For a long time, the idea of all the African countries coming together to form a single country has been contemplated by Pan-Africanists but nothing concrete has come out of it. Everyone seems to agree that should that idea materialize it would certainly make the African continent be the most powerful in the world but African leaders have never been able to agree on how to go about forming a United States of Africa. However, credit should be given to the late President of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, a true Pan-Africanist who was passionate about the idea of a one Africa and if he had been alive the idea wouldn’t just remain an idea. Before he was assassinated, Gaddafi pushed for the idea of an Africa with one government, one military, and one currency. However, his assassination in 2011 brought an end to his grand vision, and since then no other African leader has been brave enough to attempt to bring the idea of a united Africa into realization until now. Interestingly it’s not just one African leader but three. These three African leaders have been in the news in recent times for various reasons including starting coups, receiving sanctions from the international community, distancing themselves from their former colonial masters, and making decisions that have caused problems for the West. So, it actually makes sense that if there were anyone who would push for the idea of a united Africa, it would be them. These African leaders are the Presidents of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
On December 1st, 2023, the foreign ministers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso revealed that there is a proposal to establish a confederation between the three countries. The top diplomats from these three countries met in Bamako for two days where discussions were made on ironing out the workings of the new alliance between the three countries. They emphasized the importance of diplomacy, defense, and development to consolidate political and economic integration. According to the Foreign Minister of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop, the recommendations will be submitted to each head of state, who are due to meet in Bamako at an unspecified date. Certainly, the Foreign Ministers of each of these countries were not working in isolation. It was definitely at the command of their Presidents and to show that this alliance is something that they have been deliberately on, earlier in November, the economy and Finance Ministers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso met and recommended the establishment of a stabilization fund, an investment bank, and a committee to examine an economic and monetary union.
Also, recall that in mid-September the military juntas of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger came together to sign a mutual defense pact called the Liptako-Gourma Charter, named after the eponymous historical region and established an alliance called the Alliance of the Sahel States. Now, this alliance which copies that of NATO was formed after the military junta of Mali and Burkina Faso threatened war against any military intervention in Niger. According to the Charter, its objective is to prevent, manage, and resolve any armed rebellion or threat to territorial integrity and sovereignty… privileging peaceful and diplomatic channels, and, if necessary, to use force to deal with situations that breach peace and stability.’ So, this means that the Alliance of the Sahel State was not just formed to fight external threats but also to combine the resources of these countries to fight against terrorism which has plagued the Sahel region for years.
The idea of moving from an alliance based on defense to include both political and economy was confirmed by the military junta of Niger, General Tiani who said that “In addition to the security domain, our alliance must evolve in the political domain and in the monetary domain,” Although he didn’t give a timeline for when the confederation will be established but he said it was one of the reasons for his recent visit to Mali and Burkina Faso. So, we can assume that the military juntas of these three countries are serious about the idea of a confederation and a lot of work is going on behind the scenes. Ibrahim Traore, President of Burkina Faso also confirmed this alliance when he said that “The Alliance of Sahel States … (is) a defence alliance a priori, but which will evolve toward an economic alliance and much more,”
Honestly, it’s not that surprising that Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have moved from just forming a defense pact to wanting to establish a confederation. As we all know, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have a lot in common. Firstly, all three countries recently experienced coups starting with Mali in 2021, and then Burkina Faso in 2022, and Niger in June 2023. These coups brought in the heads of state currently ruling in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. As a result of these coups, the three countries were shunned and condemned by the international community, Western countries, and even by the Western African regional bloc, ECOWAS. They received sanctions from different international blocs and organizations such as the World Bank and the European Union as well as Western countries including France, the UK, the US, and Germany. They are all under pressure to return constitutional order to their respective countries but have refused to give in.
Aside from this, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are all former colonies of France which means they have suffered under France’s imperialist rule both in the colonial period and post-colonial period. Their minerals have been exploited for years by France without them receiving any tangible returns. Take Niger for example, which has been the major source of uranium for France used for powering their nuclear power plant, yet most of Niger is suffering from a massive power shortage. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso all use the CFA Franc which everyone knows is a currency that has kept them and other Francophone African countries on a leash, creating monetary dependence on France. They also pay an unfair colonial debt, which France says is payment for all the infrastructures they built during the colonial period. Prior to the coups which occurred in these countries, French troops were present in these countries offering so-called aid in their fight against insurgency.
