Putsched out: Niger’s coup d’état
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 31 July 2023
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Following years of military takeovers in the region, Niger is the West’s last solid ally in the Sahel. But with this coup, and growing alignment with Russia, these relations are in jeopardy. Why is a policy to decongest London proving such a politically divisive issue (10:49)? And, a deep dive into a Canadian lake shows that humanity may be entering a new epoch (17:01).
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from the Economist. I'm Jason Palmer. |
| 0:08.0 | And I'm Aura Okombi. Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:18.0 | Britain's capital London has been in the vanguard of cities that tackle rampant pollution |
| 0:23.0 | by hitting drivers where it hurts, their wallets. |
| 0:26.0 | But the latest wheeze, or rather the latest attempt to reduce wheezing, has become troublingly politicised. |
| 0:33.0 | And for 12,000 years, the world has been in a geological epoch called the Holocene. |
| 0:40.0 | But scientists reckon that humans have affected the planet so much that a new one, the Anthropocene, is called for. |
| 0:48.0 | And deep in a lake, they've found the telltale spot to prove it. |
| 0:54.0 | But first. |
| 1:03.0 | In Niger, there's a crisis developing that could destabilise the whole of West Africa. |
| 1:14.0 | It began in Wednesday when the country's democratically elected president, Muhammad Bozum, was shot in his palace |
| 1:21.0 | by the very men hired to protect him. |
| 1:24.0 | By Friday, the power grab was in full swing. |
| 1:28.0 | The country's constitution was suspended, and all former institutions were dissolved. |
| 1:34.0 | Military officers in the capital declared General Abdurrahman Tiani, also known by his first name Omar, as the new head of state. |
| 1:51.0 | The general said that his actions were motivated by a desire to preserve the state, not destroy it, and cord on the international community to cooperate with the new regime. |
| 2:06.0 | But his request has fallen on deaf ears. |
| 2:10.0 | On Sunday, leaders from the region issued sanctions and threatened more direct action in Niger. |
| 2:17.0 | Meanwhile, the U.S. and Western Allies have begun cutting off aid. |
| 2:22.0 | Our economic and security partnership with Niger, which is significant, hundreds of millions of dollars, depends on the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order that has been disrupted by... |
| 2:37.0 | Much is at stake. Niger is home to some 26 million people, and for years has been the only true Western ally in a region wrapped by poverty, violence, and jihadist insurgency. |
| 2:52.0 | Last month, I was actually traveling in Niger, both from the capital Niyame and then in some of the regions that are more hit by jihadist violence. |
... |
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