Instability in Niger Directly Affects Nigeria
Nigeria’s defence budget is larger than the defence budgets of every other ECOWAS state combined.
Our military personnel are more than the military of all fourteen other ECOWAS nations combined. ECOWAS has a combined annual Gross Domestic Product of $760 billion.
Nigeria generates almost $500 billion of that amount, or 63%.
So, while we fervently, strenuously, and consistently pray against war, that does not mean Nigeria should be a pushover, or be afraid of using its military-industrial complex to advance the cause of democracy and the rule of law.
We have a vested interest in what happens in next-door Niger Republic, the way Russia has a vested interest in what happens in Ukraine and America in Cuba.
Gone are the days when President Obama would destabilise Libya and then hand off and leave Nigeria to bear the consequences in the form of Boko Haram, which were essentially a spillover effect of the Libyan crisis.
Political instability in the Sahel will not be the direct burden of France, NATO or Russia. Libya and Chad, which share a border with Niger, are somewhat in a crisis. Algeria is dead set against opening its borders to non-Arab, and non-Amazigh persons.
Mali is facing hydra-headed issues, including a power struggle, an Islamist insurgency, and a population growth rate higher than her GDP growth rate.
Therefore, if there is political and economic instability in Niger, the influx of refugees and migrants will naturally be to Nigeria.
And that is why it is in Nigeria’s interests to reestablish the rule of law in Niger. Either that or we build a Trump-style wall between us and them.
Singapore is perhaps the least mineral-resourced nation on Earth. Yet, she has the world’s strongest passport, according to the Henley Index, and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world at almost $90,000. And the reason is that Singapore has an unassailable commitment to the rule of law.
The above means intervening to reestablish the rule of law in Niger might be the better option than building a wall.
And for those who are thinking that this is a Western imperialist action, please give Nigeria some credit. We have come of age. We know our right from our left. And we can pursue our own agenda and asset our own interests. And Russia is not the saviour here. Neither is the US or NATO. Nigeria is the Black saviour!
