The war of the Generals in Sudan will create more problems outside the country thereby worsening the security situation down the border especially in West Africa. Although Nigeria does not share a common boundary with the troubled state, there is danger ahead. Since April 15 when fighting broke out between the Army and the elite paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), there has been uncertainty about the future of the country which has wobbled from maximum rule to diarchy. The seeds of brutality planted by Gen. Omar al Bashir in his 30 years of dictatorship between 1989 and 2019 continue to grow.

Although he is supposed to be in confinement, the Army have not allowed the polity a whiff of fresh air. Power was shared between General Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok to give those who ousted al Bashir some democratic relevance. However, the people were neither cowed nor fooled. Protests mounted across the nation, calling for return to civil rule. Gen. al-Burhan came out in full force, in 2021, to sack Hamdok and assumed authoritarian power with his generals. As Head of Government, he chose Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Commander of the RSF, as deputy.

The RSF is made up of the Janjaweed, a notorious Arab group of fighters so much dreaded by other actions. Now that the Army and RSF are up against themselves in a bloody battle, the world cannot sit idle to monitor events. Already, three workers of the World Food Programme (WFP) have been killed. Embassies in Khartoum are also feeling the heat. We must salute the initiative of Chadian president, Mahamat Idriss Deby-Itno, who visited President Muhammadu Buhari in Makkah. The Nigerian leader was in Saudi Arabia to observe the lesser hajj and the meeting afforded both leaders the opportunity to look at the broader picture.

Chad shares a border with Sudan and Deby- Itno has shut the frontier to stem cross – over migrants running away from fighting and hunger. The Chadians are not in a position to welcome refugees to a troubled economy. There are also security implications since some of the refugees may be battle tested soldiers. Buhari should be worried as well. Whatever affects Sudan directly affects his country indirectly.

There is a large population of Nigerians in the troubled nation. Many families in Northern Nigeria migrated from Sudan and Hausa is the official language of transaction in many Sudanese markets. There are also Fulani and Bornu groups in Sudan. With the Chadian border closed, there are alternative routes to meet their kith and kin in Nigeria. And the sad development is that Nigeria’s Northern borders are so porous that there is limited inhibition. The Nigerian economy is in shambles. Insurgency continues to create instability. President Buhari had in the past blamed insecurity on proliferation of arms from Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. A volatile Sudan may see the infiltration of terrorists across Nigeria. We must remember that Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda found a home in Sudan in the 1990s.

The Americans accused them of carrying out terrorist attacks in East Africa from there and went ahead to bomb suspected cells from where they were alleged to have operated. Buhari does not need another reminder from Deby-Itno before swinging into action. As an elder, like the youthful Chadian leader pointed out, he should do something. With over 100 persons dead, it must not be seen as an entirely Sudan affair.

It concerns Nigeria, it concerns Africa. It should bother the world. The globe did not see the present shoot out coming. In March 2023, Representative of the United Nations Secretary General to Sudan, Volker Perthes, assured the UN Security Council that there was hope for democracy in the country. If Perthes is not in hiding at the moment, it is unlikely that he will express the same optimism. About one third of the 48 million population cannot find enough to eat. The war in Ukraine affected food prices, for 80 percent of grain import came from Russia and seven percent from Ukraine. Buhari must be proactive.

Just as Lord Lugard amalgamated Nigeria in 1914, the British began to exercise more influence in Sudan following the end of Ottoman rule. Reginald Wingate was made Military Governor of Sudan. Col. Yakubu Gowon became Nigerian leader in 1966. In 1969, Col. Gaafar Nimeiry assumed office in Sudan. In 1973, the Sudanese was at the National Stadium, Surulere to watch East Central State Spartans against Benue Plateau State. Many Sudanese have been visiting. More will flood Nigeria, escaping insecurity.

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