By Suleiman Umaru
Bruno Le Maire, the French minister of the Economy, Finance, industrial and Digital Sovereignty, is not happy man. Minister Maire’s source of unhappiness is the turn of events in France over the last two years, which he had blamed President Macron for awakening the consciousness of the people of the Sahel region countries of Burkina Faso, Niger Republic and Mali, described as poor by abusing their Leaders .
The minister’s worries were that since the Junta Leaders of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, kicked out the French Companies from the Sahel region where they had dominated the mining of their mineral resources, particular, gold, uranium, Llithium, Manganese, diamond and other mineral resources in the region for over the lat 55 years, it implications had been devesating on the economy, with President not making any moves to nolmalize the relationship with the former colonized countries.
The French economy which is currently experiencing fluctuations , including a rising debts and indicators of economic slow down may have given the leadership of the European a course to reflect on the past and the role played by France in the NATO attack in Libya. President Macron, who had acknowledged their mistakes that the NATO, member countries never respected the sovereignty of Libya before Launching its attack on it 1981 to bring Col. Mummar Quadafi, the country’s President, the country’s President, under firm control and close watch.
With barely 14 years after President, Emmanuel Macron of France and other Western Leaders had mobilized the NATO, forces to attack attack Libya, the junta Leaders of Burkina, Niger Republic and Mali, who are ready to give room to France to do a similar thing in their respective countries for truncating Democracy may have weakened France influence in the region by revoking a raft of military cooperation agreements with France.
The French Authourities may have known that they have exploited the colonized African countries mineral resource foor too long going by the recent statement by President Macron, that France, the North American country of the United States, US, United King Kingdom UK, Germany, Belgium and Italy, all member countries of NATO, had attacked Libya without respecting the sovereignty of the country.
The consequence of the NATO forces attack on Libya, championed by France, may have emboldened Capt. Traore, interim President of Burkina Faso, Generals Abdurahmane Tchiani, Niger Republic and Assimi Goita, of Mali, to kick out French Companies which had been minining gold, Uranium, Manganese, Lithium, Phosphate and Diamond, among other resources in the Sahel countries over the years.
Take for instance, Orano, a French mining company, which owned the majority shareholdings in SOMAIR, a joint Venture uranium mining company between France and the Nigerien Government, had reportedly said that since the Nigerien Government economic policies turned against French companies it is on the verge of bankruptcy as a a result of export restrictions , which many believes was a source of major revenue loss to President Macron’s Government.
At present, the Nigerien Government was said to have forced Orano, to suspend production ofuranium at SOMAIR after Gen. Goita’s Government , which is urrently collaborating with the Russian Federation and the Asian country of China, to fill the vacuum, left by France and other Western powers halted exporrts of uranium, gold and mineral resources , mined from the country by French companies.
The Malian Transitional President, who has won the heart and votes of the country’s Parliamentarians to remain office for the next five years may have sent a message to President Macron, and other Western Leaders including Donald Trump of the US, that it is no longer going to business as usual in Niger as it was said to have nationalized the SOMAIR uranium production plant., as a way of seeking greater control of the country’s natural resources from the the french and other foreign companies.
Informed sources told The Value News that that the French Government external debt had risen To the North American country of the United States, US, well over $1.38 trillion and increase by US $200,000 on a daily basis. The situation of the country appears to have been made worse by billions of dollars of unsold stock in French Companies warehouse which ought to have been shipped to the Francophone countries both not for the rejection of France by Burkina Faso, Niger, and some other French speaking. Countries.
The latest of the French speaking countries in the West African Sub-region to kick out France from their country was Senegal. The Senegalese President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has taken to the footsteps of the Sahel region countries junta leaders and the Chadian Leader, Gen. Idris Derby, had taken the bold initiative had closed all French military bases in the country just as the country had had kick out the European country miners of 60 years.
Note that the French Authorities had used the military bases in the 22 colonized countries in the West and Central African sub-regions to protect the French mining companies and its exports.
