'Make Tchiani a scapegoat' - Reno Omokri draws comparison between coup leader, General Sani Abacha

Reno Omokri has rubbished Niger's coup leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani's promise to hand over power to a civilian government after three years comparing him to the late General Sani Abacha.

Recall that Tchiani, the leader of the military junta said he will transition to a civilian government after a meeting with a delegation of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) led by the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd).

He stated this in a televised broadcast on Saturday night.

In his reaction, however, Omokri, political commentator and a key member of the People Democratic Party campaign in the 2023 presidential elections has urged ECOWAS, the regional body to continue to "squeeze in Niger" as he believes three years will give the the junta a lot of time to consolidate their grasps on power.

He made this known in a statement on Tuesday, August 22.

The so-called promise by the coup leader, General Tchiani, to hand over to civilians in three years is worthless. It is not even worth the value of the paper from which he read it. The man is just looking for relief from the ECOWAS, and if ECOWAS leaders give in, he will consolidate himself until another strongman removes him. Didn't Abacha promise that his administration would be "brief"? Power corrupts, and absolute power, such as the type currently being wielded by Tchiani, corrupts absolutely.

ECOWAS should continue with the squeeze in Niger. Why do they still have GSM and Internet data? They depend on the French-based Eutelsat. Shut it down. Shut them out of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications.

Nobody should be rattled by Wagner forces in Niger. Wagner are merciless mercenaries. They fight for money. Without money, their appetite for Niger will soon dim. And Russia is not in a position to financially support Niger for a sustained period. It has its domestic issues to contend with.

Consign Niger back to the Stone Age, and his own soldiers and people will eventually turn against him, and General Tchiani will be forced to flee to either Russia or their client states like Mali or Burkina Faso.

If General Tchiani is allowed to trick ECOWAS and get them to accept his Taqiyya promise, the domino effect of coup will continue to other West African nations. This is beyond Niger. Make Tchiani a scapegoat!