What does Niger have and why does the coup make the world tremble? Analysis of the dispute between Russia and the West to control the country

Last Wednesday night, a group of soldiers appeared on Niger's national television and announced the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum.. A coup. Members of the presidential guard detained the president inside the presidential palace, blocked the entrances to the ministries and closed the country's borders. Later, they appointed General Abdourrahmane Tiani as head of state.

Bazoum, who was a professor of philosophy, was the president-elect of Niger after the second round of the presidential elections held in February 2021, which he won at the head of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism. He replaced Mahamadou Issoufou, who has been the country's president since 2011.

But most importantly: since Niger's independence in 1960, Bazoum was the first elected leader to succeed another. Since that year, the country has experienced four coups (and several failed attempts).. The normality that was believed to have been achieved has already been cut short.

What happened in Niger could be another coup d'état, from another African country, from another poor nation. But there is something about this case for the military uprising to have surprised and alerted the West. What is there in Niger for the European Union and the United States to watch events with deep concern?

A brake on jihadism

Niger is a key part of Africa's Sahel region, a belt of land that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.. The area is plagued by jihadists and harassed by military regimes where uprisings and riots take place year after year.. In that context, Niger was the West's biggest ally in the region.

Bazoum's Niger has been seen as a bulwark against such unrest and the spread of Russian influence in the region.. In fact, it houses French military bases (France has 1,500 soldiers there) and Americans. Along these lines, the ousted government was considered a key partner in the fight against armed jihadism.

In the US, the State Department described Niger as “important as an axis for stability in the Sahel” and “a reliable partner in the fight against terrorism” against various Islamist groups linked to the Islamic State or Al Qaeda.. For this reason, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, has called for the immediate release of President Bazoum.

and to immigration

To a lesser extent, Europe cared about the continuity of President Bazoum because he has helped stop, or at least order, the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean. He has even agreed to take hundreds of migrants back from Libyan detention centers.

Furthermore, until now, Niger has been a key transit point for human smugglers between other West African countries and those further north.. Bazoum had also taken action against such trafficking.

Nuclear France needs uranium

French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Friday that the coup in Niger was “deeply dangerous” for the country and the region, and urged the release of President Bazoum.. “France absolutely and firmly condemns the coup against a democratically elected leader,” he declared from Papua New Guinea.

France “does not recognize the authorities resulting from the coup led by General Tchiani,” said a statement from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.. But why does Niger worry Macron so much? Uranium, the explanation is in the uranium.

France has 19 nuclear power plants totaling 56 reactors. In normal times, it is the second largest producer of nuclear electricity in the world (although last year, 32 of those reactors were shut down due to corrosion and maintenance problems).. In addition, the French Government announced in 2022 the construction of up to 14 new nuclear reactors and that it would prolong the life of existing ones.

And where is uranium?

In 2020, nuclear power accounted for 67% of total French electricity production. France is the state of the European Union in which more electricity is generated through uranium. The country depends on nuclear energy, that is, on uranium. And in France there is no uranium.

But in Niger, yes. The African country produces 7% of the entire world supply of this radioactive metal and is the third largest producer in the world.. In the Niger desert are some of the world's largest reserves of uranium. Its exploitation supposes for the country 31% of its income from exports.

Cheers to Russia and Putin

Yet the standard of living for Nigeriens is one of the lowest in the world.. Profits from the sale of uranium flow to few, so Niger's economy is based on herding and agriculture.

For this reason, this Sunday, in a demonstration around the French Embassy in the capital of Niger, hundreds of people cheered Russia and Vladimir Putin, while launching slogans against France. Some even stoned the diplomatic mission and set fire to one of its entrances.

More saber rattling?

Macron has responded by assuring that “it will not tolerate any attack against France and its interests” and that Paris “will immediately respond” to any act of violence against “French citizens, the Army, diplomats and French rights of passage”.. France, a former colonial power, and the European Union have suspended security cooperation and financial aid.

Opposite, the Nigerien military who overthrew Bazoum have accused France of wanting to “intervene militarily” to restore him to office. For now, the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States, meeting in an extraordinary summit this Sunday in neighboring Nigeria, have threatened the coup leaders with military intervention if they do not reinstate the president.

And what is the Wagner group doing here?

The only voice in favor of the coup has been that of the leader of the Russian group Wagner, who has apparently described it as a triumph.. “What has happened in Niger is nothing more than the struggle of the Nigerien people against their colonizers,” Yevgeny Prigozhin told a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel, though his comments have not been independently verified.

Wagner mercenaries, active elsewhere in the Sahel region, are seen as exerting their influence in Niger. It is already being felt in Mali and Burkina Faso. Before these countries, Russia presents itself as an alternative to France to give them stability. In this way, Moscow gains influence in Africa and votes in the UN, when, for example, it has to vote or condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.