The Last Kick of a Dying Horse

by Jídé Salawu

When General Abdou Assoumane Harouna took over Niger in a 2023 coup, France, a former colonial master that still held a solid imperial presence, vowed not to recognize his government. Emmanuel Macron’s dismissal was clear: the dethroned civilian Nigerien government was serving its masters’ interest, and his protection from Paris was expected. Not only did France maintain a military base in the Sahel region, it was also in control of the solid minerals, both practically and politically—including the uranium, which is found in large deposits in Niger. 

But there was a lot of grumbling from the public against the French, so the adamant Harouna rebuffed all threats, buoyed by public sentiment. France mounted its threat to Niger through neighboring Nigeria. The northern part of Nigeria also shares sociocultural cultural values with the Sahel territory.

Nigerian president Bola Tinubu decided to close Nigeria’s border against Niger, which sparked negative sentiments not only from Northern cultural stakeholders, but also from Northern political actors. One can add that these pressures were not accepted in good faith by Burkina Faso and Mali, countries likewise operating under military dictatorship, which had already parted ways with France.

Both France’s economic and political threats and Nigeria’s aggressive border closures eventually failed. Regional realignments followed the coup, again given that Mali and Burkina Faso’s coup-led governments had already sent the French packing. The Russians appeared in the background as France’s grip on West Africa weakened. 

In response to the decline in France's fast-plummeting image in West Africa, Macron came seeking another friend. And he has found one in Tinubu, deemed newly worthy of this imperial companionship.