Tuggar: Benin Example Should Be Norm to Safeguard Democracy in West Africa

•Says talks ongoing with Burkina Faso for release of detained soldiers, plane

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has expressed Nigeria’s willingness to move into any member country of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to quash any coup d’etat.

He, however, insisted that Nigeria’s intervention in Benin Republic should be the norm whenever democracy was threatened in the sub-region or Africa at large.

The minister also revealed that there were ongoing talks to resolve the issue of Nigeria’s plane and soldiers detained in Burkina Faso.

Tuggar, who briefed journalists in Abuja, yesterday, on the sideline of the ongoing 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Minister meeting, said Nigeria would be happy to assist and support member states in distress.

The minister, who had his Beninese counterpart, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari by his side during the interaction with journalists, was quick to add a caveat, saying such an intervention would have to be on request of the authorities of the distressed member state.

He noted that such an intervention would be made possible when there was close working relations amongst members of the states, such as the one that existed between Nigeria and the Benin Republic.

“Well, we are all aware of what transpired in the Republic of Benin and the fast reaction that followed and the coordination to ensure that democracy remains untampered in Benin and it was successful, and it is an exemplar of what really should obtain whenever democracy is under threat in our region and indeed on the African continent as a whole.

“And, of course, the foundation of all of this is the close working relationship and understanding between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.

“And it stands as, as I said, an exemplar and an example to other countries to use the individual agency because my brother and I were communicating with each other from the very beginning and the fast reaction and communication between us and several of our colleagues is what led to the thwarting of this attempt to undermine democracy by way of an unconstitutional change of government.

“So, it’s individual agency, it’s the understanding and the long relationship and history between the two countries and also for us in Nigeria, it is standing by the Tinubu administration’s four Ds of which, as you know, we keep repeating, it’s democracy, it’s demography, it’s development, it’s diaspora and democracy always gets mentioned as the first of the four Ds.

“The swiftness and the deftness of individuals like Minister Shegun Bakari, basically, you know, because he got in touch with me and we were talking to each other and the two presidents were equally involved as quickly as possible. So all credit goes to President Talon and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“So this is what we need and for everybody to be allowed to play their own role so that those handling intelligence do the intelligence. Those, you know, dealing with security deal with security. We the diplomats are allowed to communicate and play diplomacy. And that way everything comes together.

“Part of the challenges that we’ve had in the past is those that are supposed to be playing one role try to play another.”

On his part, the Beninese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, said Nigeria’s intervention was requested to avoid bloodshed.

He said they needed Nigeria’s airpower to ground the armory of the coupists, who had their camp in the midst of civilian, stressing that there was no way the Republican troop would have engaged them without huge casualties to civilians.

Bakari noted that Benin and Nigeria have shown the rest of the world that democracy still prevailed in the sub-region.