In a rare diplomatic move, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) recently and somewhat grudgingly, focused on Niger Republic, the largest country in terms of land mass in West Africa. ECOWAS’ focus on Niger was caused by the country’s leader, President Mamadou Tandja’s decision to wear the standard toga of another perpetual leader in Africa.

ECOWAS’ initial action was a three-man delegation led by Nigeria’s ex-head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar to dissuade Tandja from holding an obviously stage-managed referendum to keep him in power for life.

Niger’s President Tandja humiliated the ECOWAS delegation, held the self-serving referendum which produced an expected landslide. Again, in another rare move, the same ECOWAS imposed an arms embargo against Niger Republic which shares border with northern Nigeria.
On its face value, the ECOWAS move is desirable, understandable but ridiculous. With a membership of at least fifteen countries, which of them manufactures arms or had been an arms exporter to now have any effect arising from the embargo?

This is not to show any sympathy for President Tandja. Any such sympathy will be misplaced. This power drunk authoritarian, after completing the two- terms of four years each as provided under the constitution, embarked on the familiar highway to self-destruction. Twice, the Constitutional Court nullified President Tandja’s attempt to legalise his perpetual rule with referendum, which, in Africa, is mere formality.

For failing to approve his bid for indefinite tenure extension, Niger’s parliament was sacked by President Tandja who then assumed emergency powers under which he all alone, organized the referendum which extends his tenure by three years and in any case, completely removed tenure limit under the constitution.
It would also be un-African if President Tandja announced that he lost the referendum.

There are some points of interest. Where was ECOWAS all along until the eve of the referendum organized by President Tandja? Who among ECOWAS leaders would, on the eve of such electoral exercise, especially at the instance of such a jamboree club, cancel or even postpone such a referendum?
Coming back home, and based on personal records, who could be more defiant on such an issue, between Nigeria’s Umaru Yar’Adua or Niger’s Mamadou Tandja?
By the way, the courage of Niger’s Constitutional Court judges must be acclaimed. With their career if not their lives at stake, the judges did not find excuse in spurious technicalities to endorse an illegality. On its part, the African Union maintains a treacherous silence.

In a way, the crisis in Niger Republic and the handling by ECOWAS are both provocative and amusing. First, President Tandja must be condemned for not learning from history. Obviously, he still lives in the past when any African leader would get away with treason or crimes against humanity, hiding under the principle of non-intervention in the affairs of member countries.

On the other hand, what has Niger’s President Tandja done different from the record of African leaders, past or present except in four countries, so the shining stars on the continent – Liberia, Botswana, Ghana and Sierra-Leone and perhaps South Africa (under Nelson Mandela) where leaders maintained the constitutional limit or allowed ruling parties to be defeated in democratic elections?

All these must have been the reasoning of Niger’s President Tandja and rightly too. That is, in assuming ECOWAS leaders as hypocrites. If three years after elections in Nigeria, law courts are still determining petitions against the results of President Yar’Adua’s and some state governors’ elections, why query similar developments in Niger Republic, only a few minutes’ drive from Nigeria’s northern border?

Then, in what capacity could a country like Burkina Faso join in slamming down Niger’s President Tandja? Could it be that after shooting himself into power in 1987 with the murder of his predecessor Captain Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso’s Blaise Compaore has not perpetuated himself in office? Has Compaore been obeying court rulings if ever there had been such? In Niger Republic, at least the parliament voted against President Tandja’s perpetual rule or even tenure extension. Does the National Assembly in Burkina Faso have such independence?

Putting aside all these, Niger’s President Tandja is well aware of the ineffectiveness of whatever sanction ECOWAS purports to impose. For example, the arms embargo. Is Niger Republic at war to require such arms? Surely not. Even if President Tandja were to need the arms, ECOWAS arms embargo could only create booming business for mercenaries, including Nigerians.

Ironically, even if economic sanctions were to be added to the arms embargo against Niger Republic, such sanctions would easily be broken through Nigeria’s completely uncontrolled border with Niger. A diplomatic farce would be for Nigeria to announce closure of border with Niger Republic. This would be laughable.
Sizeable number of Nigerians (mainly Northerners) spend weekends in Niamey (Niger’s capital) and nobody, not even Nigerian government has the power to restrict such movement in such circumstances. That is individual decision. Even, during the colonial era/cold war, Nigerians still found their way to China and the defunct Soviet Union.

Then there is the latest development of suspending Niger Republic from ECOWAS. This is amusing because it is meant for nothing more than public consumption. ECOWAS should have gone the whole hog by expelling Niger Republic until democratic process is fully restored, a loud-making but worthless diplomatese.
Could arms embargo, suspension or expulsion from ECOWAS bring Niger Republic down on its knees? Impossible. Any effectiveness of suspension or expulsion of a country from an organization could only be predicated on particular benefits the country concerned had been enjoying.
Less than fifteen years ago, our own very Nigeria was suspended from the almighty Commonwealth. Was there any loss? Instead, those charged by the Commonwealth leaders to be monitoring Nigeria’s progress towards democratic rule only regularly came to collect dollars bribe to either keep quiet or (to) report semblance of gradual move towards restoration of human rights.

Hence, political hostage MKO Abiola spent five years in detention and eventually died there. This seeming intervention of ECOWAS in the Niger crisis should therefore be seen for what it is – fear of the organization (ECOWAS) for the inevitable consequences of the tense situation in that country.
Some time, some day, Niger Republic will burst with imperative ramifications. Neither ECOWAS nor African Union can save the people of Niger Republic who on their own and of all sectors in the country will free themselves. Before African Union, there was the moribund Organisation of African States which modified to Organisation of African Unity.

None of the two rescued the people of Niger Republic from Hamani Diori. Only the people rescued themselves. When the time comes and Niger Republic explodes, ECOWAS and the African Union will engage in their ritual of non-embrace of the new regime.
What they would not add or provide was any alternative.

This must not pass unchallenged. The panel charged with the responsibility of choosing an African leader for the Mo Ibrahim award in recognition of ideals of statesmanship reportedly found nobody to earn the award. This committee instead should have owned up to its inability to convince Africans of the merit of the man they had been promoting for the past two years.

Otherwise, as if today, who could compete with or dispute the merit of ex-Ghanaian President Kuffour for this award? Ex-President Kuffour not only conducted an election which saw his party voted out of office. The election was acclaimed by observers from all over the world.
More remarkably, when his party members positioned themselves to challenge or even reject the result, ex-President Kuffour appealed to his supporters to accept the people’s verdict. Who else could have deserved the Mo Ibrahim award? We are waiting for the next winner being contrived.