By Paschal Norbert
IMO, AUGUST 8, 2023 (CISA)- As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria and Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened another Extraordinary Summit of the Authority on the political situation in Niger, scheduled to take place on August 10, 2023, Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, has urged President Tinubu to dehort ECOWAS Heads of States from using military might to subdue the coup plotters.
“We are begging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dissuade ECOWAS Heads of State to resist the temptation of going to war, against the coup plotters. We beg them to stop the imminent bloodshed that will trail the military intervention. We have wasted a lot of human blood in Africa. We have also wasted precious human lives in Nigeria and we cannot continue in this ugly fashion, for whatever reason,” said the archbishop of Owerri.
Archbishop Ugorji was reacting to the ultimatum of the ECOWAS Heads of State given to the coup plotters to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum to power or face military action, which expired on August 6, 2023.
According to the Vanguard Online Monday Edition (Nigeria), Archbishop Ugorji appealed during a pastoral visit to inaugurate the Mary Mother of God Catholic Parish, Upe, in the Ngor Okpala local council area of Imo State.
The prelate said the ECOWAS leaders “reasoned that it is wrong to change government by force. They are correct, but we also believe that shedding precious human blood is equally wrong. Two wrongs can never make a right.”
“For now, we don’t know who is sponsoring the coup plotters. We equally do not know who is behind the decision of the ECOWAS Heads of State. This may be a story for another day. The media is awash with the news of some countries that have already declared their full support for the country and their military strongmen. Russia may also be there, without our knowing,” he said.
Archbishop Ugorji while also alluding to the ‘sham’ presidential elections in Nigeria intimated that “While we say no to coup d’état, we also say no to war, for whatever reason. We say no manipulation of election results because it is also another shade of coup d’état.”
He maintained that launching a military operation in Niger will only open a pandora box in Nigeria arguing that palliative measures do not cure economic hardships and wars do not resolve misunderstandings.
“It is better to dialogue instead of going into a full-scale war, which nobody can precisely tell when it will end,” he stated.
“President Tinubu should please, not launch any military expedition in Niger. Let us not forget that during the ECOMOG expedition, Nigeria not only played a major role but also bore the brunt of the losses in human and material resources,” elucidated the prelate.
“ECOWAS Heads of State should please, think of what should be the fate of the organization if they begin military intervention in Niger,” stated Archbishop Ugorji.
