Niger: Ten reasons why there shouldn’t be a military intervention

The Sahel belt covers an area of about 1,000 km wide. Stretching Senegal in the west to Eriteria in the east on the Red Sea and covering a total area of 5,400 km. It covers 13 States namely Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), South Sudan, Sudan, and Eritrea.

The Sahel is an Arabic term for the "Coast or Shore". That is the coast or shore of the Sahara desert. 10,000 people were killed in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali in 2022. The Sahel is where great warriors like Samoru Toure and Babatu fought the French before colonial rule. Babatu is buried in New Yendi, some 60 miles east of Tamale.

Niger’s location is strategic. She is strategically located across the middle of the Sahel. For efficient air traffic to Europe, Southern Africa, East and the Horn of Africa, and Asia. Any war will make air travel much more costly.

Niger has strategic minerals reserves including uranium. It supplies 24.3 percent of uranium to Europe. Specifically, France to power its nuclear plants, and, yet the vast majority of Nigeria (80 percent) have no electricity. Any war would disrupt vital supplies to Europe. Unfortunately, Europe lost its natural gas supplies from the Russian Federation.

The fight against the jihadists in the Sahel is extremely important for the security of the Sahel and the littoral states of Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo. Nigeria’s armed forces are in joint operations with Chadian and Nigerian armies around Lake Chad and in northern Nigeria. This is so important for the security of the northern states sharing a common border with Niger. The states are Adamawa, Jigawa, Sokoto,Bauchi, Kebbi, Borno, Yobe, Katsina and Zamfara.

There are strong historical relationships between Niger and Nigeria and they are Islamic relations, Cultural, and above all political. The pan-African language Hausa is spoken in both countries. President Mahamadu Buhari’s father is from Niger, and so are the relatives of many influential military, politicians, religious and opinion leaders. The Republic of Niger resisted pressure from France to support Biafra during the Nigerian civil war between 1967 - 1970. France was the biggest supplier of weapons to Biafra. Whilst the Union of Soviet Socialist States (USSR) was the main supporter of the Federal Republic’s armed forces.

Any military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States backed by France, Britain, Germany, Canada, and the USA will create collateral damages unheard of in the world. There would be genocide, more jihadists, more unregulated armed groups, communal violence, religious intolerance, and most importantly human and economic violations. Just examine Libya post Colonel Gaddafi (2011 - 2023).

Egypt is having huge security challenges controlling its border with Libya. Jihadists in Libya are trying to infiltrate Egypt. So are Mali, Niger, and Sudan. Libya is a failed state today. European companies are freely exploiting Libya’s natural resources freely!

Any country that sends troops, and its people would live to regret it. Niger is a Sahel and desert country. The climate is hostile. Hence, Ghanaians, Togolese or Nigerians, or Senegalese troops would need specific equipment, specifically quality intelligence.

West African leaders should not trust the Europeans and others who are promising equipment, and finance among others. They will treat the African troops as ‘second’ class human beings. These troops shall return to stage coups if the intervening forces meet their Waterloo (1815) or Dhen Bien Phu (1954).

West African leaders should learn from the disastrous Gambian intervention in the Economic Community Monitoring Group (Ecomog) in Liberia. Captain Yahya Jammeh staged a coup against the respected African leader, President Sir David Dawda Jawara. West Africans should remember the soft-spoken President, Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone, a former World Bank and United Nations official. He was overthrown by Captain Valentine Strasser because the Republic of Sierra Leone armed forces stated that they were not well equipped for the ECOWAS operations in Liberia.

There will be irregular armed formations and banditry in a few countries post the invasion of Niger. It is important to note Captain Foday Sankor’s United Revolutionary From (RUF). The RUF invaded Sierra Leone soon after Ecomog went into Liberia in 1991.

It is only the Europeans, the Americans, their military-industrial complex, and multinational corporations that will benefit from this impending catastrophe.

Africans will kill each other to make it easy, and cheaper for the exploitation of Africa’s natural resources to continue by foreign businesses and military forces. See Libya.

A word to ECOWAS. Negotiate for the release of President Mohamed Bazoum. Arrange and send him to Cairo, Egypt.

Next, focus on the mismanagement of governance before and post-elections to avoid coups. Fight corruption. Use lifestyle audit. The deficit in justice, security, and governance needs immediate attention.

There is too much injustice in the Sahel and Africa in general. No threats can prevent coups. Only democratic governance can save constitutional governance. And, this calls for more professionalism and patriotism at all levels of governance in Africa.

Every Ghanaian knows that the 1992 constitution is outdated, outmoded and demands changes to reinvigorate constitutional democracy. Yet, not the NDC, NPP nor the CPP is thinking and acting strategically to correct this historic wrong created by the populist, Flt Lt John Jerry Rawlings, and the group of decadent intellectuals who shepherded the constitutional process from 1990.

Lenin, the great Russian revolutionary would say this coming ECOWAS war is unjust. Africans must not surrender to France’s demands. If the French were humble and had not led the bombing of Libya there would be no coups in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.

No to military intervention in Niger. No to coups. ECOWAS, give diplomacy a chance. What is good for the Republic of Chad? Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso must surely be good for Niger.