Why Niger Matters

Kennedy should bring more attention to war in the African Nation

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems to understand best of the presidential candidates that the war between Russia and Ukraine was cultivated over the course of a decade through constant political and military interference by both the U.S. and NATO for their own selfish motives. Most importantly, listening to his interviews and speeches on this issue makes it evident that Kennedy understands the international consequences and reverberating impact if NATO and the U.S. continue escalating the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

He has been among the most educated and outspoken voices in the 2024 presidential race. In fact, one could argue that although Dr. Cornel West (running on a Green Party ticket) and Vivek Ramaswamy (running for the Republican nomination) both oppose sending further aid to Ukraine, Kennedy has demonstrated that he understands the nuanced intricacies of the conflict better than any of the candidates gunning for the Oval Office. 

Given his stance on the war in Ukraine and US/NATO’s involvement in creating it, if he considers Niger through that same lens, Kennedy has the opportunity to bring public attention to another foreign conflict before it becomes a full fledged war. While what is happening in Niger, or all of Africa for that matter, is not front and center for Americans, there is an altercation brewing there that will create international shockwaves if the U.S., France, NATO, and its allies are not kept in check.

It is unfortunate that most Americans, including those who vote, do not care about Africa, regardless of whether the U.S. is involved. However, American voters will care if they fear U.S. involvement will lead to unnecessary loss of American lives via a preventable war/conflict and wasted taxpayer dollars. And given how events have unfolded in Niger over the last several weeks, both of the aforementioned criteria may be met if France and the U.S. continue to escalate tensions in the region. 

Niger’s former president, Mohamed Bazoum, was overthrown in a military coup on July 26, 2023. Normally, a coup in an African country wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows, however, this one was reported on extensively in mainstream news, and some of the West’s most prominent politicians rushed to condemn it. 

Which begs the question, “Why is Niger so important to the West and why should Americans care?”

In short, this particular African conflict is unique because if it is not resolved soon and somewhat peacefully, it could quickly lead to World World III due to all of the international interests that are at stake. Interests involving the U.S., France, Russia, West Africa (or ECOWAS), and even major corporations.

Niger for much of its history has effectively been a French colony. France has taken advantage of this relationship. As is far too common with European nations and African nations, they pillage for resources. 

In this particular case, the resource France has needed most from Niger has historically been uranium. In fact, France derives roughly 70% of the electricity that powers its nation from uranium. And France’s despicable exploitation of Niger’s uranium and the former president’s acquiescence to France at the expense of the Nigerian people could serve as an explanation for why the majority of Niger’s population has seemingly supported the removal of the elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been replaced by Abdourahamane Tchiani, the president for the National Council on the Safeguard of the Homeland, a military junta.

Beyond France’s energy dependence on the uranium harvested in Niger, France’s economic dependence on Niger’s uranium is also driving their desperation. There are currently three uranium mines in Niger that were, until the coup, owned by the French state via a company called Orano (formerly Areva). France’s government owns 45% of Orano. Obviously, Niger’s military junta is not as willing to allow France or its subsidiaries to exploit Niger’s uranium supply as it once did. 

The Bazoum administration was set to make changes to the mining code which, as it stands now, requires companies to pay Niger a royalty rate based on company’s reported profits, going as high as 12%. The new plan would have set the rate at 7% beginning in 2027. Therefore, regaining total control of the uranium mines is absolutely pivotal for Orano and France. 

France’s potential energy woes may only be exacerbated by the now uncertain future of the Nigeria-Morocco Pipeline. The Nigeria-Morocco Pipeline is a 25-year-long project that is supposed to cost anywhere from $13 billion to $25 billion creating a pipeline that runs from Nigeria to Morocco. The alleged goal of this pipeline is to generate revenue while providing natural gas and energy to West African, or ECOWAS, countries. The pipeline is also supposed to supply gas to many EU nations, most of which belong to NATO, in order to reduce their overall dependency on Russian gas, given the heightened tension between Russia and the EU brought about by the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, in order for this pipeline to come to fruition a massive portion of it must travel through Niger. 

At the moment, Niger’s junta has not made clear if it remains committed to meeting the 25-year goal. But for now, the junta leadership doesn’t have much incentive to work with the parties that appear to have the most invested in the pipeline’s success. Those parties are Chevron, Nigeria, the United States, and France/EU.

Over the last several weeks, ECOWAS has made clear that it plans to intervene militarily in Niger to restore its deposed president Bazoum. 

Those who have been following closely were not surprised by this move because the recently elected chair of ECOWAS, Bola Tinubu, is actually a drug trafficking U.S. asset who also recently became president of Nigeria under circumstances just as shady as his corrupt past. 

Furthermore, Nigeria’s NNPC is partnered with Chevron, which is based in the U.S., to facilitate and ultimately profit from this multibillion-dollar project. A project whose completion is now put in serious jeopardy. And a project that if fails could be another significant blow to NATO and a significant victory for Russia in their ongoing race for energy dominance.

Historically, when we see NATO, energy companies, US puppet governments, Russia, or any of the West’s super-powered adversaries all converge on one location while the world is witnessing a global struggle for economic dominance, it has always led to a massive hot war. Wars that ultimately waste billions of taxpayer dollars also put thousands of American lives at risk. 

The junta has already caught France conducting a military operation against the coup. ECOWAS has confirmed plans to use force to take the country back. And France’s ambassador remains in the country well past the deadline to leave Niger. And if the ambassador is somehow killed as a show of force, NATO will no doubt see it as an act of aggression against a NATO nation and will use all of its military might to respond. 

But Niger has powerful allies like Russia and many other countries in the region to come to its aid. If Russia and NATO are forced to engage directly, there’s no limit to how far this situation could escalate. 

This is why it is absolutely imperative that Kennedy use his massive platform to challenge U.S. imperialism and bring more attention to this issue. The coup of Niger is not just “Niger’s problem.” It’s not even just “Africa’s problem.” Given the aforementioned context and the delicate nature of international relations at the moment, the response to Niger’s coup could become a problem for the entire world.