The coup d’etat in Niger has been touted as the end of neo-colonialism in the country. But how does this military takeover adversely affect local and regional security?
In the morning of 26 July 2023, the Nigerien Presidential Guards headed by General Abdourahamane Tchiani launched a coup d’etat against the democratic elected president of the country. By dusk, military men had taken over the presidential palace in Niamey. Though the National Guard was initially ready to combat the putschists, they later gave in to allow peace and preserve the life of the detained President Mohamed Bazoum. When the initial confusion was cleared and it became obvious that Bazoum had indeed been ousted by Niger’s military, spontaneous celebrations broke out across the country—and even beyond. Towards the end of late 2020, Azeez Ishola, a Nigerien of Nigerian descent had been studying in the University of Ilorin, a tertiary institution in north-central Nigeria. In the same year, the 29-year-old undergraduate met some other Nigeriens who had also departed Niger, citing bad governance and limited education as reasons they went to Nigeria. ‘I was very happy about the overthrow of the democratic government because we cannot say this country (Niger) is a sovereign nation if there is excessive French influence,’ he said...
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