Niger’s military government has announced the nationalisation of the country’s sole industrial gold mine, accusing its Australian operator of “serious breaches” as the junta seeks greater control of natural resources.
The military junta has ruled the West African nation since seizing power in a 2023 coup, promising to crack down on Niger’s myriad security issues.
Juntas in Niger, neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali have ramped up pressure on foreign mining companies in recent years, with Niger nationalising the local branch of French uranium giant Orano in June.
Lol.
I saw this and was going to say “I kinda wanna say this is good, but I’m skeptical of Niger’s government to share the wealth with its people etc etc.” and then I see “Niger’s military government” in the preview.
Sigh.
So instead of wanting Niger to have sovereignty over its own industry, you’d trust western imperialists to share the wealth more? This is absurd, the only way to kick out imperialists is through nationalization of imperialized industry.
Gonna block ya.
The bad faith arguments and dogpiling to fit in gets old.
It’s not being bad-faith, you made a bad argument in favor of Australian imperialists. People are calling you out for it, deservedly so. “Fitting in” has nothing to do with it.
I’m not going to suggest european/western companies be “better” for a country and continent that has suffered centuries of abuses by those same people, but at the same time it is perfectly sane to question whether or not a military junta, in an area historically also terrorized by those same kinds of “leaders”, won’t just siphon off all the money to foreign bank accounts until they too are killed or run away to another country and live off their gains.
That’s not an argument in favor of either group, it’s saying maybe out of the frying pan and into the fire.
And I am saying that suggesting that the conditions on the ground in Niger will be the same or worse, without actually doing the research into why this is happening or why the people of Niger support this overwhelmingly, just cedes the narrative to western imperialists unhappy that Niger is charting its own course. The only way for the development of Africa is to throw off the reigns of imperialism the west has shackled them to.
Even if the new gov does disproportionately benefit from this move, the wealth will stay more in Niger, whereby the national bourgeoisie will at minimum be incetivized into expanding production and continuing development on Niger’s own terms. That’s the worst-case scenario from this, the best case is that the gov itself directs this new wealth directly into expanded production and infrastructural development. Either case is much better for the people of Niger, which is why they support it so strongly.
You really need to “research” it after already laying blame? Quire apparent your mind is made up.
Yea, because I’ve been following what’s been going on in the Sahel States enough to know that this is a good thing, and that those who just cede the narrative to the imperialists they are throwing off are doing more harm than anything else.
Sorry fella, but you need to judge a government by the policies it applies, not simply to the form it takes.
This over attachment to the form makes up many smug liberals who are often unpoliticized, misrepresented by the very representatives they elect, which only do the bidding of powerful lobby groups tied to the financial sector.
The liberal voting system, along with the multi-party system, hasn’t been capable, for a long time, to guarantee that people’s voice are being heard. The people in the West, for a long time, is holding this smug attitude as if they were the pinnacle of civilization, when in fact they are the biggest fools and jesters of the world who are constantly squabbling against each other and persecuting minority groups while they are being robbed blind by equity, rent, taxes, interest rates, and having their jobs being moved to other places.
So, yeah, Niger maybe a dictatorship of a military junta but they are taking the steps of getting rid of their Western parasites, the same people that make your life harder at each passing day, while you are complaining about they not being pure enough or for not conforming with your stupid idealization of how government systems should work. Stop being a fool and instead of arrogantly complaining and diminishing their actions, go read something organize and do something productive. Stop being a fool, for god’s sake!
Boo hoo our imperial corporations can no longer terrorize this piece of africa, continuing in our proud colonialist legacy. Yes lets be sceptical of the military kicking them out(hopefully). Lets address THEIR democratic record. Who do you think you can fool here? When the government in Burkina Faso took power same argument could be made. Yet they invest massively in for example agriculture industry. They prop up education for young children. Compare this to what was there before.
I hope that this will become liberation to the Niger and others soon to follow.
I gotta admit, you’re about the 5th hexbear user within the past hour that has responded to me with unintelligible nonsense.
I gotta see if it’s possible to block your instance as a whole, now.
For your entire life you have been fed a certain narrative about the evils of nationalisation, the scary brown “juntas”, the boogeyman of communism. You read this headline, thought this seems good, looked at the propaganda, then thought “this seems bad”
You are getting flamed because of your failure to engage critically with the propaganda. The fact that everyone else in the thread sees this as positive should tip you off
Oh hey look you’re not just racist about Mexico but also Africa! Go fuck yourself kid.
no investigation, no right to speak
It’s Africa. With all the imperialist Western meddling and bribery there is no possibility for Democracy to help their population.
This dipshit was in another thread a couple minutes ago saying racist shit about Mexico too.
Figures, lol.
Damn now I feel bad for replying in good faith instead of PPB which was my initial response
Gotta trust your instincts folks
I was thinking the same. It would be nice if the profits end up benefiting the people but it might end up benefiting just the select few elites. Local elites but still.
The privatized system already only benefited the Australian elites and compradors in Niger. Nationalization directly keeps the wealth in Niger, and not flowing out to Australia. This is anti-imperialism in action, and you’re finger-wagging them for it.
Uhm, that’s what i was saying. Before it was foreign elite few who benefited from it, now it might unfortunately still be elite few, but local.
I’m just saying i wish the money will end up benefiting the people at large, not a select few. If it’s some military junta who will use it to buy gold plated Rolls-Royces while the people live in poverty then of course I’m going to finger wag at that lol
Maybe give it more than five minutes before deciding they’re doing it wrong.
I mean the whole point was that I’m hoping they aren’t
Your immediate insinuation that kicking out foreign plunder, therefore freeing up resources for domestic development of their own industry, somehow is the exact same and that this must be the case, is an extremely western-centric viewpoint and is chauvanistic.
Nope. I’m apprehensive because it’s a military junta behind it.
Niger is in the Alliance of Sahel States, a progressive coalition of anti-imperialist countries in Africa turning their backs on France, Austrailia, and other imperialists. You’re accepting the imperialist framing of a popularly supported government that couped the old, French comprador government that did the exact thing you accuse the new government of doing.
No investigation, no right to speak. You’re acting like a parrot for French propaganda.
The text in the OP and the article it links to is talking about a military junta…
Correct, you are parroting the tone of the article without doing any further research. The government is broadly supported by its people, it was the result of a coup in 2023 against a deeply unpopular comprador, but at the same time it’s clearly a progressive and anti-imperialist government supported by the people. Finger-wagging without doing any research on your part means you are exceptionally prone to propaganda.