David Oualaalou argues that Western powers, particularly France, are pressuring ECOWAS to intervene militarily in Niger after the July 2023 coup. Behind the rhetoric about democracy and a standby force lies France's interest in Niger's uranium and a gas pipeline to Europe, he says, while Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea back Niger instead.
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Hello everyone and welcome to Geopolitical Trends. My name is David Oualaalou. So good to be with you as always. As an analyst, I ask, is the president of Nigeria being pressured to embark on a military intervention or operations in Niger? In this video, I am going to provide you with my assessments whether the Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu is serving a specific agenda that is being prepared by the West or Western power, that is. And if so, what's in it for him? So let's dive in into this, because not only I'm going to provide you my assessment here, but also an update about what's going on in Niger. Well, following a recent meeting of the ECOWAS, the, uh, the Economic Community of Western African States,, which took place in Abuja, Nigeria. So, oh, just yesterday, the, uh, the 13th, that's when it took place, to discuss the political situation in Niger. So the ECOWAS has said most of its— this is what they say— most of its member states are ready to participate in a standby force that could intervene in Niger following a coup there late last month. I don't buy that argument because some of the ECOWAS members are neighbors of Niger, and they said, forget about it, we are not getting involved into this. So the defense chiefs from the 15-member regional bloc— that's the ECOWAS, that is— which met, uh, in, in Accra on Thursday as part of the latest efforts to overturn the removal of Mohamed Bazoum. He was the deposed president of Niger, so, which was deposed— he was deposed on July 26th in a coup. So, so all member states except— here is where the key— all member states of the ECOWAS, that is, except those under military rule and another country by the name Cape Verde are ready to participate in the standby force. I don't buy that argument. You know, they are not saying the truth because the— what it's been said now is that ECOWAS is pushing the agenda of the West. So obviously there is something in it for them, otherwise why would they want to fight Niger? Sort of their African brothers? What for? They all— countries in Africa— has been exploited. So what makes them different? And this is what the ECOWAS Commissioner Abdel Fattou Moussaab said on Tuesday— on Thursday, rather— and I quote, here is the key: democracy is what we stand for and it's what we encourage. End of quote. You know, you don't need me to explain this to you. You guys smart enough to read between the lines. If he's starting his statement with this, what democracy are we talking about when all countries, including those in the ECOWAS, have been exploited to the max? That's what I don't quite get it. So unless there is something, uh, I mean, something in it for them, some sort of an agenda, some sort of a bribe, some sort of a return, some sort of favor, some sort of money you name it. So Nigeria's Chief of Defense Staff, General— let me get his name here— Christopher Guabin Musa said at the start of the 2-day meeting in Accra, he said, and I quote, the focus of our gathering is not simply to react to events but to proactively chart "A course that results in peace and promotes stability." End of quote. Well, how can you promote stability if you are threatening with military incursion, if I may use the term? In the meantime, while all this happening, Niger's coup leaders say that they will prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for high treason. And you know how they deal with the high treason there? It's execution. Because they are saying that the resources of the country has not been used to serve the people. So are they planning on making a sort of a lesson of him? Maybe, maybe not. So the bloc, the ECOWAS, that is, has long deliberated on the use of force with which is described as— and I put this in quotes— last resort, last resort, uh, and then it's end of quote. This has been for weeks now due to several mediations, but they are retracting their statements because they're realizing now you got Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, even Russia through Wagner, Algeria, and other countries going to be moving forward in support of Niger, not ECOWAS. I mean, I don't need to remind you about the wild card of North Korea, and we all know what it means. So ECOWAS is saying, well, we sent teams to Niamey, which is the capital of Niger, and also there is no consensus within its ranks. That means there is no agreement within ECOWAS to use military force. As I said, you have Burkina Faso and Mali, which have experienced multiple coups since 2020, warned— this is the key word— warned that any military intervention in Niger will be declared as an act of war, you know, revealing— which is, to me, in my opinion, it reveals there is fractures in the region between its coastal countries and those in the volatile Sahel. And you remember me, I did a live stream for you about the Sahel region, how crucial that is. This is no different, really. I see this in parallel with NATO. Despite what you hear, the rhetoric, there is division that exists within NATO. It's the same right here, except that here the ECOWAS, in my opinion, is serving the agenda of Western agenda, that is. So Guinea, another country that is supporting Niger and it will stand firm against any military intervention, is also under military rule, by the way, which has condemned any external aggression. The only thing about Guinea right now is that I noticed that the They refrain from making any other comments. It's a small country, remember, they don't want to attract too much attention, but they do stand with Burkina Faso, Mali, the Wagner Russia, that is Algeria, and, uh, now North Korea because they just reinstated diplomatic ties between Burkina Faso and North Korea. What's interesting about all this? Is that the top security body of the African Union, which met on Monday to consider— Monday the 11th— to consider whether it would support military intervention, but has not made a decision yet. It tells me one thing and one thing only: they are not inclined to support the military intervention of the ECOWAS. As a matter of fact, I will go as far as saying they will overrun or overturn that decision by ECOWAS because the AU has more jurisdiction or authority over what's going on in Africa. So the AU, the African Union, that is Peace and Security Council, could overrule a military intervention if it felt that it will create— it will destabilize the region all together, or the continent for that matter. That's how I see it. So, so if it rejects the use of force, there are few grounds under which ECOWAS could claim legal justification for deploying force. Yeah, that's why I'm starting to lean more and more that the president of Nigeria is serving— Nigeria, not Niger— Nigeria is being— is serving some Western agenda specifically with France. Because what, what the Western countries— especially Europe is going to suffer big time because the pipeline that was supposed to go from Niger through Algeria to Europe to deliver gas ain't gonna be there anymore. So the uranium that used to go to France won't be there anymore. So you can just see, and this is where I, I think that there's something going on. You know, the West, Western pressuring ECOWAS to do something. So, so what do you think? I'm gonna ask you a question. What do you think? Is ECOWAS being pressured by outside elements to intervene militarily? So make sure to leave me some comments. I always like to read your feedback, and if you would like me to expand on this further, I'll be happy to do it on a live stream. So if you like the content of this video, please hit that like button. And also subscribe and don't forget to smash that notification button. I will really appreciate it. As always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, guys. Bye-bye.
