Concern over Niger's post-coup situation
Instability returns to the Sahel region. Mohammed Bazoum, Niger's president and the only remaining civilian leader in the Sahel region, remains in detention after he was deposed by the self-styled National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland, which took power following the coup d'état.
On Wednesday, the Presidential Guard blockaded the Presidential Palace in Niamey and ousted President Bazoum so that a military junta could take power, closing air and land borders.
Niger's president is the only remaining civilian head of state in the Sahel, an area plagued by insecurity and the activity of criminal and terrorist groups and where all the heads of state are now military, with three of the five countries now ruled by a military coup junta.
Niger now joins the military juntas of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, which came to power in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and are both supported by Russia. Indeed, Russia is noted for its strong presence on the African continent, and in Niger as well, through political contacts at the highest level (President Vladimir Putin recently participated in a major Africa-Russia summit) and through military presence via the private military company Wagner.
Mauritania and Chad, the other two Sahel countries, are also ruled by the military. Mauritania has a democratically elected military president, and Chad has been ruled since 2021 by General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itn, the son of the president who led the nation with an iron fist since 1991.
International concern
According to several analysts, this new episode of instability in the Sahel region is linked to a prolonged struggle between Russia and the West for influence in a region that possesses abundant natural resources of mineral and oil wealth and great potential in terms of renewable energies, as well as an important geostrategic position.
Mohammed Bazoum was an important Western ally committed to the fight against extremism and criminal gangs in the Sahel, which is a major political loss. It is also bad news for France, which was the colonising power in Niger until Niger's independence in 1960.
After the decolonisation process, Niger has suffered several coup d'état episodes. Most recently, in March 2021, the Nigerien government announced the arrest of several coup leaders before the inauguration of Mohamed Bazoum, who was once at odds with the followers of Mahaman Ousmane, the former president who denounced the election results and proclaimed himself the winner of the elections. Bazoum was the Minister of the Interior before becoming President and was very close to the outgoing President at the time, Mahamadou Issoufou. The opposition criticised Bazoum for continuing the existing political system by maintaining the policies of Issoufou, who resigned voluntarily after two terms in office, and for this reason Bazoum faced strong opposition that ended in an attempted coup d'état two years ago. All this at a difficult time with major economic and poverty problems for the nation. The Nigerian country currently has a situation of great poverty, with a poverty rate of 48.9% and a per capita income of 533 dollars in 2022, according to the World Bank, making Niger one of the poorest countries in the world.
Moreover, a second attempt to overthrow Bazoum took place in March 2022 'while the president was in Turkey', according to a Nigerien official who confirmed the arrest of one person at the time.
France, as a former colonial metropolis, has important interests in Nigeria. On the one hand, uranium mining is very important for France, an important industry for the Nigerian economy. France also maintains an important military presence in the country in relation to the fight against jihadist extremism in the Sahel. Following the coup d'état in Niger, France was quick to condemn "any attempt to seize power by force" and to call for the "restoration of democratic institutions".
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna confirmed that the President of Niger is in "good health" despite the fact that the coup plotters are holding him in his residence after seizing the presidential palace. Catherine Colonna also confirmed that the French President, Emmanuel Macron, was able to speak with Mohammed Bazoum and to confirm that he is in good health.
For his part, UN Secretary-General António Guterres was able to have contact with Mohammed Bazoum, who said that the situation is "dangerous". The president indicated on social media that he remains in charge of the country and made a national appeal for the defence of democracy.
For his part, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, indicated that the President of Niger must be released "immediately", after having also contacted the Nigerian leader. "I spoke again this evening with President Mohammed Bazoum. The EU reiterates its call for the immediate release of the president, whose safety, physical integrity and freedom of movement must be guaranteed," the EU diplomat said on the social networking site X, formerly known as Twitter.
The situation in Niamey is controversial as the coup plotters announced the suspension of the functioning of institutions and the closure of the country's borders, while the detained President Mohammed Bazoum opposes the measures taken by the military amid international pressure to put an end to the situation and return the country to democratic normality.