1 July 2009
Niamey — Amid mounting international opposition to a proposed referendum for President Mamadou Tandja to stay in power, the European Commission - one of Niger's largest donors - has warned of aid cuts if leaders do not respect constitutional order.
"Any changes to the constitution, notably its fundamental articles, should not be made in the absence of consensual and inclusive dialogue," European Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, Louis Michel, said in a public statement.
Following three rulings from Niger's highest court that a vote to change the constitution would be illegal, President Tandja on 29 June dissolved de facto the court then declared he was assuming "emergency powers".
Commissioner Michel said recent actions "could have direct consequences on our cooperation".
From 2000 - shortly after Tandja was sworn in for the first of his two terms - until 2007, the EC has provided Niger almost US$700 million in development funds that have gone toward rural infrastructure, food security, transport, education, health and governance.
Since 2005 the EC has given an additional $43 million in emergency humanitarian aid following the food crisis, according to the commission's humanitarian aid office in the capital Niamey.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has threatened sanctions against Niger, while the UN and the Canadian, French and US governments have issued warnings for Niger's leaders to respect constitutional order.
In March 2008 Niger received $23 million from the US government -- a grant to help countries prepare to qualify for multimillion-dollar grants from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, given to poor nations that demonstrate good governance.
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
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Threat or no threat of economic sanctions, let the good people of Niger decide what is best for them. For my brethren up there in Niamey, all you need do is to look south of the border to see what the western-style “democracy” has done for the copy-copy “yessir-yesman” Nigerians. If you think that Mr. Tandja has the wherewithal to deliver quality leadership until he can adequately educate the public & politicians, alike about the principles of democracy, rights of the led and the responsibilities of the leaders by putting the public first, and about the electorates picking the right leader from a multitude of candidates with credible agenda and ideas plus the capacity to deliver & continue building the nation, precepts by precepts, from where the incumbent has stopped, then, by all means keep Mr. Tandja. Your future is in your hands not in some foreign tin-gods that do not have the best interest of your common folks at heart but prefer their own lackey that would sell your assets for peanuts while their choice of your leader wouldn't mind turning the guns on the locals that stand in its way so as to keep the spigot open for the West’s consumption. Good luck!
Who made Mamadou Tanjda lord over Niger? Are you telling me that this man is the only person in that country that has brains and therefore ordained to lead his people to the promised land? What has he achieved in 10 years that should make him think that he alone has the answer to what the people of Niger need?
Your analysis runs hollow and can only come from somebody who does not believe in the rule of law.
The Western democracy is not perfect, neither is it without its shortcomings, but it is the best model of how people are governed. With practice comes perfection, and all those countries who have been practicing it for years are gradually perfecting the art of governance, and not creating tin-gods as we see in almost every country in Africa, with the exception of a few.
You cannot also take European donors to task for voicing their displeaure at the precedence that this man wants to set in Niger's body politics, and they have every right to threaten to withhold aid to that poor country if he does not play ball. Afterall, he who pays the piper, calls the tune.
We must look deep within ourselves and ask ourselves if we are not capable of doing anything right, especially with the art of governance.
Mamadou Tandja is on the wrong path and all right thinking persons both far and near must condemn him in no uncertain terms for his power play.
That is the same logic used by the woefully corrupt Nigerian politicians to truncate the previous effective administration "...who made Obasanjo Lord over us?" "...is he the only one that can deliver quality leadership?" Well, Nigerians now know better that they should have kept what worked instead of this major disappointment. Too late to go back now as more years are been wasted on mediocrity. I won't be surprised if "Prince Charles" of Africa is a politician that has been smarting to lay his sticky-palms on a juicy political job so he too can chop a little at the expense of the masses.
“Ignominy” in the eyes of whom? The west? Is that reason the people of Niger should not choose whether or not their leader stays or go. I guess whatever the West says to This Day columnist must be right, the same way they “gbaju e” by bluffing the gullible Nigerians to jettison the greatest leader we ever had in favor of this currently clueless, lazy-bone called “Servant Leader” that has now taken Nigeria back to the stone age (on the excuse that Nigeria will break up by 2015 if power do not go back to the same North that bankrupted Nigeria for 40 ruinous years). Threat or no threat of economic sanctions, let the good people of Niger decide what is best for them. For my brethren up there in Niamey, all you need do is to look south of the border to see what the western-style “democracy” has done for the copy-copy “yessir-yesman” Nigerians. If you think that Mr. Tandja has the wherewithal to deliver quality leadership until he can adequately educate the public and politicians, alike about the principles of democracy, rights of the led and the responsibilities of the leaders by putting the public first, and about the electorates picking the right leader from a multitude of candidates with credible agenda and ideas plus the capacity to deliver & continue building the nation, precepts by precepts from where incumbent has stopped, then, by all means keep Mr. Tandja. Your future is in your hands not in some foreign tin-gods that do not have the best interest of your common folks at heart but prefer their own lackey that would sell your assets for peanuts while their choice of your leader wouldn't mind to turn the guns on the locals that stand in its way so as to keep the spigot open for the West’s consumption. Good luck!
African leaders have a cancerous obsession with power. When they manage to get in our they think they own the country, own the people, own the Central Bank, own all the currencies, own all the foreign exchange, own all the natural resources and can spend any amount of money on what they want, where they want and also employ all their families to hold key cabinet positions or create a new one for the wife. They dont think beyond how they came to power but like all the other morons cling to power and just would not go until forcefully removed by their own. The AU is like a puppet because those that lead the AU have done the same thing anyway. That is why they are toothless dogs and spineless worms...what a disgrace for us to revisit this again...
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