Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged soldiers in Cote d’Ivoire to end their mutiny and return to the barrack.
Mr. Obasanjo, in a statement issued on Tuesday evening, also asked the Ivorian government to “speedily” attend to the soldiers’ complaints.
The mutiny, which has lasted for five days now, began on Friday when soldiers in the West African country took to the streets, firing sporadically, because of a dispute over unpaid bonuses.
“While as a former Comrade of those soldiers, I would wish that they have their required bonuses and enhanced wages but as military men, they must act within the code of good conduct and military discipline,” said Mr. Obasanjo, a retired general in the Nigerian army.
The former Nigerian president said that he believes that other West African countries, particularly Nigeria, were worried and concerned about the situation in Cote d’Ivoire.
The Cote d’Ivoire government, Monday, announced it had reached a deal with the soldiers. But the mutineers refuted the claims, according to a BBC report.
“I appeal to these disgruntled soldiers to peacefully return to their barracks and await the Ivoirian Government’s consideration of their complaints and demands.
“Collectively and individually, our countries in West Africa make peace for development, growth and progress and nothing must be done to reverse the progress so far made by the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire under President Alassane Ouattara,” Mr. Obasanjo said.
Cote d’Ivoire has experienced two civil wars. The last one ended in 2011.