WAGNER group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has emerged as a staunch advocate of the military coup in Niger Republic.

The erstwhile presidential guards, now Niger’s new military rulers, have been at the receiving end of condemnations and threats from the international community ever since they pushed aside the elected President, Mohammed Bazoum, on Wednesday, July 26. African leaders and the international community have rallied round Bazoum, who was held hostage by the ‘National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland’, the military junta headed by Omar Tchiani, former commander of the presidential guards.

The African Union (AU) on July 28 issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta to reinstall Niger’s democratically elected government. The AU Peace and Security Council, after an emergency meeting, directed the soldiers behind the coup to “return immediately and unconditionally to their barracks and restore constitutional authority, within a maximum of fifteen (15) days”. The AU also demanded immediate and unconditional release of Bazoum, warning that failure to do so would compel it to take “necessary action, including punitive measures” against the military junta.

The sub-regional bloc, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on Sunday, July 30, went a step further by imposing sanctions and threatening military force against the coup leaders, if they fail to reinstate Bazoum within a week. ECOWAS leaders had convened an emergency summit in Abuja, Nigerian capital, to address the coup. A communique issued after the meeting announced sanctions on the military rulers, including travel ban and asset freeze. With immediate effect, the sub-regional leaders agreed that borders with Niger would be closed and commercial flights banned. Also, financial transactions are to be halted, Niger’s national assets in member countries frozen and aid would be ended.

Further measures would be taken against Niger if constitutional order was not restored in the country. “Such measures may include the use of force,” the communique noted, adding that defence ministers of member nations would meet to discuss further on the procedure.

Russia’s Wagner Group defends coup

It remains to be seen whether ECOWAS would indeed send troops to Niger to force the military leaders to step down. But Niger’s military rulers already have capable military support in Prigozhin and his Wagner Group.

Even before ECOWAS leaders threatened force against the coup leaders, Prigozhin had, in a message posted on social media, defended the coup, going ahead to suggest that his mercenaries would be ready and willing to work for the military leaders should the need arise. Prigozhin’s Wagner Group fighters are currently in neighboring Mali at the invitation of the country’s military junta.

Defending the coup in Niger, Prigozhin blamed the development on the ‘legacies’ of colonialism and alleged that Western countries, such as United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and others, were sponsoring terrorism in the West African country. “What happened in Niger has been brewing for years. The former colonizers are trying to keep the people of African countries in check. In order to keep them in check, the former colonizers are filling these countries with terrorists and various bandit formations. Thus creating a colossal security crisis. The population suffers. And this is the (the reason for) love for PMC (private military company) Wagner, this is the high efficiency of PMC Wagner. Because a thousand soldiers of PMC Wagner are able to establish order and destroy terrorists, preventing them from harming the peaceful population of states.”

Supporters of Niger coup leaders seek Russia’s backing

The Tchiani-led National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, now in charge in Niger, is yet to, publicly, respond to the Wagner Group’s overtures. But supporters of the country’s new military leaders have already aligned with Russia, openly seeking the backing of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Although the Russian government had, in the immediate aftermath of the coup, condemned the development, demanding Bazoum’s release by the junta, thousands of supporters of the new military government responded to the threat of military force issued by ECOWAS on Sunday, July 30 by staging a sometimes violent protest in front of the French Embassy in Niamey, the country’s capital. The demonstrators, who voiced anger over colonial ruler France’s influence over the country, chanted in support of Russia and its ruler, Putin.

The French flag was burnt by the mob, and according to reports by CNN, amid chants of “Long live Russia!”, “Long live Putin!”, “Down with France!”, the protesters tore down a plaque identifying the French Embassy, marched on it and then replaced it with Russian and Nigerien flags.

France, Western nations fret over coup

It is indeed troubling times for France, especially, and other Western nations, whose influence in Africa is being continuously eroded by anti-democratic forces which are bent on upending historical alliances and relationships.

Niger was a French colony until its independence in 1960. France has maintained a strong influence on the West African country and its natural resources ever since.

