Monday Column By Hameed M. Bello, PhD
hamdbelo@yahoo.co.uk
‘What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander’ is an English (British) proverb which came to mind in the wake of weekend comments and counter comments by actors and mediators in the crisis-ridden Niger Republic seized by a military junta since July 26. Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, a former commander of the Presidential Guard, had led a military putsch that ousted elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
News reports Friday said the junta had issued a 48 hours ultimatum to ambassadors of some countries including Nigeria to leave the territories of Niger over their alleged failure to turn up for some briefings. The Nigerian government, Saturday, however debunked the report as false, saying it’s ambassador in Niger had not been sacked. The question then is which side of the story is false because both sides cannot be true.
According to a report credited to Anadolu Agency on Friday, the Niger Junta had given the 48 hours ultimatum to the German, US and Nigerian Ambassadors to leave the territories of Niger. Their offence was that the ambassadors failed to honour an invitation by the junta to discuss issues not unconnected to bilateral/multilateral security and diplomacy.
“In reaction to German Ambassador Olivier Schnakenberg’s refusal to reply to an invitation by the ministry for a discussion on Friday August 25 at 11.00 a.m., and due to other actions of the German government contrary to Niger’s interests, the ministry … is giving 48 hours to Mr. Olivier Schnakenberg’s to leave the Nigerien territory,” the report quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying.
“In reaction to Nigerian Ambassador Mohamed Usman’s refusal to reply to an invitation by the ministry for a discussion on Friday August 25 at 11.30 a.m., and due to other actions of the Nigerian government contrary to Niger’s interests, the ministry … is giving 48 hours to Mr. Mohamed Usman to leave the Nigerien territory,” the report also quoted the statement as saying.
The military, as reported, also gave the new US ambassador 48 hours to leave. US Ambassador Kathleen Fitzgibbons, who arrived in the national capital of Niamey last week was accused of failing to honor an invitation by the ministry for a discussion earlier in the day, the report said.
The State Department was quoted as saying earlier last week that FitzGibbon was to lead a US diplomatic mission and bolster efforts to help resolve the political crisis. Recall also that the Niger’s military administration had earlier given the French ambassador 48 hours to leave the country. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna sent an Aug. 8 note to express solidarity with Nigerien Ambassador in Paris Aichatou Boulama Kane who refused to leave her position after the military administration took power.
In a reaction on Saturday, a Nigerian government statement signed by Francisca K. Omayuli (Mrs), Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Nigerian Ambassador in Niger Republic, H. E. Mohammed Sani Usman, had not been expelled nor had he been given a 48-hour ultimatum to leave the country. According to Omayuli, the report that Ambassador Usman was on Friday, August 25, 2023, expelled by the Nigerian junta was not correct. The statement also dispelled reports about the impending expulsion of the ambassador: “The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to news making (doing) the rounds on social media that the Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Niger, H. E. Mohammed Sani Usman was on Friday, 25th August, 2023 expelled and given 48 hours to leave the country.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the general public that this information is false and as such should be disregarded.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria warns against the circulation of unverified information capable of jeopardizing the ongoing mediation efforts by ECOWAS in the political impasse in Niger.”
The striking difference between the junta’s disputed ultimatum and the dismissal by Nigeria is that while the Foreign Ministry statement announcing the ultimatum is not attributed, the dismissal by the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry is attributed to the Ministry’s spokesperson. Time will certainly tell which side has the upper hand in the dispute as the public awaits the emergence of more facts. It is a fact that preemptive propaganda is an offensive strategy of discourse manipulation, while debunking strategy is effective in challenging and controlling such manipulative discourse.
To contextualize the English proverb earlier cited, the junta is ostensibly picking offence in the alleged refusal of ambassadors to respect and honour it’s invitation for dialogue, while it was guilty of the same offence for which it was accusing others. It is on record that the junta had snubbed entreaties for dialogue by the ECOWAS and the African Union representatives. The lesson here, as implied by the English proverb, is that what is appropriate in one case should also be appropriate in the other case in question. The British people use the phrase to say that one person or situation should be treated the same way that another person or situation is treated. For example, If he can go out with his friends at night, then she should be able to, too.
For clarity, a goose is any of the various grazing waterfowls which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and which are bigger than ducks. A gander is a male goose. The proverb has been adapted and rephrased in Nigeria and a host of other English-speaking African countries as ‘What is good for the goose is good for the gander.’ This recontextualisation is okay as long as the intent of the proverb is understood by participants in communication, after all language is a means of signification to convey intent.
The proverb is used by English people to expose holding forth a “double standard.” If some kind of behavior is wrong, it’s probably wrong for both sides, not just one. Don’t do it yourself either. This goes well with the Golden Rule, or ethic of reciprocity, which is a key moral principle in many cultural practices and philosophies, and is often stated as “Do unto others as you wish to be done for you”, or conversely, “Don’t do unto others what you would not wish to be done to you.”
