Down With ECOWAS Military Intervention!
End the Occupation of West Africa by Imperialist Troops!
Statement of the Revolutionary Socialist Vanguard(RSV), Nigerian Section of the RCIT. 8th Aug. 2023. https/:www.communism4africa.wordpress.com
1. The Nigerien junta has announced the closure of Niger’s airspace upon the expiration of ECOWAS’ ultimatum for Mohamed Bazoum to be reinstated as president and claimed that “forces of a foreign power are preparing an act of aggression against Niger and its people in coordination with ECOWAS and armed terrorist groups”. ECOWAS chairman, President Tinubu, faces increasing set backs for his largely unpopular plan to invade Niger. The Nigerian Senate has rejected his proposal to deploy Nigeria’s military in Niger after a forum of northern senators denounced any military action in Niger.¹ Now Algeria following Chad has joined the list of countries that rejects the invasion of Niger by ECOWAS. All these have caused ECOWAS to stall opting rather for a summit on Thursday but with threats to take “necessary action” to bring Bazoum back to power.
2. Nevertheless, there are still ample prospects for an invasion. In 2017, former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari could not secure the approval of the Senate before he deployed the country’s military as part of a 7, 000 strong ECOWAS force to oust Yahaya Jammeh in Gambia after he refused to step down when he lost the December 2016 elections to Adama Barrow.² Add to this the backing of Western imperialism especially France which has categorically stated its readiness to openly aid the invasion.
3. Moreover, the Tinubu government, a fragile highly unpopular government, rocked by a sea of domestic crises is petrified by the possibility of a coup in the country. This has been its motivation to wage war against the Nigerien junta since the news of the deposition of Bazoum broke. The Senegalese government has in like manner pledged to support ECOWAS’ invasion of Niger in order to divert attention from the months-long uprising that have unsettled the regime.³ Macky Sall can also use the pretext of a major war in the region to impose martial law in his country brutally crushing the uprising and extending his stay in office.
3. At this point, it is clear that any military intervention by the ECOWAS in Niger will be the invasion of a semi-colonial country by an imperialist proxy. Hence, revolutionaries must prepare for the military defence of Niger and the defeat of ECOWAS. Socialists must join all efforts to undermine the military intervention of ECOWAS and join the popular campaign for the evacuation of French and US troops from Niger without giving any political approval to the coupists.
4. While the intervention of Russian imperialism and/or its auxiliaries the Wagner Group on the side of Niger is possible as the junta continues attempts to enlist the help of the Kremlin and since it is surrounded by other military regimes like in Mali and Burkina Faso that already harbour Wagner mercenaries. The Tchiani junta is not yet a puppet of Russian imperialism and Wagner mercenaries are yet to play any decisive role in the country. If this happens socialists will be forced to review their stance and call for the defeat of both ECOWAS forces and the Nigerien junta.
5. The RCIT has emphasized that the war in Niger is likely to have a dual character, that is, a just war of national defence against imperialist aggression at the site of inter-imperialist power play for global hegemony. To this revolutionaries must apply the dual tactic — the defence of Niger from ECOWAS and French imperialism while opposing the strengthening of the hegemony of either Eastern(Russia and China) or Western (US/France) imperialism in the region.
6. This tactic has already been the stance of the RCIT and other Marxist revolutionaries in the Ukraine where Russian imperialism has waged a colonial war against the Ukraine which receives material support from the White House. To give one more example, during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-70 the Biafran side received tacit support from French and Portuguese imperialism but revolutionaries still stood by the secessionists because they never became proxies of the French nor the Portuguese. Again this is without giving any political support to the reactionary Zelensky government in Ukraine or the Tchiani junta in Niger.
7. As has been said, war in the region is a recipe for crisis and would push all the countries involved nearer the precipice of cataclysm. However Nigeria should be given special attention here since its dominance in the region puts it in a position to spear-head ECOWAS’ attack of Niger. From the on-going Presidential Elections Tribunal to the growing resistance of the masses against Tinubu’s anti-people economic attacks to the deepening massacres and secessionist unrest in different parts of the country, the stage seem to be set for the domino effect of coups through the Sahel to finally cascade into Nigeria.
