On July 26, 2023, members of the Nigerien presidential guard successfully staged a military coup d’etat against the President Mohamed Bazoum government. And as things stand, Nigeria is on the horns of a dilemma. How to react to the enemies without and contend with those within.
For starters, a European powerhouse like France has always had it for Nigeria, and has taken numerous countermeasures in furtherance of a burning desire to see Nigeria cut down to size. Apart from successfully applying pressure on her former colonies to baulk at the implementation of the ECOWAS currency, the eco, at the eleventh hour, it has severally sought to use the numerical advantage of Francophone countries to admit Cameroon (Central Africa) and Morocco (North Africa) into the West African organisation as a vital counterbalance to Nigeria’s influence.
Then there’s South Africa. The relationship between her and Nigeria since President Cyril Ramaphosa assumed office has been more like a cat and mouse affair. South Africa increasingly perceives Nigeria as an adversarial competitor rather than a partner – be it in the bloodless war to emerge as permanent member for Africa in a reformed UN Security Council or who’s truly Africa’s biggest economy.
The Ramaphosa administration would grasp any opportunity that avails itself to discomfit and de-market Nigeria by stereotyping her as a big-for-nothing with fake democratic credentials. And after noting that the internet – particularly the social media – is easily dominated by storm troopers of a particular political party, South Africa has decided to use the same media to ventilate sound bites that will highly resonate with them.
Why else would agents of the South African government disdain the immoral optic of biting the same fingers that fed their nation in times of great need and gleefully parrot the absurdity that the coup in Niger happened “because of the illegitimacy of President Bola Tinubu’s government?” How daring and preposterous! Rather regrettably but not surprisingly, the moonlight tale not only succeeded in besmirching Tinubu and the nation he presides over, but it equally achieved the desired goal of lulling the target audience into forgiving and forgetting that their kith and kin are major victims of South Africa’s serial xenophobia, if torrents of concurring commentaries are anything to go by!
To further underscore just how low South Africa is prepared to forment diplomatic spats at Nigeria’s expense, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, who together with Gen. Joe Garba comprise the most vibrant and effective ministers of external affairs this country has had to date, told a TV viewing audience last Monday that the glaring breach of protocols that occurred when the African Union (AU) went over ECOWAS to directly make decisions in respect of the Nigerien coup, rather than the other way round, “was masterminded by South Africa to spite newly elected ECOWAS chairman President Tinubu in the face.”
All political leaders, irrespective of ideologies and personal animosities are supposed to rally to the nation’s defence at times like this. Our national interests must come before any individual’s interest or ambition. Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi must now put heads together to defend the honour and integrity of this nation. While it may be impossible for Obi to rein in his army of Obidients in the social media, I fully expect him to issue a joint statement with Atiku that leaves no individual, organisation or nation with a feeling of doubt and uncertainty about their patriotic fervour.
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They can achieve the foregoing by immediately releasing a joint press statement to the effect that “While the last elections did not meet the high standards we believe Nigerians are entitled to, we must, however, warn that the unity and stability of this giant of Africa are non-negotiable. We have availed ourselves of the right to appeal the results in court as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution and must warn that no individuals, organisation or country should attempt to stoke the embers of the flames of internal division in our participatory democracy with misguided intent.”
But we shouldn’t really blame South Africa for opting to stick her fingers in the collective eye of Nigerians since it is a trite saying in international relations that the only permanent thing in politics is interest, not friendship. Still, Nigerians must come to terms with the reality that only someone with sawdust in the brain would incredibly imagine that cutting one’s nose is a sane way to spite the face.
It is even worse that many Nigerians are glamorising the military coup in Niger amidst a test of wills to see who will blink first between those who want to return to Africa’s coup-infested dark past and those seeking to establish a new democratic order. What’s more, they even wish the military would illegally seize power too in Nigeria! These are the enemies within.
Youthful agents-provocateur can be excused for being born during or after the last military junta ruled Nigeria. They hardly know that the first moves coupists make include closing down international borders, suspending democratic institutions and the constitution and rolling out the first set of decrees ousting the Judiciary from adjudicating cases against the government. These indolent youths who prattle 24/7 on social media platforms would suddenly discover that their right to free speech – including freedom to abuse and curse – has been brusquely abrogated and that violation would easily land them in military dungeons with no questions asked.