The Association of Muslim Ulamaa is now meeting with President Bola Tinubu. The meeting is thought to be related to the President’s ongoing deliberations regarding the political unrest in the Niger Republic.
The term “ulamaa” refers to a group of Muslim academics who are recognized for their expertise in Islamic sacred law and theology.
Insider sources claim that the meeting is not unrelated to the President’s ongoing efforts to clarify the ECOWAS mandate and ease tension in the northern part of Nigeria over the proposed ECOWAS military action. Details of the meeting and its agenda were not immediately available, however, as of the time of this report.
BusinessDay also learned that the President is using the summit to justify the numerous sanctions against the military leaders in Nigeria’s neighbors, who are landlocked countries.
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A coalition of roughly 54 organizations in Northern Nigeria known as the Coalition of Northern Organizations (CNG) issued a warning a few days prior to the visit stating that attacking the Niger Republic would have far-reaching effects on Nigeria that were not yet anticipated.The group had emphasized that any conflict with the Niger Republic would have a domino effect that would spread throughout all of West Africa, resulting in tremendous casualties and the suffering of innocent people.
They also think that Russia/China, Mali, and Burkina Faso, who have formed a coalition of Niger Republic allies, would oppose such military action.
Read The new leader of the Niger Republic.
However, the President has reassured Nigerians in response that whatever action is ultimately taken to safeguard the safety of all Nigerians The President said in a speech delivered on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, that the ultimatum issued to the military Junta in Niger Public is “not a Nigerian mandate and those of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s office.”He claimed that the President, who is currently the Chairman of ECOWAS, “conveyed the ECOWAS position,” encouraging Nigerians “not to personalize the decision.”
Mr. President has decided that it is imperative to state unequivocally that the mandate and ultimatum issued by ECOWAS are those of ECOWAS due to some domestic and international media coverage that tends to personalize the ECOWAS sub regional position to his country and to our country individually.He claimed that despite President Bola Tinubu taking over as ECOWAS’s chairman, the organization’s position represents the views of its member states as a whole. And a coup won’t take place in one’s own backyard unless that person is particularly aware of it.
The President has expanded consultations on the various repercussions and outcomes of the unfortunate situation that has developed in Niger Republic in recent days, especially after the expiration of the ultimatum given by ECOWAS. This includes interfaces with state governors in Nigeria who govern states bordering Niger Republic. He pointed out that ECOWAS’s response to the military takeover in Niger has been and would continue to be free of sentiments and concerns based on ethnicity and religion. “The regional bloc consists of all sub regional ethnic and religious communities as well as all other manifestations of human diversity. Therefore, the ECOWAS reaction speaks for all of these groups rather than for any one of them specifically.
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