Dear President Tinubu: A Word Of Caution Before We Plunge The ECOWAS Bloc Down The Slippery Slope Into The Abyss -By Basah Mohammed

According to an Oxfam report on the effects of COVID 19 in West Africa, despite having some of the lowest infection and mortality rates from the pandemic, the sub-region had a GDP loss during the period of about 48billion US Dollars. Same Oxfam report also pointed out that the three wealthiest men in West Africa saw their wealth grow by 6.4billion US dollars. In a region where 25million people cannot meet their basic needs due to extreme poverty, periodic eruptions are inevitable and duty demands that Nigeria lead the way in calling for sober reflection rather than playing to the gallery as we seem to be doing now.

Without delving too deep into ancient history, a cursory look at where we find ourselves in West Africa shows that the problem is not the name by which we call our systems of government, but the outcomes we deliver for our citizens. We cannot claim to have democracy in a region where poverty assaults and harasses you even as you walk the streets; people cannot be said to be making choices on empty stomachs, which leaves them at the mercy of rogue elements and demagogues.

Plato clearly argued, in The Republic, that democracy in a state of poverty and lack of enlightenment has a tendency to prop up “all sorts of selfish people who care nothing for the people but are only motivated by their own personal desires to attain power”. Plato further argues, that “democracy risks bringing dictators, tyrants, and demagogues to power”, providing fertile grounds for “leaders without proper skills or morals”. Plato concludes that “it is quite unlikely that the best equipped to rule will come to power”.

If the escalation of the Boko Haram and Niger Delta Militancy crises, have taught us nothing about the fact that force begets more force, a military intervention in Niger will be tantamount to going macro with a failed micro suicide attempt. What ECOWAS needs now is not posturing to defend democracy in the region, that is democracy only in name, and begin to focus on the “primary responsibility” as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution, which is “the security and welfare of the citizens”. In their wisdom, the framers of the Nigerian constitution included that line as a clear reminder that governance is a pact between government and the governed for government to act in utmost good faith to improve the lot of the governed.

The chain of “government of the people by the people and for the people” is functionally broken when ‘the people’ are poor and unable to gain access to basic public goods and services. ECOWAS must shift its attention to better governance outcomes and creating egalitarian societies where all citizens are able to aspire to develop their full potentials and capabilities to add value to their society and humanity.

Whether under military or civilian rule, West Africa will continue to be an active volcano that will erupt every now and again, if there is no clear, conscious and consistent effort to eradicate extreme poverty in the region. Our problems as a subregion run much deeper than defending democracy at all costs, when what we have does not meet the basic requirements of a functional democracy, a system where even periodic elections that are the entry point of democratic governance are marred by violence and manipulation.

The west may mouth platitudes about democracy, but if push ever came to shove, Big Brother America would only come to the defense of Europe. The west for all their preaching and posturing about democracy, are still pretty much friends with middle eastern dictators, a sitting US President even described Mobutu Sese Seko as a “friendly tyrant”. What ECOWAS needs is a united front in demanding for better quality relations with the world that does not revolve around asking for assistance from richer nations and economic blocs. Today practically every major economic power has one form of African summit or the other, where African leaders pack themselves to go hear long speeches that end with promises of aid to the continent. A situation where ECOWAS is reduced to a mere frontier for proxy wars among bigger powers is unacceptable and Nigeria has a duty to lead the way in demanding that African countries take their fate in their own hands.

Without a doubt the coup plotters in Niger were not driven by noble objectives, but it must be said that leadership and governance failure is what has given them an excuse to hold a people to ransom. Nigeria already has too many internal problems to be busying itself with leading military onslaught at a time when our military is already overstretched with multiple internal operations and using resources that Mr. President himself has been having a running battle convincing Nigerians are lean at the moment.

In cutting off power to poor Nigeriens we are inadvertently playing into the populist trap the coup plotters have set for the people of that country. A situation where there is groundswell of local support for the coup plotters would defeat the purpose of any effort to rescue one man and restore a presidency that preside over large swathes of ungoverned spaces. Reneging on an agreement to supply power to Niger risks a further heightening of tensions between both countries that may lead to future governments of Niger republic building dams on the River Niger, with negative consequences for Nigerian communities. War is never the answer, as the battle for West Africa is bigger than West Africa; now is the time to do deep inhouse reflection and to come up with new solutions to historic problems. The surest failsafe against overthrows of elected governments is that governments are able to evolve systems that make life better for the average citizens, rather than further feathering the nests of a few. There is still time to allow the ECOWAS envoy engage with the coup plotters to find a more amicable solution, which then paves the way for more sustainable solutions in the medium to long term. A war and sanctions will do the people of Niger no good at this time and we cant afford to risk their pitching their tents with opportunist elements due to poor handling of a delicate situation.

Basah Mohammed is the National Coordinator of the Civil Society Alliance for Transparency and Development (CSATD)