Niger

🇳🇪 I read a wide variety of sources on Niger and West Africa to try to understand the zeitgeist. This same argument pops up over and over gain in every article I read. "Niger is the second biggest supplier of uranium to France. But despite the latter’s energy dependence, Niger still grapples with extreme poverty." It's really sad, because it reveals a lack of understanding in how the global economy works. It's the same old Marxist argument about the class struggle, of the proletariat being exploited by the bourgeoisie, with Nigeriens, in this case, being the proletariat and the French being the bourgeoisie. However, we all learned a long time ago that Marxist theory on the class struggle is a fallacy. Niger will continue to grapple with extreme poverty for eternity if they do not realize that they are not going to get rich off of uranium. It is totally unrealistic to believe that Niger can generate enough wealth from uranium production to provide for over 25 million people. Unfortunately, these statements reveal that many Nigeriens really do believe that they are exploited by France. They believe in this Marxist fallacy.

We also must realize that the above thoughts are from the educated members of Nigerien society. However, the majority of the civilian population in Niger is still illiterate. 70% of the population can not read or write, and that is the real reason they are so poor. We have no clue what their thoughts are. They are not able to share their thoughts online. We have very different cultures and values than West Africans, and some of these West African civilian groups may be harboring anti-French or anti-Western sentiment, because they believe their governments are forcing them to Westernize. They may feel that their own culture and values are under attack by pro-Western governments.

I think France made the right choice to withdraw their troops from Niger. It is best for France to leave the country if Niger harbors so much anti-French sentiment. Nigeriens will have to fend for themselves and carve out their own path to security and prosperity. We should not provide assistance to countries that hate us and harbor ill will towards us.

The USA's first priority is the security of Americans and our allies. Our surveillance operations that are conducted from the base in Niger are crucial to securing the American people by collecting intelligence on the activities of terrorist groups in the region. The USA should continue those operations, if possible, no matter who is in power in Niger. If it is not possible to continue those operations, the USA should leave Niger like the French. We must continue to encourage Niger to restore constitutional order and return to civilian rule. That must happen before we ever consider reengaging with the Nigerien military. But we also need to reevaluate our work with the Nigerien military. We are essentially training potential anti-American and anti-Western militias. Many of the members of the military junta were trained by the US military. They also worked with the French military. Now they claim to hate the French. The USA will very likely be next on their hate list. When they can no longer blame France for thier problems, they will blame the USA and claim the USA is exploiting Niger. It does not appear that our work with the Nigerien military or our financial assistance to the Nigerien people has generated any sort of good will or any sense of solidarity in them towards us.

The USA should try to develop stronger relationships with the remaining democracies of West Africa that we know and trust. We have to work harder at ensuring the civilian populations in West Africa know and understand our intentions and that they do not misinterpret our military presence in their homeland. We have to establish a relationship of trust with the civilian populations, not just the political leaders of these countries, otherwise we can not work with these countries. Americans do not want to be perceived as neocolonialists, and we do not wish for West Africans to become anti-American.

The first step for the USA is to develop a strategy for establishing trust with West African civilian populations. We seem to have forgotten the relevance of soft power. Soft power is the kind of power you use to develop trust, not hard power. We have provided billions of dollars in assistance to African countries, but how many Africans actually know where the aid is coming from? Does the average Nigerien have any clue that the USA is providing them with financial assistance? One civilian group claimed that the USA and the West should pay Africa. They must not have any clue that we already do pay Africa billions every year. If Africans have no clue that Americans are providing them with financial assistance, then Americans are not getting any benefit out of providing that assistance. If our financial assistance is not generating any feelings of solidarity between our countries, which is the goal of such assistance, then it is a diplomatic failure, and a wasted resource. We need a new soft power strategy.

We hope ECOWAS will be successful at convincing the military junta to restore constitutional order in Niger. Although the Sahel Pact and other developments are making that scenario less likely. Niger's democratic backsliding is a huge setback for the country and the region, but I believe if the USA used military force to restore democracy in Niger we would only create a huge wave of anti-American sentiment across the whole entire region, possibly the entire continent. It is best for us not to do that. xo

Response to: https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-says-france-withdraws-troops-from-niger/

Quote taken from here: https://www.thefader.com/2023/09/19/niger-coup-hip-hop-rap-mamaki-boys-france-colonialism