₦airaland Forum

Westerhoffe:
Ask your Google Oracle if Nigeria will survive this government.

My question : What’s going on in Nigeria ?

Bard Response : Here are some of the major news stories from Nigeria in recent days:

Insecurity: Armed groups continue to carry out attacks in many parts of the country, including the north-east, where Boko Haram is active, and the northwest, where bandits are operating. These attacks have displaced millions of people and caused widespread suffering.

Poverty: Nigeria is one of the most impoverished countries in the world, with more than 40% of the population living below the poverty line. Poverty is a major driver of crime and instability.

Corruption: Corruption is widespread in Nigeria, and it is a major obstacle to development. The government has been accused of corruption in a number of areas, including the procurement of arms and ammunition, the award of contracts, and the management of public funds.

Inequality: Nigeria is a very unequal country, with the richest 10% of Nigerians controlling more than 90% of the country's wealth. This inequality is fueling social unrest.

Climate change: Nigeria is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events. These events are having a devastating impact on agriculture and food security.

In addition to these major news stories, there are a number of other challenges facing Nigeria, including:

Healthcare: The healthcare system in Nigeria is severely underfunded and understaffed. This has led to a number of problems, including a lack of access to healthcare, poor quality of care, and high rates of preventable diseases.

Education: The education system in Nigeria is also underfunded and understaffed. This has led to a number of problems, including a lack of access to education, poor quality of education, and high rates of illiteracy.

Gender equality: Nigeria is a patriarchal society, and women face discrimination in many areas, including education, employment, and healthcare.

LGBTQ+ rights: LGBTQ+ people in Nigeria face discrimination and violence. Same-sex marriage is illegal in Nigeria, and there are no laws that protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination.

The future of Nigeria is uncertain. The country has the potential to be a great power, but it needs to address its many challenges in order to achieve its full potential.


My question: Is there religious extremism in Nigeria ?

Bard response : Yes, there is religious extremism in Nigeria. The country is home to a large and diverse population, with Muslims making up the majority and Christians making up the minority. There have been a number of incidents of religious violence in Nigeria in recent years, including the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east and the clashes between farmers and herders in the Middle Belt.

Boko Haram is a terrorist group that is waging a war against the Nigerian government and its citizens. The group is motivated by a desire to establish an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria. Boko Haram has carried out numerous attacks on civilians, security forces, and schools. The group has also kidnapped thousands of people, including women and children.

The clashes between farmers and herders are also a major source of religious violence in Nigeria. The conflict is driven by competition for resources, such as land and water. The clashes have often been deadly, and they have displaced thousands of people.

The government of Nigeria has been struggling to address the problem of religious extremism. The security forces have been unable to defeat Boko Haram, and the clashes between farmers and herders continue. The government has also been accused of failing to protect its citizens from religious violence.

The religious extremism in Nigeria is a major threat to the country's stability. The violence is causing widespread suffering and it is undermining the country's development. The government needs to take urgent action to address the problem.


My question : How are girls valued in Nigeria ?

Bard Response : Girls in Nigeria are often not valued as much as boys. They are often seen as burdens, and they are often denied access to education and other opportunities. There are a number of factors that contribute to the low value placed on girls in Nigeria, including:

Patriarchy: Nigeria is a patriarchal society, and men are often seen as superior to women. This belief system leads to discrimination against girls in many areas, including education, employment, and healthcare.

Child marriage: Child marriage is a major problem in Nigeria. According to UNICEF, 43% of girls in Nigeria are married before the age of 18. Child marriage denies girls their right to education and other opportunities, and it puts them at risk of violence and abuse.

Female genital mutilation (FGM): FGM is another major problem in Nigeria. According to UNICEF, 25% of girls in Nigeria have undergone FGM. FGM is a harmful practice that can have serious health consequences for girls.

Violence against women: Violence against women is a serious problem in Nigeria. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 31% of women in Nigeria have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner. Violence against women can have a devastating impact on girls, both physically and emotionally.

