In Mali-Sahel, our own Afghanistan? (Impact Editions), the Nigerien journalist and writer Seidik Abba summons all the players in the Sahelian crisis and deciphers the shortcomings of the strategy for eradicating terrorism in this region of the African continent where jihadism has taken hold in a decade.
Franceinfo Afrique: “For France, the Sahel has become what Afghanistan was for the Americans”, you conclude in your book ! How do you justify this comparison?
Seidik Abba: in 2001, when the Americans arrived in Afghanistan, they had a specific objective, oust the Taliban from power and eradicate terrorism. In August 2021, when they decided to leave, we see that none of these objectives have been achieved. From this point of view, there is a kind of unfinished taste that we find in the Sahel. When Macron announced France’s withdrawal in February 2022, he himself acknowledged that the job is unfinished but that France was leaving because it felt it could no longer work with the Malian junta.
The second element of comparison is the massive aid given but not of much use. Thousands of dollars were poured into Afghanistan but nothing was done. In the Sahel, according to the figures put forward, the international community has invested millions of dollars in the countries of the region. But today, if you go to Gossi (Mali), Solhan (Burkina Faso) or Diffa (Niger), you will not see any improvement in the living conditions of the local populations. Aid has not been effective in the Sahel, in particular because of the multiplicity of actors – everyone does the same thing without any coordination – and the diversion of aid.
The third element, which is not the last, concerns the agenda of the terrorists. The Taliban have always had a local agenda: to regain power in Kabul and install their system. In the Sahel, the agenda of terrorist groups is also Sahelian and West African. They are not looking to carry out attacks elsewhere. It is for this reason that when the Americans left Kabul in the rout, Iyad Ag Ghali who is the head of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims – a federation of terrorist groups – issued a statement to celebrate the “defeat” Americans because if one of the most powerful armies in the world has been defeated, there is hope of defeating Western armies.
You are critical of all the actors involved in the Sahel. Inadequate strategy for France, corruption in the beneficiary States and multitude of actors who make the action of the international community ineffective: all of this has contributed to the deterioration of the situation in the Sahel, you say….
First France, then the European Union with Takuba, thought that the military and security solution could prosper. When in January 2020, President Macron met in Pau with his Sahelian counterparts and they observed that the situation had deteriorated, what did they decide? To increase the number of soldiers and the military presence. France and Western countries have persisted in this strategy. The African States, which are beneficiaries of this support, have not challenged their partners either when the failure has become obvious.
The endogenization of terrorism in the Sahel is proof of this. Before, the terrorists came from Algeria, Tunisia or Western Sahara. But for a very long time now, the terrorists have been Zarma, Fulani, Soninke, Tuareg… We were happy to have killed 2 000 jihadists while terrorist groups have recruited 10,000. This shift should have challenged us: why are recruitments persisting? Why do young people venture down this path?
The set was wrong and we arrived at this distressing situation. When the French intervention took place in January 2013 in Mali, only 20% of the territory was threatened by terrorists, mainly the north of the country near Kidal, Tessalit, on the border with Algeria. Today, it is two-thirds of Malian territory. The threat has become more serious in central Mali, around Mopti and Sévaré, and has spread to Niger, Burkina Faso and is even at the gates of the Gulf of Guinea countries. Benin has been attacked four times, the last time on April 26, 2022. Côte d’Ivoire has also been attacked, Togo is threatened… All because no one has ever questioned anything.
The countries of the Sahel have never really been proactive…
I think that’s the real problem. These countries did not have the courage to tell their partners that they were not in the right strategy when they are aware that the situation is deteriorating. Perhaps because everything military means buying weapons and placing large orders, which has led us to scandals in Mali, in Niger, in the management of money allocated to the fight against terrorism. Billions have disappeared in these countries because the most important thing is to capture aid.
The inability of Sahelian states to define priorities and impose them is another weakness. In the Sahel, people on the ground told us that they were in conflict with NGOs or donors who wanted, for example, to build a well when the emergency for the populations, according to the local authorities, was maternity. After the genocide in Rwanda, the international community wanted the development of social services. But Paul Kagame, the Rwandan president, preferred the construction of a benchmark university in terms of technology. Eventually, donors agreed to do so and this university has now become a reference on the continent.
Niger seems to have become the new interlocutor given the tensions that have arisen between the Malian military junta and its partners, notably France. Is this the beginning of a solution to resolve the Sahelian crisis?
Nope ! First, because the origin of the problem is in Mali. We cannot objectively fight terrorism in the Sahel without going through this country. We can criticize the behavior of the Malian junta but we should have found a way to have Bamako as an interlocutor. Today, terrorist groups attack in Burkina Faso or Niger and then retreat to Mali. How do we prosecute them without the agreement of the Malian authorities? You have to see Mali beyond the junta because most of the terrorist leaders are hidden in this country. I don’t know how we can fight terrorism in the Sahel without Mali.
Then, this withdrawal towards Niger is not dictated by the will to change strategy which would, for example, put the accent on development. Most of the young Fulani who are in the Three Borders area, straddling Mali, Burkina and Niger, have been recruited by jihadist movements. Once again, you have to wonder why, when they are not particularly religious. These young people can no longer, for example, practice livestock farming because of climate change, the scarcity of land which has become essentially agricultural and access to resources, in particular water. These young people must be put out of reach of the jihadists through training and access to employment. Just as we must settle the questions of social justice which have pushed some to join forces.
In the heart of West Africa, Mali is becoming a nest of jihadists who threaten the security of its neighbours. Ain’t it their turn to pressure ?
Given the state of mind of the Malian junta, any pressure from outside the continent could turn them against them. The populations of Gao, in Mali, are the same as those of Tilaberi in Niger. Mali needs the port of Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), the port of Dakar (Senegal)… Mali has a community of destiny with its neighbors that it cannot refute. The misunderstanding with the Economic Community of West African States on the duration of the transition can be resolved.
If the political issue is resolved, regional aid can be provided in Mali. People have already understood that it is necessary to associate the countries of the Gulf of Guinea and those of the Sahel. From the construction of this regional response, greater involvement of the African Union is needed. Europe can, and this is what the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres has suggested, provide political and material support to African States so that they build an African response to the crisis in the Sahel. There are states, like South Africa and Egypt or even Angola, which are military powers in Africa and which can help the countries of the Sahel.
Today, faced with the peril that has spread to this region and threatens the Gulf of Guinea, the African Union is challenged. It is a historical duty for her to take charge of this question. It is the existence of our countries that is threatened and the African Union, which led the national liberation movements and accompanied independence or even the fight against apartheid, must return to this pattern to resolve the Sahel crisis.