There's been a coup in Niger, a country in western Africa which used to be a French colony. The elected, french friendly president has been detained by his own military leaders who have now taken over the country. Simon Ateba is the Chief White House Correspondent For Today News Africa. Follow him on Twitter https://twitter.com/simonateba

Africa: The New Middle East

 

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Listen to this story, the story not just of colonialism, but of its continuation after the fall of the USSR, how the victors of the Cold War claimed to silence those who had tried to raise their heads, the assassinated leaders and puppets placed at the head of pseudo-democracies, with peoples more and more damned of the earth. No they are not manipulated, they see another multipolar order taking shape, they have forgotten nothing and they say it even if the now flawless political-media consensus behind the USA and NATO has alienated our people so much that he is ready to lick the hand of those who oppress him when the same tortures destroy those who rebel elsewhere. We are waging a fight against those who want to take away your right to a pension and at the same time we vote for resolution 390 and we are convinced that the Chinese want to plunder the Africa that our French army is defending. This is not caricatural, it is exactly the state in which the French people have been reduced by handing them over to the extreme right.

Danielle Bleitrach

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by Carmen Parejo Rendon

«Destroying the colonial world is nothing less than abolishing an area, burying it deep in the earth, or expelling it from the territory.wrote Frantz Fanon in The Wretched of the Earth.

The participation of the African continent in the development of the capitalist mode of production throughout the world was based, initially, on the abduction of thousands of human beings who were transferred mainly to the American continent, to be exploited as slaves and thus guarantee a unprecedented accumulation that specifically favored the rise of European hegemony.

This phenomenon meant a racialization of slavery, which not only fostered a narrative for the justification of wealth accumulation at one pole with its correlate of dispossession in other territories, but the use and abuse of justification of European barbarism in Africa is the basis of the development of the racist ideology which still survives in the eyes that outside the African continent is required at the time to analyze the reality.

The so-called Great War, or World War I, featured the plunder through dispossession and dehumanization that Europe practiced against the colonized.

A war of plunder against Africa that did not rely on Africans themselves as subjects of their own history, but simply as tools at the disposal of the settler or observers of the actions of the "other", in a territory that , though he saw them born, had been taken from them. One only has to go to any Western book, film or cultural production to see how the African gaze is systematically ignored to know how its own territory has been distributed.

 Misinformation and stereotypes

One of the main weapons of misinformation is to take advantage of the fact that every vacuum is filled with prejudice. Giving information without context will therefore activate all the stereotypes linked to this conflict. The stereotype on the African continent is rooted in racism and colonialism, and this is what will fill the information gap.

In the Western media, after what happened in Niger, two fundamental ideas were put forward: highlighting the coup as a symbol of "natural violence" in the region and underlining the need to articulate mechanisms to immediately evacuate Europeans who are in the country. In true Josep Borrell style, we must return to the safety of the “garden” those who are lost in the troubles of the jungle.

The stereotype on the African continent is rooted in racism and colonialism, and this is what will fill the information gap.

In turn, French President Emmanuel Macron quickly threatened the new Nigerien authority with intervention to ensure French interests in the country, after he declared that uranium from Niger would no longer be exported to France. One of the slogans chanted by pro-coup demonstrators in the country mentioned that, while enlightening France, they lived in darkness. According to World Bank data, only 18,6% of Niger's population has access to electricity, while they supply 40% of French cities' electricity through the export of Niger's uranium.

 A new geopolitical struggle

Other analyses, which try to be more thoughtful, assess this blow in a broader dynamic, where there is a rejection of the old metropolises which maintained a neocolonial domination of the continent, highlighting France, and a new setting on the scene of the geopolitical struggle between the Atlanticist allies and their unipolar world and the rise of other economies such as the Russians, the Chinese or the Indians and their influence on the African continent.

For some of these analysts, the fact that some protesters supporting the coup in Niger carry Russian flags would mean something like a confirmation of the country's involvement in the coup. Once again, what no one raises is the African vision of what is happening on its own territory or a geopolitical reading based on its own interests.

Perhaps what we lack, as analysts educated in the Eurocentric, stereotyped and racist mentality, is to listen, even for the first time, to the reading that African peoples make of their own reality and that of the world.

Independence process

Most of today's African countries gained their independence after World War II through decolonization processes, either through armed struggle or political agreements.

The context of the cold war favored the scenario for the countries of the so-called “third world”, which, in the midst of a balance of international relations, obtained space for the development of their own emancipatory struggles. These independence processes received a strong rejection by the former metropolises.

Prominent leaders of African independence revolutions have been assassinated on the orders of the countries that colonized them. There are several cases, such as Patrice Lumumba in Congo, Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso, Amílcar Cabral in Guinea Bissau, among many others. They may have succeeded in erasing these names from history in Europe, but that has not been the case in Africa.

In recent days, the message of the interim president of Burkina Faso during the bilateral Africa-Russia summit has gone viral.

The references to the father of the "country of the upright" confirm, once again, that the imprint of its liberators continues to travel the roads of the continent.