There are a number of organizations working to improve the value placed on girls in Nigeria. These organizations are working to increase girls' access to education, to end child marriage, to prevent FGM, and to stop violence against women. There has been some progress in recent years, but there is still a long way to go.

Here are some things that can be done to improve the value placed on girls in Nigeria:

Educate people about the importance of girls' education. Many people in Nigeria do not understand the importance of girls' education. They believe that girls should be married off young and that they do not need an education. It is important to educate people about the benefits of girls' education, both for the girls themselves and for the society as a whole.

Support organizations that are working to improve the lives of girls. There are a number of organizations working to improve the lives of girls in Nigeria. These organizations need financial support in order to continue their work. You can donate to these organizations or volunteer your time to help them.

Speak out against discrimination against girls. When you see or hear someone discriminating against a girl, speak out against it. Let them know that their behavior is unacceptable. You can also write to your elected officials and demand that they take action to address discrimination against girls.

By working together, we can help to improve the value placed on girls in Nigeria and ensure that all girls have the opportunity to reach their full potential.


My question : Is Bola Ahmed Tinunbu a drug lord ?

Bard response : There is no evidence that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a drug lord. However, in 1993, he forfeited $460,000 to the United States government after a Chicago court found that the money was linked to heroin trafficking. Tinubu has denied any wrongdoing and has said that the money was a gift from a friend.

The allegations against Tinubu resurfaced during the 2023 Nigerian presidential election campaign. His opponents accused him of being a drug lord and of using drug money to finance his political career. Tinubu denied the allegations and said that they were politically motivated.

The allegations against Tinubu have not been proven in court. However, they have damaged his reputation and raised questions about his suitability to be president of Nigeria.

My question : Why do the Igbos want to leave Nigeria ?

Bard Response : There are a number of reasons why some Igbo people want to leave Nigeria. These reasons include:

Perception of marginalization: Some Igbo people feel that they have been marginalized by the Nigerian government and that they have not been given a fair share of power and resources. This perception of marginalization is based on a number of factors, including the fact that the Igbo people have never been president of Nigeria, and that they have been the target of violence and discrimination in the past.

Economic opportunities: Some Igbo people believe that they can have better economic opportunities outside of Nigeria. The Igbo people are known for their entrepreneurial spirit, and they have been successful in business in Nigeria. However, they believe that they can be even more successful in other countries with more developed economies.

Security concerns: Some Igbo people are concerned about the security situation in Nigeria. The country is plagued by insecurity, with armed groups operating in many parts of the country. These groups carry out attacks on civilians, security forces, and infrastructure. The insecurity is having a devastating impact on the lives of ordinary Nigerians, and it is hampering economic development.

Cultural identity: Some Igbo people believe that they can better preserve their cultural identity outside of Nigeria. The Igbo people have a rich culture that is under threat from the forces of globalization and modernization. They believe that they can better preserve their culture in a country where they are the majority.

It is important to note that not all Igbo people want to leave Nigeria. Many Igbo people are proud to be Nigerian and they want to see the country succeed. However, the reasons listed above are some of the factors that are driving some Igbo people to consider leaving Nigeria.


My question : How can Nigeria be better ?

Bard Response : Nigeria can be better in a number of ways. Here are some suggestions:

Address insecurity: Nigeria is plagued by insecurity, with armed groups operating in many parts of the country. These groups carry out attacks on civilians, security forces, and infrastructure. The insecurity is having a devastating impact on the lives of ordinary Nigerians, and it is hampering economic development. The government needs to take urgent action to address the insecurity, including:

- Increasing the strength of the military and police
- Providing better training for security forces
- Working with communities to address the root causes of insecurity

Reduce corruption: Corruption is widespread in Nigeria. It is a major obstacle to development and it undermines public trust in government. - - The government needs to take urgent action to reduce corruption, including:

- Enacting tougher anti-corruption laws
- Cracking down on corrupt officials
- Educating the public about the dangers of corruption

Improve education: The education system in Nigeria is severely underfunded and understaffed. This has led to a high illiteracy rate, which makes it difficult for people to get good jobs and to contribute to the economy. The government needs to invest more in education, including:

