Niger President Bazoum says he is being held hostage by the mutinous soldiers

President Mohamed Bazoum in his first public statement since the coup d’etat in Niger, says he is a “hostage” and called on the world leaders to rescue his country after its democratically elected government was ousted in a coup last week.

He expressed concern at the risk of a rebound in terrorism and a region placed “under Russian influence” if the putsch was successful.

Despite African and Western pressure, junta leader Abdourahmane Tiani, the former head of Niger’s presidential guard, has said he will not back down. He has cited insecurity as his main justification, even though data shows militant attacks have been decreasing.

Niger, a vast and arid nation twice the size of Texas in Africa’s Sahel region, has one of the lowest gross domestic products per capita in the world. There was some cause for optimism in 2021, when Bazoum was elected in the country’s first democratic transfer of power. And it has become an anchor for Western-backed counter-terrorism efforts in the volatile region.

However, the military takeover last week marks the seventh coup in West and Central Africa in three years, a democratic backsliding that worries many African and Western governments.

In his op-ed, Bazoum called the coup a “cynical effort to undermine the remarkable progress Niger has made under democracy.”

“Niger stands as the last bastion of respect for human rights amid the authoritarian movements that have overtaken some of our neighbors,” he said. “While this coup attempt is a tragedy for Nigeriens, its success would have devastating consequences far beyond our borders.”

Bazoum warned that his country could become a client of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group, which has established an influential presence in some nearby countries.

Time Africa obtained copy of his letter which reads:

“I write this as a hostage. Niger is under attack from a military junta that is trying to overthrow our democracy, and I am just one of hundreds of citizens who have been arbitrarily and illegally imprisoned. This coup, launched against my government by a faction in the military on July 26, has no justification whatsoever. If it succeeds, it will have devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world.

Our government came to power through a democratic election in 2021. Any attempt to overthrow a lawful government must be opposed, and we appreciate the strong and unequivocal condemnations of this cynical effort to undermine the remarkable progress Niger has made under democracy. The United States, the African and European Unions, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been loud and clear: This coup must end, and the junta must free everyone they have unlawfully arrested.

The coup plotters falsely claim that they acted to protect Niger’s security. They allege that our war against jihadist terrorists is failing and that my economic and social governance, including partnerships with the United States and Europe, has hurt our country.

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In fact, Niger’s security situation has improved dramatically — facilitated by the very partnerships the junta opposes. Foreign aid makes up 40 percent of our national budget, but it will not be delivered if the coup succeeds.

To the south, where we face the terrorist group Boko Haram, there have been almost no attacks for two years, and refugees are returning to their villages. As a testament to this reality, our partners, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, are shifting their operations from humanitarian aid to development initiatives such as building sustainable energy, improving agricultural productivity and educating the next generation of Nigerien leaders.

The country’s north and west have likewise suffered no major attacks since I took office in 2021. Thanks to our allies’ support and training from partners, including the Indiana National Guard, Niger is now the safest it has been in the past 15 years.

Notably, Niger’s security situation is significantly better than that of our neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, whose governments, both installed by military takeovers, support the illegal coup. Rather than addressing security concerns by strengthening their own capacity, they employ criminal Russian mercenaries such as the Wagner Group at the expense of their people’s rights and dignity.

My government has been similarly successful in terms of economic and social governance. After a slow recovery from covid-19 in 2021, our per capita growth rate more than tripled to 7.4 percent last year.

2022 was Niger’s first year without a single school day lost to strikes from teachers or students. Workers did not go on strike in any major sector, and my administration signed landmark agreements with unions to create a safer and more stable working environment across the nation.

In March, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Niger “a model of resilience, a model of democracy, a model of cooperation.”

We cannot afford to lose this momentum. Recognizing the threat that Niger’s potential fall poses to the region, our neighbors in ECOWAS have announced unprecedented sanctions, including a ban on exports and imports of oil, and a suspension of cross-border financial transactions.

These measures are already demonstrating what a future would look like under an autocratic junta with no vision or reliable allies. The price of rice rose by 40 percent between Sunday and Tuesday, and some neighborhoods have begun to report shortages of goods and electricity.

In Africa’s troubled Sahel region, Niger stands as the last bastion of respect for human rights amid the authoritarian movements that have overtaken some of our neighbors. While this coup attempt is a tragedy for Nigeriens, its success would have devastating consequences far beyond our borders.

With an open invitation from the coup plotters and their regional allies, the entire central Sahel region could fall to Russian influence via the Wagner Group, whose brutal terrorism has been on full display in Ukraine.

Boko Haram and other terrorist movements will surely take advantage of Niger’s instability, using our country as a staging ground to attack neighboring countries and undermine peace, safety and freedom around the world. They will ramp up their efforts to target our youths with hateful anti-Western indoctrination, turning them against the very partners who are helping us build a more hopeful future.

In our hour of need, I call on the U.S. government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order. Fighting for our shared values, including democratic pluralism and respect for the rule of law, is the only way to make sustainable progress against poverty and terrorism. The Nigerien people will never forget your support at this pivotal moment in our history.”