By Suleiman Umaru
The government of Niger, worried that France and the North American country of the United States,US, may take advantage of the proximity between the country and Benin Republic to spy on Sahel region countries, may have informed why Gen. Abulrahmane Tchiani, the Nigerien interim President, had closed its borders with the neighbouring West African country.
Gen. Tchiani had said that the border will remain closed until the Beninois government, under the leadership of Patrick Talon, is ready to kick out France and close all its military bases in the country to avoid spying on it.
President Talon may not likely bow to pressures from the Nigerien government to kick out the French companies mining gold, limestone, phosphate, clay and other mineral resources from the Francophone country, let alone close the French military bases established in the country since independence in the ‘60s: an indication that the borders between the two countries would remain closed indefinitely. The Nigerien leader had said that it has no problem with the people of Benin, but with their President, Mr. Talon.
Until the Nigerien government took the bold initiative to close the land border areas with Benin Republic, which has access to the Atlantic Ocean, it was one of the French countries used by the landlocked nation and the other two Sahel countries of Burkina Faso and Mali to take delivery of their transit cargoes. The Sahel states’ traders may have also used Côte d’Ivoire and Togo to take delivery of their transit cargoes at one time or another.
Given the broken-down relationship between the junta leaders of the Sahel states and the colonist country of France, which has strong links with many of the Francophone countries’ leaders, particularly President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, Faure Gnassingbé of Togo, and the Senegalese President may have informed why the Sahel countries had turned to President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana to be given the nod for their countries’ traders to use the port of Tema to take delivery of their transit cargoes.
The Ghanaian government did not hesitate in giving the Sahel countries approval to use the Tema port as requested to take delivery of their transit cargoes, including government cargoes.
This is evident, going by the number of machineries including agricultural and road construction equipment that had left the Tema port in recent times to Burkina Faso and the other two Sahel countries.
Antonio Guterres, United Nations (UN) Secretary General, had said that the colonists had sowed the seed of discord in Africa. Guterres, who could not hide his feelings, had said that decolonization had not freed the African countries from still being colonies of these Western nations.
He may have alluded to the situation in the 14 French-speaking countries in the West and Central African sub-regions. Until the three Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali finally broke ties with France, it was controlling the former colonies.
It was not surprising why the Sahel countries had entered into a defense pact with Russia and the subsequent involvement of the Wagner Group in the training of the countries’ soldiers on counter-terrorism attacks.
The Wagner Group may have concluded their assignment in Mali, based on an agreement with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, as they announced their official withdrawal from Mali after about three years of helping the country’s interim President, Gen. Assimi Goita, to successfully reclaim territories taken by the terrorists. The jihadists had put the country under siege for years and extended their operations to Borno and Yobe states in northeastern Nigeria.
Gen. Christopher Musa, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), had said to the hearing of Capt. Traore of Burkina Faso and other Sahel countries’ leaders that the jihadists from the Sahel region have found their way into Nigeria through its vast borders, stoking fresh violence in Borno, Yobe, and the northwestern states of Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, including the north-central states of Benue and Plateau.
Going by the report of the Armed Conflict and Location Event Data for March 2025, since the gale of terrorist groups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali between 2022 and much of 2023, the Islamic State Sahel Province and al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin had jumped by more than 40%, forcing hundreds of their fighters to relocate to Nigeria, Benin, and Togo to wreak havoc.
The activities of the AES terrorists, who had relocated to Nigeria, have become so pronounced in Benue State in recent weeks that Hyacinth Alia, a clergyman and the governor, had cried out that “the state is under siege.” The governor had disclosed that the attacks, which had claimed several lives in the state, are “beyond the usual claims of herders-farmers clash.”
The Benue State governor had confirmed that “there has been a surge in attacks in the north-central state in recent weeks, with several local government areas experiencing onslaughts that had claimed several lives.” He was emphatic that the attacks carried out in the state in the recent weeks were well-planned and executed by terrorists believed to be foreigners.
