How is Niger enduring the consequences of unprecedented floods last year that devastated an economy already crippled by sanctions?
In the aftermath of the devastation left behind in the wake of unprecedented floods last year, Nigeriens are rebuilding their livelihoods with the help of government relief measures to drastically cut prices of essential commodities and services.
The Sahel-wide flooding between June and October 2024 exacted a high toll on the people of Niger, destroying crops, cattle, houses, and infrastructure in one of the world's poorest countries. By late-September, at least 339 people had been killed, many more were injured, and 1.1 million had been displaced.
The storms affected almost 190,000 hectares of cultivated agricultural land in a country with one of the world's highest child malnutrition rates. Maradi region, the agricultural hub of south-central Niger, was the worst affected, with "the equivalent of an entire month's worth of rain falling in a day," according to Aboubakar Alassane, a member of the coordination council of West Africa Peoples Organisation (WAPO). Masses of livestock, one of the most important sources of foreign exchange and the sole livelihood of nomadic communities, were washed away in the Agadez region in the Sahara desert in the central north.
The 2024 floods further eroded a food supply that had already been dwindling for over five years with agricultural land and pastures shrinking due to low rainfall. This climate catastrophe also took place as Niger was already suffering under sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The West Africa regional bloc, egged on by France, implemented these harsh measures following the ouster of the regime of Mohamed Bazoum, perceived domestically as a puppet of the former colonial power, in July 2023. The coup, preceded by mass protests against France's military deployment and economic domination of Niger, was led by the head of Bazoum's presidential guard, General Abdourahamane Tchiani. A military government called the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) was formed.
A week later, sanctions were implemented. State assets were frozen. A no-fly zone was imposed. The borders of the landlocked country were closed immediately. Even trucks that had already cleared paperwork were halted at the borders. Between 30 July and 31 October 2023, 42,037 tons of various goods, worth over $23 million, were prevented from crossing into Niger.
Alassane recounts that immediately after sanctions were imposed, the price of staples nearly doubled. "Within a week, people were forced to line up in long queues" to buy the limited supplies of food items that had to be rationed, he says.
The foreign market for onions, one of Niger's main irrigated crops over 90% of which used to be exported, was cut off. Hundreds of thousands of farmers were unable to sell their produce. Many more who were involved in the agricultural supply chain and export industry lost their livelihoods.
Neighbouring Nigeria, on which Niger depended for 70% of its electricity, cut off power in violation of bilateral agreements. "Electricity was rationed to four hours per neighbourhood in Niamey," says Alassane. "Dosso and Tillabéri only had electricity for six to eight hours when the old thermal generators, purchased in the 1980s, did not break down." Students were not able to study after dark. Meanwhile, Nigerien uranium powered France's nuclear plants.
A divided Niger unites
According to Alassane, sanctions have always been imposed to make the people suffer "to turn them against their governments", from "Cuba, Russia, DPR Korea, Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and now Niger". However, he maintains, it has typically "had the opposite effect".
In the immediate aftermath of the coup removing Bazoum, Niger was divided between those who supported the coup and those who opposed it. It was amid this confrontation that ECOWAS imposed sanctions and threatened war with the backing of France.
"We had never given anyone the mandate to kill us because a president was deposed by a coup," says Alassane. He describes what followed as a "patriotic surge" that united the country behind the CNSP. The government consolidated its popular support by ordering the French troops out of the country and committing to implement the popular will. France refused, provoking mass demonstrations outside its military base and embassy in Niamey.
"The march amid the pouring rain on 2 September, 2023, was an unprecedented display of popular strength in the history of Niger," says Alassane. "Some even say that the proclamation of the country's independence did not draw as large a crowd proportionally to the population."
Later that month, neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso vowed to defend Niger if attacked. They had also suffered sanctions after similar popularly supported coups in recent years removed French-backed regimes and forced French troops out. The trio came together to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
ECOWAS, on the other hand, was divided, with its member states facing domestic opposition to the war from popular movements and opposition parties. France announced its retreat in late-September 2023 and completed the withdrawal of its troops by the end of the year.
In January 2024, the AES states announced their decision to withdraw from ECOWAS, threatening to halve its geographical expanse and disrupt the 15-member bloc's trade and service flows worth almost $150 million annually. Amid this existential crisis, the West African leaders met in late-February and lifted the economic sanctions "on purely humanitarian grounds".
Nonetheless, Alassane says Nigeriens "still feel the effects". With no confidence in the economy, which suffered missed deadlines for payments due to a freeze on transactions, he says "businesses are closing one after another". "Spare parts for vehicles and other mechanical equipment are slow to arrive. We are forced to repair using second-hand parts, which are often defective. The automobile fleet, which is essential for a landlocked country, is shrinking more and more. Every day, we see people struggling with old broken vehicles," he explains.
Niger relies on the port of Cotonou in Benin for most of its imports of machines, spare parts, equipment, and food essentials, while exporting cash crops, uranium, and other minerals. Although the border closures were lifted, Alassane says the CNSP has been forced to keep the border closed from Niger's side due to threats of terror attacks.
France's official reasons for stationing troops in its former colonies in this region was to fight the terror groups it had helped spawn across the Sahel through its participation in the war in Libya. During its nearly decade-long troop deployment, however, terror attacks only increased. Moreover, after being compelled to withdraw, France is accused of aiding terror groups to destabilise AES states. "France has set up new military bases on the Beninese side of the border to train terrorists to carry out attacks on Niger and Burkina Faso," alleges Alassane.
Relief measures
It was while Niger was already reeling under the pressure of an economic crisis that it was hit by countrywide floods. Although heavy rains are common in this season, the scale of devastation was "unprecedented."
In the aftermath, the CNSP has taken several measures to provide relief, including "a 50% reduction in the cost of medical procedures, examinations, and other services in public hospitals and health centres," says Alassane. To increase domestic food availability, the government has banned exports of cereals and pulses outside AES countries. This contrasts to the last few years, he says, when "more than 50% of the harvest were exported to Nigeria" despite Niger's reliance on imports because farmers could not find remunerative prices in local markets. To mitigate this problem, the CNSP has launched a campaign to buy farmers' produce above market price, while making it available for domestic consumers at a subsidised rate.
80% of farming is done on highlands that escaped the devastating impact of the floods, Alassane adds. In fact, yields have been "excellent" due to above-average rain. The government is prioritising securing this harvest. All these measures have "drastically" dropped the prices of cereals, he says. As of November 2024, the price of a 75 kg sack of millet was down by about 45% since July.
With the price of cement slashed by 50% through a waiver on certain tax exemptions, "new construction projects are visible in capital Niamey and other main cities", says Alassane.
Over the past couple of years, Nigeriens have endured great travails in the crosshairs of climate catastrophe and sanctions. These difficulties, however, have not undermined popular support for the CNSP, according to Alassane. He points out that "each time the CNSP announces the holding of the National Consultative Council" under pressure from ECOWAS, France, and their Western allies, it has been forced to backtrack due to popular opposition. The idea behind such a council, he explains, is to declare that the military is only ruling as a "transitional government" whose decisions will be reviewed by the council until a new constitution is drafted and power ceded to a civilian government. Mali and Burkina Faso have constituted such councils.
However, Nigeriens do not want to see this happen. When there have been coups in the past, such councils have often served as "a door for Western imperialism" to intervene, ensuring another French puppet takes power when the transitional period comes to a close, says Alassane.
This article was produced by Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service.
Pavan Kulkarni is a journalist with Peoples Dispatch.