The sack of the French military personnel from Senegal soil did not come to many as a surprise. It was id to have come a month after the Senegalese President said there would soon be no more French soldiers on the country’s land space.
The Senegalese Authorities may have sent a message to the French Government that the era of the dominating their economy was over when it took over control of the mining of its’ oil and gas resources from the French companies. The effort, President Baye had said is part of a broader strategy that had been initiated by the government to ensure that nation benefits more significantly from the mineral resource which had been exploited and exported over the Years by the French companies.
The Senegalese government may have stopped the French Authorities from awarding oil and gas contracts in the country as it has focused on negotiating such companies with foreigner miners, including miners from the Asian country of China and the East African country of Rusia, which had penetrated the African Continent in the wake of rejection of France by the AES, countries.
President Baye had dismantled over 40 illegal gold mining sites in different parts of the West African country, with much of it belong to French companies as the illegally mined gold are shipped to France without any documentation by the Senegalese Authorities.
Given that the French Authorities efforts to force the junta Leaders of the Sahel States to bend and acceede to their demand to return to the region to continue the exploitation of their mineral resources as usual which has failed in all its ramifications may have informed why President Macron and his allies havw intensified efforts in funding and equipping the terrorist Organisations in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali and which had spread into the northwestern states of Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi .
The Western Leaders , who may have pushed to the wall, particular, Macron, may have increased funding the terrorists Organisations in the AES and other countries in the West and Central African sub-regions to cause disaffection and forrestal development in the regions. ECOWAS, and AU, leadership may may have played into the hands of President Macron and their western propaganda to give Capt. Traore a bad name by insinuating that Burkina Faso, which are destroying the Terrorists Camps in the different parts of the country and killing the terrorists in their thousands in the recent months is a breeding ground for the terroristsThe ecowas, AU and the Western propaganda against the AES, may not have dampened the enthusiasm of Capt. Traore , Generals Tiachi and Goita, of the AES, to deal decisively with the terrorists operating in the region and sustain the tempo of infrastructural development of the region as they have vowed to keep France at arms length and collaborate with Russia, China and other countries which are ready to partner with their countries on equal partnership but not on master-servant relationship.
The EU, leadership which could no longer hide under the cover of developed economies and who are no longer finding funny and fears that most of the countries in Europe are heading for a severe economic crisis , particular France, which had depended so much on its former colonies mineral resources to survive.
The Union had sent a delegation to Capt. Traore, led by A special envoy for talks to allow the French mining companies to return to the country on a partnership basis this time around but no longer going to dictate the conditions and terms of the deal through the usual manipulative strategies of giving aide and budget support to their development drive which never come. The French President, who may be working closely with the Leadership of the EU, on his own part, was said to have also sent a powerful delegation to Niger, to be allowed to return to the country to still mine uranium but could not have access to Gen. Goita.
There is no gain saying the fact that Europe and other developed economies needs the Africa Africa countries to survive because of their rich mineral resources of gold, uranium, Manganese, lithium, cobalt, phosphate, among others, more than the African countries needs them.
The truth of the matter was that Capt. Traore and the other AES Leaders had forced the EU, to their knees and to beg for relevance in Africa as Russian Federation and China have effectively taken their position which may be difficult to change so soon.
President Donald Trump of the US, may not have wanted to throw the country’s economy in the same mess like his Counterpart in France that he had invited five African countries of Liberia, Mauritanian Guinea Bissau and Senegal Leaders to the White House for an Economic summit.
President Trump has every reason to woo the five African Leaders, which countries have a wide range mineral deposits that are needed by the Western countries’ heavy industries to remain as it has lost out in the Sahel states and Ukraine where the Russian Federation which had been at war with the neighbouring country had successfully taken over control of a valuable lithium deposits in the western Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, thus depriving the country of a critical asset essential for manufacturing advanced technologies such as electric car barberries which the US had designated as critical for its economy and national security. Note that the US, had supported Ukraine with the supply of weapons in the ongoing war with Russia.