After the fall of the socialist bloc, these countries, built according to the colonial logic and unaware of a development of infrastructures which was not strictly necessary for the plundering of their resources and their raw materials, are isolated and without options at the level of the international relations, political and commercial.

The rise of the unipolar world, led by the United States, was a brake on the emancipation of these peoples, who had to survive while maintaining the main economic structures of the colony. As mere exporters of raw materials, with a corrupt oligarchy serving these foreign interests, with increasing violence and ethnic clashes feeding the hornet's nest of fictitious settler-created borders.

Dominated in their political sovereignty by international organizations that, on the basis of articulated debt as an element of domination, controlled any attempt at sovereign change that sought to be executed.

However, today's world has changed.

The rise of other economic powers such as Russia, India, Turkey, Iran or China has enabled many African countries to diversify and more easily choose new partners in the economic sphere and business and to negotiate in their own interest. This element is also essential to recover the processes of decolonization that were suspended after the imposition of the unipolar world.

It is only now that the material conditions are clearly favoured. Why does the coup in Niger leave France's strategy in Africa "in ruins"?

Far from what clever Western analysts say, it is not a question of exchanging certain trading partners for others, but of exchanging the old colonial world for a new one.

A new world with new and more democratic international relations that facilitate the potential of peoples for their internal development and their guarantee of political sovereignty. Africa is also building multilateralism, and while Western and racist mindsets are hard to get used to, they do so in their own voice.

source: History and Society

 

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by Arnaud Florac

Le Canard enchaîné released, this Wednesday, information that was meant to be controversial:

— Emmanuel Macron would have ranted against the DGSE during the Defense Council on Saturday July 29. He would have criticized Bernard Émié, a shock diplomat who has headed the flagship of French intelligence since 2017, for having "seen nothing coming" from General Abdourahmane Tchiani's putsch. Like a head teacher in front of a weak student at the end of a dull second term, Macron would have even concluded: “Niger, after Mali, that's a lot". 

Le Canard, which seems decidedly well informed, delivers the reply of the DGSE: “I wrote a note on the situation in Niger in January". And a servile minister, whose name is not communicated, immediately tackled him: "Either we're all stupid, or the note was incomprehensible". "So said the fox, and flatterers to applaud", as La Fontaine said (“Plague-sick animals").

Bernard Émié is not just anyone. We owe him, in addition to the posts of ambassador in the most important or tense countries of the globe between 1998 and 2014, the taking in hand of a legendary service following the brilliant but divisive Bernard Bajolet: he is a field manager. He served in ministerial cabinets, he is Normalien and Enarque: he can read and write.

Therefore, if we add to this the fact that Macron has adopted, since 2017, the sad habit of surrounding himself with self-confident losers, it is possible that the minister himself provided an element of response in posing the alternative this way. The note was probably not incomprehensible (even if Émié obviously did not write it himself), which leads the facetious reader to deduce logically from it what he felt instinctively: Bernard Émié, like other before him, is quite simply surrounded by [dumb] ministers... The fact remains that his retention in office, which could logically be decided until the end of the Olympic Games, with a view to leaving once the terrorist threat has been eliminated, is no longer guaranteed.

Perhaps the Macronie obligingly leaked this tense exchange to put Émié in the hot seat. [GUSNOTE: THE CANARD ENCHAINE IS MORE OFTEN THE VOICE OF THE GOVERNMENT THESE DAYS]. This would allow him to fire an old sixty-something Chiraquian male to replace him, according to rumors in the media, with a woman. The fact remains that the modus operandi is strangely reminiscent of the dismissal of General Vidaud, director of military intelligence, after the Ukrainian offensive. The DRM, at the time — many bloggers had spoken about it — had serious information of ground, in particular American, and had by no means failed.

What was missing was the politico-strategic perspective, which would logically be at the level of ministerial cabinets or even the DGSE, for example. This time, the DGSE seemed to have taken the measure of the situation in Niger up the ladder to warn the political level, if we are to believe Bernard Émié (and why would he lie? Even the "dumb" ministers, as Élisabeth Borne says, do not seem to disagree), but it is the political level, that of the President of the Republic, who persists in systematically doing the opposite of what his military subordinates might wisely advise him.

What Macron was getting for in Ukraine was not the lack of DRM. What he gets in Niger is not the bewilderment of the DGSE. In both cases, what France is paying for — is a number of negligences, an accumulation of uncertainties: ...

— an absence of respectable values ​​abroad, other than the lukewarm soup of humanism and the Enlightenment alla sauce Alliance française;

— a woke and LGBT activism that has only brought him snubs (recently in Cameroon) from countries that respect natural law;

— a contempt from the young white-lout, the "little shitheads" — to use the sharp expression of Bernard Lugan — for an Africa which respects those who respect it, and whose elders hate nothing so much as the brats of Sciences Po in small suits come to give them some subsidies to be able to continue to dispense their propaganda;

— a sloppy diplomatic network, confided in total ideological blindness (for Ukraine, pro-American alignment; for Niger, confidence in a dead Françafrique);

— a totally above-ground neo-colonialism, which erupted in 2017, with Macron's joke claiming that Burkinabè President Kaboré had left to "fix the air conditioning".

