ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger with the hope to have President Mohamed Bazoum reinstated.
"... the following measures are to be applied with immediate effect: Closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Niger; Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS Member States and Niger..." ECOWAS stated on 30 July.
While ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray read out the tough-toned communique, a seemingly proud and fulfilled ECOWAS chair and Nigeria's president, Bola Tinubu, sat on his chair, perhaps reflecting (or not) on the 1,600 kilometres border Nigeria shares with Niger.
ECOWAS countries resolved to close their borders with Niger until the coup plotters in the country hand over power back to the detained president, Mohamed Bazoum.
Nigeria, which currently leads ECOWAS, not only supported the resolutions but was expected to be one of its main enforcers.
Nigeria's 1,600 kilometres border with Niger runs from the tripoint with Benin in the west to the tripoint with Chad in the east. Over 200,000 people live in those border communities, according to official figures.
One such community is Dankama, a rural community on the Nigerian side of the border, where residents, especially commercial transporters, are now lamenting the impact of the border closure.Abdullahi Badamasi, a transporter, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, said before the border closure, their park was usually alive with car engines rumbling and roaring as passengers troop in and out.
"Usually between 20 to 30 cars shuttle between Dankama and Niger from here daily but since the closure, not even a car leaves the park," he said.
Mr Badamasi, the vice chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Dankama, prayed for a quick resolution to the situation in Niger because, according to him, residents of Dankama and Nigeriens are the same and live together and as a result, they are all affected by whatever is happening in Niger.Ibrahim Sani, another driver in Dankama, said before the closure, he could make five to six trips to and fro Niger but that has ceased to be the case since the closure of the border.
"Should this continue, the outcome will not be palatable. As you can see, there are a lot of young people here who rely on the movement of these vehicles to feed," he said.
On the proposed military intervention by ECOWAS, Mr Sani noted that they do not look forward to a war as wars are never blessings, noting that only people who have never seen war, wish for it.
"We are not even at war yet and look at our situation. What will happen to us if war happens?" he asked.
Sani Ado, a motorcyclist on the same route, said their conditions have changed negatively from that of abundance.
"If you look around you will see our motorcycles all parked because there are no passengers. In a day, I could make seven trips and N20,000 on my lucky days but that has changed, we are just sitting," Mr Ado narrated.
"We are one (Dankama and Niger), there is no difference between us," he added.
Other drivers
Badamasi Mohammed, a truck driver who hails from Maradi in Niger, is stuck in Katsina with a customer's goods as all movement towards Jibiya (in Katsina), the most popular boundary between Katsina and Niger, has been put on hold.
"I am coming from Kano. The border is closed, they do not even want to see us anywhere around the borders," he told PREMIUM TIMES, adding that they (transporters) are in trouble.
Cheikh Diop and Moustapha Niang, two Senegalese drivers whose trucks were also not allowed to get through the border, lamented the amount of money they had to spend every day to feed (5000 CFA) as a result of the order closure.
They are headed for Senegal but have also had their journey cut shut as they are stuck in Katsina.On Monday, they noted that they (the drivers) have spent seven days already.
Owing to Jibiya's location and proximity to Niger, trucks whose final destination is the former, have also been barred from entering the community.
Safulayi Saya, whose truck is one of those parked along the road, lamented bitterly. He said the border closure affects them and the customers they serve as they are unable to access Jibiya because border control officials believe that if the goods come into Jibiya, getting into Niger is inevitable.
"All the trucks lined up here have goods in them, some goods have been soaked by water and the driver will be the one to pay for any damages," he said.A visibly frustrated Mr Saya said they just want to return to their families. "Is Jibiya in Nigeria or Niger?" he asked rhetorically, adding that the government should intervene because if people stop earning legitimately, they could resort to illegitimate means.
Like Mr Saya, Yakubu Ibrahim does not see why truckers heading to Jibiya should be put in the same category as those heading to Niger.
"We are transporting garri (processed cassava) from Benue to Jibiya, only for us to get here and were told the road is blocked. We do not know the cause of this, all we know is that there was a coup in Niger and that does not concern Nigeria," he told this newspaper.
Mr Ibrahim said several truckers are already recording losses including himself.
Ashiru Abdullahi, a truck driver and native of Jibiya, is also caught up in the storm.
"We have found ourselves in a situation where we can only ask Allah to save us from misfortune."
Also transporting garri, he said he was in trouble because after three days of the garri staying heaped together, it would go bad leading him to incur unimaginable losses.
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The truckers collectively pleaded with the government to rethink its decisions as their livelihoods are being threatened by the sanctions imposed on Niger.
Border remain closed
This reporter went to the Dankama border where she observed strict adherence to the sanctions with customs and immigration officers manning the border post.
The officers have also ensured that the illegal routes are closed as well. While interacting with officers at the border who did not want to quoted, it was learnt that motorcycles are used to man the illegal routes to avoid violation of the sanctions.
On the Nigerien side of the border, like in Nigeria, trucks were seen lined up on the road waiting for when they will be allowed to cross over.
Transporters like Mr Badamasi may, however, may have to wait for a long time as the Niger junta has refused to bulk at ECOWAS's demands. President Bazoum remains in detention and the soldiers remain in charge of the country.
ECOWAS leaders will meet again Thursday to decide on their next line of action.
The report was supported by the Centre For Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)
