In 2021, Mali was taken over by the military. In 2022, Burkina Faso was also taken over by the military. In fact, since the first coup in Mali in 2020, four of what remains of the G5 Sahel are in the hands of the military, and if the recent coup in Niger succeeds all the G5 Sahel countries will be in the hands of the military. However, the big question is why is the recent coup in Niger the most condemned by the international community? Why is there so much pressure and even threats of war on the Nigerien coup leader Abdourahamane Tiani to reinstate the deposed president Mohamed Bazoum? Why is France watching the situation very closely? When Ibrahim Traore, the military junta of Burkina Faso took over power in 2022, there were outfits of condemnation of course but it can not be compared to what is happening in Niger. The question again is WHY? What is so special about Niger, one of the poorest countries in Africa?

Let’s Find Out.

Following the coup in Niger and with immediate effect, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, leader of the Niger Republic announced the suspension of the export of uranium and gold to France. In parallel to the decision, protestors surrounded the French embassy in Niger calling for the end of French colonial practices repeating the slogan “Down with France!” and reaffirming their support for the coup leader. In response to the protest, French President Emmanuel Macron released an unusually strong statement saying that ““any attack against France and its interests will not be tolerated”. The key word there is . So, in essence, if Niger attacks the interests of French in her country, they would be forced to retaliate. What exactly is the French interest in Niger? It’s simply in two forms- Military and Economic but most especially Economic.

After France was forced to withdraw from Mali following a breakdown in relations between Paris and the military junta, it turned to Niger. The deposed president Mohammed Bazoum welcomed some 1,500 French troops into Niger to continue the fight against the jihadist insurgency in the Sahel region. If this coup is successful, Niger would possibly turn her back on France like Mali and Burkina Faso did, meaning that France may have to withdraw her troops from the country. The same situation may also happen to the US who has one of its largest and most important drone bases in Niger: the Air Base 201, which cost $110 million to build, and an additional $20-30 million per year to maintain in one of the poorest countries on earth.

Niger is geostrategically important for the Pentagon’s Africa strategy. It is located in the middle of the Sahel, a region with a lot of US and French military activity, where thousands of troops are stationed on a regular basis. Washington uses its drone bases in Niger, in the heart of the Sahel, to project military dominance in North and West Africa, in coordination with the forces that US Africa Command, or AFRICOM, has deployed across the continent. So if Washington loses its ally in Niger, the new nationalist military government may try to close the foreign military bases and kick out the roughly 1000 US soldiers in the country which frankly speaking they should because Niger’s historically subordinate relationship with the Western powers has not brought the Nigerien people any prosperity.

The second interest which is also the most important that France is keen on protecting is Economical. Niger is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium, possesses Africa’s highest-grade uranium ores, and is one of the main exporters of uranium to Europe. Not surprisingly, France, its former colonial master, is a major importer of Nigerien uranium, which helps power the massive French civil nuclear industry. The head of Macron’s Renaissance party, Sylvain Maillard, spoke on France Info radio, saying that “France is following the situation in Niger very closely – not only in case it endangers the population but also for its impact on France’s economic interests” “As you well know, uranium is part of the equation, so we’re watching what is happening very attentively,”, he said.

Alsuraniumo, not surprising production in Niger occurs mostly through a French majority-owned company called Orano which owns 63.4% of Société des Mines de l’Aïr (SOMAÏR). Earlier, on July 28, Orano released a statement arguing that “the situation remains unstable” in Niger following the overthrowing of French ally and President of Niger Muhammed Bazoum. The French nuclear conglomerate Orano exploits one of the uranium mines in the north, near the town of Arlit. Following the announcement by the head of the coup in Niger about the suspension of exports of Uranium and gold to France, the French government and energy experts quickly stressed that the tensions will not have any immediate impact on France’s needs for uranium as extraction is continuing and, should it stop, existing stocks could still cover approximately two years.

Notwithstanding, if the nationalist government remains in power in Niger and abides by its alleged pledge to cut off uranium exports, Europe and France, in particular, could face economic consequences because one, the coup is coming at a time when is trying to phase out dependency on Russia, another top supplier of uranium used in European nuclear plants and two, most European countries are in recession. Just like in Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger would turn its back on the West. So it’s easy to see why France backed the Economic Community of West African States, which warned it may use military force to remove the leader of the coup unless its democratically elected president is reinstated. The so-called democratically elected leader who has been described by the British newspaper as a puppet of the West. The truth is if the coup ends up being successful, it will be a significant setback for France’s power projection in the region because Niger was the democratic bulwark in this part of Africa.”

So, when the military junta of Mali accused France of plotting military intervention to reinstate the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum who is an ally of western powers, there might be an iota of truth to what he says. And along with Paris, the US State Department is also actively coordinating with Bazoum and plotting to put its ally back in power. And probably to give supposed “multilateral” cover to their plans for intervention, the US and France have been working closely with the Economic Community of West African States.

Hopefully, it won’t come to do that but if France and US eventually intervene militarily in Niger then we might just see a replay of what happened to Libya more than a decade ago happen to Niger.

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