Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has frowned at Burkina Faso and Mali’s deployment of war planes in Niger Republic following the threat of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) to invade the country.
Recall that ECOWAS defence chiefs had agreed upon a tentative date for potential military intervention in Niger should diplomatic negotiations fail.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, discussed the potential “D-Day” following a two-day summit in Ghana.
But according to a Niger television station, the military governments of Burkina Faso and Mali warned that any military intervention in Niger would be considered a declaration of war against them.
The television station said the military leaders from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger convened Friday in Niamey to decide on “concrete measures” in case ECOWAS chooses to “escalate a war.”
Reacting, Fani-Kayode, in a post shared on his Twitter handle on Sunday, described the series of development as madness.
According to him, there are more Nigeriens living in Nigeria than in their country and going to war will end up being a civil war because millions of Nigerians are on both sides of the border.
The APC chieftain added the military should consider the implications on Nigerians before going to the battlefield.
He said, “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!”
