Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has urged Nigeria to restore electricity to Niger Republic because it is bringing untold hardship to the citizens of the country.
In a now-deleted Twitter post on Saturday titled ‘Does Killing Nigerien Babies Bring Glory to Our Name?’, Fani-Kayode said there is inflation in the West African nation, residents are unable to access cash easily, and people are living in the dark.
He lamented the reported deaths of at least 40 innocent babies in Niger and other humanitarian issues because hospitals are unable to power their incubators and other life-supporting equipment.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain wondered how Nigeria could inflict such damage and unleash such wickedness and misfortune on innocent people who live just across the border.
He, therefore, urged President Bola Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to restore electricity to Niger Republic.
The post partly reads: “This is all the more so, given the fact that cutting off electricity to that nation is bringing death, suffering and hardship more to the women and children than to their government officials and members of the newly installed military junta.
“Although there were power cuts before the sanctions, they usually lasted a few hours, but now the cuts are much longer – sometimes up to 18 hours a day.
“How can we as a nation inflict such damage and unleash such wickedness and misfortune on innocent people who live just across the border from us and who are essentially our people, too?
“This is unacceptable and especially so given the fact that we are not at war with Niger and the overwhelming majority of our people regard them as our brothers.
“This begs the question: Is this the way to treat our African neighbours and brothers even whilst we lay claim to seeking and preferring a diplomatic solution to the crisis? Methinks not!”
“If our claim and intention are to better the life of these people by insisting that they must have a democratically-elected Government and by resisting a military one, is our purpose truly served by killing the children of the very same people that we claim we want to help?
“Again, does this murky and murderous course serve our national and security interests, and does it enhance better relations with other African countries?
“Does imposing sanctions and policies like cutting off electrical supplies that, albeit inadvertently, lead directly to the death of innocent babies and defenceless children help our cause, bring glory to our name or give credence or credibility to our so-called fight and quest for democracy? I doubt it very much.”
