A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, on Friday, warned President Bola Tinubu to think twice before declaring war on the Niger Republic.
George gave the warning in a letter he personally wrote to the President, stating that it is better for him to continue the diplomatic channel instead of embarking on a “needless war.”
The PDP chieftain also warned that adopting the military approach could result in the collapse of the Economic Community of West African States.
He stated that Nigeria is already facing serious challenges and adding the Niger crisis to it might not augur well for Tinubu’s government.
He said, “We should think twice before entering another country militarily. Don’t start what you cannot finish. Niger is one of the largest (land border) countries in the world and also one of the poorest. What exactly do we gain if we go to war in Niger? What? So that people can praise us as a defender of democracy? When people are dying at home, do we need that type of commendation from anybody?
“I am a retired General. So, I know that war is not easy. Please, don’t force Nigerians to engage in an endless war”
According to him, Tinubu must be circumspect in his actions because he cannot trust the other nations pressuring him to go to war with Niger.
He said, “In Nigeria today, there is no food, no financial power to buy fuel, no light, no money. Nigerians are psychologically stranded and people are really going through a lot. So, I don’t know what our going to Niger Republic with full military power will achieve.”
He recalled that Nigeria almost singularly “financed ECOMOG military operations and that was when our economy was better. Which economy are we going to use now to finance a full military operation in the Niger Republic, when Mali and Burkina Faso have threatened to take sides with the Niger Republic?,” he asked.