PRETORIA, August 8. /TASS/. The application of military pressure could only exacerbate the situation in Niger and undermine the fragile unity of West African countries, Prof. Hassan Saliu, president of the Nigeria Political Science Association (NPSA), said.

"Unfortunate as the situation in Niger is, resorting to gunboat diplomacy (military pressure - TASS) on the matter would not be an ideal pattern of reacting to it, as it can escalate the tension in the country, while jeopardizing the half-hearted efforts being made to galvanize support for integration in West Africa," Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust quoted the political scientist as saying.

Calling on the Nigerian government to display caution and restraint in resolving the post-coup situation in Niger, Saliu notes that Niger is at the center of a political storm given that "the country is rich in notable mineral resources that have attracted the attention of the world powers." According to him, there exists "the possibility [that] an armed intervention in Niger [could] ignite a war, the magnitude of which cannot be predicted at the moment."

The political analyst contends that the era of military coups in West Africa calls for reflection on the nature of the governance environment in Africa which "is, at the moment, inclement." "Rather, our view is that much as Nigeria is being seen as [advocating] for democracy in Niger, in line with its democratic credentials on display in Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo and other places, we contend that the circumstances of the coup in Niger in 2023 were quite different from other coups," he pointed out. "In reacting to it, it requires a more painstaking effort at understanding the unhappy return of the military to governance in that country. There are the inherent contradictions in liberal democracy, which are indeed many and disappointing for the masses who had risen in the defense of democracy in the 1980s and 1990s. Moreover, the erroneous belief that only the route of liberal democracy was capable of giving better living conditions for the people is increasingly being shattered by existential realities in African countries."

On July 26, military rebels in Niger announced the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum, the closure of national borders, the introduction of a curfew and the suspension of the constitution, as well as a ban on political parties. The National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie, CNSP) was formed to govern the country and was headed by General Abdurahmane Tchiani on July 28. Meanwhile, according to Nigerien politicians, President Bazoum is "in good health" and has been in telephone contact with leaders and representatives of other countries, but is not being allowed to leave his residence.

On July 30, leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued an ultimatum, demanding that the rebels immediately release and reinstate Bazoum and restore constitutional order in the country. On August 4, the militaries of ECOWAS member states announced that they had drawn up a contingency plan for intervention in Niger at an emergency meeting. The ECOWAS ultimatum expired on August 7. On August 8, the Niger rebels’ ruling body, the CNSP, appointed 58-year-old economist and former Nigerien Finance Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine as the country's prime minister.