Niger Coup: Former Kano’s Emir, Sanusi meets Niger’s junta (VIDEO)
Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, the former Emir of Kano, met with military coup leaders in the Republic of Niger despite international pressure to reinstall deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), met with the military leadership on Wednesday after the junta canceled a meeting with African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) delegates.
The film of Sanusi's meeting with the coupists of the West African country appeared on social media, along with the efforts to settle the conflict in Nigeria's neighboring state.
Recall that an ECOWAS mission led by former Head of State Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar (retd) was unable to negotiate peace with the military authorities because they refused to meet.
However, video of Sanusi, whose Tijjaniya sect has a considerable following in Niger, circulated on Wednesday.
Sanusi, the sect's Khalifa in Nigeria and a noted Nigerian economist, met with the Junta leaders in the presence of the Sultan of Damagaran. Damagaran is Niger's third biggest city.
According to Daily Trust, Sanusi went in Niger to look into the prospects of settling the issue through discussions.
"His Highness took the trip in his personal capacity but with President Bola Tinubu's knowledge following his concerns about the impasse and the likely consequences it is already having on Nigeria/Niger relations and the citizens of the two countries," a Daily Trust source said.
Meanwhile, Tinubu had planned a meeting for Thursday after ECOWAS's seven-day deadline for the reinstatement of Bazoum expired.
The regional bloc had slammed sanctions on Niger and threatened a possible military option, a move that was widely rejected, especially in Nigeria.
