- By Halimah Olamide
Ousted President of Niger, Mohammed Bazoum, has vowed to defend democracy. He took to X, (formerly Twitter) handle to declare his stance less than 24 hours after soldiers took over governance and suspended the constitution. The vow by Bazoum came hours after the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) vowed to stop the coupists. Its Chairman, President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria said on Wednesday he was watching with keen interest the development in Niger and vowed to prevent truncating democracy.
In a tweet by Bazoum, who is believed to still be held inside the presidential palace, he wrote in French, “Les acquis obtenus de haute lutte seront sauvegardés. Tous les nigériens épris de démocratie et de liberté y veilleront” meaning “The hard-won gains will be safeguarded.
All Nigeriens who love democracy and freedom will see to it.”
Bazoum’s ouster came few days after he declared that his country would stop the use of the French currency and create its own money. Reuters reported that the country’s foreign minister Hassoumi Massoudou also issued a rallying cry on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, for “all democrats and patriots” to make the coup fail.
Their statements followed a late-night address on Wednesday by soldiers on national television announcing that Bazoum had been removed from power and all institutions of the republic suspended, marking the seventh coup in West and Central Africa since 2020.
Niamey was quiet on Thursday morning as citizens awoke to closed borders and a nationwide curfew imposed by the military.
Several Bazoum supporters had gathered in the city as events unfolded on Wednesday, voicing their opposition to a change of power, a Reuters reporter said. They were later dispersed.
It is not yet clear who has taken command. General Omar Tchiani heads the presidential guard, but the televised statement was read by a member of the air force named Colonel Amadou Abdramane.
Seated in an office rather than in the television studio and flanked by nine other officers in fatigues, Abdramane said defence and security forces had acted in response to deteriorating security and bad governance.
Land-locked Niger, a former French colony, is one of several West African states battling jihadist militants that have waged a violent insurgency across the region over the past decade.
Frustrations over state failures to prevent violent attacks on towns and villages partly spurred two coups in Mali and two in Burkina Faso since 2020.
Niger’s role had become increasingly important for Western powers helping fight the jihadists since relations with Burkina Faso and Mali’s military governments soured, prompting foreign troop withdrawals.