In an Interview given to our colleague from RFI, he spoke about France's presence in West Africa and particularly in relation to the putschists in Niamey. And, in passing, he answered in particular the following question:
“The CNSP junta has also placed great emphasis on France's responsibility in this crisis. During the debate at the United Nations General Assembly last week, the representatives of Mali and Burkina Faso hit the nail on the head in the name of Niger by speaking of neocolonialism, imperialism, sovereignty flouted by Paris. With the recall of the troops, is the CNSP not finally depriving itself of an argument which has largely contributed to rallying many Nigeriens to its cause?
Maybe, but that's not the main thing. Look at public opinions in Mali or Burkina: the French troops have left and the expression - almost sometimes hysterical - of anti-French sentiment, that is to say that France would still be behind ECOWAS and would manipulate everything, continues to exist. So, I don't think that would be enough. It is certain that the military regime uses or manipulates this anti-French sentiment, which is complex to understand. Because it is based on real phenomena: the crimes of colonization, the errors – to say the least – of the Central African Republic; and then, at the same time, there are improbable conspiracy theories, repeated at the UN by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali, according to which France helps terrorists, etc. It's a mix, but it's a fairly powerful collective imagination, even though France is no longer capable of pulling all the strings, nor of wanting to appropriate natural resources. It's a finite era, but in the collective imagination, it is still capable of it. I think it will take time, France must agree to be a little more silent. It may also be necessary for public opinion to realize that the hyper-nationalist discourse of the military hides, in fact, governance that is just as deplorable as those they claimed to suppress.”
Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan is not unknown in academic circles both in France and in Africa. Born July 11, 1941 in France, he is a French and Nigerien anthropologist, Professor of anthropology (director of studies) at the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences in Marseille. Emeritus Research Director at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, and Associate Professor at Abdou-Moumouni University (Niamey, Niger) where he founded the Master of Socio-Anthropology of Health. He has been conducting research in Niger since the 1960s.
France's announced departure from Niger Republic, as it has already done in Mali and Burkina Faso, is good news first of all for France itself and especially for the French. In that it frees itself from an untenable situation which had become a burden both for its diplomats and for its Army. Now, Niger Republic will have to be able to take responsibility for itself. There will be no more France as a scapegoat for all the ills of Niger Republic, and nothing more to arouse hatred against France and mobilize in favor of the putschists. The Citizens of Niger Republic will thus be able to take their Destiny in their hands, which many believe was rather in the hands of France.
What will still be left for them to fully assume their Destiny: renounce the CFA Franc, change French as the official language to elect a new language or several national languages, etc.? In short, they will no longer be able to accuse France of being at the origin of their misfortunes. In this way, this is already excellent news for Niger people.
The question is not to support France in any way or to like Emmanuel Macron or not to like him, but to refuse that to justify their coups d'Etat, soldiers sponsored by Wagner or Vladimir Putin's Russia hide behind the mask of neocolonialist or imperialist France, responsible for all the ills of Africa. Argument that the putschists only draw their weapons after their coups. And not before when it was necessary to pocket aid from France or other Western countries in the name of the fight against Terrorism and whose management left something to be desired, particularly in Niger Republic.
It is far too easy to raise the scarecrow of Colonization to unite people who cannot see beyond the end of their noses and who do not understand much about socio-political realities, both national and international. Just as it is always easier to unite around lies than around the truth. Forgetting that Colonization, in every sense of the term, is a permanent fact of relations in all human societies, whether between individuals from the most nuclear nucleus to the most global between countries or groups of countries. If we were to mention internal colonization to the African peoples themselves, there would not be many peoples to coexist and live together in peace following the display of what were the historical realities of relations between various Africans peoples. Dwelling on France's colonial past cannot therefore mask the coups d'Etat which must be condemned without appeal. And the Niger Republic coup is an integral part of these coups. One cannot continue to tolerate putschists sheltering behind the argument of the presence of France which they see everywhere - including behind ECOWAS - to take hostage all the citizens of their countries under the pretext that they are the defenders of national sovereignty against France. Which is worse, when one knows that they are only puppets of Wagner and Russia of Vladimir Putin.
Time is a great teacher, it is often said. In History, time is often long. But it is always important not to have too short a memory. The main thing is to always assume one's responsibilities, come what may, and to never end up saying: one didn't understand, one weren't told that and so on, all these kinds of excuses that one finds himself after having understood his mistakes in order to try to clear himself of having blindly followed a certain trend without thinking about it beforehand. Sovereignty, before being that which one claims at a higher level, must always and above all be that of one's own reflection regarding a given situation at a more personal level. Before wanting a Sovereign State, one must first be individually sovereign in his own reflections: be able to think for himself or herself to distinguish between what is true and what is not, what is reasonable and what is not, what people tell you and what you think yourself... Without ever following anyone other than your own conscience and your judgment. Is this the case for the Niger people who demonstrate loudly in favor of the CNSP P putschists? The future will tell…
By Marcus Boni Teiga
