‘Lagos Boys’ Arrogantly Misled Tinubu On Niger Crisis

A former Member of the House of Representatives, Dr Usman Bugaje, has asserted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was misled by ‘Lagos Boys’.

Naija News understands that ‘Lagos Boys’ is a name coined for Tinubu’s loyalists from Lagos during his time as governor.

Speaking about how the Nigerian government under Tinubu handled the Niger Republic crisis, Bugaje criticized the ‘Lagos Boys’ for their arrogance and failure to seek advice from experts before advising Tinubu to threaten Niger following the coup in the Niger Republic.

Recall that the neighbouring nation of Niger experienced a coup on July 26, 2023, which led to the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum. Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani has since taken over as the commander of the Nigerien Presidential Guard.

Despite President Tinubu’s efforts, including sending a delegation to the junta in Niger, the return of the democratically elected government was not successful.

The ECOWAS chair threatened to deploy military force to halt the military takeover, but Tchiani remained steadfast.

Following unsuccessful attempts, Tinubu decided to seal off the Niger-Nigerian border and restrict the supply of electricity, medicine, and other essentials.

Reacting during a conversation with Daily Trust, Bugage, who recently returned from the coup-stricken country, criticized Tinubu for overstepping the ECOWAS mandate.

The ex-House Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee said: “The social media says that ‘Lagos Boys’ know everything. So, maybe this is the arrogance they came with. They think and don’t consult; whatever it is.

“I want us to see that as a country, we have violated the norms, we have done things that are far beyond the ECOWAS brief, and that has created a lot of negative reactions from Niger.”

Based on his interactions with Nigeriens when he visited their country, the former federal lawmaker said, “Niger is taking these things with a lot of humility and decorum; and they are still saying that despite what you people have done to us, we still see Nigerians as our brothers, we still see these colonial boundaries as artificial, not barriers.”

Naija News reports that after the meeting over the weekend, ECOWAS has lifted sanctions imposed on the three Sahel junta-led nations – Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.