaration of war and every Pan-Africanist will gather there to support Niger,” Mornah added.
ECOWAS is not acting in the interest of Africans – Bernard Mornah#UTVGhana pic.twitter.com/8erIfcY8j7
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) August 21, 2023
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo earlier consented to the ECOWAS decision to send troops to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
At the ECOWAS Extraordinary Meeting in Abuja, the declaration was made by ECOWAS President Omar Alieu Touray as he read the organization’s resolution regarding the coup in Niger.
The leaders of ECOWAS tended to favor diplomatic resolutions, reserving military action for extreme circumstances. The junta’s deadline to reinstate the elected president passed without any change, and some of Niger’s neighbors backed its military.
The ECOWAS Commission’s Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Ambassador Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah, has stated that the Niger government will use all tools at its disposal to restore constitutional order.
Dr. Musah stated, “The military junta in Niger is playing a cat-and-mouse game with the ECOWAS,” explaining that they failed to respond favorably to ECOWAS diplomatic efforts, at the Extraordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff on the political situation in the Republic of Niger held in Accra on Thursday, August 18, 2023.
