Abuja: An international relations expert, Dr Abubakar Sadiq, on Monday described the fall of Tripoli to rebel forces, and downfall of Gaddafi as a wakeup call for African leaders.

Saddiq, who spoke against the backdrop of western influence in African affairs, said  in Abuja,  that   the fate of Gaddafi might  befall many other leaders and called on the AU to promote unity in the continent.

“The involvement of the west in the removal of an African Head of State is sad. Even when the people are opposing the government of the day , there should not be external influence fuelling the opposition, as no government will fold its hand while being attacked’’ he said.

According to him , the UN resolution on NATO operations were not strictly adhered to, which led Russia, India, Brazil, China and South Africa to register their protests against its execution.

He said the rebels would not have succeeded without the bombardments by NATO.

He, however said “sit tight regime and dictatorship’’ were contrary  to democratic principles but added that ordinary people should be given the absolute right to fight for their freedom.

Sadiq , a former Head of Political Science Department at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, described  the fall of Tripoli as the emergence of fresh crisis in Libya.

“ The people will now be divided against tribal and ethnic lines, aside Tripoli, there are other areas that are opposed to the rebels  so the west has created a similar situation like Iraq in Libya.”

While noting the spill-over effect of the Libyan crisis, Sadiq called  on the federal government to strengthen security at the borders to forestall arms proliferation into the country, given the distance between Nigeria and Libya.

“The Libyan war has exposed a lot of people to small arms and with the fall of Tripoli, these weapons may be shipped to other  countries, of which Nigeria stands at risk, as it is only Niger that separates it from Libya,’’ he said

He  said the North West borders to Niger were more prone to such movement adding that it could also fuel the Boko Haram ideology.

Protesters took to the street in Libya  in February demanding an end to Gaddafi’s 42 year regime.

The  move followed similar protests in Egypt and Tunisia which overthrew the governments of Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali, respectively.(NAN)