Continued - On top of that, ECOWAS issued an ultimatum to the new Nigerien leadership: reinstate deposed France-friendly President Mohamed Bazoum within 7 days, or we may use force to ensure a coup reversal! That deadline has now expired, but the military threat still looms large. Niamey has closed its airspace as a precaution.

Niger is not the first African nation to be targeted by ECOWAS, apparently on behalf of its master. The bloc imposed similar sanctions on Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea after military forces in those countries seized power and started cutting ties with France.

It’s an old story: Africans fighting their brothers for the interests of external neo-/colonial powers. Let’s hope those that govern us finally feel inspired to rewrite the noscript of this now boring and played-out tragedy.

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NIGER WAR WARNING

Mali fears a military intervention in Niger will leave a trail of destruction lasting decades.

It made the warning while sending a joint delegation with Burkina Faso to Niamey to show support for its neighbour.

ECOWAS has so far failed to follow through on its threat of military action against Niger if its ousted president is not re-instated.

President Bazoum was removed in a coup two weeks ago amid fierce anti-French sentiment in the former French colony.

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DECLINE OF FRENCH LANGUAGE IN EX-COLONIES

Mali has become the first former French colony outside of North Africa to abandon French as its official language. As part of its recently approved new constitution, the language has been downgraded from ‘official’ to ‘working’ status. The country joins Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria and Tunisia in having demoted the language of their former occupier.

Mali now has 13 official languages, all indigenous: Bamanankan (Bambara), Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Hassaniya, Kassonke, Maninke, Minyanka, Senufo, Songhay, Soninke and Tamasheq.

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Continued - DECLINE OF FRENCH LANGUAGE IN EX-COLONIES

So far, only Algeria has taken the further step of quitting La Francophonie (L’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie). This international body embraces countries with a large number of French speakers - and promotes the language on the basis of shared cultural influences and political interests. Given Bamako’s staunch anti-French tendencies of late, will it join Algiers in snubbing this symbol of French colonial sway too? Let us know whether you think it should.

BIG PRO-COUP RALLY IN
NIAMEY STADIUM

All eyes are on Niger, amid the looming threat of a possible military intervention by regional powers from the ECOWAS bloc, seeking to undo the recent coup. Things are especially tense now that the latter’s deadline to reinstall deposed president Mohamed Bazoum - on pain of force - has expired.

But the coup enjoys huge support at home. If ECOWAS or anyone else is in doubt about that, the turnout for a rally for the new military leadership in the capital should convince them otherwise. Held in Niamey Stadium, thousands turned up to send a message to the world that they’d had enough of the country’s neo-colonial exploitation by France and the compliant previous administration. The crowds also cheered the prospect of kicking out Western military bases.

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Continued- BIG PRO-COUP RALLY IN
NIAMEY STADIUM

The Nigerian coup has rocked the Sahel region. Countering the ECOWAS threat, there’s been a strong show of support from Burkina Faso and Mali - who’ve warned that any attack on their ally will count as an attack on them. The next few days and weeks ahead could be hugely significant.

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RUTO PUTTING KENYA LAST?

Kenya’s President Ruto promotes himself as a Pan-Africanist - but his active stance on the Niger coup could be costing him votes back home.

While saying he’ll work with the African Union to restore order in Niamey, Kenyans reckon he should focus on domestic problems instead.

A rampant cost-of-living crisis has sparked nationwide protests, with little sign things will improve.

We gauged opinions on the streets of Nairobi; honestly, there was mostly just one answer.

Have a listen.

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NATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY SOUTH AFRICA

Today is National Women’s Day in South Africa, representing their indomitable spirit, courage and determination for equality, justice and freedom.

It can be traced back to the 20th century when brave women mobilised against the apartheid regime that segregated, discriminated and disproportionately affected their freedom of movement, opportunities and rights.

On August 9th, 1956, over 20,000 from diverse racial and social backgrounds marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the administrative capital.

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WHO IS BOLA TINUBU?

Leading the charge for military intervention in Niger is ECOWAS chair Bola Tinubu.

The Nigerian President says he’s taking a firm stand against the coup in Niamey and has the backing of the West.

But an investigation by news website Grayzone questions his close dealings with the US and shady past in America.

According to State Department cables released by WikiLeaks, US officials relied heavily on Tinubu’s assessments for understanding what was happening politically in Nigeria.

Court documents from the 1990s also reveal how he was accused of laundering millions for heroin dealers in Chicago.

And even though there was no conviction, some speculate US authorities have “got enough on him” to make him their asset.

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ECOWAS NOW WANTS DIPLOMACY

After threatening to send in troops to Niger, ECOWAS now says it wants to solve the coup crisis through diplomacy. That’s the message from the bloc’s chair and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.

At the weekend, ECOWAS didn't follow through on its ultimatum to use military force to reinstate President Bazoum. However, further sanctions are being slapped on the administration that grabbed power last month. The Nigerian Central Bank announced new financial penalties to target anyone linked to the coup.