- Building more schools
- Hiring more teachers
- Providing better textbooks and other learning materials

Create jobs: Nigeria has a high unemployment rate. This is a major source of social unrest and it can lead to crime and violence. The government needs to create more jobs, including:

- Investing in infrastructure
- Promoting small businesses
- Creating tax breaks for businesses that create jobs

Improve healthcare: The healthcare system in Nigeria is also severely underfunded and understaffed. This has led to a high maternal mortality rate and a high prevalence of diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. The government needs to invest more in healthcare, including:

- Building more hospitals
- Hiring more doctors and nurses
- Providing better drugs and other medical supplies

Empower women: Women are often marginalized in Nigeria. They face discrimination in education, employment, and healthcare. The government needs to empower women, including:

- Enacting laws that protect women's rights
- Providing more opportunities for women's education and employment
- Investing in programs that promote gender equality

Protect the environment: Nigeria is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events are becoming more common. These events are having a devastating impact on agriculture and food security. The government needs to take action to protect the environment, including:

- Investing in renewable energy
- Reducing pollution
- Planting trees

These are just a few suggestions on how Nigeria can be better. It is important to note that there is no easy solution to the challenges facing Nigeria. However, if the government is willing to take action and if the people of Nigeria are united, it is possible for Nigeria to become a better place.

Ogamysamo:
which of these is non existing in nigeria?

Nigeria is just Niger with a touch of AI reshuffled as ia
NigerAIIA

What is the current situation in Niger ?


Bard :

The current situation in Niger is very complex and fluid. The country is facing a number of challenges, including:

Insecurity: Niger is home to a number of armed groups, including the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which have been waging a bloody insurgency in the country's north. This insecurity has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and has made it difficult for the government to provide basic services to its citizens.

Food insecurity: Niger is one of the most food insecure countries in the world. The country is regularly affected by droughts and floods, which have decimated crops and livestock. This has left millions of people in Niger at risk of hunger.

Poverty: Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. The vast majority of the population lives on less than $1.90 a day. This poverty makes it difficult for people to afford food, healthcare, and education.

Malnutrition: Niger has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world. This is due to a combination of factors, including poverty, food insecurity, and poor access to healthcare. Malnutrition can lead to a number of health problems, including stunting, wasting, and blindness.

Despite these challenges, there are some positive developments in Niger. The government has made progress in reducing poverty and improving access to education and healthcare. The country is also working to combat the insurgency in the north. However, there is still much work to be done to improve the lives of the people of Niger.

Here are some additional details about the current situation in Niger:

The insurgency in the north of Niger has been going on for several years and has caused widespread displacement and insecurity. In 2022, the UN estimated that there were over 300,000 internally displaced people in Niger due to the conflict.

The food insecurity situation in Niger is also very serious. In 2022, the UN warned that over 3 million people in Niger were facing acute food insecurity. This is due to a combination of factors, including drought, floods, and the conflict in the north.

The poverty rate in Niger is very high. In 2022, the World Bank estimated that 43% of the population of Niger lived below the national poverty line. This means that they cannot afford to meet their basic needs for food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare.

The malnutrition rate in Niger is also very high. In 2022, the World Health Organization estimated that 45% of children under the age of five in Niger were stunted. This means that they are too short for their age due to chronic malnutrition.

The current situation in Niger is very complex and challenging. However, there are some positive developments taking place. The government is working to address the root causes of the insurgency, the food insecurity crisis, and the poverty problem. With continued international support, Niger can overcome these challenges and build a better future for its people.

akingangan:
Advice to Tinubu:

Just like the UK after Brexit, Nigeria must establish terms of operation that would compel platforms like Twitter and Facebook to open offices in Nigeria, tax them, and subject them to rigorous regulations to the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.

Part of this regulatory framework must include restrictions on individuals found using these platforms to incite violence, defame others, bully, or commit treasonable offenses.

It is unbelievable that individuals like David Hundeyin can post unverified secret military information that could potentially lead to war without any consequences.

