00:00 And in the same line, the latest coup d'etat in Niger has caused regional and international
00:05 tensions as it poses a threat to local stability and could turn to the token of other political
00:11 actors.
00:12 To go on the matter, we receive Kembali Musevuli, who is an analyst with the Center for Research
00:17 on the Congo Kinshasa.
00:19 Be welcome, Kembali.
00:20 Thank you for having me.
00:23 Okay.
00:24 It's always a pleasure.
00:25 So Kembali, can you recall the events that led to this military uprising in Niger?
00:31 On the 26th of July, there was a coup that started at 3 a.m. led by the presidential
00:38 guard who deposed the president, Bazou, who since he's been deposed, he has refused to
00:46 resign officially.
00:48 And the military has control of the country at the moment.
00:53 And Abdourahman Chani, he's the general who's currently leading Niger.
01:00 And for the moment he took power, he has done a few populist actions.
01:04 One of them is to actually rein in any of the former members of the government who are
01:12 allegedly have participated in any form of corruption to actually bring back any money
01:18 that they've embezzled.
01:20 So one actually has been already arrested, the minister of defense.
01:24 Others are actually hiding in a foreign embassy, Western embassies at the moment.
01:29 But from the coup itself, what is clear to see on the ground is the overwhelming support
01:35 of the Nigerian people to the coup.
01:39 They came out this past Sunday, July 30th, in a rally of support to the coup.
01:47 And many of them actually went to the French embassy.
01:50 The French embassy has been defaced.
01:52 Glasses have been broken.
01:54 The people have expressed that they see the coup as a way of liberation of French control.
02:03 So in the protest, you are seeing people saying France dégage.
02:07 In the protest, you are seeing Russian flags.
02:11 You are seeing people saying Viva Putin.
02:14 Actually the people of Niger are saying we want to break our ties with the West.
02:19 We want to continue to our connection with Russia in creating a multipolar world.
02:27 But the situation is very rapidly changing.
02:30 As you mentioned earlier in the segment, that ECOWAS, countries of ECOWAS, given the new
02:37 government, the general and the soldiers in Niger, seven days to bring back Mohamed Bazoum,
02:47 the former Nigerian president.
02:51 And of course, Niger has said that any action by France or its agent in Niger would be considered
03:00 as an attack on Niger.
03:02 And they will actually pick up arms and the people of Niger will pick up arms to fight
03:07 any invasion of the country.
03:09 Similarly, Mali and Burkina Faso and just lately, Guinea also has shown their support
03:16 to Niger.
03:19 So what is really unfolding is that if ECOWAS today decide to send its soldiers to Niger,
03:27 there is a huge risk of having a regional war similar to the regional war that took
03:33 place in the DRC in the Congo in the late 90s, where many African nations ended up there.
03:39 But for this moment in West Africa, this particular moment is very, very important.
03:47 We have to understand why this is happening in West Africa.
03:50 The people of West Africa, from Mali, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso, mostly Francophone
03:57 Africa, they want to break ties with France.
04:01 They do not understand why in 2023, France still controlled their resources, France still
04:08 controlled the currency, and France still controlled the politics of the country.
04:13 So for over a decade, people in West Africa have demanded that France leaves.
04:19 Mali has requested that the French military leaves.
04:22 They have done so.
04:23 Mali has changed the official language of the country.
04:26 They've removed French as the official language.
04:30 Burkina Faso has followed lead, and the Jews participated also at the Russia-Africa Summit.
04:36 Burkina Faso has been very clear about France leaving, and now we see Niger.
04:41 So we have a new non-alignment movement on the African continent, being led by Mali,
04:47 Niger, and Burkina Faso, where they want French military and French presence to be out of
04:53 Africa so that Africa can determine their own affairs.
04:58 So precisely, France announced the evacuation of its national from Niger, but is also leaving
05:03 1,500 troops in the African nation, which is the underbelly of this decision.
05:09 You were mentioning some of the aspects.
05:11 Yes.
05:12 I mean, imagine if you go to France, you will not see 1,500 Nigerien soldiers, or 1,500
05:22 Malian soldiers.
05:24 What are French soldiers doing in the region?
05:26 They are saying that they are actually there to stop the so-called jihadists.
05:33 And we know that the security in the Sahel region, where right at the border, where Mali,
05:40 Niger, and Burkina Faso meet, that this instability comes from the toppling of Gaddafi, a NATO
05:49 action to remove a president of a country and killing it.
05:55 That's where the instability has come from.
05:58 But the people of West Africa can control their own affairs.
06:00 We know why France is there.
06:02 One out of three light bulbs in France is actually powered by uranium, and that uranium
06:09 comes from Niger.
