Aso Villa, Abuja – President Bola Tinubu has disclosed that the fear he had about the military coup in the Niger Republic has been confirmed with the recent development in Gabon after the military removed President Ali Bongo through a coup.
The President said he had feared that the move by the military junta in the Niger Republic would set a bad precedent for the black continent. This was disclosed in a tweet by the office of the presidency.
President Tinubu fears a military takeover would spread across Africa
Gabon became the latest African country to come under the control of a military dictatorship when some army generals announced the taking over of its government on Wednesday, August 30.
The coup plotter immediately annulled the recent election and ended the 13-year reign of Bongo, who, in 2009, succeeded his father, who had ruled the country for 40 years.
But on Thursday, August 31, President Tinubu revealed his fear when he hosted the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III-led Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, at the presidential villa in Abuja.
Tinubu promises to explore all diplomatic road to install democracy in Niger
According to the president, all diplomatic gateway would be explored with the coup plotter in the Niger Republic before taking military intervention as a last resort.
Tinubu insisted that the forceful removal of democratic government would forever be “wholly unacceptable.”
The president said:
“I must thank you for your several visits to Niger Republic, Your Eminence, but you will still have to go back. My fear has been confirmed in Gabon that copycats will start doing the same thing until it is stopped. We are neighbours with Niger Republic, and what has joined Nigerians together with their great people cannot be broken. Nobody is interested in a war. We have seen the devastation in Ukraine and Sudan. But, if we don’t wield the big stick, we will all suffer the consequences together.”…
