Security and stability remain elusive for the continent thanks to the power struggle between the global players on their soil. The latest to be caught in the crossfire is Niger. Niger, one more country in the Sahel region has fallen into the hands of coup leaders, aggravating the instability in the region. The democratically elected Pro West President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, and his family are held hostage in their residence for more than two weeks by the coup leaders who have shunned negotiations, even threatening to kill the President in the event of any military intervention to rescue the President and restore democracy.
The coup elicited a swift response from the EU, the US, and the West African leaders. The European Union, led by France, suspended security cooperation and financial aid to Niger. The US also announced its support for President Bazoum. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a political and economic union of 15 countries that enjoys the West’s support, also rushed to announce sanctions on Niger. It also blocked all commercial and financial transactions between Niger and ECOWAS countries and froze Niger’s assets deposited in the central and commercial banks of ECOWAS. At the same time, the Russia-backed Burkina Faso and Mali military regimes, rallied behind Niger announcing their support.
There are strong undercurrents beneath these political happenings. According to political experts, the former Western colonisers continue to covertly control Africa’s rich resources. The Niger coup has brought out to the open the rivalry between Russia on one side, and the Western powers like France and the US on the other side for the control of the continent. One cannot forget that Africa accounts for 65 per cent of the world’s arable land, 30 per cent of the mineral reserves, 8 per cent of natural gas, 12 per cent of oil, and huge reserves of gold, diamonds, platinum, uranium, and so on.
Though former French colonies such as Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Ivory Coast gained independence from France in the early 1960s, France continued to wield control over its former colonies. This is evident from the reigning of CFA in these colonies. None of the former colonies was allowed by France to move away from the CFA franc. Today, fourteen countries continue to use the CFA franc.
France, the former coloniser, continues to have a deep strategic business interest in Niger. Almost 70 per cent of power in France comes from nuclear energy for which France depends heavily on Niger for uranium. A French corporation owns a majority stake in the company in Niger that operates the uranium mines.
The US approach in Africa is different from France’s. More than economic and business, US engagement in Africa is more of strategic military engagement. Over the last 50 years, it has concentrated on military engagement with African countries. Officially, the US only has one permanent base in Africa—Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti in East Africa. However, according to media reports, it has at least 29 bases in 15 different countries.
Based on the above developments, political experts say that the stage is set for another proxy war between the West and Russia like the Ukraine conflict. China with its huge economic and strategic African interest is currently only a vigilant spectator.
Domestic causes also have fueled Niger’s coup. The country’s security challenges were primarily addressed through militarized responses. The previous President’s policy of generously empowering the presidential guard to insulate the center from coup attempts has proved to be hazardous, making a military seizure of power viable.
Niger is not a solitary example in this context. Similar developments are happening in countries like Ethiopia and Sudan too. The decision of these governments to strengthen state security by empowering the military ultimately undermined the constitutional order leading to conflicts and displacement of thousands of citizens.
Political strategists urge Africa to draw lessons from the crisis. They are of the view that for achieving sustainable security, leaders should realise that they have to carefully look beyond the deployment of strong and capable fighting forces to ensure safety. They must balance urgent security needs with appropriate policies drawing lessons from the past to avoid such crises in the future. If not, history will repeat more often.
