Over the past few years, many countries in West Africa have taken steps toward greater economic and security sovereignty in opposition to Western (particularly French) plans for the region.
Anti-imperialist reforms have taken place under unelected military governments and, unusually for many Westerners, enjoy far greater public support than the ostensibly democratic governments they overthrew. This is because previous governments, often supported by Western countries, were democratic only in rhetoric. Most people in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger viewed these “democratic” states as actually anti-democratic, corrupt, and powerless against the threat of jihadist insurgency.
As I have documented in these pages, West Africa has seen a spate of successful military coups in recent years, including in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Gabon. The coup occurred against the backdrop of a deteriorating security situation, which was further exacerbated by Western policies supporting jihadist forces in Libya.
Western-led military operations such as France’s Operation Barkhane (2014-2022), the European Union’s Task Force Takuba (2020-2022), and the UN’s MINUSMA in Mali (2013-2023) pose security threats. It did little to alleviate it. As a result, the militaries of West African countries have become disillusioned with the United States and Europe as security partners.
In August 2020, a military coup led by Colonel Assimi Goita succeeded in seizing power in Mali. The junta has asserted its sovereignty in a variety of ways, including withdrawing from the European-funded G5 Sahel organization and removing French troops.
In Burkina Faso, 35-year-old Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in a coup in September 2022, and Paul Henri, who in January 2022 removed the incompetent civilian government of banker Roque-Marc Christian Cabore. The military regime that preceded the Damiba regime was overthrown. In addition to rejecting Western military aid, Traore also supported Thomas Sankara’s efforts to build socialism and economic self-sufficiency in the 1980s by Apollinaire Joachim Kjorem De, a Marxist and Pan-Africanist. – Appointed Tambera as Prime Minister.
And in July 2023, the Nigerian military overthrew U.S.-backed President Mohamed Bazoum, who had offered Niger as a base for U.S. and European forces after anti-Western coups in Mali and Burkina Faso. The seizure of the military government, led by Abdullahmane Chiani, caused earthquakes in the region, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by Nigeria, threatened to invade in a bid to restore Bazoum. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron was reportedly furious at his failure to predict Bazoum’s dismissal.
The military governments of Mali and Burkina Faso have vowed to protect Niger from any invasion, and Chiani remains in power. Today, the region has largely faded from the headlines. This does not mean that these countries are no longer fighting insurgencies or are taking further steps to regain economic and security sovereignty from the West. As recent developments show, events in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger continue to unfold very rapidly.
On December 12, France announced the closure of its embassy in Niamey, Niger, claiming that it was “no longer able to function properly or carry out its mission.”
The closure follows tense clashes at the French embassy in August and September last year. After the coup, the Nigerian government expelled French Ambassador Sylvain Itte and gave him 48 hours to leave the country. Macron disobeyed the Nigerien government and kept Itte in office. The government responded by locking down Itte inside the embassy, but Nigerian protesters threatened to storm the building if the French continued to resist orders from the Nigerian leadership. On September 24, Itte was finally recalled to France.
Regarding military agreements, France was also quick to delegitimize the Ciani government and defend the status quo, either blind or indifferent to the tidal wave of anti-French sentiment sweeping the region. This is evidenced by the fact that when Niger ended its military agreement with France, the French government refused to accept reality and claimed that Niger’s leaders had “no legitimate authority to do so.” Ta. It took several months for France to agree to withdraw its troops. French soldiers finally left Niger in December.
One reason for Macron’s reluctance to cooperate with Nigerian authorities may be the forced withdrawal of French troops from Mali in August 2022 and Burkina Faso in February 2023. Niger was the last bastion of French military influence in the region. Niger’s expulsion of French troops threatens the future of France’s neo-colonial rule in West Africa, the Francophile system in which France controls the currency, budget and many of the region’s resources.
France cannot be expected to quietly accept popular resistance to neo-colonialism in West Africa. After all, they supported the overthrow and murder of Burkina Faso’s revered anti-imperialist leader Thomas Sankara in 1987. The French government has taken various steps in recent years to try to contain or curtail anti-French violence in the region. year.
In 2021, France intervened in the European-funded G5 Sahel organization (a coordinated military force that includes Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Chad) to prevent Chad from handing over the organization’s presidency to Bamako. It is said that he did. Mali responded by withdrawing from the G5 Sahel (Niger and Burkina Faso left the G5 in early December, effectively ending the alliance).
In Niger, the French government supported ECOWAS’s threat of invasion against Niger. The Nigerian government responded that President Macron’s support for a military attack on Niger “aims at perpetuating neo-colonial operations against the Nigerien people.”
Meanwhile, on December 1, Burkina Faso arrested four French passport holders who visited the French embassy for “computer maintenance work” on suspicion of “espionage.” Even if the espionage charges are unfounded, the arrests demonstrate West Africa’s suspicions about France’s actions in the region, which are well-founded given France’s past and present interference. There is evidence.
In the field of security, the actions of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger go far beyond the G5 Sahel. On September 16, the three countries announced the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States, a mutual defense agreement signed against the backdrop of threats of invasion by France-backed ECOWAS. The member states assert that “any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one or more contracting states shall be considered an invasion against the other contracting states.” There is even talk of the three West African countries joining together to form a federation.
In the absence of France’s coercive security and economic influence, Russia has skillfully asserted its soft power in West Africa. Recently, Niger ended two security agreements with the EU, withdrew from an agreement with the EU that criminalized migration to Europe via Niger, and welcomed a Russian delegation to discuss “military and defense issues” . The delegation concluded with the “signing of documents as part of strengthening military cooperation between the Republic of Niger and the Russian Federation.”
Russia also sent a delegation to Mali, where they discussed Russian exports of wheat, fertilizers and petroleum products, as well as “development projects for Mali in terms of renewable and nuclear energy.” Notably, Russia also has plans to support the development of nuclear power plants to meet Burkina Faso’s energy needs.
In Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Russian investments are often preferred over French companies, which derive huge profits from the region while contributing little to the population. But these countries’ claims to economic independence go beyond cooperation with Russia.
On December 4, Niger nationalized its drinking water, taking back control of this vital resource from French company Veolia and its local subsidiary SEEN. Sylvain Itte, the French ambassador who was expelled in September 2023, previously sparked outrage in Niger by telling Nigeriens to “stop drinking water because it belongs to Europe.”
Meanwhile, Mali and Burkina Faso have taken steps to tighten state control over mining sectors dominated by foreign companies, including Canadian companies. In Mali, these mining reforms led to the involvement of Toronto-based Barrick Gold.
Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said he was working with the Mali government after the country’s new mining law, which allows state and local investors to take a larger share of foreign-owned businesses, was announced. They claim that they have held talks and “revoked some components of the mining law.” ” Barrick’s efforts to reduce the Malian state’s role in mining, thereby reducing the country’s available tax revenue, come as Mali’s one million children are at risk of acute malnutrition. Ta.
Despite sanctions, threats from France, and foreign opposition to the nationalistic repurposing of resource wealth, West African countries are embarking on a new path of strengthening their economic and security sovereignty. This means tightening control over vital resources and forcibly ending France’s military and economic dominance in the region. Western actors, whether French officials or Canadian mining companies, will likely continue to oppose these reforms, but they remain a popular course in all three countries.
Monthly Review does not necessarily adhere to all of the views expressed in articles republished in MR Online. Our goal is to share a variety of left-wing perspectives that our readers may find interesting and useful. —Editor.