To use the words of Macron himself, once again, decidedly, hurtful and disrespectful, faced with high-level officials who are worth ten like him (yesterday Villiers, today Émié, same principle), "it's a bit too many".

 

source: Boulevard Voltaire

 

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by Frederic Powelton

The new authorities of Niger denounced in the night from Thursday to Friday, the military agreements which bind their country to France, thus asking for their departure following Mali and Burkina Faso, in a press release read on television. The French army deploys nearly 1500 soldiers in Niger.

"Faced with France's casual attitude and reaction to the internal situation prevailing in our country (Niger), the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland decides to denounce the cooperation agreements in the field of security and defense with that State, in particular:

1. The agreement of February 19, 1977 on technical military cooperation, in accordance with its article 12 and 3 months notice;

2. The agreement of May 25, 2013 relating to the legal regime of the intervention of French soldiers in Niger for security in the Sahel, in accordance with its point 7 and the one-month notice.

3. The agreement of July 19, 2013 on the status of French soldiers present in Niger as part of the French intervention for security in the Sahel, in accordance with its article 13 and the 6-month notice period;

4. The technical arrangement of January 2, 2015 relating to the stationing and activities of the French Joint Detachment on the territories of the Republic of Niger, in accordance with its article 13 and the 30-day notice;

5. The additional protocol of April 28, 2020 to the agreement of March 25, 2013 relating to the legal regime of French military intervention in Niger for security in the Sahel and to the agreement of July 19, 2013 on the status of the French soldiers present in Niger within the framework of the French intervention for security in the Sahel, determining the status of the non-French detachment of the force, in accordance with its article 4 and the 90-day notice".

Diplomatic correspondence will be sent to this effect.

Done in Niamey, August 3, 2023, signed by the President of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland, the President of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland, General Abdourahamane Omar Tiani (Tchiani).

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In the same wake, the putschists dismissed Niger's ambassadors to France, the United States, Nigeria and Togo.

 

MEANWHILE:

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source: SahelIntelligence

 

 

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https://en.reseauinternational.net/niger-les-militaires-au-pouvoir-font-appel-aux-mercenaires-russes-wagner/

Niger: the military in power call on Russian mercenaries Wagner

 

 

https://en.reseauinternational.net/nigeria-nous-sommes-sur-le-point-detre-manipules-par-les-etats-unis-et-la-france-pour-entrer-en-guerre-pour-defendre-leurs-interets/

Nigeria: “We are about to be manipulated by the United States and France into going to war to defend their interests”

 

 

https://en.reseauinternational.net/les-senateurs-nigerians-refusent-le-deploiement-de-troupes-chez-leur-voisin-le-niger/

Nigerian senators refuse the deployment of troops to their neighbor Niger

 

https://en.reseauinternational.net/macron-conduit-la-france-dans-limpasse-en-afrique-2/

Macron is leading France into an impasse in Africa

 

 

https://en.reseauinternational.net/contrecoup-de-lechec-atlantiste-face-a-la-russie-declin-de-la-france-en-afrique-ou-la-fin-de-lempire-vache-a-lait/

Aftermath of the Atlanticist failure against Russia: Decline of France in Africa or the end of the "cash cow" Empire

 

 

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Since the overthrow of Niger’s US-friendly government, West African nations of the ECOWAS bloc have threatened an invasion of their neighbor. Before leading the charge for intervention, ECOWAS chair, Bola Tinubu, spent years laundering millions for heroin dealers in Chicago, and has since been ensnared in numerous corruption scandals.

 

Hours after Niger’s Western-backed leader was detained by the country’s presidential guard on July 28, Nigerian President and chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Bola Tinubu leapt into action, warning that the group of nations “will not tolerate any situation that incapacitates the democratically-elected government.”

“As the Chairperson of ECOWAS…I state without equivocation that Nigeria stands firmly with the elected government in Niger.”

Two days later, ECOWAS imposed severe sanctions on Niger, and the bloc issued a stark ultimatum: if the newly-inaugurated junta won’t reinstall the ousted president in a week’s time, the group’s pro-Western African governments will — by military means, if necessary. 

On Saturday, July 6 — one day before the deadline — ECOWAS leaders approved a plan to invade the country, with the ominous caveat that they are “not going to tell the coup plotters when and where we are going to strike.”

If ECOWAS gets its way, member states Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sénégal and Togo will be pressured to send their soldiers to invade Niger.

These developments have thrust the typically-overlooked West African country of Niger into the Western media spotlight. But if hostilities break out, it wouldn’t just be one single impoverished African state in the crosshairs.

Neighboring Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea, which are also governed by military administrations that recently seized power by force, have all warned that any attack on Niger will be viewed as an attack on them too. If their ECOWAS rivals make the first move, the nations which mainstream media have dubbed Africa’s “coup belt” have pledged to unleash their military forces as well — an announcement which should end any illusions that restoring the country’s previous president would be a painless process.

