A delegation of Nigerian Islamic scholars traveled to Niamey for meetings with the leaders of the military junta who took power last month. The group says the coup leaders expressed an openness to diplomacy, Reuters reported on Sunday. However, this account has been sharply contradicted by a media spokesperson representing the junta who claimed negotiations with regional countries are impossible unless Niger’s new leadership is recognized.
These statements come after a meeting of defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was postponed indefinitely. The meeting was called to review the “best options” for a military intervention which ECOWAS has previously threatened may be necessary if the overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated.
On Thursday, ECOWAS activated and ordered the deployment of a “standby” force to “restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.” Current ECOWAS chairman and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu approved the Islamic scholars’ mission to Niamey, in a sign that the bloc may also be holding out for a negotiated settlement. The mission led by Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau sat down for several hours of talks with coup leader General Abdourahamane Tiani.
In a statement on Sunday, Lau explained “[Tiani] said their doors were open to explore diplomacy and peace in resolving the matter.” Tiani reportedly stressed the historic ties between Niger and Nigeria, saying “we’re not only neighbors but brothers and sisters who should resolve issues amicably.” The junta has not yet remarked publicly regarding these meetings.
The scholars’ account viscerally differs from statements made over the weekend by Insa Garba Saidou, a local activist who – though not as an official member of the junta – works as a liaison between Niger’s military rulers and claims he maintains direct communication with them. Saidou told the Associated Press on Friday that there will be no dialogue with regional countries unless Tiani is recognized.
“There is only one option, accepting the regime or war,” Saidou said. “It is finished for Bazoum, you must forget about him. It is finished, it is a waste of time trying to restore him. It is not possible,” he said.
Saidou rails “ECOWAS is demanding that (the junta) immediately release President Bazoum and restore him as head of state. Is this a joke?” He continues, “Whether Bazoum resigns or not, he will never be Niger’s president again.”
Bazoum is being held with his wife and son at the presidential palace, where the electricity has been cut for weeks, under conditions said to be having detrimental effects on his family’s health.
Development aid cuts, travel restrictions, and sanctions imposed in response to the coup have damaged the economy and standard of living for civilians living in one of the poorest countries in the world. Moussa Ahmed, food seller in Niamey, told the AP that prices of staple goods such as cooking oil and rice have increased by 20%. Niger relies on Nigeria for as much as 90% of its power, however, Abuja has cut off its electricity supply. As a result, Ahmed is unable to power his shop’s refrigerators.
Connor Freeman is the assistant editor and a writer at the Libertarian Institute, primarily covering foreign policy. He is a co-host on the Conflicts of Interest podcast. His writing has been featured in media outlets such as Antiwar.com, Counterpunch, and the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. He has also appeared on Liberty Weekly, Around the Empire, and Parallax Views. You can follow him on Twitter@FreemansMind96.
I stand with Niger! They had a chance and took it to throw off the yoke of Western (particularly France) dominance and exploitation. I’ve seem many videos of Nigerians dancing in the street at the prospect of regaining control of their country and government from Western Powers.
Nigerians (people from Nigeria) or Nigeriens (people from Niger)?
Or both!
Sorry, I misspelled ‘Nigerien’.
Seems like there won’t be any war: Nigeria and France stand almost alone in their defiance. In ECOWAS itself, only three other countries have commited troops: Benin, Ivory Coast and Senegal, this one immersed into a deep political crisis that could result in putsch as well, as the president Macky Sall (a Black clone of Macron, similarly totalitarian and brutal) has imprisoned the opposition and the streets are burning, much like those of France recently, with rightful popular rage. In all Africa and the diaspora the sentiment seems to be that formal democracy only serves the neo-colonial interests.
The USA itself is clearly confused and unable to do much, although obviously conspiring and agitating. In the end these last 11 years of doing that along with France, Turkey, Morocco, etc., spreading Islamo-Fascist terrorist militias and then recycling them into the semicolonial regimes’ police forces, has backfired badly. There’s a reason why Africans prefer Wagner over French “peacekeepers”: they do their job and get the terrorists (often Black armies with white “emirs”, it’s ridiculously racist!) destroyed very efficiently. They do take gold mine concesions as their price, mind you, but at least they do it upfront and not with endless double deals meant only to undermine the nations they’re supposed to help.
