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Bishop (Dr.) Joseph Ighalo-Edoro (PJAY), a cleric and public affairs commentator, is worried over the soured relationship between Nigeria and the Sahelian States following the military coups in those countries. He penned down this interesting article for SUNDAY INDEPENDENT on why Nigeria should restore its ties with the Sahelian States.
Nigeria, stands at the intricate crossroads in its relationship with the Sahel states. Nigeria, once the natural leader of West Africa and the stabilising pillar of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), now appears uncertain and reactive in the face of a rapidly changing Sahelian geopolitical reality.
Series of poorly executed policies, rigid diplomacy, and public moral images, have combined to alienate three strategic neighbours whose cooperation Nigeria cannot afford to lose.
In a world that is reorganising itself into regions and blocs, isolation is costly and moral victory without strategic gain is hollow.
Nigeria’s initial response to the military takeovers in parts of the Sahel, was emotionally charged and externally aligned rather than strategically grounded.
By loudly berating and demonising the military governments, while spearheading their rejection within ECOWAS, Nigeria positioned itself as an adversary, rather than a negotiator.
What could have been managed through quiet diplomacy, gradual reintegration, and conditional affirmation, became a public standoff. Predictably, the Sahel states responded with resentment and retribution, choosing to extricate themselves from ECOWAS altogether and to seek new alliances that bypass Nigeria’s influence.
In hindsight, absorption and managed engagement within ECOWAS, would have been the wiser path. Engagement does not mean endorsement. It means influence.
By keeping the Sahel states within the ECOWAS framework, Nigeria would have retained leverage over timelines for transition, security cooperation, and economic coordination. Instead, the door was shut, and the Sahel moved on.
The ideals Nigeria championed, particularly the restoration of democracy, were thrown overboard, not because they lacked merit, but because they were pursued without strategic patience or regional empathy.
The consequences of this rupture are already visible. A diplomatic lacuna has emerged, and nature abhors a vacuum.
External powers are returning to the Sahel with renewed vigor, offering security guarantees, infrastructure deals, and political recognition. In this new scramble, ECOWAS risks irrelevance, and Nigeria risks being reduced from regional leader to bystander.
A Sahel aligned outward rather than inward weakens Nigeria’s security, constricts its economic hinterland, and undermines its claim to continental leadership.
Nigeria must, therefore, retrace its steps with humility and strategic clarity. Worthy of note is the 100 percent diplomatic solution with Ougadogu over the arrested plane and its pilots.
Nigeria’s foreign policy disposition devoid of pride was awesome. Recalibration is not capitulation. It is statesmanship.
The first task is to lower the temperature of rhetoric and abandon megaphone diplomacy. Quiet backchannel engagement with Sahelian leaders, both civilian and military, is essential.
Nigeria should position itself not as a scolding elder, but as a pragmatic anchor that understands the historical grievances, security pressures, and sovereignty anxieties driving Sahelian choices.
Secondly, Nigeria must reframe its democracy advocacy. Democracy imposed through threats is fragile. Democracy nurtured through incentives endures.
Nigeria should champion a phased transition model tied to concrete benefits such as development financing, debt relief advocacy, intelligence sharing, and regional market access.
By making democratic progress economically and security rewarding, Nigeria can regain moral authority without alienation.
Thirdly, security cooperation must be delinked from political hostility. Terrorism, banditry, and transborder crime do not respect ideological positions.
Nigeria should lead a renewed regional security compact with the Sahel that prioritises intelligence fusion, joint patrols, and local capacity building. Trust rebuilt through shared security victories can later translate into political goodwill.
Economically, Nigeria must court the Sahel deliberately and consistently. Trade corridors, energy partnerships, rail and road connectivity, and agricultural value chains should be redesigned to bind the Sahel to Nigeria’s economy.
A Sahel that trades, transits, and powers itself through Nigeria will naturally see Abuja as indispensable. This is influence without coercion.
Diplomatically, Nigeria should articulate a clear Sahel policy that is African centred and interest driven, rather than externally choreographed.
This policy must be sustained across administrations, communicated clearly to partners, and defended confidently on the global stage. Nigeria must speak to the West, not as a proxy, but as a regional power with its own red lines and priorities.
Courting the Sahel and engaging the West are not mutually exclusive, but they must be balanced on Nigeria’s terms.
The perks of recalibration are immense: Restored regional leadership, improved internal security, expanded markets, stronger bargaining power with global actors, and the revival of ECOWAS as a meaningful bloc.
Most importantly, Nigeria regains its voice as the toast of regional diplomacy, not through domination, but through relevance.
History will not wait for Nigeria to resolve its diplomatic bruises. The Sahel is moving, the world is adjusting, and alliances are being redrawn.
Nigeria must move back into the Sahelian space as a regional leader that listens, negotiates, incentivises, and builds.
The alternative is strategic loneliness in a crowded and competitive world. Nigeria, therefore, cannot afford a strategic withdrawal because the cost of her absence will be colossal.
In foreign affairs, policy and diplomacy in the sub-region has reached the marginal and she must reclaim the influence and leadership.
Hitherto, Nigeria is a world player in world politics therefore she cannot retreat nor lose ground in diplomacy in a contemporary and dynamic world.
Then, what is the imperative of Nigeria in the Sahel? Return or lose out in the new diplomatic arrangements. The old order for now, was born out of a democratic alignments determined by the deliberate notion to condemn coups. Yet, the people of present Sahelian block love their leaders military or civilian.
Nigerian diplomats must recalibrate and re-engage the Sahelian states who have become the bride of super powerful nations.
Russia and China had gone ahead of the USA, courting the Sahelian states. Now, the USA is on the move to Mali and other Sahelian states. The table is turned and we must retrace our influence.
