The Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) announced plans to send its reserve force into Niger have drawn criticism from the former president of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo.
The action is a part of strategies to undo the July 26 coup that led to President Mohamed Bazoum’s ouster.
In an interview earlier this week, Gbagbo criticized the president of Ivory Coast for allegedly preparing to send Ivorian military on the ground before branding any action “madness.”
“When I heard Alassane Ouattara say he is going to send a battalion to Niger, I laughed so much. You can tell he didn’t make the Army. I made the army. One battalion is three companies. You can’t occupy BoboDioulasso neighborhood with that.”
“I advise ECOWAS to use its standby force to fight terrorists in West Africa,” he said.
“Bazoum’s fate is already sealed. It will be madness to send soldiers to Niger for free killings,” he stressed adding that he expected the junta in Niamey to release Bazoum who remains under detention.
“I want Bazoum to be released, but I don’t want this war to take place. It would be the most stupid war,” he stressed in the August 22 interview with Le Monde Afrique.
Former head of state of Nigeria and ECOWAS mediator Abdul salami Abubakar told the BBC this week that there was hope for a diplomatic solution and that no one desired violence. However, a security expert with a focus on West Africa has revealed that a deployment is about to take place and that six nations, including Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria, are prepared to provide troops.