8. The elite of northern Nigeria which is demographically contiguous with the population of Niger have rejected military intervention,⁴ a factor that can metamorphose into further crises for the Tinubu regime should he carry on with the invasion as the northern nationalities constitute the largest group in Nigeria’s military. Furthermore, there are millions of displaced Nigerians in Niger seeking refuge from terrorist groups who have ravaged the whole of Nigeria’s North. The spokesperson of Niger’s junta mentioned in his address ” armed terrorists” as part of the invading foreign force. While this could be a slight to blackmail ECOWAS and the Nigerian Armed Forces it is not totally void of truth since the Nigerian ruling class have for years maintained close affinity with Salafist militias who operate on either side of the border. In Sudan, the Arab militias massacring Dafurians are sometimes indistinguishable from the Rapid Support Forces. Where there is a general Tendency for insurgent groups to be strengthened in a war-torn region, whether this will be in tandem with advancing ECOWAS or Nigerian forces remains to be seen.
9. The war could be a kind of repetition of the Iraq-Iran war between 1980-88 where Iraq served as a proxy of Western imperialism to wage a reactionary war on the new Mullah regime after the overthrow of the Shah in the Iranian revolution of 1979. The aftermath for Saddam’s regime was disastrous such that he ventured into annexing Kuwait turning his Western allies against him in what was the beginning of the end of his regime. Tinubu’s frenzied rush into the fray may lead to the collapse of his regime or of the power of the APC in Nigeria. The outcome of the war for him maybe exactly what he is trying to forestall — a military takeover. A military takeover in Nigeria can lead to a civil war.
10. Tinubu is likely to use the war as a pretext to further attack democratic freedoms as his tenure has already seen one workers’ strike with more to follow (Resident doctors embark on a strike come Wednesday).⁵ Sall will most likely use the same schema in Senegal. Revolutionaries must monitor closely the situation in each country and the region as a whole and fight for the preservation of democratic freedoms. Socialists must identify the progressive, counterrevolutionary forces at every turn of this dynamic situation and formulate positions accordingly. For now the main task is to stop the invasion of Niger.
Defend Niger Republic! Down With the France Backed ECOWAS Invasion of Niger! Drive All Imperialist Troops Out of Niger and West Africa! Lift All Sanctions On Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso!
Against US/France and Against Russian Imperialism! For A Workers’ And Poor Peasant Government in Niger! For A West Africa Free from Imperialist Subjugation and Capitalist Exploitation!
[1] https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/614494-breaking-niger-coup-nigerian-senators-reject-tinubus-request-for-troops-deployment.html https://punchng.com/senators-in-stormy-session-reject-military-invasion-of-niger/
[2] https://dailypost.ng/2017/01/19/senate-blasts-buhari-sending-military-gambia-without-approval/
[3] https://www.africanews.com/2023/08/03/senegal-says-its-troops-will-join-any-ecowas-intervention-in-niger/ https://guardian.ng/news/senegal-says-its-troops-will-join-any-ecowas-intervention-in-niger/
[4] https://dailypost.ng/2023/08/05/military-action-in-niger-will-lead-to-mass-killings-cng-warns/ https://www.arise.tv/nigerias-northern-senators-reject-military-intervention-in-niger/
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For more on this see:
Niger: President Bazoum is Ousted in a Coup, 28th July, 2023, https://communism4africa.wordpress.com/2023/07/29/niger-president-bazoum-is-ousted-in-a-coup/
ECOWAS, France and U.S.: Hands Off Niger!
Defend Niger against sanctions and military intervention! No political support for the junta of General Tiani! Expel all US/European troops from Niger! https://communism4africa.wordpress.com/2023/08/01/ecowas-france-and-u-s-hands-off-niger/
The Looming War against Niger and its Global Meaning https://communism4africa.wordpress.com/2023/08/06/the-looming-war-against-niger-and-its-global-meaning/
Revolutionary Socialist Vanguard (RCIT Section in Nigeria) 
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