top of page
Cosmétiques au romarin

COUP IN NIGER: URGENT NEED TO LIFT ECOWAS SANCTIONS



The coup d'état that occurred on July 26 in Niger saw the advent on the national and international political scene of Brigadier General Abdourahmane TIANI, President of the National Council for the Protection of the Homeland (CNSP).

Following this coup which saw the overthrow of Mohamed Bazoum, many Nigeriens demonstrated in the streets their support for the new junta. Almost immediately, ECOWAS met to take a battery of measures to make the new authorities in Niamey unpopular.

​We are thus witnessing the suspension of financial and commercial transactions with Niger, which means that in fact, the country is asphyxiated, and no goods can leave or enter Niamey. Niger is a landlocked country which depends 95% on its neighbors for its supply of basic necessities.


The main corridor likely to allow imports passes through the port of Cotonou in Benin. Since then, long lines of trucks loaded with goods have been waiting on both sides of the borders.

The same is true for basic necessities such as medicines. From now on, hospitals lack everything, from a simple plaster to paracetamol tablets. Vaccination campaigns are stopped, due to the expiration of vaccines, while malnutrition is resuming with a vengeance. Niger is an integral part of the Sahel countries where human development indices were already not very eloquent even during the time of the previous regime. The effects of poverty are aggravated by the power cut. Indeed, despite the extraction of uranium to supply French nuclear power plants, Niger imports 90% of its electricity from neighboring Nigeria. The Nigerian President, Bola Tunubu, very committed to economic sanctions and even the war against Niger, has decreed the cessation of the electricity supply to this neighboring country.


In addition, all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger are suspended. The assets of the Republic of Niger have been frozen at the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). This means that the country's financial system is under pressure and it is difficult for the new authorities to honor debt service. Moreover, the country's traditional partners (World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union, UNDP, etc.) have, in the wake of ECOWAS, ceased all cooperation. Under these conditions, it is difficult for the Niamey authorities to honor their commitments to civil servants, for example, or other vital services necessary for the functioning of the state apparatus.



​One would have thought that in such circumstances the people would become discouraged and denounce the new authorities of the country. That no !!! The resilience of Nigeriens is spectacular, as evidenced by the daily demonstrations in the capital Niamey, where thousands of young people gather every day in front of French bases to demand the departure of some 1,500 men.

Since the putsch of July 26, these demonstrations have not weakened, but they are gaining momentum as we witness a hardening of French positions, and in particular of representatives of the French public authorities who have become autistic.



2 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page