When the official label was placed, the next decision came: to suspend the country’s economic aid, estimated at about 500 million dollars.
On July 26, the military overthrew and arrested the president-elect, Mohamed Bazum, a recognized underdog of the imperialist powers, especially France, who rigged the election to put him in charge of the country.
The United States does not want Bazum back in office. It involves external pressures to ensure that the military in power is sufficiently obedient and does not accept the intervention of Russia or China in the country.
Recently, Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, appointed by the military, met with the Chinese ambassador in Niamey, declaring on public television: “The Chinese government intends to play a mediating role in political crisis in Niger.”
The diplomat added that “China has always maintained a principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries” and encouraged African countries to solve their problems in their own way.
A 2,000 kilometer oil pipeline built by the Chinese to bypass Nigeria through Benin was inaugurated last month. By the end of this year, Niger should export 100,000 barrels per day of oil discovered near Agadem, in the southeast of the country, by CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation).
If the pipeline opens, Niger can do without any kind of foreign aid because it has in its hands a huge slot machine to feed its coffers.
China is also building a dam on the Niger River, at a cost of over 1 billion euros. The work aims to guarantee the total autonomy of the country in terms of hydroelectric energy.
But who is interested in an African country that can walk alone, without needing “help” of any kind?
