Will Nigeria invade Niger Republic?

By virtue of our population, we don't only have the biggest military force on the African continent but also one of the strongest. Our military is over 1m strong and with a president who vowed to recruit 50m youths into the military, it is safe to say that this might will continue to grow .

When you think about it, if you compare the size of Nigeria's population to the total population, you'll find that it is understaffed. That's as a result of a lot of politics and whatnot required to be recruited but that's a story for another day.

Today, the main story is that my home country may actually be on the cusp of sending troops into another country and could potentially initiate hostilities. It's a very strange turn of events that I really worry about.

In case you've not been keeping up with politics, the story is that Niger Republic has seen it's democracy turned on it's Arse and now, the international community is up in arms to help them. It's not the same thing with Libya but the general idea is that the Citizen are sick of the leadership and decided to take matters into their hands.

In case the fact that Niger and Nigeria have very similar names, we also share a border. You can literally walk into Niger Republic in some parts of Nigeria, so any conflict at their end could run off on us.

Let's not also forget that we have shared ethnicity with certain parts of Niger Republic. The Hausa and Fulani tribe are both parts of Niger and Nigeria, so let's face it, you can differentiate between either of us.

The aforementioned points and many other politically motivated reasons are why a conflict in Niger will be a problem for Nigeria. We simply cannot afford to have turmoil in a neighbouring country that while smaller, stands at a strategic position that could interfere with our activities.

The conflict in Niger could potentially open some old wounds and create room for miscreants to carry out dastardly acts. For example, in the past, Boko Haram terrorist group were responsible for attacks on both Niger and Nigerian soil but a collaboration between both countries' militaries dealt severe blows to the criminal organization.

Nigeria simply cannot afford to stand by and watch Niger fall into the wrong hands. So, from this angle, I completely understand why we could deploy forces to the country.

Sovereignty questions

As far as I'm concerned, sending troops into another country is an invasion, regardless of the motives. All it takes is one gun aimed at the wrong soldier to turn a peace keeping rally into an all out war.

I figure Nigeria will want to avoid this situation because like I said, we aren't so different from Niger. I bet a lot of people have cousins and friends in Niger, and shooting up the place will not be in the best interest.

The issue now is that tensions are high between both countries and with recent protests in Niger Republic against Nigeria's president, I fear that it might not be a happy trip for our troops. I'd be much happier if our troops stayed at the borders and mounted s proper resistance there to ensure none of the craziness spills into the country.

I'm not a political or military expert, so I'm largely talking out of my ass but at the end of the day, all of this will affect me in one way or the other. As our relocation plans come closer, I worry about how the political tension could rub off on Nigeria's image and I sincerely hope that it would be positive.

Right now, Nigeria is also in a bad situation with a President that rigged his way into office and many other African countries questioning the legitimacy of his office. He's fighting a war in court to continue being president and could potentially go into conflict against another country.

All of this is going on when we have crippling inflation that's led to a rising cost of living, reduced life expectancy and bandits ravaging the country.