The former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has called on the Nigerian government, to be conscious of the coup d’etat in its northern neighbour, the Republic of Niger, saying that the elements involved in the destabilization of Niger are not far from Nigeria.
Chief Anyaoku made the call in an interview with journalists in Abuja, Nigeria at the end of the 5th Annual Lecture/Conference of the Association of Foreign Relations Professionals of Nigeria (AFRPN).
…The Chairman of the occasion was H.E. Chief Emeka Anyaoku, GCON, GCVO. The Royal Father of the Day was His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni the Sultan of Sokoto. The President of AFRPN, Amb. Gani Lawal delivered the welcome address…2/3 pic.twitter.com/o1BuiuCZH1
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria 🇳🇬 (@NigeriaMFA) July 28, 2023
The former Commonwealth scribe condemned the unconstitutional change of government in the Niger Republic in strong terms.
He said: “Well what had happened in Niger should be of major concern to us here in Nigeria, on a number of grounds. The first is that we thought that we have seen the end of military coup d’etat and end of unconstitutional change of government in West Africa.”
The Nigerian-born diplomat said, what had happened is a surprise which, must be condemned.
According to him, “We should also work towards putting the Niger Republic back to a constitutional form of government. Niger is one of our neighbours, so what happens there is bound to affect the security and stability of our own country. The elements involved in the destabilization of Niger are not far from Nigeria. So, we should be very conscience.”
On 26 July 2023, soldiers from Niger’s presidential guard deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and closed the country’s borders.