The epic level of Defamation of individuals and demarketing of Nigeria is unbelievable.
Such can never happen in Europe, US and and you dear not try it in China, Saudi or UAE against your own country.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will hold Russia to account if the Wagner Group, a private military contractor of the Eastern European nation, violates human rights in the wake of the Niger coup, an official of the West African bloc has said.

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, who made a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily Friday, noted that another West African nation had a separate arrangement with the security outfit.

“The Wagner Group, apparently, is in Mali today. The Malian government says this is an agreement between them and the Russian Federation,” Musah said.

“We want to take them by their word, which means any sort of action that infringes on human rights or yeah, or devastation in our region by these private military contractors, we are going to hold the other countries of our region responsible for that.” The West African region is just not Russia.” Musah stated that private military companies had been a feature of the African conflict scene for years.


“Private military companies were involved in Sierra Leone. They were involved in Liberia during those civil wars, long ago. And even recently in the global conflict, there has been the use of private military companies,” he said.

“The Americans are using them in Iraq; in Afghanistan, they use them, and others. What we are seeing is that these groups are not acceptable in Africa, even though they are there and we are going to hold their countries of origin responsible for any violations.”

The ECOWAS commissioner also highlighted the current involvement of the Western forces in Niger, including France and the European Union (EU), adding that the region had also seen an influx of Middle Eastern nations such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, in like Russia and China.

“What we are saying is that we are not going to allow West Africa to be an arena of proxy wars again. And that is our attitude to Wagner. It is not our option,” he said.

“We do not want private military companies interfering in the conflict environment in the region because we know the consequences of their action.”

https://www.channelstv.com/2023/08/11/niger-coup-ecowas-vows-to-hold-russia-responsible-if-wagner-violates-human-rights/

Wainey:
This is not a thread for tribal bashing, just educative purpose.

1. Nigeria isn't going to war with Niger. Rather it's a war between ECOMOG and the Niger coup plotters.

2. Those who think the Juntas are Hausas and Nigerian military will not fight them due to tribal sentiment should ask himself which tribe is Boko Haram that Nigerian soldiers has been killing everyday, shebi them be Zulus? The military is not as emotional as you think, as the people of Odi in Bayelsa

3. Those who think Niger army will fight and defend themselves from ECOMOG soldiers, should ask Liberians the strength and power of Nigerian army, they single handedly restored peace in Liberia, now imagine Ecowas against Niger that is heavily affected by sanctions.

A Fulani group under the aegies of the Kulen Allah Cattle Rearers Association of Nigeria, (KACRAN), has cautioned President Bola Tinubu and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to reconsider its stance on military intervention and economic sanction against Niger Republic following the July 26 coup which ousted President Mohamed Bazoum from power.

The group in a statement on Friday, called for a holistic approach to resolve the crisis in the West African country instead of sending in the military or placing sanctions on the nation which will ultimately affect the poor masses.

In the statement signed by the group’s National President, Hon. Khalil Mohd Bello, noted that though KACRAN is not in support of the coup, it is also against any economic sanction against Niger Republic.

“We are against the coup in Niger Republic and we are also against 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 fight between the intervention troops and the Niger Republic army and the civilians who would be deluded by the military under the cover of nationalism to join the fight as volunteers,” the group said.

“The sanction would be more harmful and disastrous to the poor masses of Niger, Nigeria and her other neighbours than on the culprits and their surrogates.

“The use of military force in Niger Republic would also directly affect pastoral occupation in the entire Sahel region as herders cannot freely move in search of animal feeds and water points.

“The action would seriously lead to widespread terrorism as well as proliferation of small and light weapons in the fragile sub saharan countries,” Bello warned.

The group further appealed to the West African countries to review their military threat against Niger Republic and engage in a dialogue to resolve the political and military problems.

https://www.ripplesnigeria.com/fulani-group-cautions-tinubu-ecowas-on-military-intervention-sanctions-against-niger/

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday voiced support for efforts of the West African bloc ECOWAS on Niger without explicitly backing its call at a summit for military intervention.

