Bola Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, is under intense domestic pressure because he threatened to use military force to put an end to the coup in neighbouring Niger.
Despite the Senate being under the authority of Mr. Tinubu’s party, local media reports that there was substantial opposition to military action at a session on Saturday.
However, there has also been widespread national opposition of the threat of war. This was especially true among MPs from states near the more than 1,500km (930 mile) long border with Niger.
The West African regional bloc Ecowas gave the junta until Sunday to relinquish power or face potential military action.
Since Mr. Tinubu currently serves as Ecowas’ chairman and Nigeria is its most powerful member, the choice was widely regarded as being his.
Despite the fact that the junta disregarded the ultimatum, Ecowas did not send troops right away in response. Many Nigerians, who seek a diplomatic solution to the problem, were relieved to hear this.
Given that Nigeria and other nations must obtain parliamentary approval before sending the military, some people dispute whether a seven-day timetable was reasonable.
Many people are also horrified that President Tinubu‘s instructions to cut off electricity to Niger resulted in blackouts in Niger’s capital city of Niamey and other areas.
Critics assert that this violates a deal that allowed Nigeria to construct a dam on the River Niger, while Mr. Tinubu’s supporters assert that the power outages are intended to put pressure on the junta to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum’s rule without resorting to force.
Strong linkages exist between Nigeria and Niger on the racial, economic, and cultural levels, and any military action against Niger would have an impact on northern Nigeria, which already faces significant security issues.
Mr. Tinubu should not “rush into an avoidable conflict with a neighbour at the behest of global politics,” according to a powerful group of Muslim clerics in northern Nigeria.
Mr. Bazoum was a crucial friend of the West and permitted the US and former colonial powers France to maintain military bases there to aid in the war against militant Islamists wreaking havoc throughout much of West Africa.
If Ecowas does deploy force, the military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso have threatened to support the coup leaders in Niger, perhaps igniting a huge regional confrontation.
Currently, Mr. Tinubu is the centre of attention. He has been the most outspoken in denouncing military coups in West Africa and claimed last month that Ecowas cannot consist of “toothless bulldogs.”
“We must be adamantly pro-democracy. Without democracy, there can be no government, freedom, or rule of law. Soon after assuming control of the regional organisation, Mr. Tinubu remarked, “We won’t accept coup after coup in West Africa again.
According to the constitution of Nigeria, the National Assembly, which is made up of both the upper and lower chambers of parliament, must provide its consent before the president can send out troops.
Given the opposition Mr. Tinubu is up against, it is uncertain whether he will win their support.
Prof. Khalifa Dikwa, a professor at the University of Maiduguri and a prominent elder in northern Nigeria, declared, “Ecowas wentof, the Nigerian president also wentof.”
The Senate’s leader, Godswill Akpabio, challenged the Ecowas parliament to offer “solutions to resolve this logjam as soon as possible” in a cautious statement following Saturday’s closed-door meeting.
President Tinubu’s stern stance against coups may have its roots in his personal history. Early in the 1990s, he served as an MP for just over a year until elections were thrown out, parliament was dissolved, and Gen. Sani Abacha took over.
He became a part of the pro-democracy movement, which fought for the restoration of civilian authority, putting him in the sights of the military, which ultimately drove him into exile. After the passing of Gen. Abacha, one of Nigeria’s most ruthless and corrupt military leaders, he returned in 1998.
However, many Nigerians believe that President Tinubu did not consider the internal repercussions of deploying force, and that Ecowas was hasty in delivering an ultimatum to the junta.
“Up until the Berlin Conference [in 1884–1885], when foreign powers established Africa’s current borders, Niger was a continuation of the northern half of Nigeria. You anticipate that the North will start a war with itself?
President Tinubu, like his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari, and his national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, a former policeman, neither have military backgrounds.
Last week, Ecowas army chiefs released a statement of their own, stating that they saw military involvement as a “last resort” in most cases.
Critics accuse Mr. Tinubu of rushing through important choices in the past, citing the fact that he abruptly ended a decades-long gasoline subsidy in May during his first speech as president, causing pandemonium.
On Thursday, Ecowas leaders will meet in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to choose their course of action.
It is difficult to imagine other West African nations joining any military involvement without Nigeria, even though some have pledged to do so. If the National Assembly does not support them, it is unlikely that they will.
Mr. Tinubu is both the president of Nigeria and the chairman of Ecowas. Acting in the regional interest and in defence of democracy is necessary for the one, but it could be highly expensive for the other party.