Leading the pro-Western coalition is the president of its most powerful country, Nigeria: Bola Tinubu. One of Nigeria’s wealthiest men, the source of the scandal-plagued president’s fortune remains unclear. 

Documents reviewed by The Grayzone reveal Tinubu as a longtime US asset who was named as an accomplice in a massive drug running operation that saw him launder millions on behalf of a heroin-dealing relative. 

Bola Tinubu’s career marred by drug-trafficking, corruption allegations

For over 30 years, Bola Tinubu has been a major force in Nigeria’s political scene and the country’s economy, with local nicknames ranging from “the Mother of the Market” to “the Godfather of Lagos” and “the Lion of Bourdillon.” But his power inside Nigeria went largely unnoticed by international audiences until 2023, when he became ECOWAS chair after winning the presidency in an election closely tracked by the US government.

As president, Tinubu quickly instituted a regime of economic reforms backed by the US-controlled International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Over the course of Tinubu’s political career in Nigeria, the African operator has cultivated a close relationship with the US embassy. According to a slew of classified State Department cables released by WikiLeaks, American officials relied heavily on Tinubu’s assessments of the domestic political landscape.

The ECOWAS chair’s early life is shrouded in mystery, and even his exact age is unknown. Nearly every detail of Tinubu’s personal history — prior to his appearance in Chicago on a student visa — is in dispute, including his legal birth name.

Records from Chicago State University show that Tinubu received a degree in Business Administration in 1979. In the following years, media reports indicate that Tinubu was employed in some capacity at a number of major US-based multinationals, including Mobil Oil Nigeria, consulting firm Deloitte, and GTE, which was the largest communication and utilities company in the US at the time.

Of the few details about the Nigerian President’s early exploits which can be confirmed, many are derived from a 1993 court docket naming Tinubu as an accomplice in a massive midwestern drug smuggling operation. 

As journalist David Hundeyin has detailed, court documents from the US District Court’s Northern District of Illinois make it clear that Tinubu amassed a small fortune laundering money for a heroin-trafficking relative in Chicago, and that US government officials ultimately seized well over a million dollars from various bank accounts registered under the current Nigerian president’s name.

A 1993 report by IRS Special Agent Kevin Moss explained that “there is probable cause to believe that funds in certain bank accounts controlled by Bola Tinubu… represent proceeds of drug trafficking; therefore these funds are forfeitable to the United States.”

In the documents, Moss describes an extremely close working relationship between the future Nigerian president and two Nigerian heroin dealers named Abiodun Olasuyi Agbele and Adegboyega Mueez Akande, the latter of whom was listed as Tinubu’s cousin on an application for a vehicle loan.

“According to bank employees, when Bola Tinubu came to First Heritage Bank in December 1989 to open the accounts, he was introduced to them by Adegboyega Mueez Akande, who at that time maintained an account at the bank.” What’s more, bank records indicate that “Bola Tinubu also opened a joint checking account in his name and the name of his wife, Oluremi Tinubu,” who had “previously opened a joint bank account also at this bank with Audrey Akande, the wife of Adegboyega Mueez Akande,” Moss explained. In several of the applications, the addresses used by Tinubu exactly matched those previously used by Akande.

 

https://thegrayzone.com/2023/08/05/bagman-ecowas-chairman-invade-niger/

 

 

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Becoming the target of Africa, Macron is very uncomfortable. It is all because of Ukraine...and China?

 

Welcome to CHINA NEWS EXPRESS. This channel focuses on news from China. We will bring viewers the latest, most compelling, first-hand newsletters from the country, keeping you up to speed on its most important military, political, and cultural developments.

 

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Why Mali and Burkina Faso Are Supporting NIGER Against France & ECOWAS...

 

With hundreds of people protesting in Niger's streets in favour of the military, the transitional governments of Mali and Burkina Faso release a joint statement.

They claim that any intervention by France or the United States, whether military or diplomatic, would be "tantamount to a declaration of war" against their country.

Niger has also banned gold and uranium exports to France, heightening tensions between the two countries. ECOWAS has set Niger a one-week deadline to reinstate the expelled president or face taking actions to restore constitutional order.

Welcome to THINKRICH AFRICA the community which brings to you entrepreneurial, business, and personal development content to inform, motivate and inspire you! If you aren’t subscribed to our community you’re missing out!

 

 

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Julius Malema Greatest Speech ever.

 

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Blowback in Africa: U.S.-Trained Officer Overthrows Pro-U.S. Leader in Niger, U.S. Drone Base Site

 

Last Wednesday, Nigerien military officers announced they had overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum, a close ally of the United States and France.

ECOWAS, an economic bloc of West African countries, has threatened to take military action unless the coup is reversed by Sunday. But the leader of Niger's new military junta has vowed to defy any attempts to restore the former president to power, while Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea — all, like Niger, former French colonies that have undergone military coups in the past three years — have warned against any foreign intervention in Niger.

Meanwhile, Niger's new leaders have announced the country will end military cooperation with France, whose outsized presence in its former colony is a major source of resentment in the resource-rich but still poverty-stricken nation. We speak to Nick Turse, an investigative journalist and contributing writer for _The Intercept_.

