By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Ahead of the second Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) heads of state meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 10 to discuss the political crisis in Niger, Samsudeen Sarr, a former army commander in the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), has said he expects President Adama Barrow to decline any suggestions to send military troops to Niger to take part in any military intervention in junta-led Niger following the recent coup that overthrew the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.
Sarr, who was a commander in the army until 1999, said GAF “may not possess the necessary readiness to navigate the complexities” of any possible intervention in Niger.
“I expect him to decline any suggestion of sending Gambian troops to Niger. From my perspective, the Gambia Armed Forces may not possess the necessary readiness to effectively navigate the complexities of such a precarious undertaking. The challenges presented by an ambiguous conflict in an unfamiliar territory, coupled with the intricate logistics required for a sustained campaign, give rise to legitimate concerns,” said the former army commander.
He explained that the financial burden of going into such a war cannot be ignored, saying the Gambia’s budget may not sustain the financial burden should President Barrow agree to send troops.
“The financial implications of engaging in such a war cannot be ignored. Wars invariably entail exorbitant costs, and the Gambian budget may be ill-equipped to sustain the financial burden of such an endeavour,” he explained.
Sarr said President Barrow can instead recommend to his colleagues in the ECOWAS heads of state meeting the idea of persuading the junta to hasten their transitional period to civilian rule.
“He can recommend the idea of persuading the coup leaders to hasten their transitional timeline to civil rule. Any other proposal other than that will be rejected by the junta which is very popular in the country and will never reinstate the overthrown government of Bazoum.”
Last week, when President Adama Barrow arrived from the ECOWAS heads of state meeting, he expressed the country’s willingness to cooperate with the decision of the West African block, which includes using force to reinstate Bazoum. He said that ECOWAS still accepts Bazoum as the legitimate president of the Republic of Niger.
