The Insights of Neo-Colonial Divorce between Niger and France through Defensive versus Offensive Diplomatic Mechanisms Perpetuated by Continuous Ambitions of Exploration, Expropriation and Exploitation of Natural Resources in Niger 2000-2023

Abstract

The West African country called Niger is blessed with seven neighbouring countries which surrounded all its frontiers in spite of the fact that it is a landlocked country with no direct access to the sea. The rich natural resources like uranium attracted several Multinational Corporations (MNCs) to set up for the Exploration, Expropriation and Exploitation (3Es). Yet, the country remains one of the poorest and under developed for 63 years after independence but was crowned in the position of Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiatives (HIPC). Unfortunately for France as the main consumer of Niger’s resources through the use of pro-French leaders of the country, the 21st Century was not going to be the same as it recently happened in the previous four decades of the 20th Century. To that effect, a New Generation of West African Leaders (NGWAL) from Mali, Burkina-Faso and Mali individual decided to take the bull by the horns with main objective to overthrow Purported Pro- French Civilian Leaders (PPFCL) in order to end all the mechanisms and networks of neo-colonialism as impediments to National Development and Unity (NDU) which in turns fuelled periods of social unrest and political instabilities since the 1960s. Therefore, Niger was not left out in this neo-colonial dance of the third decade of the 21st Century as it happened in 2023 with strong sentimental feelings in favour of the suffering Nigeriens. The scrutinized of specialized sources of information enable us to use a historical approach with our findings that Niger is on good footing towards new structural developmental agenda without any single dictatorial prescriptions from the neo-colonial men of Western Europe.