US Urges Nigeria to Restore Civilian Presidents in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso

•Moody’s:  Exit of three countries from ECOWAS may hinder bloc’s growth

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja and Emma Okonji in Lagos

The United States (US) government has called on Nigeria to play its ‘Big Brother’ role in ensuring full restoration of democratically elected Presidents in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso that were ousted by military juntas in the respective countries last year.

Equally, Moody’s rating agency yesterday, stated that the decision of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to exit the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) could hinder the bloc’s economic growth.

The US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, Ms. Uzra Zeya, called on Nigeria to play the big brother role yesterday, during an interview with ARISE NEWS Channels, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, in her first visit to Nigeria.

When asked to share her thoughts on the planned pullout of some African countries like Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso from the regional bloc and the ripple effect that the planned pullout would cause on the African continent, Zeya said: “There is a trend of concern about the African democracy that must be addressed. Democracy is work in progress and not a destination and should not be taken for granted by any African country.

“The US government has resolved to continue to work towards strengthening democracy, to defend democracy and to protect democracy in Africa.

“On this note, the US government absolutely appreciates the efforts of ECOWAS and the leadership of Nigeria on ECOWAS. As Chairman of ECOWAS, the US wants to see Nigeria play a crucial role in restoring peace in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso and ensure the restoration of the democratically elected presidents of these three African countries, whose Presidents were ousted by military juntas.

“Nigeria must restore peace to these three African countries for the good of everyone.”  

Giving reasons for her visit to Nigeria for the first time, after her boss, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, visited Nigeria last week, the US Under Secretary of State said: “This week, my team and I are in Nigeria on an official visit, and I am proud to be in Nigeria and to follow the footsteps of my boss. Our visits speak volume of the importance of Nigeria as the country with the biggest economy in Africa and Nigeria is big in Africa’s democracy. “For this reason, the US President, Joe Biden has asked US officials to build genuine relationship with African countries, African entrepreneurs, especially Nigeria. The success of the partnership between Nigeria and the US, will not only benefit the over 200 million Nigerians, but will also benefit Africa as a whole and the world at large. So I am proud to visit Nigeria.”

According to her, the focus for US has been on how to strengthen democracy throughout the world. “Every democracy in the world has the responsibility to deliver to its people and to do more to improve on its democracy. The US government is willing to work with Nigeria to improve her democracy.

“Another area of my focus is about human rights and human right is about giving voice to the voiceless and helping those that are marginalised and to ensure that everyone is given the right to express themselves and to associate freely with people of their choice.

“Again, civilian security is a major focus for me, and this has to do with human-focused security and the kind of security that gives people the opportunity to live in safety. It also means accountable security services that protect the people and accountable to them, and this has informed our collaboration with countries across the world,” Zeya said. 

Moody’s:  Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Exit from ECOWAS May Hinder Bloc’s Growth

According to Moody’s, the exit of the three countries would be much more detrimental if they also decided to leave the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).

A pointer to this was underscored by Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, who said yesterday, that the West African nation would remain a member of the West African Monetary Union (UEMOA) despite its exit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The eight-nation UEMOA uses the West Africa CFA franc currency which is pegged to the euro.

The three military junta-led countries had last Sunday announced that they were planning to leave ECOWAS, the region’s main economic and political bloc.

In a statement, Moody’s stated:  “The three countries’ departures would disrupt the economic integration that is ECOWAS’ raison d’etre and weigh on business confidence, potentially hindering the bloc’s economic growth.

 “While not our baseline expectation, an exit from WAEMU would be much more detrimental to sovereigns leaving the monetary union because of the credit support that WAEMU membership provides in terms of macroeconomic stability and reduced external vulnerability.”