On Monday, 31 July, Mali and Burkina Faso released a joint statement pledging their support for Niger’s sovereignty and newly appointed military government. “All military intervention against Niger would be a declaration of war on Burkina Faso and Mali” the statement reads.
This comes after Niger accused France of plotting military intervention to reinstate the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum. As well as a joint meeting with The Economic Community of West African States (ECWAS), and The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) who met on 30 July in Abuja to discuss the unfolding situation in Niger.
Both Burkina Faso and Mali underwent military coups in recent years. Interim president Colonel Assimi Goïta came to power in 2021. Since then, he has ushered in a new era of relationships between Mali and international powers. In 2022 Goïta requested that France pull all their remaining troops from the country. More recently, they removed French as one of their official languages and downgraded it to a working/business language.
Captain Ibrahim Traore was appointed as president of Burkina Faso in 2022. Following in Niger’s footsteps the country has also recently banned exporting Uranium, an essential mineral used to conduct electricity, to France and the US.
Both Goïta and Traore’s support of Niger is yet another example of the evolving political and social climate of many African countries. As countries continue to work towards self-sufficiency this could continue to have a long-lasting impact on allyship and the idea of governance in Africa. While some see these military governments as a “setback for democracy”, others see this as a way for Africa to push back against Western imperialism and no longer have to rely on Western aid.
