ECOWAS, the West African regional bloc, announced that its leaders are set to convene on Thursday for discussions regarding the ongoing crisis in Niger.
The country’s military leaders have disregarded the ultimatum issued by ECOWAS, which demanded the relinquishment of power or the potential imposition of military measures.
“ECOWAS heads of state will hold another extraordinary summit on the political situation in the Republic of Niger,” the 15-member bloc said in its first official reaction after Niger ignored Sunday’s deadline to reinstate democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
Earlier on Monday, an ECOWAS source said West African nations were not envisaging an immediate military intervention at this stage. Italy and Germany called for a diplomatic solution in the troubled Sahel nation.
Neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, which have both been suspended from ECOWAS over their own military coups were sending a joint official delegation to Niamey to show “solidarity with the people of Niger”.
They have said military intervention would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
Nearly two weeks following the military’s seizure of power in Niger, the individuals behind the coup have designated Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a former economy minister, as the new prime minister of the country. A spokesman for the military junta made the announcement on television late Monday night.
According to Nigerien media, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, who has now been appointed as the new prime minister, previously held the position of minister of economy and finance for several years under the administration of former president Mamadou Tandja.
Tandja was removed from power in 2010. Zeine’s recent professional background includes working as an economist for the African Development Bank in Chad.
At the end of July, the military ousted the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, and suspended the constitution in the country of 26 million inhabitants.
During the leadership of Bazoum, Niger had been among the remaining key allies of the Western nations in their efforts to counter the expansion of Islamist militants across the Sahel region.
Nigeria-Niger Train…
The future of the Nigeria-Niger Republic railway project is uncertain due to the deterioration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
These tensions emerged following the July 26 coup that saw President Muhammed Bazoum removed from power by military officers, primarily led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani.
Amidst this situation, more than 1,000 trucks carrying goods valued at over N350 million have become stranded at the borders, affecting trade with Nigeria and other West African countries. This is due to the closure of entry points to neighbouring nations, causing a delay lasting more than a week.
Recall that the Federal Government and the Nigerien junta had ordered the immediate closure of all land borders between the two countries after the political developments in the landlocked country.
In 2021, the Federal Government revealed its plan to construct a 284km rail line to the Niger Republic.
The former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has indicated that the project’s estimated cost is approximately $2 billion.
The funding for this endeavour is anticipated to come from external sources in the form of loans, and Nigeria will be responsible for securing and managing these financial resources.
Earlier in March, the Muhammadu Buhari administration agreed to release an additional N454bn in public funds to continue the construction of the Kano-Niger Railway and other capital projects.
According to the former transportation minister, the N454bn would be used to purchase rolling stock, operation and maintenance equipment for the Kano-Maradi standard gauge rail line, which is currently under construction.
The sum also includes N510.93m for the purchase of four customised fire service/search and rescue vans for seaports in Port Harcourt, Lagos Port Complex, Tin Can Island port, and the Nigerian Ports Authority’s Marina headquarters.
Spanning a distance of 248 kilometres, the proposed rail line is designed to establish a vital link between Kano and various urban centres, including Kazaure in Bauchi State, Daura and Mashi in Katsina State, Dutse in Jigawa State, and the border town of Jibia. Ultimately, the rail line is projected to conclude its route in Maradi, which serves as the trade and agricultural nucleus of the Niger Republic.
The line has 15 stations along its route and is expected to carry 9,364 passengers and 3000 metric tonnes of cargo per day.
The contract was awarded to MSSRS Mota-Engil Nigeria Limited for $984,722,302, which was inclusive of seven and a half per cent VAT with a completion period of four years.
However, the project met with opposition, particularly from lawmakers.
The proposed rail project was criticised by the National Assembly joint committee on land and marine transport in November 2021.
In June 2021, Buhari defended his government’s initiative to build a railway to connect Nigeria and Niger Republic during an exclusive interview on Arise TV.
He said, “I have first cousins in Niger. There are Kanuris, there are Hausas and there are Fulanis in Niger Republic, just as there are Yorubas in Benin Republic.
“You can’t absolutely cut them off. But the rail, look at the plan. If you read the plan, how we are rehabilitating that rail. Niger, they discovered oil too as you know and we don’t want to allow them to go through Benin Republic. We want them to come through Nigeria.
Recently, Mota-Engil Nigeria Limited stated the 400km railway line would be completed by 2025.
Speaking to journalists while taking delivery of the over $200m heavy-duty equipment to be deployed for the rail project, the company’s Logistics Manager, Mr. Nuno Colaço, disclosed that the construction of the rail project has commenced even as over 300 Nigerians have been employed with a projection to hit 100,000 at the peak of the project.
“We partnered with Shoreline in 2018 to start investing in the country. We have been awarded the Kano-Maradi railway project, which is an investment of $2bn and 400 kilometres coming from Dutse all the way to Maradi in Niger Republic. We had to buy a lot of equipment and we believe in state-of-the-art equipment and brand new equipment,” he said.
However, following the coup, Nigeria cut electricity to the Niger Republic as a result of the sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States.
Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, depends on Nigeria for 70 percent of its power.
In response, the military junta cut off ties with Nigeria, France, and other countries, after the delegates sent by the ECOWAS failed to convince the coup leaders to reinstate Bazoum to office.
Last week, the World Bank became the latest international organisation to announce it was suspending aid to Niger “other than private sector partnerships.”
Meanwhile, as the military leaders continued to dig in, trans-border traders have said that about 60 per cent of Nigeria-bound goods were trapped at the different sections of the borders within the region.
In a bid to force the junta to restore democracy, the Economic Community of West Africa Countries led by President Bola Tinubu had ordered the closure of all borders shared by member states with the Niger Republic.
Nigeria had closed the four borders with Niger-Kamba borders, Ilela, Jibia and Maitakari borders.
Giving an update on the situation on Monday, the President of the Trans-Border Traders Association, Nasiru Salami, said over N350m worth of goods were currently rotting away at the borders to Nigeria.
He explained that just three days after the coup took place, over 100 trucks loaded with onions and other agricultural products heading to Nigeria and other West African countries were trapped at the borders.
Salami stated, “Three days after the coup took place, over 100 trucks carrying onions and other agricultural products were trapped. Currently, the trucks trapped there are running into thousands. And a truck of onions containing about 300 bags worth around N3.5m is for onions alone.
‘’So, if you multiply it by say the 1000 trucks you will find out that about N350m worth of agricultural goods are rotting away there and 60 per cent of these products are coming to Nigeria. And remember that 300 bags of onions in one truck belong to 20 traders. And if that problem is not resolved it means those traders would be out of business because onions are perishable goods.’’
He added, “So, I may not be able to give you the number of trucks trapped so far but I can assure you that it runs into thousands of trucks carrying agricultural products trapped at the Niger-Republic borders that are going to different West Africa countries including Nigeria.
‘’So, I feel the government can assist poor people and see how that can help us. We know it is illegal to plan a coup but it is important that our people should know what is happening now and assist us.”
Salami urged the ECOWAS to have mercy on over 2,000 petty traders who are currently on the verge of losing their goods to the border closure.