A case of diplomatic rebellion faced by the leaders of the military coup in Niger, after the refusal of some ambassadors against whom a decision was issued to dismiss the implementation of the decision, stressing their adherence to their positions, and that they only receive their orders from President Mohamed Bazoum.
A researcher in African affairs, Muhammad Turshin, monitors for “Sky News Arabia” where the relationship will reach between the ambassadors as well as the dismissed ministers and the military council, at this stage that has not yet witnessed complete stability of the coup.
On Thursday, Niger’s military council sacked the country’s ambassadors to the United States, Nigeria, France and Togo, countries most of which stand against the coup, and some of them, like Nigeria, participated in Niamey’s threat of military intervention to restore President Bazoum to his post.
The “Niger for Democracy and Socialism” party also reported that the military junta forces arrested several officials in the overthrown government, including the Minister of Mining and the head of the ruling party, in addition to the Minister of Oil, Sani Mohamed, who is the son of former President Mohamed Issoufou.
Decline the decision
In Paris, Niger’s ambassador to France, Aicha Boulama Kanye, responded on Friday to the decision to dismiss her by saying she is still in the position in Paris at Bazoum’s request.
She said, “I called President Bazoum on the phone and he asked me to continue my work,” considering that he is “the only one” who can relieve her of her duties, according to what was reported by the “Agence France Presse” agency.
In turn, Niger’s ambassador to Washington, Kyari Lehman-Tingiri, believes that those, that is, the putschists, must “come to their senses,” and confirmed that Bazoum “is still the legitimate president of Niger.”
Warning of what is happening in his country, he considered that the coup military council is pushing Niger towards collapse, which will lead to the entire Sahel region being dragged into collapse as well, and that there will be no way after that to protect the countries of the region.
He also expressed his fear, in an interview with “Agence France Presse”, on Thursday, that the private Russian armed “Wagner” group would take advantage of this situation, saying: “There will be Wagner and extremists who control Africa from the coast to the Mediterranean,” pointing to the devastation caused. In countries where these groups exist, such as Libya, Mali and Central Africa.
The fate of the “diplomatic disobedience”
On the fate of the relationship between the ambassadors and ministers who were sacked by the coup leaders, and the chances of reconciliation between them, the academic and expert on African affairs, Muhammad Turshin, says:
The coup leaders are trying to get rid of all the leaders who follow President Muhammad Bazoum in the wheels of power. The most important ambassadors are those in France, America and Nigeria. There will be a kind of diplomatic disobedience from the ambassadors who were sacked by the coup leaders, and the matter will extend to the ministers, and perhaps some army leaders. But in the event that a settlement is reached between these dismissed ambassadors and the leaders of the coup, the ambassadors will eventually obey orders. The fate of these leaders is linked to the fate of President Bazoum, as they will remain in their positions if he manages to restore his authority in any way.
Cut ties with Nigeria
On Friday, the military council in Niger decided to sever diplomatic relations with neighboring Nigeria, days after the Economic Community of West African States “ECOWAS”, currently chaired by Nigeria, threatened on Sunday to use military force if the putschists did not restore power to Bazoum.
The decision also came in response to Nigeria’s announcement, on Wednesday, to suspend electricity supplies to Niger, which supplies it with 70 percent of its needs.
It is noteworthy that on the evening of Wednesday, July 26, the military announced the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum, in a statement on national television in Niamey, in the name of the “National Council for the Protection of the Homeland.”
And Niger is the third country in West Africa to witness a coup since 2020, and it is a country that has a history full of coups since its independence from France in 1960, and it lives in extreme poverty despite its richness in rare wealth such as uranium.
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2023-08-04 18:25:27
