There is a need to take caution over the growing bilateral disharmony between Nigeria and her fellow West African country, Burkinaso. A couple of weeks ago, Nigerian military aircraft, C-130, was forced to land in Burkinaso over what the Burkinabe authorities claimed was a violation of their airspace by the Nigerian military aircraft.
They accused the occupants of the military aircraft – eleven military personnel – of espionage mission on Burkinaso. The Burkinabe authorities insisted that the aircraft’s unauthorised violation of their airspace was an attack on the territorial sovereignty of Burkinaso and that such an action, will not be allowed to slide. They hinted that the outcome of the trial of the eleven Nigerian military personnel aboard the aircraft will serve as a deterrent to others who may in future want to violate the Burkinaso airspace or that of any other member state of the Alliance for Sahel States – Niger Republic and Mali Republic.
Nigeria, on the other hand,is claiming that the aircraft’s incursion into the Burkinaso airspace was occasioned by a technical hitch, which forced it to land in Burkinaso. Nigeria insisted that the aircraft was not on any ulterior motives and, therefore, requested that both the aircraft and its military occupants be allowed to return to Nigeria.
As this claim and counterclaims range on,it is instructive for the Nigerian government to “beware of the ides of march,” as Williams Shakespeare once said. Attracting for herself, an avoidable enmity is not what the country needs now.
Issues surrounding the exit of Burkinaso, Niger and Mali from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the three countries severance of all forms of socioeconomic and political ties with France,their former colonial master, are still fresh in the people’s minds. Nigeria’s romance with the same France and her pronounced opposition to the three sovereign nations in almost all facets could not be a coincidence,too.
The argument here is that it will be detrimental to Nigeria as a nation to indulge in any form of proxy warfare for any country. If France or any other country, for that matter, wants to engage the Alliance of Sahel State members – Burkinaso, Niger and Mali – such a country should openly do so and for itself alone, without subterraneanly dragging Nigeria into it.
As a nation, Nigeria has lots of problems, internally and externally, confronting it. Why dabble clandestinely into international issues that she should not ordinarily have any business with? Nigerian is battling so many internal socioeconomic, political, and infrastructural issues – poor economy, hunger, banditry, terrorism, etc.,yet her leaders prefer playing the Ostrich.
Nigerian Horn is asking that the right thing be done by the Nigerian authorities. The present face-off with Burkinaso should have been avoidable if circumspection had prevailed in their reasoning abinitio.
If any other country, for whatever reason,wishes to get back at or settle scores with any member of the Alliance for Sahel States(AES),such a country should do without dragging Nigeria into it. And,no Nigerian leader should drag the country into a proxy warfare because of self-centred interests,thus reducing to a lapdog.
Nigeria, as a superpower country within the African continent,is too big to be led by the nose to invade the sovereignty of another country, no matter the guise. Let this avoidable row with Burkinaso be a lesson to our country.