Finally, one other thing that Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have in common is the security crisis. Central Sahel of which Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are a part of has faced a severe insecurity crisis that began in Mali in 2012 when the Tuareg rebellion started. The conflict between Mali’s security forces and the armed rebels led to the division of the country as well as the displacement of thousands of citizens. These conflicts provided avenues through which various armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS took advantage of, grabbing territories, controlling economic activities, and triggering political instability. Since then, the activities of these jihadists have spread from Mali to Burkina Faso and Niger leading to the deaths of thousands of people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Individually each of these nations have tried to fight the security problem usually with so-called help from the West.
When the security crisis first started in Mali, they requested aid from France, and France in response sent its troops on a mission known as Operation Barkhane. Initially, French troops were hailed as heroes and they went on to expand their operations in the Sahel, setting up military bases in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad. Still, in combating the insurgency problem, France set up an organization called the G-5 Sahel made up of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and Mauritania. Despite all these, the security crisis has not been solved, instead, it has grown exponentially from when it first started. France is not the only country that has also sent help. The US also, with the supposed intention of fighting the crisis, sent its troops to the Sahel and also set up military bases in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. However, the security crisis remained the same.
Prior to the coup, all the other African leaders who had ruled in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso were not decisive in dealing with the insecurity situation in their countries. They were content with allowing foreign forces to deal with the issue even when it was obvious that their presence in the country was not doing anything to solve the problem. These leaders were puppets to the West who used the security situation in the Sahel to set up military bases in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger which helped them in their exploitation of these countries. Like we have always said if the West wanted to deal with the jihadist problem they would have done so because they have all the resources they need to do so. But they won’t combat it because if they do then there won’t be any reason for their troops to remain in the country.
The military juntas of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger understand this, and that’s why when they came into power, one of the first things they did was to order the withdrawal of French troops from their countries. The failure of France to deal with the security crisis and their exploitation of the natural resources of these countries contributed to the wave of anti-French sentiment that spread across the region resulting in tension between France and Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Since the coups occurred in these countries, the relationship between not just France but also the West in general and the countries has deteriorated. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger kicked French troops out of their countries, Mali replaced the official language of the country from French to a local language, Niger and Mali recently refused to pay unlawful colonial tax to France and all three countries have begun to build relationships with Russia, one of the biggest rivals of the West.
The military juntas of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger understand that depending on the West would not change the situation in their country and so they have decided to depend on themselves. This is the reason for the Alliance of the Sahel State and the proposal for a confederation. While some analysts believe that the confederation is a welcome development and that by pooling their resources together, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will be able to reduce individual reliance on foreign countries and tackle the security challenge with one front, some others like security expert Adib Saani believe that nothing good will come out of the alliance. According to Saani, “It would be very difficult for the new confederation to achieve any results, because these countries are already reeling under pressure from terrorist groups,” He added that the alliance does not have the infrastructure to deal with the security situation.
Well, regardless of what Saani thinks, nobody exactly knows whether or not the alliance will fail unless they try. The West has been there but they haven’t solved anything. So, it’s time for Africa to deal with its problem by itself. If the consideration becomes a reality, it would be the first step in the fight for African integration and unity. With the establishment of the confederation, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger will be able to combine their collective resources including military and economic to make one great union. Since the alliance is intended to be a confederation, this means each of the countries would still maintain a measure of sovereignty but there would be a central authority. It’s possible that Burkina Faso may be the central authority because when the Alliance of the Sahel State was formed, it was agreed that Ibrahim Traore would lead the alliance.
There are still a lot of things to figure out before the confederation comes into being so it might be a while before the results start showing. Until then, instead of trying to look for reasons why the alliance would fail, Africans and African leaders must rally around these three countries because if it succeeds, it would not just be history in the making but also the beginning of an integrated Africa.
What are your thoughts? Do you think its possible for Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso to form one country? Let us know in the comment section below, and don’t forget to like, subscribe and share this video.