"ECOWAS, an organization that brings together West African countries, is playing a key role in making clear the imperative of a return to constitutional order, and we very much support ECOWAS' leadership and work on this," he said.

https://www.barrons.com/news/blinken-says-us-backs-ecowas-efforts-on-niger-6dcf298

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has fired his top general amid a shakeup of the country’s military leadership and wants his army to “gird for a war,” state media reported Thursday.

Gen. Pak Su Il was dismissed as chief of the General Staff and Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil was appointed in his place, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Other “leading commanding officers” were dismissed, transferred or appointed during a meeting of the Central Military Commission on Wednesday, KCNA reported, without going into details.

North Korea regularly revamps its military leadership. Some military leaders later reemerge in different positions, while others disappear from public view.

And the career of the new top general Ri – who assumed the No. 2 job in the North Korean military hierarchy as recently as December 31 – reflected that, analysts said.

“Ri Yong Gil is a longstanding member of North Korea’s military elite, who before making it to the top, experienced ups and downs during his career. Seven years ago, he was even rumored to have been executed after a personnel reshuffle,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute private think tank near Seoul, said there may be a range of reasons behind Kim’s military reshuffle and it was not necessarily punitive.

“Since Kim Jong Un has frequently promoted, demoted, and dismissed executives according to their ability to perform duties, dismissal of executives may be holding them accountable, but it is inappropriate to consider them as punishment,” Cheong said.

Easley said the North Korean leader may simply be trying to ensure that no one below him becomes too powerful.

“Kim Jong Un frequently rotates leadership posts below him to prevent the emergence in North Korea of anyone like [Wagner Group founder] Yevgeny Prigozhin, who challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority after amassing personal control of financial assets and loyalty among armed forces,” Easley said.

‘Grave military situation’
The shake-up of the military leadership was mentioned only near the end of the KCNA report, which focused more on what it said was the “important issue of making the army more thoroughly gird for a war given the grave political and military situation prevailing in the Korean Peninsula.”

South Korea and its chief ally, the United States, were not mentioned by name in the report. However, it appeared to refer to them obliquely, saying the meeting “analyzed the military moves of the chief culprits of deteriorated situation” on the peninsula.

“Making full war preparations” was the top agenda item for the meeting, the KCNA report said.

“The present situation, in which the hostile forces are getting ever more undisguised in their reckless military confrontation with the DPRK, [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] requires the latter’s army to have more positive, proactive and overwhelming will and thoroughgoing and perfect military readiness for a war,” it said.

North Korea says it launched a new type of Hwasong-18 Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) using solid fuel in April.

North Korea says it tested an advanced solid-fueled ballistic missile. Here's why adversaries are alarmed
North Korea has ramped up its military rhetoric this summer, threatening to shoot down US reconnaissance planes and retaliate for the port call of a US nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine to South Korea for the first time in four decades.

Pyongyang has also showcased its advances in ballistic missile technology, last month testing what it said was a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a flight time that suggests it has the ability to strike the US mainland.

That weapon was among a slew of others shown off at what North Korea called its “Victory Day” parade last month, a commemoration of the armistice that ended the fighting in the Korean War 70 years ago. Technically, the two Koreas remain at war as no formal peace treaty was ever signed.

At Wednesday’s meeting in Pyongyang, Kim signed orders for war drills involving the country’s newest weapons.

Kim late last week toured arms and munitions factories and gave “important directions” regarding “capacity-building for the serial production of new ammunition,” a KCNA report said.

Amid the tension on the peninsula, South Korea announced this month it would hold a nationwide civil defense drill on August 23.

Most of the country’s 51 million residents are expected to practice evacuating to shelters or underground safe spaces during the 20-minute exercise, which Seoul says is in response to “provocations” from Pyongyang.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/10/asia/north-korea-top-general-replaced-intl-hnk-ml/index.html

Tchalalala:
They should do with this coup of a thing and allow Tinubu focus

The newly appointed prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, will lead 21 new ministers forming the new government.

The military leaders announced this on national TV on Thursday, two weeks after toppling President Mohamed Bazoum in a coup.