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Continued - ECOWAS NOW WANTS DIPLOMACY

There’s a lot at stake. The takeover in Niamey has visible, widespread support from locals, while military leaders in neighbouring Mali and Burkina have also backed it. Meanwhile, Western countries have a considerable military footprint in the area and key strategic interests. France relies on Niger’s uranium to power nuclear plants. There are also plans for a trans-Saharan gas pipeline from Nigeria to Europe, transiting through Niger. All that could be jeopardised by a catastrophic war.

Chad and ECOWAS member Benin made it clear they were against military intervention, as did Nigeria’s senate. For now, the conflict has been avoided. Listen to the latest statement given by Tinubu’s spokesperson.

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BLACK POLITICAL PRISONER FREED AFTER DECADES

Africans in America are celebrating the release of Ruchell Magee - seen by activists as the world’s longest-serving political prisoner. He’s been freed after more than half a century in US incarceration. In 1970, he took part in a courthouse kidnapping drama - but his main ‘crime’ seems to have been being a Black man fighting a deeply racist prison-and-courts system, which he likened to slavery. During his long time inside, he also helped others wrongly incarcerated like himself to fight the system by acting as their jailhouse lawyer. His repeated requests for parole were unjustly denied and it’s only thanks to a change in the law that Magee’s finally been released. African Stream’s William Sakawa tells his story.

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NULAND ‘NO AID’ THREAT FAILS TO COW NIAMEY

The US is trying to salvage its interests in the Sahel region in the wake of Niger’s coup. Acting deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met a firewall of resistance when she met with Niger’s new leaders and warned them of consequences if they did not choose a return to constitutional order.

According to the State Department’s spokesman, she was left with the impression that they won’t back down - even if it means losing out on millions of dollars of US aid to the country. Washington has already frozen a hundred-million in aid for Niger since the coup.

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Continued - NULAND ‘NO AID’ THREAT FAILS TO COW NIAMEY

The spokesman also insinuated that outside actors had a role in events in Niger - branding the waving of Russian flags by coup supporters an ‘unlikely scenario.’

It suggests that the West doesn’t take very seriously the new direction Africa is carving out for itself, as it chooses new partners and alliances. A new, young generation of Africans is rising - our continent’s median age is 19 - and old tricks like the ‘carrot and stick’ of ‘aid and sanctions’ simply don’t wash. As the proverb goes, ‘the dogs bark but the caravan moves on.’

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DO WE WANT A REPEAT OF THIS?

The Western-backed ECOWAS alliance of African states is threatening to intervene militarily in Niger. It wants the country’s ousted president Mohammed Bazoum - who’s been complicit in the Western exploitation of his country - back at the helm. So it might be worth remembering what interventions to ‘restore democracy’ on the continent can end up looking like. In 2011, the NATO intervention in Libya saw the overthrow and murder of the country's leader, Muammar Gaddafi. The bombing-campaign initiated a chain of events that plunged the country into chaos and ruin, turning it from the most developed in Africa, into a war-torn nation with rival governments and open-air slave markets. Is this the kind of 'freedom and democracy' that the warmongers want to bring to the people of Niger?

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ERDOGAN: NIGER FIGHTING BACK

Turkiye's president has launched a scathing attack on French oppression in Africa.

And says the coup in its former colony Niger is a reaction to years of exploitation. Recep Tayyip Erdogan didn’t hold back in his criticism.

Have a listen to this press conference where he reels off a list of countries that have suffered under French colonialism.

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How do you save a poor country that wants to break free from neocolonialism?

According to the West's twisted playbook, you destroy it to save it from itself.

EU special envoy Emanuela Del Re touts the success of crippling sanctions on Niger as measured by a shortage of life-saving medicine, food and electricity.

The hypocrisy of expressing concern for Niger's current state of affairs while simultaneously inflicting hardships on the populace is bare for all to see.

Niger is ranked 189th out of 191 in the United Nations Human Development Index and is one of the world's poorest countries, with a GDP per capita of US$540.

Saying the impoverishment is 'worse than before' is an admission that the West's sanctions are imposed not to benefit the local population. Quite the opposite, Europe has no problem making life even harder for Nigeriens if it weakens the new military leaders.

So far, the EU's suspended security and financial support for Niger and is set to impose more sanctions at the end of the month.

NIGER: FRANCE VIOLATED AIRSPACE

Niger’s military leaders have accused France of violating its closed airspace as part of a plan to destabilise the country.

They say French planes entered Niger’s skies in stealth mode after taking off from Chad on Wednesday. Paris has not commented, although has denied similar accusations in the past.

It was also claimed France released terrorist prisoners to attack the militaries of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali earlier this summer.

Paris again rejects this, but the junta says terrorists subsequently captured have confessed to receiving French aid.

The allegations were made during a televised statement as tensions continue to rise. West African bloc ECOWAS will hold talks on the crisis this Thursday after threatening to forcefully re-instate ousted President Bazoum.

Listen to the claims of the military leaders, who call themselves the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland [CNSP].

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DEMOCRATIC? ZOOMING IN ON BAZOUM

France, the US and ECOWAS are performing outrage over the undemocratic removal of Niger’s president in a coup.

But Mohamed Bazoum came to office in a disputed election. He supposedly won as much as 99% of the vote in one region - which is not as impressive as the 103% turnout recorded there!

Here’s a closer look at how ‘legitimate’ this new darling of Western democracies really was as Niger’s president.

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