US, France want to use Nigeria to spearhead attack on Niger –El-Zakzaky

Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shi’ite, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, has alleged that France, USA and other foreign countries with vested interest in Niger are trying to use Nigeria to spearhead an attack on Niger in a bid to restore democratic rule following the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum in a coup.

El-Zakzaky who made the call in a statement on Wednesday cautioned President Bola Tinubu not to allow these foreign countries to use Nigeria and ECOWAS to attack the West African nation.

Stressing the need for caution, the Shiites leader said Tinubu should reconsider the planned military intervention in Niger with the understanding that “Nigeria and Niger are one going by history.”

“All of a sudden, France and the US want to use Nigeria to attack Niger,” the Islamic cleric said in the statement. This is very shocking given the fact that Nigeria and Niger are one people. It was the territories of such empires that were carved out to create Niger and Nigeria.

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“We are twin brothers, sharing the same roots and values. It is unimaginable that we would one day end up fighting against each other. It is shocking that these ruthless people want to use this country to attack our brothers, just to engage in fratricidal genocide.

“The cultural ties that Niger and Nigeria share are closer than people imagine. The territories of empires founded by Shehu Usman Danfodio and Kanem Borno were carved out to create Niger and Nigeria. They did not take our history into cognizance when our borders were partitioned,” he added.

Meanwhile, the acting US Deputy Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, has revealed that the military junta in Niger may have a United States of America (USA) military action to contend with if they fail to restore constitutional order in the country.

She said: “…There is still a lot of motion here on many sides with regard to where the governance situation will go. So we will be watching that closely and there are a number of regional meetings coming up and consultations with allies and partners that we need to make.

“So we’ll be watching the situation, but we understand our legal responsibilities and I explained those very clearly to the guys (Niger junta) who were responsible for this and that it is not our desire to go there, but they may push us to that point, and we asked them to be prudent in that regard and to hear our offer to try to work with them to solve this diplomatically and return to constitutional order.”

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According to Nuland, President Joe Biden has been in constant touch with President Tinubu, the ECOWAS Chairman as well as many other European allies.

“And all of this has been rooted in our shared values, including the sense of democracy, which was why it was so difficult, and remains difficult, to see the current challenge to the democratic order which began on July 26,” she added.