Niger Coup: Festus Aboagye Cites Trucks Of Food Stuck At Borders As Evidence ECOWAS Was Too Hasty

• Security analyst Col Festus Aboagye (rtd) has criticised the ECOWAS for causing the imminent food inflation in Ghana
• He told YEN.com.gh that reports of food stuck inside Niger and the borders of Nigerien neighbouring countries like Benin following sanctions that could have been avoided
• According to the author, the sanctions ECOWAS slapped on Niger over the coup could have been incremental and gradual

Security analyst Col Festus Aboagye (rtd) has said reports of food stuck at Niger borders and rotting could have been avoided if ECOWAS had applied sanctions with tact.

The author explained during an exclusive interview with YEN.com.gh on Thursday, August 23, 2023, that the economic bloc should have given a reasonable ultimatum before the start of parts of the sanctions, like the movement of goods, critical supplies and foods, kicked in.

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He said the EU and UN, for instance, give say a one-week ultimatum to allow for evacuation and other humanitarian actions before, stressing that is international best practice.

"And even after that, the sanctions could have been introduced incrementally, not a one-off thing like ECOWAS has done," he said.

Goods stuck at borders

Hundreds of trucks carrying food items bound for Niger are blocked in Malanville, the border town between Benin and Niger, following the coup.

Trucks of onions, beans, cowhide and potash, loaded from Niger en route to Accra and other countries have also been stuck in Niger days after the military junta took over power on July 26 and closed its borders over a possible invasion by ECOWAS forces.

In the case of Benin, for instance, the government closed its border with Niger in accordance with one of the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS to force the junta to return Mohamed Bazoum as president.

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Suspected terrorists also recently shot a Ghanaian truck driver who was trying to use a dangerous route in Burkina Faso amid the border closure. The gunmen also burnt food trucks in a bid to assert their control in the area.

Experts fear there is a looming food inflation in Ghana.

Situation could have been avoided

Speaking to YEN.com.gh, Col Aboagye (rtd) noted that the EU's sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine invasion, for example, started with sanctions on individuals who actively supported and implemented policies that undermined or threatened Ukraine's sovereignty.

"Then they went further to include over 300 members of the Russian parliament and an additional 27 individuals. Then they went further with restrictions on economic relations with the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, then restrictions on Russia's access the EU’s capital and financial markets and services and so on.

"The EU has been intensifying the sanctions since then to get Russia to tow the line. So it does not make sense for ECOWAS to just slap a blanket sanction at once on Niger. It is unconventional," he said.

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The teaching consultant at the Kofi Anan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) added that because usually sanctions affect the citizens, especially the poor, than those in power ECOWAS should have been more forward-looking in its response to the coup in Niger.

"You remember what the UN said shortly after the coup? The UN said the situation would add a heavy burden to an already dire humanitarian landscape and called on both ECOWAS and Niger to allow humanitarian workers and supplies to safely reach the most vulnerable children and families where urgently needed," he pointed out.

According to the UN, more than two million children have been impacted by the crisis and are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

Col Festus Aboagye (rtd) has urged trade unions and interest groups to approach ECOWAS and appeal to them to take a second look at the sanctions against Niger.

AU suspends Niger over coup

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Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that the Republic of Niger has been suspended as a member of the African Union (AU) with immediate effect.

The AU announced this development on Tuesday, August 22, at the AU’s Peace and Security Council meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, the AU has warned Western countries looking to interfere in the continent’s affairs to keep off.

Source: YEN.com.gh