A former spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Usman Sani, has backed the country’s deployment of troops to help stabilise the Benin Republic following a failed military coup in the Francophone nation.

According to Sani, as a request from the Benin Republic, Nigeria, as neigbhours needed to step in to avoid an escalation.

“Now, the problem— any slightest problem in any of these countries has corresponding consequences on Nigeria, regardless of the fact that sometimes some of the countries are not even as populous as a state out of the 36 states of the federation,” Sani said on Wednesday’s edition of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

“But that notwithstanding, take, for instance, if there is any problem—the issue of a humanitarian problem, for instance. How do we contend with refugees from the Benin Republic? And remember again, there is an understanding or kind of relationship in terms of commerce, trading, and all the rest of it; it will affect the economy and the rest.”

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The Senate on Tuesday approved President Bola Tinubu’s request for the deployment of troops.

During the plenary session, the lawmaker backed their approval with Section 5, Part 11 of Nigeria’s Constitution and voted unanimously in favour of the deployment.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio tagged the move as a step in the right direction, noting that instability in any neighbouring country poses a threat to the entire West African region.

“An injury to one is an injury to all,” the lawmaker said.

The approval has been met with stiff criticism from Nigerians who believe that with the myriad of security challenges facing the country, sending troops to neighbouring Benin Republic is a misstep.

However, Sani believes the Federal Government’s decision is needed to help in the stability of democracy and the West African region.

“So people should understand the reason why there is a need to stabilize democratic governance in that country. Beyond the initial intervention of quelling the coup, there is a need to also stabilize [Benin Republic],” the former Army spokesman said.

“Most of these Western countries are fighting proxy wars on the African continent, especially in the Sahel and all the rest.”

On Sunday, military authorities foiled a coup in the Benin Republic after some officers had taken to national television to announce the seizure of power.

The soldiers, who tagged themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), said they had met and concluded that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.

But the country’s military thwarted the effort and regained control.

“The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure,” sources close to Talon said afterwards. “It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”