Niger: The safe haven surrounded by jihadist radicals, Russian Wagner mercenaries and madcap dictators

In a area beset with violent strife, Islamist insurgency, Russia’s Wagner mercenaries and unstable army regimes, the Sahel state of Niger has turn out to be a spotlight of Western curiosity as a safety and financial companion.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has visited not too long ago, and the protection secretary, Lloyd Austin, is because of comply with. The nation’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, has met Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and was one of many few notable non-Commonwealth African heads of state in London for King Charles’s coronation.

Mr Bazoum spoke to The Impartial in regards to the points going through his nation, together with the specter of Wagner, a jihadist surge being fuelled by the local weather disaster, the necessity to entice overseas funding to assist drive training and employment, and efforts to foster relations with the West and Britain.

Niger, which is 5 instances the dimensions of the UK and has a inhabitants of 27 million, is wealthy in mineral wealth and produces 7 per cent of the world’s provide of uranium. The US and the UK claimed, memorably and falsely, within the run-up to the Iraq invasion, that Saddam Hussein was looking for to acquire uranium yellowcake from Niger for his WMD programme.

The Wagner Group, owned by Vladimir Putin’s ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, is closely concerned in profitable business ventures in Africa, in addition to having a widespread army presence. Among the proceeds go in direction of funding its present army operations in Ukraine, which price an estimated $100m (£80m) a month.

Wagner has established itself in Niger’s neighbouring states – in Libya, the place it has secured oil belongings, and in Mali, the place its arrival on the invitation of the army regime led to the withdrawal of French, British and different Western forces.

There are experiences that the corporate can be working in Burkina Faso, one other nation French forces have not too long ago left. The president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has claimed that Burkina Faso’s military rulers are paying the mercenaries with rights to a gold mine.

“Wagner is actually a really actual presence in our area,” Mr Bazoum mentioned throughout a go to to London. “They’re in Libya, which continues to be risky and from the place we’ve had weapons going to the Islamists in different nations ever because the fall of [Muammar] Gaddafi.

“They’re in Mali: has Wagner’s presence in Mali led to any profit for Mali? I might say in no way. Now we have actually no intention of inviting them into our nation. They create issues, [they] don’t remedy them. We all know they’ve been engaged in disinformation campaigns in opposition to us.”

A faux social media put up claimed that Mr Bazoum had confronted a coup whereas visiting Macron in Paris; one other that the French had armed a gaggle of jihadists who killed 17 members of Niger’s armed forces at across the similar time. Each of those posts have been traced to the Lakhta challenge, a troll farm financed by Mr Prigozhin, which has been sanctioned by the US since 2018.

Blinken, throughout his go to to Niger, warned of the malign affect of Wagner. “Now we have already seen it finish badly in a lot of locations the place Wagner has been current; dangerous issues have been inevitable,” he mentioned.

Many African states level out that Russia has taken benefit of a scarcity of Western dedication within the continent. The US secretary of state offered a spread of initiatives, together with $233m in humanitarian help for the Sahel over the yr. There could be a “complete” safety deal, which might additionally focus “on good governance, on improvement, on creating alternative, on being aware of the wants of the folks”, he mentioned.

Mr Bazoum, who was elected in April 2021, mentioned: “Terrorism destroys society. However we all know that army motion is simply a part of the answer in countering extremism. Schooling and jobs are very important to make sure younger folks don’t flip in direction of violence.

“Our entire space is going through this Islamist risk. However joint operations with Mali and Burkina Faso are proving troublesome as a result of they’re run by miliary regimes. We have to defend our democratic system.”

Niger is without doubt one of the nations hardest hit by the local weather disaster in west Africa. The temperatures within the Sahel are rising 1.5 instances sooner than anyplace else on the earth. A cycle of erratic rainfall and droughts has eroded 15 per cent of its arable land.

“What is going on to the setting is an enormous, large drawback. The nomadic individuals are seeing the meals for themselves and their livestock disappearing. They’re weak, and the Islamists can then come alongside and exploit the scenario, try to recruit the lads. And, after all, there’s the horrible hardship households face of their lives with the altering local weather,” mentioned Mr Bazoum.

Financial support to assist his nation face these challenges is welcome. However Niger’s president additionally needed to emphasize the nice want for Western funding. “We’re advised to watch out about Chinese language funding. However why will we not see extra from nations like France and Britain? They’ve historic hyperlinks with Africa, the Chinese language don’t. But they’re there, and we don’t see sufficient from the West,” he mentioned.

Niger is embarking on constructing stronger ties with the UK, mentioned Mr Bazoum. “We’re described as a Francophone nation, however these are outdated phrases,” he mentioned. “The world is altering, and what occurs in a single continent impacts others. We have to construct sturdy relationships to guard our future.”