Barely the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum ousted, the new leader of Niger, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, holder of the post of chief of the presidential guard presented himself this Friday, July 28 as the new strong man of the country. Those close to Bazoum denounce “a coup d’etat for personal convenience”, Tchiani being at the origin of the fall of the old power.
General Tchiani appeared on national television screens to read a statement as “President of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland (CNSP)”, the junta that overthrew Mohamed Bazoum. Then proclaimed head of state by his peers, he justified Wednesday’s coup by “the deterioration of the security situation” in a Niger plagued by violence from jihadist groups.
Under President Bazoum, there was “the political discourse” which wanted to make believe that “everything is fine”, while there is “the harsh reality with its share of deaths, displacements, humiliation and frustration” , he said. According to him, “the current security approach has not made it possible to secure the country despite the heavy sacrifices made by Nigeriens and the appreciable and appreciated support of our external partners”, France and the United States being among the main by deploying approximately 1,500 and 1,100 soldiers respectively.
The general asked “Niger’s partners and friends, at this crucial stage in the life of our country, to trust our Defense and Security Forces, guarantors of national unity”. He also questioned “a security approach” which “excludes any real collaboration with Burkina Faso and Mali”, two neighboring countries of Niger, also led by putschist soldiers and hit by jihadist violence.
Echoing every point of his speech, two deputy directors of Mohamed Bazoum’s cabinet, Daouda Takoubakoye and Oumar Moussa, denounced a “coup for personal convenience justified by arguments drawn exclusively from social networks”, in response to the first statement by the head of the junta. Another relative of Bazoum confided that the “replacement” of Abdourahamane Tchiani and “an in-depth overhaul of the presidential guard should be decided this Thursday (July 27) in the Council of Ministers”.
General Tchiani, a discreet high-ranking officer, has commanded the presidential guard since his appointment in 2011 by Issoufou Mahamadou, Mohamed Bazoum’s predecessor. Shortly after his televised intervention, a press release from the junta warned against “any foreign military intervention”, while “some former dignitaries holed up in chancelleries in collaboration with the latter are in a logic of confrontation”.
Mr. Bazoum spent Friday with his family his 3rd day of sequestration in his presidential residence, but was able to speak on the telephone with other heads of state, including French President Emmanuel Macron who condemned “with the most great firmness” the putsch having overthrown him and demanded his release. “This coup is completely illegitimate and deeply dangerous for Nigeriens, for Niger, and for the entire region,” he said from Papua New Guinea. On Saturday, he will chair a Defense and National Security Council devoted to Niger.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs then indicated that France “does not recognize the authorities” resulting from the putsch. After a demonstration on Thursday by supporters of the junta, some of whom were waving Russian flags and interspersed with incidents, a new rally of opposition parties to President Bazoum was banned.
The junta, which brings together all the corps of the army, the gendarmerie and the police, suspended the institutions, closed the land and air borders, and established a curfew. The putsch was strongly condemned by Niger’s Western partners, several African countries and the UN, who called for Bazoum’s release. A “special summit” of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to which Niger belongs, will take place on Sunday in Abuja to assess the situation after the putsch, with likely sanctions.
In Nairobi, Kenyan President William Ruto said that with this coup, “Africa has suffered a serious setback in its democratic progress”. The European Union, through the voice of the head of its diplomacy Josep Borrell, threatened Friday to suspend “all budgetary support”. The NGO Human Rights Watch has estimated that human rights are “threatened” after the putsch, the junta having however affirmed Friday “its will” to respect “human rights”. Privileged partner of France in the Sahel and rich in uranium, Niger has a history marked by coups since the independence of this former French colony in 1960.
