USA Africa Dialogue Series - Six Questions for ECOWAS

Questions for ECOWAS

before the proposed intervention

into Niger:

1. Will Bazoum still be alive

    during or after the intervention?

2. Is this a  purely local crisis?Are the 

French and American troops, based 

in Niger, mere bystanders? If not, is 

ECOWAS prepared for a protracted 

war that could potentially pull in 

Malian, Burkinabe, Russian, 

North Korean and other troops?

 Is this another proxy war  

with Cold War implications?

3. What if there are opportunistic 

cross - regional coups, and coup 

making during this chaotic episode?  

Chad is extremely fragile. Nigeria 

is beset with security problems 

of its own.The best soldiers 

may be sent to the frontline, 

leaving the base insecure!

4. Would the alphabet soup of 

terrorist groups in the region such 

as AQIM and ISWAP -that sees the 

region as a province, recluse 

themselves or step up their 

dastardly game?

5. Is ECOWAS prepared for 

cross-border irredentism, and 

ethnic solidarity, should the 

intervention be prolonged,

 in this nation of dominant 

Hausa people and Songhai -Zarma,  

Tuareg, Fulani, Tubu and 

Arab minorities. (Bazoum is 

of the latter group, according 

to some analysts.)

6. Is this war about democracy -or 

uranium - for French Company ORANO, 

 in the world's 7th largest producer 

of uranium. 70% of France's energy 

is nuclear powered. 25 % of the 

EU as a whole. The new regime 

has  banned the export of 

uranium to France🤭

Whatever the case, regional actors 

must look at the big picture, and 

look carefully before they leap.

Gloria Emeagwali

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association