By: Mohamed Sahr
International Trade Union Conference for Africa (ITUC-Africa) called for restraint amid the heated Niger coup and ECOWAS threat of military intervention on Tuesday in a press statement.
Reminiscing on the unconstitutional and undemocratic change of power courtesy of military means dated 26th July 2023 in Niger, Kwasi Adu Amankwah, Secretary General of International Traders Union Conference for Africa condemned the dethronement of the legitimate president by the Niger military; adding that the art of the senior military personnel is total unaccepted and inappropriate. ‘’We reiterate our commitment to constitutionality and democracy in Niger,’’ Amankwah stated.
He noted that the Union believes that every military intervention in a country is never a walk in a part and they are worried by the Economic Community for West Africa States’ (ECOWAS) ultimatum and their threat to reinstate the deposed president to power regardless of the spate of the country’s military intervention that ended the reign of the democratically elected president of Niger. ITUC-Africa Secretary General emphasized that they have categorically rejected a military option in solving the political impasse in the country.
Amankwah called on ECOWAS to take a robust and swift diplomatic and political move in order to resolve the crisis rather than mobilizing for military deployment that would capable of worsening the situation. He mentioned that they have observed the security standoff in the Sahel region in the past years; affirming that their observations suggest in the wider lens that the security turmoil remains dire, fluid and problematic. ‘’A cocktail of extremists, terrorists and insurgents has continued to pose real threats to lives and livelihoods of the people. Thousands of people and workers have been killed, children kidnapped, schools destroyed, and farmers have been forced to quit their farms,’’ ITUC-Africa Secretary stated.
He furthered that they are convinced that the military option by both ECOWAS and Niger Arm Forces would most likely have the tendency to destabilize and worsen the already precarious stalemate in the country with real contagion effects for the entire West Africa sub-region as well as the African continent as a whole. Amankwah stated that the threats and counter-threats are heating up the sub-region’s political space like a furnace and pose real threats to peace, stability and national cohesion.
Amankwah urged ECOWAS to reverse the course and tactically embrace diplomatic and political dialogue in order to resolve the impasse. He believed that peaceful options must be genuinely pursued as they remain to frown against military inclination.
