What started as a mere allegation by Abdourahamane Tchiani, the military leader of Niger Republic, has slowly turned into a faceoff leaving the two African countries seating on the edge of an unknown future.
All was going well until Wednesday, when Tchiani, in an interview alleged that France was negotiating with terrorists in Nigeria to destabilise Niger.
He went further to confirm that France had made a substantial payment to President Tinubu to establish a military base in Nigeria.
Well, shortly after this allegation surfaced, Mohammed Idris, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, swiftly refuted the allegations, describing them as “baseless and unfounded.”
Now, Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Tinubu, has described the allegations as “despicable propaganda.”
Discord In The North
Reacting in a video posted on his X (formerly Twitter) page on Friday, Bwala dismissed Tchiani’s statements as a propaganda tactic aimed at creating discord in northern Nigeria.
He said: “Yesterday I came across a video, a despicable propaganda piece by the military head of state of the Niger Republic against the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and this is what you often see with military interregnum.
“The honeymoon is over; he has not been able to address economic situations in his country; everything is turning against him, and in the desperate gasp for breath, he decided to resort to cheap false lies and propaganda against Nigeria.”
The presidential aide noted Nigeria’s longstanding leadership role in West Africa and its commitment to fostering bilateral relations with neighbouring countries.
He said: “Nigeria over the years has maintained its leadership in the West African sub-region and as a country we have not only developed but maintained bilateral relationships with our neighbours and have been of help tremendously to our neighbouring countries.
“It is lies, and he chose a local language in the north because he wants to rile up the north against the president. I don’t think any politician in Nigeria who has absolute interest in the national interest and security of Nigeria will ever take part in that kind of negative rhetoric.
“Probably in cahoots with politicians in Nigeria, you never know, but the whole idea is to create chaos and bad blood in northern Nigeria against the president.”
The Honeymoon Is Over
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Bwala asked Nigerians to disregard Tchiani’s claims as “false and divisive”.
He said: “First of all, his lies and propaganda are false as can be seen by all. Nigeria has never had to give its own land as a military base to any country.
“Nigeria is a nation that has its own capacity to protect its citizens, and every nation has its own struggle in a bid to safeguard the country.
“It is becoming clear that the honeymoon he had with his people is over. He probably doesn’t have a plan for his people and has resorted to that cheap blackmail. It is false, and nobody should take him seriously.”
