Niger Coup, or Revolution, Inspires Africans to Rise Up Against Colonialism and Imperialism

 

By David Starr

 

“Niger coup widely condemned; countries urge return to order.” This was the headline from Reuters news service and it’s typical of the Western media. A coup or revolution that threatens Western colonial/imperial interests in the Global South is considered a bad thing, while the largely substandard conditions of native populations is overwhelmingly ignored. 

 

The coup, or revolution, was condemned but not worldwide. But Reuters makes it sound like this is the case. Mainly, Western leaders and their supporters were in opposition to it, along with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Those who were concerned in the West took a typical “righteous” stance by using the word “democratic,” as has always been the case in these situations. The word is used and abused.

 

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, quoting from Reuters, said that Niger’s government was contingent on its “continued commitment to democratic standards.” Reuters added that “Niger’s coup [or revolution] is its seventh in West and Central Africa since 2020 and could have grave consequences for democratic progress and the fight against an insurgency by Jihadist militants in the region, where Niger is a key Western ally.” Interesting that the concern about Islamic fanatics is in the upper minds of the West, when the United States, for example, supported Islamic fanatics in the form of the Mujahadeen when in the late 1970s, the Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan. 

 

Another example of hypocrisy is, quoting Reuters, the actions of the coup supporters who “set fire to the headquarters of the ruling party in Niamey…” making it sound like they are totally reckless and irresponsible. For one thing, the U.S. supported individuals and groups in other countries that did the same thing, but they are considered “pro-democratic.” 

 

Austin Aneke, PhD, writing in the Peoples Gazette, used a question for the title of an article: “Did Niger witness a coup or revolution?” The title is more objective than the Reuters’ version. In the article, Aneke wrote that the coup (or revolution) was bloodless. It occurred on July 29, 2023 and the former president, Mohammed Bazoum, was removed from power by his bodyguards. Rather than oppose the move, most Nigeriens  supported and celebrated its success. 

 

ECOWAS’s decision wasn’t unanimous as Burkina Faso and Mali, two of its members, supported it. The two nations had their own “coups” and as Aneke put it, “embarked on the path toward full self-governance and freedom from the influence of France.” The latter nation took on a colonial role in those nations, plus Niger. It resulted in “a legacy of extortion, servitude, exploitation, and underdevelopment,” wrote Aneke. Niger and those other nations were finally fed up to the point where they demanded real economic and political autonomy. Aneke asked if the “recent political upheavals in French African colonies [can] accurately [be] characterized as coups, or should they be more aptly described as revolutions aimed at emancipating the populace?” Aneke’s answer was that “the sweeping changes underway are revolutions, not mere coups; they represent comprehensive revolutions intended to liberate these ‘French’ West African nations from the shackles of modern-day enslavement, exploitation, indignity, and inhumane treatment.”

 

And contrary to the West seeing the leaders of these momentous events as aggressors,  Aneke called “[t]he revolutionary leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger champions of liberation rather than as coup plotters.” And other African nations like Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, who currently reject these revolutions, are not going to stop liberation movements from occurring in Africa.

 

The measures that ECOWAS (and the West) were aiming to act on turned out to be just words. There was the threat of imposing sanctions on Niger, as well as threatening to conduct a military invasion. But Mali and Burkina Faso made it clear that both countries would consider it an act of war if Niger was invaded. So, ECOWAS and the West backed off, for now.

 

In an issue of In Defense of Marxism, Josh Holroyd wrote about the hypocrisy of the West. “The protests and lamentations in the western media in the name of ‘democracy’ in Africa ring hollow. In reality, it is precisely the centuries of imperialist exploitation and meddling in the region that has prepared the ground for the present crisis.” Indeed, Africa as a whole has been a market satellite for centuries. 

 

In old colonial/imperial rhetoric, Africa was called the “Dark Continent” years before (maybe even now).  Largely, Africans were looked at as slaves and subhuman entities. Along with poverty, exploitation, and environmental degradation, these factors created a wave of anger in Africa. Internal anger welled up within Africans over the years and resulted in angry expressions of it such as riots, protests, and armed struggle.

 

Where Russia is concerned, Holroyd wrote: 

 

“A new and extremely important element in the equation is the ‘alternative’ posed by Russia, which is stepping into the gap left by the West  in parts of Africa. In Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, each of the coup governments have combined anti-colonialist rhetoric with statements of allegiance to Russia. Often, pro-coup demonstrators can be seen waving the Russian flag. This fact is of the utmost significance for the shift in world relations that has been accelerating since the beginning of the war in Ukraine last year.”

 

Not only has Russia gained influence, China as well. China has provided economic projects to try and improve the substandard conditions in African countries. Russia has provided less economic aid but has also provided weapons to those who are fed up and are acting against the historical domination of Western powers.

 

In the Black Agenda Report, the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) authored an article that was published and not surprisingly came out against Western colonialism/imperialism. Regarding Niger, “eyewitness accounts  in the country and the responses of both Niger’s neighbors and neo-colonial powers indicate that this coup had the support of people on the ground and is a response to neo-colonial conditions inflicted upon them.”

 

Niger has major resources that the West has historically exploited. There is uranium, gold, minerals, oil and coal. And that shows one major reason why the coup (revolution) occurred: to once and for all rid the country of Western, imperial domination and use the resources for the benefit of the native population. At one point, France and Niger’s puppet government collaborated by establishing the Societe des mines de l’Air, also known as Somair. This resulted in a typical example of how France has almost total control of the uranium industry. That is, 85%. Another example: “France also has de jure voting and veto power within Niger’s financial institutions.”

 

There’s the continuing hostility of ECOWAS and the West. A no-fly zone was imposed and the freezing of Niger’s assets. The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has the world’s biggest drone base in Niger. And, leave to the CIA, it has a base which is claimed to have only drones. But who trusts the CIA nowadays? There’s probably more to it than meets the eye. Such as terroristic actions conducted in Niger.

 

The U.S. and France claim they have good intentions when dealing with Niger. That, is “secure the region against Islamic insurgent groups,” quoting from the A-APRP article. The U.S., especially, resorts to hypocrisy when one considers the U.S. funding of Islamic insurgent groups in Afghanistan, Syria and the creation of ISIS resulting from the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Further, the U.S./NATO alliance has used terrorist groups to destabilize the situation in Niger and other countries in the Sahel region. There have been attacks on civilians, all for maintaining business-as-usual where there’s an attempt by the West to expand the rule of capital, and usually at the expense of labor. 

 

One group that is trying to use diplomacy is the Eastern Group, located in Nigeria, according to The Whistler publication. It has cautioned ECOWAS not to use military force against Niger. Its National President, Charles Anike, emphasized to ECOWAS and the West: “We can’t keep condemning military coups in Africa, while the madness and recklessness of our political leaders are increasingly unabated. The political actors in Africa are basically the same and constitute mainly of the same species of wicked and selfish people.”

 

Anike adds: Before the coup in Niger, what efforts did ECOWAS make to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians? How has ECOWAS assisted the poor country? The truth is that the coup is both a revolution against the insensitive and corrupt civilian government and also a revolution to end continued colonial masters’ exploitations…”

 

Anike has emphasized diplomacy, and not continue with the same barbaric system that has been imposed on Niger and other African countries for generations.

 

Contrary to Reuters’ claim that the Niger coup was widely condemned, it probably has wide support, especially in the Global South.