He recently revealed that one of the leaders of the coup in Niger, Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou, was previously trained by the U.S. military, as were the leaders of nearly a dozen other coups in West Africa since 2008. We also speak to Olayinka Ajala, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Leeds Beckett University, who says Niger and its neighbors must tread carefully in order to avoid a "very bloody" military conflict. Transcript: democracynow.org

 

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Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Goes Viral Again After Niger Coup - Of all the former colonial empires, France appears to notably retain significant influence over its former colonies. Presently, the inhabitants of African nations once ruled by France are taking a stance against their former colonizers, seeking complete independence from them.

The question arises: what actions or ongoing practices by France have led to this widespread resentment? Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has long been shedding light on France's alleged wrongdoings, and following the Niger coup, some of her statements have gained considerable attention.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has consistently expressed her concerns regarding the mistreatment of Africans by France. She has consistently criticized France for its perceived exploitation of the resources within African nations.

According to her assertions, France benefits disproportionately from African resources compared to the local populations. Meloni contends that addressing the issue of illegal immigration necessitates putting an end to the exploitation of Africans and allowing them to break free from these exploitative practices.

 

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by MK Bhadrakumar

 

The coup in the West African state of Niger on July 26 and the Russia-Africa Summit the next day in St. Petersburg are playing out in the backdrop of multipolarity in the world order. Seemingly independent events, they capture nonetheless the zeitgeist of our transformative era.

First, the big picture — the Africa summit hosted by Russia on July 27-28 poses a big challenge to the West, which instinctively sought to downplay the event after having failed to lobby against sovereign African nations meeting the Russian leadership. 49 African countries sent their delegations to St. Petersburg, with seventeen heads of states traveling in person to Russia to discuss political, humanitarian and economic issues. For the host country, which is in the middle of a war, this was a remarkable diplomatic success. 

The summit was quintessentially a political event. Its leitmotif was the juxtaposition of Russia’s long-standing support for Africans resisting imperialism and the predatory nature of western neo-colonialism. This works brilliantly for Russia today,  which has no colonial history of exploitation and plunder of Africa. 

While every now and then skeletons from the colonial era keep rolling out of the Western closet, dating back to the unlamented African slave trade,  Russia taps into the Soviet legacy of being on the ‘right side of history’ — even resurrecting the full name of Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in Moscow.  

Yet, it wasn’t all politics. The summit deliberations on Russia-Africa partnership helping the continent achieve ‘‘food sovereignty,’’ alternatives to the grain deal, new logistics corridors for Russian food and fertilisers; enhancement of trade, economic, cultural, educational, scientific, and security cooperation; Africa potentially joining the International North–South Transport Corridor; Russia’s participation in African infrastructure projects; Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan to 2026 — these testify to the quantifiable outcome.  

Enter Niger. The most recent developments in Niger underscore the leitmotif of the Russia-Africa summit. Russia’s prognosis of the African crisis stands vindicated — the continuing ravages of Western imperialism. This is evident from the reports of Russian flags seen at demonstrations in Niamey, Niger’s capital. 

The rebels who seized power lost no time to denounce Niger’s military-technical cooperation agreements with France, which has been followed up with the demand that France withdraw its troops within 30 days. On its part, France has spoken ‘‘firmly and resolutely’’ in favour of foreign military intervention ‘‘to suppress the coup attempt.’’ The French authorities made it clear that they have no plan to withdraw their armed contingent of 1,500 people who are in Niger “at the request of the legitimate authorities of the country on the basis of signed agreements.” 

France’s stance comes as no surprise – Paris does not want to lose its position in Sahel region and the cheap source of resources, especially uranium. But France miscalculated that the coup didn’t enjoy the support of the Nigerien military or had a social base, and all that was needed to roll it back would be a limited demonstration of force that would compel the elite presidential guard to begin direct negotiations with France.   

France and the US coordinate their actions with the Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS]. The ECOWAS initially did some sabre-rattling but has piped down. Its deadline for intervention has passed. The ECOWAS simply does not have a mechanism for the rapid gathering of troops and the coordination of hostilities, and its powerhouse Nigeria has its hands full tackling internal security. The Nigerian public opinion feels wary about a blowback — Niger is a large country and has a 1500-kilometre long porous border with Nigeria. An unspoken truth is, Nigeria is hardly interested in increasing the French military presence in Niger or on being on the same side with France, which is extremely unpopular throughout the Sahel.  

The mother of all surprises is that the military coup enjoys a groundswell of popular support. Under the circumstances, the strong likelihood is that the French troops may be forced to leave Niger, its former colony. Niger is a victim of neo-colonial exploitation. Under the guise of fighting terrorism, which is, ironically, a spillover from the NATO intervention in Libya in 2011 spearheaded by none other than France into the Sahel region, France ruthlessly exploited Niger’s mineral resources.  

