Posted by In an effort to boost economic activity between Nigeria and Niger, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has pleaded with the federal government and ECOWAS members to think about opening the borders between the two nations.
In a statement, ACF National Publicity Secretary Professor Tukur Muhammad Baba expressed regret that numerous small-scale enterprises operating between the two nations have been impacted by the ongoing border closure. These businesses deal with food supply, medicine, gasoline, and electricity, among other goods and services.
Nigeria and other ECOWAS member countries have been imposing economic sanctions and the threat of military intervention on the military regime in Niger since July 2023. This is in response to the military coup that occurred in June 2023. The goal is to force the regime to restore the former civilian government of Mohammed Bazoum.
According to the statement, ECOWAS has lately said that it is willing to engage in talks with the military dictatorship of Niger, but only under certain conditions, rather than formally withdrawing the threat of military action.
As a result, ACF was against any form of unconstitutional coup d’état. ACF shares the belief that multilateral and bilateral accords, particularly ECOWAS—an organization that Nigeria worked tirelessly to establish—are sacred.
The statement condemned the establishment of “arbitrary and artificial boundaries between our peoples” and noted that the Nigerian and Niger populations had strong historical economic, cultural, and political ties that go back to before European colonization.