Though the coup has been condemned globally, with ECOWAS announcing sanctions and threatening to invade the country, the Nigerien putschists have remained defiant.

ECOWAS holds a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on Thursday to deliberate how to restore democracy to Niger.


https://gazettengr.com/niger-coupists-form-new-government-ignore-nigerias-sanctions-ecowas-threats/

georgeakins:
Ibos turned their region to war zone, but want peace in far away Niger.
Yeye people!

The US has expressed deep concern for Niger’s deposed president after his party said he and his family were running out of food and living under increasingly dire conditions.

President Mohamed Bazoum, the West African nation’s democratically elected leader, has been held at the presidential palace in Niamey with his wife and son since mutinous soldiers moved against him on July 26.

He has not been seen in public since the coup, although sources close to him say that has refused to resign. The family is living without electricity and has only rice and canned goods left to eat, according to a close adviser, who said Bazoum remains in good health for now.

Bazoum’s political party issued a statement confirming the president’s living conditions and said the family also was without running water.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, spoke with Bazoum on Tuesday about recent diplomatic efforts, the state department said, and Blinken “emphasised that the safety and security of President Bazoum and his family are paramount”.

This week, Niger’s new military junta took steps to entrench itself in power and rejected international efforts to mediate. On Wednesday, it again accused former coloniser France of trying to destabilise the country, violate its closed airspace and discredit the junta’s leaders. France has dismissed the allegations as unfounded.

On Monday, the junta named a new prime minister, civilian economist Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. He is a former economy and finance minister who left office after a previous coup in 2010 toppled the government at the time. Zeine later worked at the African Development Bank.

“The establishment of a government is significant and signals, at least to the population, that they have a plan in place, with support from across the government,” said Aneliese Bernard, a former state department official who specialised in African affairs and is now director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors, a risk advisory group.

The junta also refused to admit meditation teams from the United Nations, the African Union and the West African regional bloc Ecowas, citing “evident reasons of security in this atmosphere of menace”, according to a letter seen by the Associated Press.

Ecowas had threatened to use military force if the junta did not reinstate Bazoum by Sunday, a deadline that the junta ignored and which passed without action from Ecowas. The bloc is expected to meet again on Thursday to discuss the situation.

The rebellious soldiers claimed that they seized power because they could do a better job at protecting the nation from jihadi violence. But most analysts and diplomats said the takeover resulted from a power struggle between the president and the head of his presidential guard, Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, who now says he runs the country.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/10/us-voices-fears-for-niger-ex-president-who-is-running-out-of-food

tiger28:
Wetin concern us with Biafrans

Refugees fighting for another Refugees!

yarimo:
Niger republic must be on alert with them, before they claim Niger republic belongs to them

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Tuesday mocked the United States after a senior U.S. diplomat met with members of the military junta in Niger.

"The U.S. is trying to keep the Wagner group out of Niger," Prigozhin said in a message posted on Telegram, according to translations in Russian media. "'Heavy artillery' is being brought in for this. Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland is in a country that defeated colonialism under Russian flags."

On July 26, Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown in a coup, and General Abdourahmane Tchiani, the former commander of Bazoum's guard, assumed power. Nuland on Monday met with members of the group behind the coup and told reporters afterward the U.S. hopes to continue conversations with the junta.

Nuland also said she offered a warning to the putschists about the Wagner Group, who have reportedly been trying to take advantage of the unrest in the country.

"I got the sense in my meetings today that the people who have taken this action here understand very well the risks to their sovereignty when Wagner is invited in," Nuland said.

Prigozhin directly referenced Nuland's quote about the "risks to their sovereignty" in relation to Wagner and praised his fighters.

"I am proud of the boys from Wagner. Just the thought of them makes ISIS and Al-Qaeda small, obedient, silky boys," the mercenary boss said. "And the U.S. has recognized a government that it did not recognize yesterday just to avoid meeting the Wagner PMC [Private Military Company] in the country."

https://www.newsweek.com/wagner-head-haunts-us-over-niger-talks-1818349

Dozie32:
Na ashawo de there mind.

