Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Abubakar Tuggar said decisions of the the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Niger Republic were not influenced by France.
Tuggar stated this in an interview on Trust TV tagged, “30 Minutes with Mannir Dan-Ali” on Saturday.
The minister spoke on issues such as the decisions taken by the ECOWAS on Niger, border closure and diplomacy among others.
He said, “I believe the last few days have been a bit frantic. There have been the ECOWAS Summit, and the big issue is Niger. Where are we now because it appears as if Nigeria and ECOWAS have been forced to a climb down from their initial position?
“I wouldn’t exactly put it that way. We have to bear in mind that the primary, or should I say the reason for the creation of ECOWAS, is regional integration, harmony, peace and the general security of the region.
“So, ECOWAS is always looking to do what is required to bring that about. What has transpired with regards to Niger is simply to take pragmatic steps towards once again a resolution of the current situation there.
“The operative word here seems to be pragmatic. You are being realistic, you are now kind of forced to recognise the new military government in Niger because you are talking of sending mediators, people who will engage with them; including the Presidents of Togo and Benin. So, why did ECOWAS have to eat the humble pie; so to say?
“It’s not a matter of eating a humble pie. It is again a matter of pragmatism. What transpired immediately after President Bazoum was accosted was pragmatic as well.
“The leaders of ECOWAS got together and took certain measures. They demanded his release, they demanded that he continues as president, they imposed sanctions, and of course the fact that they mentioned as a last resort the use of force was not ruled out was blown out of proportion.”
The minister further stated, “Of course there are so many interests within. Some misinterpreted that to mean that Nigeria in particular was about to declare war on Niger. The whole thing was blown out of proportion.
“But these are measures. We’re not talking about one country, we’re talking about several countries.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Abubakar Tuggar said decisions of the the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Niger Republic were not influenced by France.
Tuggar stated this in an interview on Trust TV tagged, “30 Minutes with Mannir Dan-Ali” on Saturday.
The minister spoke on issues such as the decisions taken by the ECOWAS on Niger, border closure and diplomacy among others.
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He said, “I believe the last few days have been a bit frantic. There have been the ECOWAS Summit, and the big issue is Niger. Where are we now because it appears as if Nigeria and ECOWAS have been forced to a climb down from their initial position?
“I wouldn’t exactly put it that way. We have to bear in mind that the primary, or should I say the reason for the creation of ECOWAS, is regional integration, harmony, peace and the general security of the region.
“So, ECOWAS is always looking to do what is required to bring that about. What has transpired with regards to Niger is simply to take pragmatic steps towards once again a resolution of the current situation there.
“The operative word here seems to be pragmatic. You are being realistic, you are now kind of forced to recognise the new military government in Niger because you are talking of sending mediators, people who will engage with them; includingt the Presidents of Togo and Benin. So, why did ECOWAS have to eat the humble pie; so to say?
“It’s not a matter of eating a humble pie. It is again a matter of pragmatism. What transpired immediately after President Bazoum was accosted was pragmatic as well.
“The leaders of ECOWAS got together and took certain measures. They demanded his release, they demanded that he continues as president, they imposed sanctions, and of course the fact that they mentioned as a last resort the use of force was not ruled out was blown out of proportion.”
The minister further stated, “Of course there are so many interests within. Some misinterpreted that to mean that Nigeria in particular was about to declare war on Niger. The whole thing was blown out of proportion.
“But these are measures. We’re not talking about one country, we’re talking about several countries.
“It’s the nature of life as a whole. We’re always learning, but I wouldn’t put it exactly like you did because the decision was not a unilateral decision by Nigeria; it was a collective decision of ECOWAS.
“When have you ever seen Nigeria do the bidding of an external power?
“This is a country; you can’t even try to do that. Government is not exclusive of the rest of the country. So, when you’re talking about foreign policy, it’s a completely different area.
“Foreign policy is formulated based on an aggregation of the position of a country and is not limited to the leader at the time, it’s not limited to the government, but the country as a whole
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