This is not the umpteenth coup d'état in Africa to which we (guiltily) have become accustomed: Niger fell after the army declared its support for the coup plotters of the presidential guard and arrested the President Boom, the last bastion of the western partners in the Sahel disappears, that great piece of Africa, from West to East which, like a belt, tightens the continent just above the Sahara desert. On the other hand, this is exactly what Sahel means in Arabic, "edge of the desert".
Specifically, Niger, almost four times the size of Italy, just under 23 million inhabitants, is "a fundamental country for the stability of the Sahel”, as stated by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. One of the few countries in the area – let us add – to have maintained a close relationship with the former mother country, France, from which Niger gained independence in August 1960.
Niger: What Happens Now? Eyes on France
Eyes are focused right onto France which guarantees the security of the country with the 2.000 soldiers of the Barkhane mission, who arrived in Niamey after withdrawing from Mali and Burkina Faso.
Security, however, on which they have also invested US and EU: Americans with half a billion dollars, Europeans with the Takuba mission, which also includes Italy with 300 soldiers.
What will these bigwigs do now in the face of the possibility of losing forever the fundamental piece necessary for the stability of the region?
We don't know, but they will have to do something, also because Niger is the only country in the area that Wagner's Russian mercenaries they have not yet swallowed and to which, however, it is tempting. If only for the uranium mines, a highly sought-after mineral of which the country is the fifth largest extractor in the world.
Niger: Country rich in raw materials, but among the poorest in the world
And speaking of riches, it is worth mentioning that Niger also has gold and oil, in addition to coal, iron and phosphates, but, as often happens in Africa, and not only, despite so much goodness, the country occupies the last position in the development charts and quality of life, 189th out of 189; so that the life expectancy of its inhabitants, half of whom are 15 years old, does not reach 60.
in short 74% of Nigerians live in total poverty. Which does not prevent the country from being among the most hospitable in Africa, welcoming the thousands of migrants who stop right in Niger waiting to collect what is necessary to reach the coast and then embark for Europe. And, curiously, the city of Agadez itself, the crossroads and gathering point of the most suffering humanity, is one of the three Nigerien sites declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Putin behind the coup?
Going back to the coup d'état, it is legitimate to ask whether behind that group of nine soldiers who, presenting themselves on TV on Wednesday as the National Center for the Protection of the Homeland, announced that they had put an end to President Bazoum's regime, there is Putin and his Wagner mercenaries since the puzzle in Russian format is missing the Niger piece.
At the Farnesina they don't believe itmore likely, say the experts of our foreign ministry, that we are dealing with a palace conspiracy.
It is no coincidence that everything started - they explain - from "a change of mood" on the part of the presidential guard who on Wednesday practically put the president under house arrest. Although it is not yet clear what was the reason that prompted the praetorians to kidnap the president.
Niger before the coup
Mohamed Bazoum, 63, in power since 2021, is considered a strong and loyal Western ally in a region that, with a Sunni Muslim majority, has become the African epicenter of jihadism. The explosion of terrorist violence has been enormous and precisely in the area close to Niger, between Burkina Faso and Mali, there have been 1.800 attacks and 4.600 victims in the first months of this year alone, according to the numbers provided by Omar Touray, president of the Ecowas Commission, the Economic Community of West African States.
Since its independence from France actually Niger has known more years of instability politics than tranquility, with at least four different coups, from the first in 1974 to that of 2010; then in 2021, just two days before Bazoum was sworn in; and in 2022, when the interior minister attempted to seize power while the president was abroad.
In reality, the call of the wild of authoritarianism does not concern only Niger. The coup seems to be back in fashion in a large part of Africa, as explained in the excellent book by Ambassador Giuseppe Mistretta, "Quicksand", published by Luiss University Press.
Mistretta, a long-time diplomat, occupying various roles, both in the field (Libya, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia) and at the Farnesina, (director of affairs for the sub-Saharan area) wonders if democracy on the continent has been put in a corner. The question is pertinent given that in two years there have been seven coups. The fact is that in recent years Africa, as we know, has been targeted by countries where democracy either does not exist (China) or has declined in a less credible way (Turkey, Russia).
And while the Western democracies stood by, the “Three of Democracy” they took possession of African riches in exchange sometimes for infrastructures, sometimes for security. And in both cases they were concerned with instilling in African leaders the poison of disengagement from democracy and the West.
And therefore, as Mistretta wonders: that Africa will be born from this clash between democracy and authoritarianism? Who knows if the answer will also come from how things will go in Niger.
