You’re very right. But nevertheless we cannot deny the Islamist insurgents making a push across the Sahel. Ibrahim traore of Burkina Faso who share a border with Ghana have well documented struggles with them. Surely It’s a matter of time before it does become fact.
How can this be solved
Unfortunately this is where help from outside is critical. Traore & the other juntas have turned away the west, closing off their military support and potential aid/trade to finance an effective counterinsurgency strategy
Courting the Russians hasn’t been working. They don’t have the experience, capital, or interest to effectively counter the insurgencies
They need to partner with their wealthier and better armed neighbors (Nigeria, Algeria, Libya), not be so blind to choose Russia over the entire west, and stem corruption so all the money they’re currently making through selling minerals to Russia goes towards buying next level weapons, drones, food aid etc
Well they had the coup because there leadership were selling them out.
Can’t you understand why these African countries want to stand alone and be truly independent ?
And look at Niger and Burkina Faso!
Nigeria wants and THINKS it needs the west. It’s the other way around
All leaders everywhere sell people out. A junta does that, but also makes enemies of potential benefactors
It’s a terrible rule of this world that you have to accept the west’s help. But the trade, weapons, and partnership is too important, especially facing the threat they are up against
It took the US six years to fight ISIS, in a tiny area. The Juntas think they can take them on alone, with a few Russian mercenaries who have never fought insurgents before?
Economic and military independence comes after dealing with the foundational things. Follow the China model here
Well like you said with Niger nationalising there mines, do you know how much electricity they used to give France while they have hardly any ?
same with Burkina Faso
These are one sided agreements with the west surely you can see that.
And they are trying to stand independent imagine if Nigeria joined them
They were getting revenue from those mines. Now those mines have been handed to Russia which are smuggling those commodities without legally protected contracts
They were also getting a lot of energy plants being built by Savannah Energy, a UK company, and the World Bank. Multiple billion dollar projects because of the democratic leader which are now being shut down or halted
I admire their desire to stand independence but it is impractical given the threat they’re facing and the period of development they’re in. Surely you can see that
Well look how little revenue they got ? Why were the west paying more to Arabs per kilo than to Africans ( look this up the west pay below the market average for many resources when they purchase from Africans)
That is western propaganda about russia
Don’t you think it’s unfair we help France’s infrastructure while we suffer ?
It’s only impractical because it’s a few countries standing alone we need more of us we have strength in numbers.
Surely you can see Nigeria are on the wrong side of history ?
The west has a well documented record of using Islamist terrorists to fight their dirty wars overseas. They armed, funded and supported many of the same Islamists to destroy Libya. They've used them in Iraq, Afghanistan and most recently, Syria. And they've used separatists and manufactured conflicts to maintain and expand colonialism in Africa since at least the 1800s. The AES is right to get away from them.
Traore and the AES countries have never rejected corporations with any of their neighbours. It's actually ECOWAS that has been hostile, with Nigeria threatening a full invasion of Niger. It was that threat that made security cooperation impossible. Because you can't cooperate with someone that is planning to invade you. Once Nigeria withdrew the threat, Niger resumed cooperation.
Russia has its issues, but they don't arm terrorists. They've defeated their own Islamist insurgency in Chechnya. And they don't have the same economic interest in keeping Africans poor forever like the west does. I don't see why any African military should be allying with our ancestral enemies, and primary security threats.
Everything you’ve accused the West of, Russia has done 10 fold
From arming the Serbs which assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, to arming Cuba/Venezuela ahead of the Cold War, to arming Assad with chemical weapons which he used on his own people during the Arab spring, to arming Wagner which raped, beat and mutilated African people across the Sahel & Central Africa, and now their own terrorist activities in Ukraine…they are not innocent
They follow the same playbook as any imperialist power, but with a level of subterfuge and desperation since they have an inferiority complex relative to the west
The right play for an impartial African nation is playing both sides. The sahelian countries are ignorant for picking one
Nigeria is starting to play both sides, like India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, South Africa
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u/winstontemplehill Nigerian American 🇳🇬/🇺🇲 1d ago
Ghanaian government refuses this. Don’t accept it so quickly.
Will mean the country gets greylisted as a hub of terrorism, which means higher borrowing costs, less trade, and more scrutiny from the west
All the big western media will continue posting these articles until the US / EU announce that this is the case