Grandstand. The leaders of the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are preparing to go to war against Niger, if the president, Mohamed Bazoum, deposed by a coup d’etat on July 26, n has not been reinstated.

We, the signatories of this platform, challenge the leaders of our countries, because we are against this initiative. It is dangerous for the population, for our economies and for our States. A conflagration in the area would be collective suicide that absolutely cannot be allowed to happen.

All the ingredients for a confrontation of the whole region are in place. As ECOWAS threatens, the leaders of Burkina Faso and Mali, backed by Russia, have sided with their counterparts in Niger. Western countries firmly support the ousted president.

Today, Niger is subject to very harsh sanctions from ECOWAS. Never had such extreme measures been taken against a Community country. The population is by far the main victim, even though the country is already very weakened by terrorism which has been thriving for ten years in the Sahel and is now spreading to coastal countries.

Do not resort to a remedy worse than the disease

In these tragic conditions, to engage in a new military action which will oppose several armies on both sides, is to resort to a remedy worse than the disease. We cannot afford to inflict more suffering on the peoples of the region. Which would inevitably be the case if the ECOWAS military intervention were to take place.

Even if, from the point of view of heads of state, military action is a just cause consisting in restoring President Bazoum to the head of state, is it therefore reasonable to expose the entire population to this end ? Certainly not. This is what the people we listen to in the streets think and what we read on social networks that today give the temperature of the majority opinion.

In the specific context of Niger, we ask the Heads of State to find, through negotiation, the solution most favorable to the interests of all Nigeriens and all Nigeriens, and by extension to the interests of the people of the ECOWAS countries.

An ECOWAS of peoples

This crisis in Niger should make it possible to change community rules. Yes, coups are bad for our countries. But we all know the causes and it is to them that we must attack. ECOWAS must strengthen its potential for action by equipping itself with solid legal and political instruments to prevent heads of state from abusing democratic rules and arrogating rights to continue in power, and sometimes even with a succession. dynastic. This is one of the root causes that lead to bad governance and culminate in coups that put the whole region in jeopardy.

We know that ECOWAS is already concerned about the stability of its members, which led it to the adoption in 2001 of the additional protocol on good governance and democracy. It is also with the same impetus that the project to limit presidential terms has been initiated since 2015. It is still ongoing.

The organization must reinvent itself and become an ECOWAS of peoples, as it itself advocates. This is what will strengthen the sovereignty of peoples and their ability to decide independently on their future.

For now, and as a matter of urgency, every effort must be made to get out of the infernal spiral that is pulling the region towards a conflagration. It is the hope of the people of the Economic Community of West African States that we speak for.