Niger Military Coup: There’s More Than Meets the Eye. Wagner -Niger -Washington… What’s the Connection?
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Introduction
There were several military coups in West Africa lately. Mostly in former French colonies, and in many ways “neo-colonies” of France, that do arguably more harm to the Sahel countries than the more than 300 years of French “on-the-ground” colonies, or enslavement. Though, this latter crime is not to be discarded at all. It has been an across-Africa genocide of unimaginable proportions, that, so far went unpunished.
But the new crime, the financial and military strategic econo-political colonization, needs to be brought to the fore now.
Among the coup countries are Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, but also Nigeria – a former British colony.
Of all these “coups”, Niger gets by far the most attention, and seems to be at the center of the controversy.
At the outset it looked like the military staged a coup to get the France-friendly President Mohamed Bazoum (image right with President Macron), out of the way and to move away from French monetary hegemony, the Franc CFA (Communauté Financière Africaine, or African Financial Community). See also this and this.
On second thought, however, another image emerged, especially after Madame Victoria Nuland’s, US Deputy Secretary of State (August 7, 2023) personal visit to Niamey, Niger, where she was purportedly denied access to the deposed President, and was apparently snubbed by the new military leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani.
The latter is not very plausible, but is once more a “media coup” against the truth. Ever more evidence emerges that Niger’s coup was supported by the US. Washington has two military bases in Niger and at least between 3,000 and 4,000 military personnel stationed in Niger.
One of the US bases is a strategically important drone base, in the Agadez region, known as Niger Air Base 201. Following its permanent base in Djibouti, Niger Air Base 201 (image left ) stands as the second-largest US base in Africa. See this.
The 201 Air Base is owned by the Nigerien military, built and financed for by the United States. It is operated by the U.S. military as a drone base.
France still has at least 1,500 military stationed in Niger. This, even though French President Macron had promised to withdraw them, as soon as General Tchiani “requested” him to do so. Everything must be questioned now. Did Tchiani really request a withdrawal of French troops?
What appears (almost) sure is that the US were supporting the military coup, if not helping General Tchiani – who served as the chief of the Nigerien presidential guard (2011-2023) – to the military take-over. See also this important analysis by Professor Chossudovsky.
What’s at Stake?
The deposed President Mohamed Bazoum had Macron’s support, not only because he allowed France’s shameless exploitation of Niger through the CFA Franc (for more details see this), but also because France exploits Niger’s rich uranium and high-purity petrol – and has access to Niger’s other mineral riches. See this and this).
Besides, and maybe most importantly, Niger is a landlocked Sahel country, strategically located in the center of North Africa, between Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Nigeria, Chad and Libya (see map).
Being in control of Niger, (population 25 million), is in a way like being in control of Kosovo, the US-NATO engineered cut-out piece of land from Serbia (with the largest U.S. military base in Europe), in the middle of former Yugoslavia, bombed to rubble in 1999 by President Clinton, to divide and conquer – conquer the area.
That is what Niger may become, if the US has its say. Washington does not want France involved anymore. Being in control of Niger, is like being in control of at least northern West Africa, a resources-rich, but an extreme poverty-stricken territory – which Washington suspects may also interest Russia and possibly China.
The Role of the Wagner Private Army
It is not a well-kept secret that the private Russian Wagner army has had a foothold in this part of Africa with several thousand mercenaries for at least a couple of years, maybe longer – in Chad, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, and maybe even Nigeria.
Hypothetically, purely speculatively, let us assume the leader of the Wagner private army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was supposedly killed in a plane crash on 23 August 2023, between Moscow and St. Petersburg, is still alive, never was on that plane. Therefore, he may have escaped the crash.
This according to all official news, including by the Kremlin (2 days ago) was denied. Apparently Russian examinations by genetic tests, indicated that Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in the crash.
President Putin himself has confirmed that the remains of Yevgeny Prigozhin had been DNA-examined, and confirmed that he is dead.
OK, Prigozhin is no longer among the living.
For example, Dr. Joanna Szostek, Sr. Lecturer in Political Communication, University of Glasgow, expressed some doubts. She said, “It is very likely we will never exactly know what happened … “, as quoted here.
Rumors say, Prigozhin had been seen after the plane “accident”, in the Central African Republic, where he has his African headquarters, and where he is a hero.
It is worth noting that Prigozhin allegedly posted a video on August 21, 2023 from Africa. Was this two days before the plane crash or was it a video corresponding to an earlier date:
First proper Prigozhin video since the mutiny. He claims he’s in Africa “making Russia even greater on all continents.” https://t.co/P1TqX0ijAN pic.twitter.com/QkAx5IbMdZ
— max seddon (@maxseddon) August 21, 2023
See the recent video released by the Daily Mail
Still some doubts remain, one being Prigozhin’s firm habit not to get on the same plane with his top brass, for precisely the reason of a wanton or accidental crash.
Prigozhin had been “killed” before in the past couple of years, and reappeared.
So, who knows, this may be his final death.
See also the interview with an Ex-KGB agent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7LyfITOJVE
Just for argument’s sake, though very unlikely, a Russian mercenary army in Northern Central Africa that may still be fighting for Russia, would be most uncomfortable for Madame Nuland and her hegemonic ilk in Washington.
Or, is it possible Wagner could be bought by Washington? After all, mercenaries are killers for money.
What to Do About It?
The US attempt is to make sure that Niger, the country of strategy, a member of the US / NATO France supported ECOWAS, will not slip out into liberty from “independence” some 60 years ago.
Shortly after the Niger military coup, Mr. Putin has cautioned not to interfere in Niger’s internal affairs. He was referring precisely to ECOWAS which has “warned” of an ECOWAS military intervention, if the French aligned deposed President Bazoum, would not be returned immediately to the Presidency. In hindsight, and knowing what we know now, the ECOWAS warning too, was a media manufactured untruth by “design”.
ECOWAS is The Economic Community of West African States. It is one of 8 African regional political and economic unions. ECOWAS has 15 member countries located in Central and West Africa. But ECOWAS is divided within. Without the support of the US / NATO and France, it may fall apart. Therefore, a warning from ECOWAS has only meaning when an “arrangement” has been reached before.
Le Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie (CNSP), roughly translated as “National Movement for the Defense of the Homeland”, headed by the Military Junta’s General Tchiani, is supported by the Pentagon. At least five members of the military coup (July 26, 2023) received their military training in the U.S.
This means the US is well-established within Niger, and by association within central and West Africa – and they do not want to lose out on this highly strategic – and resources-rich – African position; not to the French, not to the Russians – and not to China.
But, then there is still the unconfirmed suspicion of a mercenary army roaming in Western Africa – and who knows – just in case – what their plans might be, and for whom they might fight.
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Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for online journals and is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).
Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.
