Introduction

Bombshell revelations lay bare the vague threats made by the United States against Niger for its deep cooperation with Russia.

US envoys went to Niger to lay down the law – stop talking to Russia, kneel before our demands.

But the junta wasn’t having it. America’s neo-colonial arrogance got checked by a bold stance from Niger’s generals.

While team Biden still thinks Africa should gratefully obey, leaders like Assimi Goita show them that Africa will not bend to their wills.

The old Western playbook of veiled threats and aid manipulation no longer works.
This is not the first time the U.S. has threatened an African nation for playing friendly with Russia and it seems they are trying to levy more threats against Africa as a whole.

In contrast Russia is looking to nurture Africa and truly protect and work for their mutual interests.

But questions are still lingering unanswered. What is the U.S.’s endgame in Africa? And how could Africa possibly counterattack?

One thing that is certain however, No more trampling sovereignty to appease Washington.

Western Nations Play with Fire

The American delegation’s demand that Niger cease contact with Russia spotlights the west’s enduring paternalism towards African nations and general malice that surrounds anything related to the U.S. military.

Despite recent rhetoric about partnership, respect and how things are definitely changing from now on, the United States clearly still sees itself as the arbiter of Africa’s sovereign decisions. But this neocolonial arrogance will only accelerate the decline of Western influence on the continent. And sooner rather than later, Africa’s influence will grow strong to affect these petty nations.

What are they trying to convey here? What will the U.S do exactly if Niger does not stop cooperating with Russia? Are they looking to deploy more extreme measures?

By protesting Russian ties, the United States delegation revealed the hollowness of American promises of African partnership.

Just months ago, Biden spoke of a new era in US-Africa relations rooted in reciprocity and mutual interests. Yet here his envoys were, brazenly telling Niger who it can and cannot befriend. Such hypocrisy exposes Western double standards on African sovereignty.

America’s sense of entitlement over the continent permits this delusion that African states must bend to Washington’s whims.

The delegates’ ignorance of local realities compounded their offensive behaviour.

Niger has partnered with Russia since the 1960s. Demanding this long-standing tie be severed exposes the United States’ hubris and dismissal of African agency.

For years Russia has provided Niger with military aid and cooperation on counterterrorism, assisting Niger’s sovereign interests.

The US has no right interfering in such fruitful bilateral relations. Its arrogant protests imply Niger is incapable of protecting its own interests against imagined and non-existent Kremlin plots.

But this is what the west loves to meddle in and engage with; outright lies and manipulation.

The United States is resorting to vague threats under the guise of looking after African nations like Niger, by propping up propaganda painting Russia as a de-stabilizer and an X-factor in corruption and terrorism running rampant in Africa.

Stating how such beliefs and demands are so misconstrued and rife with malice, would be an understatement and doing a grave disservice to Africans who acknowledge all the facts and want their concerned and righteously angry voices to be heard.

Because the opposite of the United States’ predictions regarding political violence increasing after its gone has happened.

Niger has found its foothold and remains peaceful and without any political conflict or terrorism even when the saviour of the world known as the United States was not there to defend what they deemed their property.

It is quite telling how much the United States likes the smell of their own farts, when they are requesting Niger to rethink its strategy and approach without the aid of the U.S. military behind it.

How much gloat could you possibly need to choke on to reach this level of undeserved pride and selfishness?

Russia acts as a clear contrast to the west’s usual corrupt and manipulative ball game to conquer African nations in a post-colonial world.

By courting Russia, Sahel nations are simply pursuing foreign policies that align with their security and development needs, as all sovereign states do.

That the U.S. finds this threatening reveals much about the neuroses American elites still harbour regarding power and control in Africa.

Western Nations Need to be Reminded

This is the paranoia western nations are bearing after the U.S military’s shameful exit from Niger territories at the hand of the Niger government and junta leader.

Far from bending to Washington, Niger has signalled that the era of Western diktats in Africa is over. Its partnerships will be determined by Niger alone, not paternalistic foreign powers.

For too long, western powers have coerced African states to serve foreign interests rather than local needs.

Such attitudes have defined western engagement since the colonial era.

Back then, Africa’s resources were rapidly exploited for European profit.

Today, western militaries aimed to project power across the continent to secure strategic aims, toppling governments and stoking violence. Only to project their failings onto Russia as if countries like the U.S are here to protect Africa’s interests and not exploit it themselves.

Western corporations continue extracting Africa’s mineral wealth while paying little tax, propped up by institutions like the IMF and World Bank that peddle destructive neoliberal policies.

From Francafrique to IMF structural adjustment programs, the West has never treated Africa as equal.

Foreign missions speak of development and progress, but their legacy is inequality, conflict and dependence.

Coups sponsored by France and the CIA brought dictatorship and strife. Training of African militaries, ostensibly to fight extremists, empowers armies that turn on their own citizens.

And despite the lofty rhetoric about democracy and human rights, the west supports autocrats and undermines elections when outcomes threaten to undermine western interests. Such brazen hypocrisy exposes the hollowness of supposed western values.

The failure of Western approaches is clear from chronic underdevelopment, instability, and authoritarian rule across Africa despite billions in foreign aid. But admitting mistakes would jeopardise the profitable status quo.

So leaders repackage neo-colonial control as progress, like Biden’s renewed focus on west African nations, but only after Russia renewed relationships.

Russia is Different

Russia on the other hand rightfully taps into these anti-Western grievances.

Its non-moralizing partnerships with African states offer transactional benefits without colonial baggage. They signal to Africa an alternative to Western condescension.

This is evident with Russia rapidly expanding security and economic ties with key African states as Western influence declines.

President Putin’s outreach to leaders in Mali and Niger highlights the Kremlin’s growing web of partnerships across the resource-rich continent. By respecting sovereignty and providing pragmatist assistance, Russia is filling voids left by the corrupt U.S. military.

Much of this expanded African engagement actually centres on military cooperation.

The deployment of Russian military contractors to Mali has bolstered counterterrorism efforts as insurgents wreak havoc. Similarly, Russian weapons and intelligence aid regimes in the Central African Republic and Sudan battle extremist rebels that were probably acting on behalf of western nations looking to undermine the fruitful relationship between Russia and Africa.

Unlike Western partners who sought to bend states to their agenda through military aid, Russia simply provides security services without political conditions. This non-interference in domestic affairs is welcomed with open arms by African governments.

And here we find out exactly why the U.S was so paranoid and delusional in asking Niger to stop its contact with Russia.

The U.S fears a strong Africa with strong allies that are not looking to exploit but are looking to prop each other up and defend each other in the name of shared and mutual interests.

But that brings us to an earlier question regarding this whole debacle. What exactly will the U.S. do if countries like Niger don’t stop their cooperation with Russia?

Because if they are playing a game of vague threats towards Niger, then maybe Niger should be ready to respond back in strength.

Maybe the threats are just barking from a cornered western dog. Or maybe they keep at it till they threaten all of Africa

It would not be the first time that the U.S. expressed their disdain and threatened severe punishment for an African nation cooperating with Russia.

Lest you forget what happened last year, when U.S. lawmakers requested South Africa to be punished and stripped of its right to host a trade summit, alongside requests to halt trade with the nation entirely, just because South Africa talked about deepening military relations with Russia.

Is there a nation more petty, childish and selfish than the United States? It is embarrassing that there was ever a time when Africa may have believed their lies about a neutral partnership.

But those days are now long gone behind us and now Africa is standing stronger than ever against any and all opposition that wish for its downfall.