A noted Nigerian poet and literary critic Prof. Osundare wrote last week,  ‘‘Probe the cause, course, and symptoms of the present resurgence of military coups in West Africa. Find a cure for this pandemic. More important, find a cure for the plague of political and socio-economic injustices responsible for the inevitability of its recurrence. Remember the present brutish anarchy in Libya and the countless repercussions of the destabilisation of that once blooming country for the West African region.’’ 

The only regional state that can afford effective military intervention in Niger is Algeria. But Algeria has neither any experience in conducting such operations on a regional scale nor has any intention to depart from its consistent policy of non-interference in the internal politics of a sovereign country. Algeria has warned against any external military intervention in Niger. ‘‘Flaunting military intervention in Niger is a direct threat to Algeria, and we completely and categorically reject it… Problems should be solved peacefully,” said Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune.   

At its core, without doubt, the coup in Niger Republic narrows down to a struggle between Nigeriens and the colonial powers. To be sure, the growing trend of multipolarity in the world order emboldens African nations to shake off neo-colonialism. This is one thing. On the other hand, the big powers are being compelled to negotiate rather than dictate. 

Interestingly, Washington has been relatively restrained. President Biden’s espousal of ‘’values’’ fell far short of the diktat on  ‘‘rules-based order’’ — although America reportedly has 3 military bases in Niger. In the multipolar setting, African nations are gaining space to negotiate. Russia’s pro activism will spur this process. China also has economic stakes in in Niger.

Notably, the coup leader Abdurahman Tchiani is on record that “the French have no objective reasons to leave Niger,” signalling that a fair and equitable relationship is possible. Russia has been cautious that the key task at the moment is “to prevent further degradation of the situation in the country.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, ‘‘We consider it an urgent task to organise a national dialogue to restore civil peace, ensure law and order… we believe that the threat of the use of force against a sovereign state will not contribute to defusing tensions and resolving the situation in the country,” .

Clearly, Niamey will not succumb to pressure from outsiders. “Niger’s armed forces and all our defence and security forces, backed by the unfailing support of our people, are ready to defend the integrity of our territory,” a junta representative said in a statement. A delegation from Niamey went to Mali asking for Russian-affiliated Wagner fighters to join the fight in the event of a Western-backed intervention.

An early resolution of the crisis around Niger is not to be expected. Niger is a key state in the fight against the jihadi network and is linked strategically and structurally to neighbouring Mali. And the situation in the Sahel region is escalating. This has profound implications for the crisis of statehood in West Africa as a whole. 

American exceptionalism is not a universal panacea for existing ills. The Pentagon helped train at least one of the coup leaders in Niger — and those in Mali and Burkina Faso, which have promised to come to Niger’s defence. Yet, speaking from Niamey on Monday, the visiting US acting deputy secretary of state Victoria Nuland lamented that the coup leaders refused to allow her to meet with the ousted president Mohamed Bazoum and were unreceptive to US calls to return the country to civilian rule.

Nuland’s mission aimed at dissuading the coup leaders from engaging with the Wagner group but she was unsure of success. Nuland was not granted a meeting with General Tchiani. 

 

https://www.indianpunchline.com/niger-rejects-rules-based-order/ 

 

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Burkina Faso & Mali Reps Arrive in Niger: We Won’t Accept Repeat of NATO’s Libya Adventure

 

Delegations from Mali and Burkina Faso have arrived in Niger to reaffirm support for the new gov’t against outside military intervention. Mali's spokesperson declared “Our survival depends on it,” recalling NATO's "adventure in Libya" that created a decade of regional instability.

 

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The 26 July coup in the West African nation of Niger, which threatens to undermine French and US military presence in the region, has shed light on the historical exploitation and continued practices of Francafrique - the term used to describe the persistent exploitation by the former French Empire in Africa.

France heavily relies on nuclear energy, with 68 percent of its power coming from nuclear plants. It obtains 19 percent of the uranium required to run these plants from Niger. Despite this significant contribution toward France's energy needs, only 14.3 percent of Nigeriens have access to a power grid, and even that is often unreliable. This stark contrast highlights the disparities and ongoing exploitation by rapine foreign powers throughout the African continent. 

 

The Legacy of Francafrique

Francafrique has been known for its exploitative systems designed to profit from African resources, using pressure, capital, and frequently outright force to maintain control over its former empire. As a result, many African states, including Niger, continue to face poverty and underdevelopment.

Burkina Faso’s young, charismatic leader Ibrahim Traore recently spoke at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg and decried the fact that Africa is resource-rich, but its people are poor, and criticized African leaders seeking hand-outs from the west, as they perpetuate dependency and poverty. He also described what is being imposed on Africa as a form of slavery, stating:

“As far as what concerns Burkina Faso today, for more than eight years we’ve been confronted with the most barbaric, the most violent form of imperialist neo-colonialism. Slavery continues to impose itself on us. Our predecessors taught us one thing: a slave who cannot assume his own revolt does not deserve to be pitied. We do not feel sorry for ourselves, we do not ask anyone to feel sorry for us.”

France's inability to justify its presence in Africa with a coherent narrative further complicates the situation. Paris cannot openly confess its greed, feign a "civilizing mission," or admit to any responsibility due to its past crimes. This lack of purpose weakens French power on the continent, leading to violence and poverty in its wake.

