Deal with riots in Cote d’Ivoire as well – Mahama tells Akufo-Addo

Former President John Dramani Mahama has charged the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to as a matter of urgency resolve issues emerging in Cote d’Ivoire before they become deadly as it happened in Nigeria.

Mahama noted that tension is brewing in Ivory Coast, a situation he said, can result in dire consequences for the sub-region if immediate steps are not taken to address them.

His comments come days after Akufo-Addo broke his silence on circumstances that led protests to get the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigerian police disbanded degenerating into violence and shooting of peaceful protesters.

This saw the international community including the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the ECOWAS calling for calm and restraint on the part of both protesters and the police.

Mr Mahama told TV3’s Komla Kluste in an interview that a similar situation is rising up in Ivory Coast and further stated that just as President Akufo-Addo was able to lead ECOWAS to restore calm in Mali, he should also be able to bring sanity to Côte d’Ivoire and also Nigeria.

“The president dealt with the Malian situation. He also should be very responsive to what is happening not only in Nigeria but also Côte d’Ivoire.

“We keep saying the rioting that is taking place, ECOWAS must be proactive and must start to envision what interventions need to be done in order to bring peace to those countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in a nationwide address on Thursday, urged the international community, especially those who have shared concerns about the protests in Nigeria, to know the facts before making judgements.

Addressing the nation, President Buhari expressed gratitude to the international community but urged that making hasty pronouncements may not be fair when all the facts available have not been analysed.

“To our neighbours in particular, and members of the international community, many of whom have expressed concern about the ongoing development in Nigeria, we thank you and urge you all to seek to know all the facts available before taking a position or rushing to judgement and making hasty pronouncements.”