– Experts say Western countries and former colonial powers are exploiting African countries and their natural resources
– Analysts say the coup is welcomed by people frustrated by poverty, unemployment and insecurity.
Johannesburg/Istanbul
The Sahel is perhaps one of the richest regions in the world, blessed with vast energy and mineral resources including oil, gold and uranium, yet its people continue to suffer from extreme poverty, hunger and conflict.
The United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) defines the Sahel political region as ten countries: Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria.
According to data from the World Mining Council (WMC), Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania have gold reserves, while Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria have large oil reserves.
Mali is Africa's third largest gold producer and is rich in other natural resources.
The country's Ministry of Mines estimates that the country has 800 million tonnes of gold deposits, 2 million tonnes of iron ore, 5,000 tonnes of uranium, 20 million tonnes of manganese, 4 million tonnes of lithium and 10 million tonnes of limestone.
Meanwhile, Niger stands out as the world's largest supplier of uranium.
Niger, which began operating its first commercial uranium mine in 1971, is home to two important mines that produce the highest-grade uranium ore in Africa and supply about 5% of the world's production, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Niger also has other resources such as coal, gold, gypsum and oil.
However, despite this natural abundance, the country ranks 189th out of 191 countries in the 2022 United Nations Human Development Index, making it one of the poorest countries in the world.
Guinea has a variety of natural resources including bauxite, iron ore, gold, and diamonds. In terms of bauxite, Guinea is the second largest producer in the world.
According to the KPMG Global Mining Institute report, “Guinea: Country Mining Guide,” the country has more than 7.4 billion tonnes of bauxite reserves, more than a quarter of the world's reserves.
Although it is also a major producer of aluminium, its residents remain among the poorest on the African continent.
Burkina Faso is also rich in mineral resources, ranging from gold, diamonds and zinc to copper, manganese, phosphates and limestone.
Chad is similarly oil-rich, boasting the 10th largest reserves in Africa.
The country has proven reserves of 1.5 billion barrels and produces more than 140,000 barrels of oil per day, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration, but its low life expectancy makes it one of the poorest countries on the continent.
Niger, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad have all elected military governments in the past two years, making the Sahel more popular as a coup site than it is for its wealth of natural resources.
– Bad leadership and corruption
Ahmed Jazbai, a professor of political science at the University of South Africa, said the Sahelian people continued to suffer and live in extreme poverty because of corrupt leaders who collude with Western countries and former colonial powers.
“They are extracting resources at very low prices that benefit only them, the neo-colonial elite of the former colonies,” he told Anadolu Agency.
“France was getting tons of uranium from Niger at a fraction of the cost,” he said, adding that resource issues had been at the forefront of many of the coups in the region and that a new type of military leader seemed to be shifting the balance.
Asked what he thought of the new military leaders and whether they would use resources for the welfare of the people, he said it remains to be seen whether they would govern as promised.
Jazbai said recent civilian celebrations of the military's seizure of power in the Sahel were driven by people's frustration over widespread poverty, unemployment, poor infrastructure and insecurity.
He added that in most West and Central African countries, residents are resentful of France, their former colonial master.
– The wave of coups in the Sahel is far from over.
Buchanan Ismael, a political scientist at the University of Rwanda, told Anadolu Agency that the causes of coups and extremist movements in the Sahel were complex.
“This question is not easy to answer because some extremists try to impose their extremist ideas, which are sometimes anti-democratic,” Ismael said, adding that some extremists want to impose a so-called “caliphate.”
“There is also high poverty, inequality, unemployment, lack of leadership and illiteracy – all of these factors combined increase the likelihood of a coup or recruitment into extremist movements,” he said.
Ismael also noted that the Sahel is one of the richest regions in the world when it comes to mineral resources, but surprisingly, it is also known as one of the poorest regions in the world, which he attributes to a lack of leadership and conflict.
Pretoria's Professor Jazbei said the current wave of coups in the Sahel was far from over, with many analysts predicting further coups in the coming months and years.
“Military leaders rarely have a long-term vision for governance, which is why I don't want to glamorize the military's role or their so-called good intentions,” he said.
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