West Africa's drive for further independence has left Atlanticists concerned about the opening this leaves for Eurasian powers like Russia and China to increase their influence in Africa. The west's reaction reflects a lack of respect for the sovereignty of African countries, viewing the continent merely as a theater to maintain global dominance.

Since the Ukraine war's onset in early 2022, Atlanticists have expressed alarm over the unwillingness of Global South states to support the west's anti-Russia policies, a trend further amplified by the shift to multipolarism everywhere. This weakening of western hegemony has opened a path for many nations to avidly explore their geopolitical options and diversify their economies.

A report from the Munich Security Conference held in February highlighted this very real schism with the west:

“Many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have steadily lost faith in the legitimacy and fairness of an international system which has neither granted them an appropriate voice in global affairs, nor sufficiently addressed their core concerns. To many states, these failures are deeply tied to the west. They find that the western-led order has been characterized by post-colonial domination, double standards, and neglect for developing countries' concerns.”

 

Fleeced by the CFA Franc

The aftermath of the Second World War marked a significant shift in global power dynamics, and the victorious powers sought to establish a new world order that would maintain peace and promote economic balance. 

In the context of African colonies, where colonial troops played a major role in the allied victory, the victorious powers, including France, aimed to retain economic control and benefit from their former colonies even as the world moved towards decolonization.

This included the establishment of new currency systems, with French leader Charles De Gaulle creating two currencies collectively known as the CFA Franc in 1945 for former colonies in the Western and Central zone.

As the push for political independence grew stronger in the late 1950s, France organized referendums in its African colonies to vote on accepting a constitution drafted by the French. 

Guinea, led by former trade unionist Sekou Toure, opposed accepting the French constitution and voted overwhelmingly against it. In a furious response, De Gaulle’s government withdrew all French administrators from Guinea and took action to sabotage the country's infrastructure and resources. The harsh measures by Paris aimed to serve as an example of what would happen to any former French colony that resisted France's agenda.

During the Cold War, the Communist states exploited such actions by presenting themselves as liberators and allies of African countries that sought independence from European influence. This stance has led to some Africans viewing countries like Russia as more equitable partners compared to France.

Over the years, France has demonstrated a pattern of intervening militarily - over 50 times since 1960 - in African countries to secure governments that remain compliant with French economic interests, particularly related to the continued use of the CFA Franc.

The system by which the CFA Franc operates has historically been one of a fixed exchange rate where the currency has unlimited convertibility but is permanently pegged to the French currency, previously the Franc and then the Euro. 

 

African currency under French control

This means that African countries cannot influence the value of their own currency, and the difference in value makes it so that France can buy African products artificially cheap while Africans are able to buy fewer goods with the money they exchange.

Worse yet, France had requirements to store, and thus profit from, the foreign reserves owned by its former colonies, though the requirement of holding 50 percent of their foreign exchange reserves in a French-ran bank was dropped for the western zone in 2019. 

Under this scheme, African states received a nominal amount of interest, but the bank benefited from lending that capital out at higher rates and attaining massive profits off of African resources and labor. This is despite the fact that many countries in Francophone Africa are major gold exporters and thus have a multitude of options for storing wealth to back a currency in alternative central banks.

While the CFA Franc system has provided some benefits in terms of stability and preventing Zimbabwean-style hyperinflation, it has also come under scrutiny for imposing requirements on African countries that are not placed on more powerful nations. The lack of control over their own currency has hindered economic growth and made these countries vulnerable to global economic shocks.

Northern African states such as Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco chose to leave the CFA Franc upon gaining independence and have experienced relatively higher prosperity. Similarly, Botswana's success with its own national currency demonstrates that proper management can lead to stable democracy and economic growth, even for less developed nations.

 

Exclusive rights and privileges

The CFA Franc system has been the geopolitical equivalent of one’s father insisting he manages their savings while leaving them out of his will. There are benefits to having a trade and currency zone, such as the current ECOWAS union that covers the Western part of the continent, but by design under the CFA Franc system, independence has been an illusion by which France has fleeced these countries. 

France has been dependent on Africa for its status as a world power for more than a century. Among other privileges it has carved out for itself in post-colonial treaties, France has had the exclusive right to sell military equipment to former colonies, and enjoys the first right to any natural resources discovered. Paris makes great use of these privileges: as just one example, 36.4 percent of France’s gas is sourced from the African continent.

Moreover, a vast network of French business interests, which include major multinational companies, dominate industries such as energy, communications, and transportation in many African countries. France's government also supports French businesses in Africa in several ways, including through an enormous public company called COFACE which guarantees French exports into these underdeveloped markets. 

 

Towards independence and self-reliance

This economic dependence has contributed to the perpetuation of a system where African states remain weak, pliant, and reliant on resource exports, primarily benefiting French companies and interests. Additionally, African states are obligated to ally with France in any major conflict, further eroding their national sovereignty. 