Niger hosts a French military base and is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium, a fuel which is vital for nuclear power. A greater volume of the country’s uranium deposits goes to Europe, particularly France. Bazoum was a staunch ally of the West in the fight against militant Islamists. He was also seen as a strong economic partner of Western nations. His election in 2021 was Niger’s first democratic transition of power since independence in 1960.

However, attacks by Islamist jihadists escalated in Niger after he came to power, and there is a belief among citizens that the French is not doing enough to help the country. Rather, France has been accused of only being interested in exploiting the country’s mineral resources. The anti-French sentiment, a major driving factor in the Niger coup, also contributed to the successful military overthrow of democratically elected governments in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso.

Once they took power, Mali’s military rulers embraced the Wagner Group after first forcing out French troops. The junta then pushed for the departure of thousands of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers. Burkina Faso’s military government has also grown close to Russia and expelled hundreds of French forces.

Bazoum’s government regularly banned anti-French protests, which became regular in the country after he approved the redeployment of France’s Barkhane forces to Niger after they were ordered to leave Mali. The presence of French troops in Niger, in addition to the rising cost of living and poor governance, was a major complaint against Bazoum’s administration.

French President Emmanuel Macron was quick to condemn the coup, describing it as “completely illegitimate and deeply dangerous to Nigeriens, Niger, and for the entire region”. Macron demanded the “liberation of President Bazoum and the restoration of the constitutional order” while also backing sanctions and any other measures taken by ECOWAS and the AU. France, alongside other members of the European Union (EU) equally cut off financial support to Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries.

But it appears that the colonial power is now being forced to retreat from its former colony.

Following the attacks on its embassy in Niamey, France authorities, on Tuesday, July 1, commenced preparations to evacuate French and other European nationals from the country.

The United States (US) joined France in condemning the coup, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken going further to warn the military junta that “hundreds of millions of dollars of (US) assistance was at risk” if Bazoum was not reinstalled as President. According to a statement from the US State Department, Blinken also called Bazoum severally to pledge America’s “unflagging support” to the deposed President. Like France, the US also backed the sanctions advanced by the AU and ECOWAS against the coup leaders. On July 26, the European Union (EU) suspended all security assistance to Niger, further announcing it would no longer provide financial support to the country. “This unacceptable attack on the integrity of Niger’s republican institutions will not remain without consequences for the partnership and cooperation between the European Union and Niger, in all its various aspects,” the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borell said.

Russia’s allies back coup leaders

While the Western nations fret over the coup in Niger, Russia’s profile has continued to rise in the country. BBC reported that since the July 26 coup, Russian flags have suddenly appeared on the streets of Niger.

Russia has not publicly endorsed the coup. But Putin’s allies in the sub-region have backed Niger’s military rulers.

Although he led an armed rebellion against the Kremlin in June, Prigozhin and his Wagner Group could still be advancing the interests of the Russian government, as happened in the Ukraine war. At the end of the uprising against the Kremlin, Prigozhin and his troops agreed to leave Russia and head to Belarus but, according to CNN, the Wagner Group leader was seen in St. Petersburg, Russia’s capital, on July 27, meeting with an African leader on the sidelines of a summit between African nations and Russia.

Prigozhin speaking out in defence of the coup could as well be Russia backing the military junta, by proxy.

But the most telling indication of Russia’s direct, or indirect, influence on the state of affairs in Niger came on July 31, when the military governments of Burkina Faso and Mali warned that any military intervention against the coup leaders would be considered a “declaration of war” against their nations. The military governments in the two countries forged alliances with Russia after overthrowing pro-Western democratically elected governments. In a clearly coordinated move, the pro-Russia military rulers of Mali and Burkina Faso issued the warning in a joint statement read out on their national televisions. The warning was in apparent response to the threat by ECOWAS of possible deployment of military force against the coup leaders.

“Any military intervention against Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali,” the two countries warned. They added that such action could result in disastrous consequences that could destabilise the entire region. Mali and Burkina Faso did not stop at that. They declared that they have refused to apply the “illegal, illegitimate and inhumane sanctions against the people and authorities of Niger”, thereby undermining the measures taken by ECOWAS and members of the international community against the coup.