By Djinodji SOLMENGAR Rodrigue
Former Prime Minister and Senator Albert Pahimi Padacké has challenged the sovereignty narrative promoted by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
His opinion piece examines the political and security situation in the alliance. It follows the recent mutiny in Niger.
Questioning the sovereignty narrative
Padacké argues that repeated political crises expose deeper weaknesses within military-led governments.
“When sovereignty explains and justifies every deviation, including the crushing of peoples, the neo-sovereigntist discourse becomes simply an epic national costume for a drift,” he writes.
The former prime minister also questions the role of foreign military support.
He points to Russia’s Africa Corps, which supported Nigerien forces during the recent unrest. For Padacké, replacing Western partners with Russian backing does not amount to genuine sovereignty.
“Lowering the flag of an old domination to raise that of a new one in its place has never been proof of sovereignty,”he writes.
Niger mutiny
The comments follow the August 29 mutiny in Niamey. Soldiers attacked strategic sites, including Air Base 101 and areas around the presidential palace.
Nigerien forces later regained control. Russian Africa Corps personnel also supported the government during the crisis, according to Reuters.
Padacké sees the events as a test for the AES. He argues that reliance on foreign military support raises questions about the alliance’s claims of sovereignty.
“No sovereignty is built under a protectorate. No independence is proclaimed under military support. No power legitimises itself through the blood of its own people,” he writes.
Competing claims
The political debate comes amid competing accounts of the events in Niamey.
Nigerien authorities have described the incident as an attempted coup. Captain Roger Gabriel, an officer with Niger’s 1st Parachute Battalion, has also made allegations of possible foreign involvement.
His claims have circulated online but remain independently unverified.
Padacké concludes by calling on the AES to reconsider its political and security choices.
“To the AES to choose whether it continues to feed [this mechanism], or finally accepts to read, in the events of Niamey, the tragic mirror they hold up to it,” he writes.
