The history of coups in Niger There are still different opinions about the coup d'état carried out by some soldiers under the leadership...
The history of coups in Niger
There are still different opinions about the coup d'état carried out by some soldiers under the leadership of General Abdurahamane Tchiani this week in the Republic of Niger.
The Republic of Niger is famous in the world for the number of coups in the country which has experienced five coups.
The first president to face a coup was the late Diori Hamani, who was overthrown by Lieutenant Colonel Seyni Kountche on April 15, 1974, who also faced at least three coup attempts, in 1975, 1976 and 1983, before he died on November 10, 1987.
He was later replaced by the late General Ali Chaibou, the head of the Niger army at that time.
In 1991, a national conference was held, called the "Conference Nationale," which gave the Republic of Niger the opportunity to establish a democratic government, by having a number of political parties.
This allowed Mahamane Ousmane to become the president of Niger in 1993.
After three years of Kachal rule, he was overthrown by the late Colonel Ibrahim Bare Mainasara on the 27th of January 1996, who was also acquitted by the late Daouda Malam of the head of the Presidential Security Forces, and was overthrown on the 9th of April 1999.
He also agreed to hand over power to civilians after completing the interim government for nine months. This allowed the late Tanja Mamadou to become the president on November 24, 1999, which was also overthrown by General Salou Djibo on February 18, 2010 after his failed attempt.
Issoufou Mahamadou, the Chairman of the Federal PNDS party came to power after the 2011 election, after completing his second term as stipulated by the constitution of the Republic of Niger, he organized the election that Mohamed Bazoum won and was sworn in as President. In 2021, which was also about to be sworn in as the new President, there was a coup d'état that was crushed by the presidential army.
The latest coup is on Wednesday 26th of July 2023, which was led by General Abdurahammane Tchini who is the head of the presidential palace and the former head of the presidential army during the reign of the former president of Niger Issoufou Mahamadou.
Right now, it can be said that the Republic of Niger is famous for coups in the African continent, especially in the West African region.
In his interview with the Voice of America, Mahamane Bachar, who is the speaker of the current affairs in the Republic of Niger, shed more light on the reasons that lead to frequent coups in the Republic of Niger.
"Improper governance is one of the main reasons that lead to coups because when democracy came to African countries, it was pretended to be a democratic government, but in reality it was the strong who got power and the majority. Politicians are running a dictatorship, then most of the soldiers are using these reasons to overthrow a civilian government.
On his part, Aisani Tchiroma, a member of a civil organization called ROTBA in the Republic of Niger said:
"The first thing is that the overthrown president is hindered in the administration of the system he brought, and the coup leads to delay in the implementation of some measures of national development, especially the international one, and the coup gives the opportunity bring in new leaders to lead those who are not good at the job."
Now the people of Niger are waiting for the decision of the ECOWAS or CEDEAO to be taken at the meeting today in Abuja, Nigeria regarding the recent coup d'état in the country.