A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has cautioned President Bola Tinubu not to endanger the lives of Nigerian troops by sending them to fight in Niger Republic.
On July 26, officers of the Presidential Guard arrested President Muhammed Bazoum and declared him deposed.
On July 30, ECOWAS, led by President Tinubu, decided on sanctions against the military personnel in Niger and gave a week ultimatum to the military junta to restore ousted Bazoum to office.
Also, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Defence chiefs have agreed on a “D-day” for a possible military intervention to restore civil rule in Niger if diplomatic efforts fail.
However, in a post on his X ( formerly Twitter) handle, Fani-Kayode said going to war with Niger is like having another civil war as many Nigeriens are living in Nigeria.
He wrote “Burkina Faso and Mali have deployed fighter jets to Niger to assist them in the event of an invasion. Russian Wagner forces have been deployed to Niamey to assist the junta in the event of an attack.ECOWAS commanders say the D-Day for an attack “has been set”. This is MADNESS!
“Worse still there are more Nigereins living in Nigeria than there are in Niger! Going to war with Niger will end up being more like a civil war because millions of our people have families on both sides of the border. Please ponder on that before the first shot is fired and we send our boys to the killing fields!”