NIAMEY, Aug 9 (Reuters) - A former rebel leader and politician in Niger has launched a movement opposing the junta that took power in a July 26 coup, a first sign of internal resistance to army rule in the strategically important Sahel country.

Rhissa Ag Boula said in a statement seen on Wednesday that his new Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR) aimed to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been in detention at his residence since the takeover.

"Niger is the victim of a tragedy orchestrated by people charged with protecting it," the statement said.

The launch comes as diplomatic efforts to reverse the coup appeared stalled after the junta rejected the latest diplomatic mission and the army governments of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, which back the armed takeover, appealed to the United Nations to prevent any military intervention.

Niger's coup leaders denied entry to African and U.N. envoys on Tuesday, resisting pressure to negotiate ahead of a summit on Thursday at which heads of state from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will discuss possible use of force.

The CRR supports ECOWAS and any other international actors seeking to restore constitutional order in Niger, according to Ag Boula's statement, which added that it would make itself available to the bloc for any useful purpose.

A CRR member said several Nigerien political figures had joined the group but could not make their allegiance public for safety reasons.

Ag Boula played a leading role in uprisings by Tuaregs, a nomadic ethnic group present in Niger's desert north, in the 1990s and 2000s. Like many former rebels, he was integrated into government under Bazoum and his predecessor Mahamadou Issoufou.

While the extent of support for the CRR is unclear, Ag Boula's statement will worry the coup leaders given his influence among Tuaregs, who control commerce and politics in much of the vast north. Support from Tuaregs would be key to securing the junta's control beyond Niamey's city limits.

The U.N., Western powers and democratic ECOWAS member states such as Nigeria want the junta to reinstate a civilian government that had been relatively successful in containing a deadly Islamist insurgency devastating the Sahel region.

Niger is the world's seventh-largest producer of uranium, the most widely used fuel for nuclear energy, adding to its strategic importance.

COMPLEX DIPLOMATIC PICTURE
But Mali and Burkina Faso, ECOWAS members that have rejected Western allies since their own juntas took power in coups in the past two years, have vowed to defend Niger's new army rulers from any forceful attempt to remove them.

In a letter to the U.N., they called on the Security Council to prevent any armed action against Niger, saying it would have unpredictable consequences such as the break-up of ECOWAS, a humanitarian disaster and a worsening security situation.

Accusing Western powers of using ECOWAS as a proxy to conceal a hostile agenda towards Niger, they said they were committed to finding solutions through diplomacy and negotiation.

Despite such assurances from its allies, the Niger junta has rebuffed repeated attempts by African, U.S. and U.N. envoys to engage with it and the generals in charge have given no sign that they were prepared to make any concession.

The coup has already led to border and airspace closures that have cut off supplies of medicine and food, hampering humanitarian aid in one of the world's poorest countries.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late on Tuesday that he had spoken to Bazoum to express continued efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

"The United States reiterates our call for the immediate release of him and his family," he posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Nigeria's President and ECOWAS chairman Bola Tinubu imposed more sanctions on Niger on Tuesday, aimed at squeezing entities and individuals involved in the takeover, and said all options were still on the table.

ECOWAS has said that the use of force would be a last resort. The bloc's defence chiefs have agreed on a possible military action plan, which heads of state will discuss at their summit on Thursday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

Further complicating the diplomatic picture is the influence of Russia in the Sahel region, which Western powers fear could grow stronger if the junta in Niger follows Mali's example by throwing out Western troops and inviting in Wagner mercenaries.

Niger currently hosts U.S., French, German and Italian troops, under agreements made with the now deposed civilian government.

Additional reporting by David Lewis, David Gauthier-Villars and Edward McAllister; Writing by Nellie Peyton and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by William Maclean

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/time-running-short-diplomacy-post-coup-niger-talks-stall-2023-08-09/

aklid:
Evil guy hating on his country cause things never goes his way…

I still can’t get it how u was hating buhari and entire niger region and just turned around overnight to switch sides..
Hypocrisy or ment ?😂😂
Juju? Mtchew

WorldRichest:
If your parents are not shameless, then they would not have given birth to a shameless child like you.