Niger: Towards absolute sovereignty under the leadership of General Abdourahmane Tiani

Since the arrival in power of the authorities of the Conseil national pour le sauvegarde de la Patrie (CNSP), led by General Abdourahmane Tiani, Niger has begun to move towards absolute sovereignty. In a strong statement made last weekend during two interviews in local languages broadcast on the national television station, Télé Sahel, in Djerma and Haoussa, General Tiani affirmed that «the people of Niger will now dictate the shape of future relations with France»

Indeed, these statements follow Emmanuel Macron’s announcement regarding the departure of the French ambassador in Niamey, Sylvain Itté, and the withdrawal of the 1.500 French soldiers present in Niger by the end of the year. The Niger authorities expelled this French diplomat at the request of the Nigerien people, and decreed the military cooperation agreements with Paris, affirming their desire to see the departure of French troops on Nigerien soil. During the meeting, General Tiani stressed that preparations are underway for their departure.

Committed to Niger’s sovereignty, the CNSP finds itself in a tug of war with the former colonial powers that exploit the country’s wealth, leaving it in a situation of great poverty. For General Tiani: «As they (the French) were there to fight terrorism and they unilaterally stopped all cooperation (…) their stay in Niger came to an end». «They said they came to help eradicate terrorism. Not only have they not driven out the terrorists, but there are more and more terrorists» he said.

General Tiani recalled the establishment of a «national dialogue» to rewrite the texts repressing Nigerien political life. Abdourahamane Tiani recalled the establishment of a «national dialogue» to write new texts governing Nigerien political life. Since the events of 26 July, Niger has been subject to political and economic sanctions by ECOWAS, which has threatened the country with armed intervention. According to General Tiani, this organization «did not even try» to «know the reasons» of the coup. He deplores that «the populations suffer from the embargo».

Criticised by Western and African countries, the CNSP regime has found new allies in Mali and Burkina Faso. The latter, led by patriotic heads of state, are full of the spirit of sovereignty. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have recently created a defence cooperation, hence the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). This alliance will be followed by an economic agreement between these three States, revealed General Abdourahamane Tiani.

LY Assana