Military force in Niger is recipe for avoidable bloodshed – Ambassador Ohene Agyekum

Retired Career Diplomat Ambassador Daniel Ohene Agyekum is warning that ECOWAS could be courting a looming needless bloodshed if it swings towards military action in Niger.

ECOWAS Security Chiefs have given the strong indication it is galvanizing a standing force to restore constitutional rule to Niger should diplomatic avenues with the coup junta fail.

Speaking to Ultimate FM’s Julius Caesar Anadem in Kumasi, Ambassador Agyekum argued that though the Niger situation appears complicated, force could prove costly.

“Any attempt at military intervention in Niger will be a catastrophe. It can only lead to unnecessary, avoidable bloodshed,” he cautioned.

He wants ECOWAS leaders to keep pushing the diplomatic buttons no matter how long it takes to broker a return to democratic rule in the troubled country.

“A peaceful diplomatic approach of resolution in an obviously very complicated issue in Niger will be preferable to any form of military intervention, in trying to remove a junta from its entrenched position,” he advised.

Ambassador Ohene Agyeakum further warned ECOWAS against working to please the west especially France.

He argued that the quest of francophone countries to extricate themselves from financial bonds imposed by France could be an underlying factor fueling coup sentiments in former France Colonies on the continent.

The Diplomat also questioned the moral rights of ECOWAS when it sat aloof for heads of state like the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, to throw out constitutional provisions to extend their stay in office.

He considered in his view that such acts constituted a civilian coup d’état worth the same attention and action as has been demonstrated against military coup d’états.