Coups, an endless cycle in landlocked Niger

Ahmed Adel

Niger gained its independence from France at the beginning of the 1960s.

Since then, it has witnessed four military coups, the latest of which was carried out by the Presidential Guard against elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, last month.

This made Niger enter a new cycle of instability that will contribute to the aggravation of its political; economic; security, and social crises.

The ethnic makeup of this African country has been a driving force of political crises in it.

Niger’s Tuareg tribes staged an insurgency in the northern part of the state in the past years.

The insurgency brought a large number of political gains for the Tuaregs.

The four coups that took place in Niger since 1960 were successful. It also witnessed other botched coups.

In 1974, Niger witnessed its first military coup after independence. This army movement was led by Gen. Seni konchi, the then army chief of staff, who overthrew President Diori Hamani. The putsch leaders also shot the president’s wife dead.

On January 27, 1996, a second coup caused the overthrow of the first democratically-elected president, Mahamani Osman, after almost 3 years in power. prime minister, Hama Amadou, was arrested in the coup. Ibrahim Bari Manasra was installed as president.

On April 9, 1999, the third coup that overthrew Manasra took place after three years of rule. Daouda Mallam Wanke was installed as president.

On 18 February 2010, Niger witnessed a fourth coup which was led by Col. Adamu Haruna against president Tanguy Mamadou.

The Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy was then formed. It was headed by Salo Gebo.

In 2016, four army officers confessed to planning a coup attempt.

In 2021, the government announced the foiling of a military coup attempt, two days before the swearing-in of president-elect Mohamed Bazuom as the new president of the country, succeeding President Mohamed Youssef.

Bazoum assumed the presidency of Niger in February 2021, but faced a second coup attempt in March 2023, during a visit to Turkey.

For her part, African affairs researcher, Nourhan Sharara, said the conflict in Niger is not a local one.

It is rather, she added, an international conflict between Russia, on the one hand, and France, on the other.

She noted that Russia wants to trim the influence of both the US and France in this African country.

“Russia declared war on American and French presence in Africa as a priority in the latest Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg,” Sharara told The Reference.

She added that the Nigerien economy depends on uranium ore exports.

She noted that Niger is the richest country in the region in that metal.

“It gives great economic aspiration for many political and economic forces,” Sharara said of uranium ore.

“After the latest coup, Niger became an easy and coveted catch for many uranium-seekers, despite warnings by both sides of the crisis from external interference,” she added.