Niger’s military government has announced the nationalisation of the country’s sole industrial gold mine, accusing its Australian operator of “serious breaches” as the junta seeks greater control of natural resources.
The military junta has ruled the West African nation since seizing power in a 2023 coup, promising to crack down on Niger’s myriad security issues.
Juntas in Niger, neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali have ramped up pressure on foreign mining companies in recent years, with Niger nationalising the local branch of French uranium giant Orano in June.
So the nation can share its own wealth instead of bowing to modern day colonialism
Let’s hope so. Military juntas don’t have a great track record though.
Neocolonialism wasn’t doing the country any favors either
It’s a military dictatorship, that wealth is going to the military leadership, and no one else.
No, that’s not how it works. Previously, all of the wealth was going to Australian imperialists and a few compradors, now that wealth stays within Niger. Through opposing Australian imperialism and nationalizing industry, Niger gets to use that wealth on developing themselves, which is in the interests of the proletariat of Niger. This is a fantastic thing, and you’re finger-wagging them for kicking out the imperialists.
I’m saying that a dictatorship never cares about the people.
Because Niger is a military dictatorship not a communist utopia.
At best, that wealth will be spent on a lavish palace that will be used by the general and only the general.
At worst, it will buy weapons that will be used to further subjugate the people.
The post-coup government is broadly supported by its people precisely because it kicked out the comprador government that actually did spend all of their kickbacks on lavish material goods as bribery from siphoning all of that wealth outside. You’re justifying the western narrative against the Sahel States despite the people supporting the new government as though you know better than them. No investigation, no right to speak.
Lol.
I saw this and was going to say “I kinda wanna say this is good, but I’m skeptical of Niger’s government to share the wealth with its people etc etc.” and then I see “Niger’s military government” in the preview.
Sigh.
I gotta admit, you’re about the 5th hexbear user within the past hour that has responded to me with unintelligible nonsense.
I gotta see if it’s possible to block your instance as a whole, now.
So instead of wanting Niger to have sovereignty over its own industry, you’d trust western imperialists to share the wealth more? This is absurd, the only way to kick out imperialists is through nationalization of imperialized industry.
Gonna block ya.
The bad faith arguments and dogpiling to fit in gets old.
It’s not being bad-faith, you made a bad argument in favor of Australian imperialists. People are calling you out for it, deservedly so. “Fitting in” has nothing to do with it.
I’m not going to suggest european/western companies be “better” for a country and continent that has suffered centuries of abuses by those same people, but at the same time it is perfectly sane to question whether or not a military junta, in an area historically also terrorized by those same kinds of “leaders”, won’t just siphon off all the money to foreign bank accounts until they too are killed or run away to another country and live off their gains.
That’s not an argument in favor of either group, it’s saying maybe out of the frying pan and into the fire.
And I am saying that suggesting that the conditions on the ground in Niger will be the same or worse, without actually doing the research into why this is happening or why the people of Niger support this overwhelmingly, just cedes the narrative to western imperialists unhappy that Niger is charting its own course. The only way for the development of Africa is to throw off the reigns of imperialism the west has shackled them to.
Even if the new gov does disproportionately benefit from this move, the wealth will stay more in Niger, whereby the national bourgeoisie will at minimum be incetivized into expanding production and continuing development on Niger’s own terms. That’s the worst-case scenario from this, the best case is that the gov itself directs this new wealth directly into expanded production and infrastructural development. Either case is much better for the people of Niger, which is why they support it so strongly.
You really need to “research” it after already laying blame? Quire apparent your mind is made up.
Yea, because I’ve been following what’s been going on in the Sahel States enough to know that this is a good thing, and that those who just cede the narrative to the imperialists they are throwing off are doing more harm than anything else.
I was thinking the same. It would be nice if the profits end up benefiting the people but it might end up benefiting just the select few elites. Local elites but still.
The privatized system already only benefited the Australian elites and compradors in Niger. Nationalization directly keeps the wealth in Niger, and not flowing out to Australia. This is anti-imperialism in action, and you’re finger-wagging them for it.
Uhm, that’s what i was saying. Before it was foreign elite few who benefited from it, now it might unfortunately still be elite few, but local.
This is anti-imperialism in action, and you’re finger-wagging them for it.
I’m just saying i wish the money will end up benefiting the people at large, not a select few. If it’s some military junta who will use it to buy gold plated Rolls-Royces while the people live in poverty then of course I’m going to finger wag at that lol
Your immediate insinuation that kicking out foreign plunder, therefore freeing up resources for domestic development of their own industry, somehow is the exact same and that this must be the case, is an extremely western-centric viewpoint and is chauvanistic.
Nope. I’m apprehensive because it’s a military junta behind it.
Niger is in the Alliance of Sahel States, a progressive coalition of anti-imperialist countries in Africa turning their backs on France, Austrailia, and other imperialists. You’re accepting the imperialist framing of a popularly supported government that couped the old, French comprador government that did the exact thing you accuse the new government of doing.
No investigation, no right to speak. You’re acting like a parrot for French propaganda.
The text in the OP and the article it links to is talking about a military junta…
