Aware the
implication of this especially in a continent that has a history of sit tight
leaders, several African Heads of State have moved in to forestall impending
doom on the tiny West African country. On this list is Nigeria’s President,
Muhammed Buhari.
First, let
us make it clear that what is going on in The Gambia is purely political.
Political issue, therefore, must be solved politically, not diplomatically. Why do we say this?
In a
continent with a history of incumbent sitting tight and volatile to ethnic and
religious conflicts, incumbents have the capacity to exploit the volatility in
these states to hold on to power by promoting ethnic conflicts, if not full scale
war. We witnessed this in 2008 in Kenya (which led to power sharing agreements
between the two main factions) just as we also saw in Ivory Coast in 2012
(before French-led troops could restore order). These two events alone led to
avoidable loss of lives and properties. Since it is a political issue, leaving
such for diplomats may led to unpredictable series of events that may be beyond
the control of those in the diplomatic circles themselves. Political problems
often require political solutions!
Secondly,
whether many people admit it or not, (West) Africa’s problems are often
Nigeria’s problems. Buhari personally going to put pressure on Jammeh to obey
the will of the may be the prudent measure to take at a time like this before
things get out of hand. Now that the warnings are there, it will be easier to
solve the problems that when they take other dimensions.
Many people
will probably remember that when the Liberian civil war started, no one
predicted it will spill quickly into Sierra Leone and Guinea. Nigeria did not
understand the magnitude of what was happening till it was forced to hurriedly
put together, with other members of the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS), what is now known as ECOMOG. ECOMOG alone has cost Nigeria and
Nigerians a lot in terms of human and material resources. The country would
have been spared all these expenses, had it intervened earlier enough.
That also
remind us, we think, had Nigeria intervened politically, earlier than the
French by putting intense political pressure on Laurent Gbagbo, may be a lot of
lives would have been saved in 2012!
In our
opinion, Buhari’s visit to The Gambia at this state of the build-up to what
could be a major crisis is timely and prudent. It can be the other way too!
OlalekanWaheed
ADIGUN is a political analyst and independent political strategist for wide
range of individuals, organisations and campaigns. He is based in Lagos,
Nigeria.
Email: olalekan@olalekanadigun.com, adgorwell@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter @adgorwell
Email: olalekan@olalekanadigun.com, adgorwell@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter @adgorwell
My friend go and sit down! If you don't know what to write, keep silent. It's Nigerians problem because when they collect tax, they normally share it with Nigeria? Nonsense! We go outside acting big brother Africa meanwhile inside we are dying. Mtscheeew! So the minister of external affairs is not a politician or representing the political interest if it's vested on him but only diplomacy? I hear you...
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