A supporter of Niger’s National Concil of Sefeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) holds a placard of Niger’s new military ruler, General Abdourahamane Tchiani. The demonstrators gathered at Place de la Concertation in Niamey on August 20, 2023. (Photo by – / AFP)
It says under the road map being proposed by the military’s political wing that plotted the coup, it will take three years to come up with a new and acceptable constitutional arrangement for Niger which will precede elections.
This means that power will be handed over to Niger’s political class between 2026 and 2027.
Tchiani issued the declaration on national television even as demonstrators took over the streets in the Nigerien capital, Niamey on Sunday chanting anti-ECOWAS slogans and expressing support for the coupists.
Warning against moves by ECOWAS to intervene militarily, the Nigerien leader said an assault on his country will not be like a mere stroll in the park.
He proclaimed a 30-day period of “national dialogue” which would establish what he referred to as “concrete proposals” that will pave the way for “a new constitutional life”.
Describing the three-year plan as the way forward, the head of the junta threatened that there would be dire consequences if ECOWAS goes ahead to do the bidding of a foreign power that he did not name.
General Abdourahmane Tchiani, leader of the coup in Niger.
According to Tchiani, the sub regional body is “getting ready to attack Niger by setting up an occupying army in collaboration with a foreign army.”
“If an attack were to be undertaken against us”, Tchiani also remarked, “it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think.”
Niger’s military is about 33 000-man strong, with a reserve of between one million and two million volunteers.
On the contrary, ECOWAS is putting together a strike force of about 25,000 soldiers that is better armed when compared with what the Nigeriens currently have.
Despite the level of insurgency that is going on in the country and obvious difficulties encountered in halting it, the Nigerian army is technically considered among the best three in Africa.
Meanwhile, demonstrators who have become part of the Nigerien landscape on Sunday chanted slogans hostile to France and ECOWAS.
ECOWAS which is believed to have chosen a D-Day in Ghana for a military incursion is determined to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum if ongoing negotiations with coup leaders collapse.
While a ban against public demonstrations in the Sahelian country exists, pro-military demonstrators have been allowed a field day.
Some of the placards carried by the protesters read, “Stop the military intervention” and “No to sanctions”.
Sanctions imposed on Niger have been biting hard. They include cuts in financial aid and trade restrictions put in place since the July 26 coup.
Sunday’s rally was accompanied by musicians endorsing the new military regime, the AFP, a wire service, reported.
Somehow, Niger’s new military rulers are accusing France, a close Bazoum ally, of masterminding the anti-coup stance taken by ECOWAS.
On Saturday, ECOWAS made another effort to find a breakthrough via diplomatic means.
It sent a delegation led by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar to Niamey in search of Understanding.
The delegation held talks with Tchiani and also met Bazoum.
Bazoum is being held with his family within the presidential palace. His captors say he could face treason charges.
“There is still hope,” Abubakar said on television, “There is still hope” claiming that the visit has provided “a key for pursuing talks until an outcome” which will put an end to “this difficult situation” is found.
Abubakar has since returned to Nigeria. He reportedly re-entered the country’s capital on Sunday.
Niger is the fourth country in the Sahel region to be overrun by a military coup. Strategists say the trend poses a danger to other democratic states within the West African sub region.
Based on what is known, Niger is struggling with the spread of jihadist ideology linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The coupists claim that growing insurgency within the Sahel region and the impact that it is having on their nation justify their decision to seize power.