The former emir of Kano (northern Nigeria) announced Wednesday, August 9, to be in Niamey for mediation with the military regime resulting from a coup in Niger, on the eve of a crucial West African summit in Nigeria. . “We spoke with the head of state,” General Abdourahamane Tiani, Niger’s new strongman, and “we will return to Nigeria to convey to the Nigerian president” a “message” from the general, said the former Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on Nigerien national television.
“We came hoping that our arrival will pave the way for real discussions between the leaders of Niger and those of Nigeria”, he added, specifying that he was not a “government emissary”. Mr. Sanusi is known to be a close friend of Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos State where Mr. Sanusi grew up and worked.
Prince of the royal family of Kano State, Mr. Sanusi was the 14th emir of this territory in 2015, after the death of his predecessor Ado Bayero, bearing the royal title of Muhammadu Sanusi II. However, he was deposed in 2020 after a disagreement with Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. Known for his outspokenness, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi also served as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2009 to 2014, from which he was fired for exposing a multi-billion dollar fraud in the oil industry.
Washington ‘strongly concerned about the health’ of president-elect
Thursday, the summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) must assess, in Abuja, the situation in Niger with regard to the intransigence shown by the Nigerien military for the moment. The President of Nigeria, currently at the head of ECOWAS, assured that diplomacy was the “best way forward”, without however ruling out military intervention. Initially, ECOWAS gave the junta seven days to restore Niger’s deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, to his post.
The United States expressed its deep concern about his health on Wednesday: the president-elect has been detained since the July 26 coup in this Sahel country. “We are seriously concerned for his health and safety and that of his family,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said following a call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and President Bazoum.
Niger’s prime minister, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, recently said that Mr. Bazoum remained detained with his wife and son without electricity or running water. Spokesman Matthew Miller declined to elaborate on Antony Blinken’s call, which took place late Tuesday evening. But according to Miller, US concerns over the leader’s health were one of the reasons Acting Assistant to the Secretary of State Victoria Nuland sought to meet President Bazoum during a unexpected trip to Niger on Monday, but in vain. “As time goes by and he remains held in solitary confinement, the situation becomes increasingly worrying for us,” the spokesperson said.