West Africa has always been a place of turmoil, and military coups seem to have become commonplace. However, on the very same day local time, a shocking coup d'état took place in Niger. The Niger Presidential Guard suddenly blocked President Bazoum's official residence and office on the 26th and forced him to sign a statement to step down. Of course, Bazom refused this request, as a result of which the Guards directly detained him and announced on Niger state television that he had dismissed Bazoum from the presidency. The situation quickly attracted the attention of the international community, and many parties such as China, the United States, Russia and other parties expressed concern about it.
The coup has sparked speculation that there are four different explanations for why the coup took place. The first view is that France may have been dissatisfied with Niger's excessive concessions to China and thus participated in the planning of the coup. This view is supported by Russian expert Loshkarev, who believes that political turmoil in Niger is often linked to France, and that the coup could be France's response to Niger's concessions on trade with China. Others, however, argue that this is unlikely to have a substantial impact, as China has always respected the sovereignty of other countries and whoever is in power will not affect Sino-Nepalese trade exchanges.
The second version states that Bazoum was preparing to depose the commander of the guard, Teachani, an idea that may have angered him and led him to stage a coup d'état first. There is some support for this view, as there was no gunfire throughout the coup and traffic remained normal near Bazoum's residence, which could mean that Bazoum was defenseless against T'Crani's rebellion.
A third explanation is that the coup was due to the dissatisfaction of some forces in Niger against Bazoum, because he was considered too close to France, and he was elected to power, and the Guard acted with anti-communist and slogans. Therefore, the guards, probably seeing Bazoum as a figure representing the republic, turned the finger on him.
The last view is that the coup d'état was due to Bazoum's incompetence in combating terrorism. The West African region has been volatile, especially after France withdrew its troops from neighboring Mali last year, where extremism and terrorism have become more rampant. It was hoped that Bazoum would be able to take more effective counter-terrorism measures, but the results were not evident as it stands. Therefore, some may have taken the opportunity to stage a coup d'état against Bazhum in the hope of changing the situation.
However, these explanations are only speculation by the media and experts, and have not been officially confirmed by Niger. After all, the situation in West Africa is extremely complex, and coups are often the product of specific circumstances that can hardly be attributed to a single cause. Indeed, the coup may be related to the inability of the Head of State to fully control military power and the difficulty of imposing appropriate punitive measures. The reason why the Guard is bold and why Bazoum is passive is closely related to these factors.
Faced with the problem, Bazum seems unable to solve it and can only seek external assistance. The Economic Community of West African States strongly condemns the armed seizure of power by the Guards, demands the safety of Bazoum and his team, and his unconditional release. ECOWAS said that if the Guard does not comply with this request, it will intervene to ensure the proper functioning of the legitimate regime in Niger. Benin's President Talon, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, both expressed their condemnation of the coup and called on all parties to exercise restraint. The United States has also made clear its support for Bazoum, demanding his immediate release.
Niger is one of China's partners in Africa, and many Chinese live and work in the country. To this end, the Chinese Embassy in Niger issued an urgent reminder, asking Chinese nationals to strengthen security protection, avoid going out, stay calm in case of emergency, and promptly report to the police and contact the embassy. In the midst of this coup d'état, the eyes of the international community will remain on the volatile West African country.