The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, has been encouraged by a group, the Kulen Allah Cattle Rearers Association of Nigeria (KACRAN), to comprehensively reconsider its military threat and economic embargo against the Niger Republic.
KACRAN stated in a statement released on Friday that it opposes any economic sanctions against the Niger Republic. The statement was signed by the Association’s National President, Hon. Khalil Mohd Bello.
It was argued that the poor masses of Niger, Nigeria, and her other neighbours would be more negatively impacted by the sentence than the offenders and their proxies would be.
“We oppose any military intervention by ECOWAS or European countries for the reason that the said act would create more insecurity in Niger, Nigeria, and other countries as this will lead to unnecessary fighting between the intervention troops and the Niger Republic army, as well as civilians who will be misled by the military under the guise of nationalism to join the fight as volunteers,” he said.
He continued by saying that because herders cannot move freely in search of animal feed and water sources, the use of military force in the Niger Republic would also have a direct impact on pastoral occupancy throughout the entire Sahel region.
In the vulnerable sub-Saharan countries, Bello forewarned, “the action would seriously lead to widespread terrorism as well as proliferation of small and light weapons.”
KACRAN urged the nations of West Africa to reconsider their military threat to the Niger Republic and start a conversation to work out the country’s political and military issues.