Everybody, especially in Africa, is very tired of the West, of a handful of foreign oligarchs getting all the profits and re-investing nothing at all (save for the usual bribes) where the resources are extracted. Mind you that I personally have no illusions about Russia and China not being just more of the same but people in Africa and its massive diaspora are extremely tired of what has been so far a very improductive neocolonial relation. The case of Niger is paramount in this regard, as it produces much of the uranium that France uses to generate electricity here in Europe and yet most people in Niger have no electricity whatsoever.
I always knew that the US/Euro deals with African nations were one sided, especially when the IMF was involved. It seems that the deals were way worse than I thought.
Russia and China seem to be treating Africans with a lot more respect than Europe / US has. For the time being this may be enough for them. For all the pressure that the US has applied, African nations are not sanctioning Russia. And they do seem to be welcoming assistance from both Russia AND China.
I hope they negotiate better with Russia / China than they did with Europe / US. Then again, Europe / US had heavy military assistance to aid the negotiations.
I’m not so sure: IMO they’re doing exactly the same with a pretext. In the end it is the same: make business, capture resources and markets, get mining concesions, military presence, etc. But granted that Africans in general seem to be very tired of specifically France and the West doing that all the time, so they are up for a change in overlordship.
I agree. They need to nationalize all foreign concessions and re-negotiate the contractual relationship somewhat on the China model: at least half the product, green operation, native employees, gradual transfer of tech, and management.
That would be great but so far I don’t know of that actually happening. At least in the CAR, Wagner’s mining concesion is absolutely exclusive of this Russian corporation, and I believe it is the same in Sudan.
True, not even the Chinese; but it may become possible as the capitalist west becomes weaker and the general prospects for profit, leaner.
China is also capitalist. I just read first person accounts of blank contracts and terrible conditions in Chinese (private!) foundries. And single party capitalism has a name, a very ugly name: fascism.
I wasn’t implying otherwise vis a vis her neocolonial behavior. Still, my understanding is she did well for herself against Tesla, Intel, etc.. So, all the more reason for Niger to hold out till it gets a beneficial arrangement..
Russia and china are the same as US and France in dealing with the Africans? You sure? How much African owed debt have the US and France cancelled and how much have China and Russia plundered Africa’s wealth?
What is colonialism or neo-colonialism or semi-colonialism but extracting raw resources and selling manufactures while effectively impeding the development of the (semi-colony)? When I ask the Africans, who are generally very much pro-Russia and pro-China and angry at the recent history of European/Western neo-colonialism (rightfully so), the answers I get are in the line of “they built a well in X village”… which is pretty much what Western missionaries and charities used to do, when I get more specific and ask about which is the African plan for industrial/technological development and how China/Russia may help with that… I get no answer.
Ultimately a true “nationalist” regime should seek to truly develop the nation (better if sustainably and not repeating the same ultra-developist errors of the past but regardless) and to look forward to get even with the World’s average of development (at least), acquiring technology, industries, etc. Does China help with that? Not really.
Yes, maybe they are a bit more generous on the specific terms, a bit less hyper-greedy and disruptive, but it’s not a substantive difference, just enough to “buy” the regimes and the popular support.
Removed imperial puppet will be tried for treason. That’s how you need to deal with imperial parasites globally.
About 90% of Niger has no electricity. So now the former President’s home also has no electricity. That’s justice.
What 10% has electricity? Well, the foreign bases, and the foreign mining concessions have power. Apparently their puppet enablers also had power.
Some are saying the coup leaders are concerned about religious extremism and ethnic rivalries and that was behind the coup in a large part.
Almost nothing occurs because of one simple thing but that makes more sense than the usual cookie cutter claims made by writers who see everything in the lenses of their biases.
A coup is still a coup. The junta is not a legitimate government. They committed an act of war and war will happen because of it.