The African continent suffers from many ailments, but perhaps the most persistent and nefarious are a lack of sovereignty and access to capital. Meanwhile, much of Europe’s prosperity has been derived from looting the Global South for centuries. 

The case of Brussels, built on the wealth derived from the brutal exploitation of the Congo under Belgian King Leopold II, is a stark reminder of the deep-rooted impact of colonialism. When the monarch’s crimes against humanity were discovered, he was ultimately forced to bequeath the majority of his fortune to the Belgian state upon his death. 

Not wanting to do so, he embarked on an enormous series of public works to spend his ill-gotten gains, creating modern Brussels. Now the EU and NATO meet there and audaciously give disingenuous lectures about universal human rights while surrounded by the profits of some of the most brutal cases of oppression in human history. 

While military governments often face challenges in achieving their stated goals, it is evident that western-backed "civil democracies" have also struggled to significantly improve the security and well-being of the African public. 

The path to solving Africa's problems lies in transformative leaders who can shrug off the legacy and remaining shackles of colonialism and enable the continent to carve out a genuine, homegrown path to independence and self-reliance.

 

https://new.thecradle.co/articles/france-never-stopped-looting-africa-now-the-tables-are-turning

 

 

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Un député Français révèle des VÉRITÉS CACHÉES derrière le nouveau Franc CFA - L'ECO

French MP Reveals HIDDEN TRUTHS Behind New CFA Franc

 

The introduction of the new ECO currency, proposed by France, raises concerns about its potential continuation of neo-colonialism policies in Africa. Although presented as a step towards the economic autonomy of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, this decision was greeted with skepticism by some who see it as a mechanism to maintain France's influence over the economies of the region.

Although the ECO currency claims to distance itself from the euro, concerns remain that France's economic interests and potential influence could still be at stake. Skeptics question whether the move truly represents a break with the neocolonial practices or if it is simply a strategic rebranding.

A French MP has blasted the French parliament and revealed the real truth behind the so-called reformed CFA franc. Listen to what he exposed

West African nations must carefully consider their sovereignty and economic independence when evaluating France's proposed new eco-currency. Historically, the continent has suffered the repercussions of neo-colonialism and economic exploitation. To safeguard their autonomy, West African nations should thoroughly assess the implications of adopting eco-currency.

Maintaining control over their own currency allows countries to tailor their monetary policies to their particular economic situation. Instead of joining the ECO without reservations, West African nations should prioritize strengthening regional economic cooperation, improving trade relations and promoting intra-African trade. By strengthening their own currencies, they can assert greater control over their economies and strengthen their bargaining power on the world stage.

Collaborating with other African nations to establish a common regional currency could be a viable alternative. Such an approach would empower African nations to collectively manage their economic destiny while reducing dependence on external actors like France.

To remain sovereign, African countries must critically assess the motivations behind the eco-currency proposal and weigh the potential risks against the benefits. Prioritizing local solutions, fostering self-sufficiency and guarding against neo-colonial influences will be key to securing a prosperous future for the continent.

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France has halted the publication of a book by its former ambassador to Niger Sylvain Itte, claiming that the benefits of its release are outweighed by risks, French media reported on Wednesday.

Itte was expelled from the West African nation by its military government, which took power following a coup last year.

The Paris-based weekly Le Canard Enchaine claimed in an investigative report that the French Foreign Ministry had written to Itte in mid-January, advising him that the memoir contained several pieces of sensitive information about France’s “crisis management system.”

The ministry also reportedly expressed concerns about the envoy documenting exchanges between him, the French government, and Niger’s military authorities in the book, which was scheduled for publication in March.

A spokesman for Les Editions du Rocher, the publisher of Itte’s work, told AFP that “everything was planned and almost ready,” but they are “not quite sure what happened.”

“I imagine some passages were not to the ministry’s liking,” he added.

Ambassador Itte left Niamey at the end of September after being declared persona non grata following the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26. The coup leaders terminated military agreements with France and secured the withdrawal of French troops, accusing them of failing in the fight against Islamist terrorists in the Sahel region.

The French government announced earlier this month that it had closed its embassy in Niger until further notice as relations deteriorated with the new leadership, which Paris refers to as “illegitimate authorities.”

On Wednesday, Les Editions du Rocher said the envoy’s book, titled ‘At the Heart of French Diplomacy in Africa’, is about more than just last year’s standoff between France and its former colony’s military government. The publishing house described it as a “geopolitical book about a country and a region in upheaval,” according to AFP.

The outlet also quoted a diplomatic source as saying that books written by French diplomats must comply with “precise ethical rules” and go through a “completely standard”vetting process.

https://www.rt.com/africa/591312-france-former-niger-envoy-book-launch-blocked/

 

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Putin's Savage Reply To Macron On Ukraine Threat; Reminds Him Of Africa Pushing France Out | Russia

 

In an interview to Russian media group Rossiya Segodnya, Russia President Vladimir Putin commented on tension with France over the geopolitical situation in Africa, especially the continent's Sahel region. Putin spoke on the rising tide of anti-France sentiment in the African region, and said that Moscow was not to blame

 

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