06:10 So Niger produces uranium that does not benefit the Nigerian people.
06:16 Only 18% of the population in Niger benefit from the electricity, have actually access
06:23 to electricity.
06:25 So the uranium of Niger is ending up in France.
06:29 So France's French interest in the Sahel region, French interest in Mali, in Burkina
06:35 Faso, in Niger, is mineral resources, natural resources.
06:40 But the people of the region are saying, this is not the Berlin Conference anymore.
06:45 We are in 2023.
06:47 African people must control their land.
06:49 They must control their resources.
06:51 They must exploit those resources for the benefit of the masses.
06:55 And you can see that in the protest.
06:58 There was a coup in Niger, a military coup.
07:02 The leaders have spoken.
07:04 The people could have said, we're not in support of the coup.
07:07 But why are thousands of people in the streets?
07:10 So the people of West Africa are very clear about imperialism.
07:15 They are very clear about French imperialism.
07:19 They're saying no to imperialism.
07:21 And they are saying yes to a multipolar world.
07:24 This is why you're seeing the Russian flag in this protest, where African people, where
07:29 Nigerian people are saying that we do not want to stay connected to the West.
07:36 We want to have partners who look at us with dignity, who treat us with respect, to build
07:41 a new world that we want to see.
07:45 So Kembala, given the current situation, given the possible France intervention, the threats,
07:52 maybe also this stance, this position from Burkina Faso and Mali, and we know these regional
07:57 contradictions, what can we expect for the future of Niger and the Nigerian people?
08:03 What can we see and foresee in the future, given this political landscape and this outcome,
08:10 and also what is happening in this country?
08:14 We can predict that in coming months or years, that there will be more and more actions such
08:22 as in Niger happening in Africa.
08:25 Why is it happening?
08:26 The people of Africa are being led by a comparador, an elite, that this elite has no interest
08:35 of the people.
08:36 President Bazzoom of Niger, who has been there since 2021, has not risen up to the aspirations
08:45 of the people.
08:46 There are so many cases of corruption, there are so many cases of sidelining of opposition
08:52 leaders and so on.
08:53 So the people are able to see what is unfolding in their country and in their region.
08:58 So I can predict very easily that there will be other countries in West Africa who will
09:04 face a similar situation, where the people themselves will rise up and say, "We want
09:10 leaders who represent our aspirations."
09:13 And specifically for the question of the military confrontation of ECOWAS, it's quite fascinating
09:20 to see that Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso are building an alliance, including Guinea,
09:28 that they are saying that if ECOWAS decides to send soldiers in Niger, they will actually
09:35 make sure to protect Niger and they will fight.
09:39 This will bring an end to ECOWAS, because you have four African nations, members of
09:44 a regional body, who do not see the legitimacy of ECOWAS anymore, who see ECOWAS as an agent
09:52 of France, as an agent of Western power dictating what has to happen in African countries, without
10:00 looking at why these coups are happening.
10:05 In Mali, there was a rigged election that the day the coup took place, there was actually
10:10 a call for a general strike by progressive groups in Mali.
10:16 That's how Goita, the current president of Mali, ascended to power.
10:22 One thing in Burkina Faso, the vacuum that's been created of lack of leadership that emanates
10:30 from the people, as many of the militaries of the regions are taking power, but they
10:35 are listening to people.
10:37 In the case of Mali, in the case of Burkina Faso, in the case of Niger, the rhetoric they
10:42 are actually sharing connects with the aspirations of the people.
10:46 So that continues for these leaders to be able to listen to the people.
10:52 The struggle must continue.
10:54 The history of humanity is a history of class struggle.
10:58 So the people of these countries, even though they have strong military forces taking control
11:04 of the country, they must continue to engage with these leaders so that their aspirations
11:09 are actually met.
11:11 But we are in a new world.
11:12 Who could have thought that in 2023, that a nation in Africa asked the French to close
11:19 their embassy and to take out their soldiers?
11:22 We've seen that in Burkina Faso.
11:24 We've seen that in Mali.
11:26 And it's time for Africa to rise up.
11:28 It's time for Africa to unite, as Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso are uniting now.
11:35 And as we unite, we'll be the mighty force that will transform not just the African continent,
11:40 but the African world, and also humanity.
11:44 OK.
11:46 We will stay tuned to this, and we will keep our focus on Africa to see what happens.
11:51 So thank you, Kembale, for your time, your presence, and your criteria hearing from the
11:56 South.
11:57 Thank you very much.
11:59 OK.
12:00 So we were discussing the current situation in Niger after the latest coup d'etat.
12:04 We will go to a short break now.
12:06 Stay with us.
12:07 [MUSIC PLAYING]
