By Firmain Eric Mbadinga
Bickering West African neighbours Niger and Benin are engaged in an economic turf war that is getting worse to the detriment of a region still treating it as an isolated forest fire likely to die out on its own.
The absence of any mediation by African countries or organisations means that what started as a disagreement over the movement of people and goods has quickly escalated into diplomatic wrangling.
Benin has been complaining since April, either through some minister or directly through President Patrice Talon, about Niger's alleged failure to comply with international laws and regional guidelines governing the movement of people and goods between their respective territories.
These complaints preceded an appeal by President Talon to the Niger authorities to open their borders in response to the regional bloc ECOWAS lifting economic sanctions in the last week of February. The sanctions had been imposed on Niger following the coup d'état against deposed President Mohammed Bazoum in July 2023.
When the sanctions were still in force, Niger set up the Alliance of Sahel States, or L'Alliance des Etats du Sahel (AES), with Burkina Faso and Mali, reaffirming the three countries' growing distance from ECOWAS.
With the Nigerien junta being unresponsive to the request to reopen its borders, the Beninese President decided to make the passage of oil from Niger and any other economic goods through his country subject to prior, conditional authorisation.
"If tomorrow the Niger authorities decide to collaborate formally with Benin, ships will be loaded," President Talon was quoted as saying on May 8, alluding to barrels of oil from Niger.
Eleven days later, after mediation by the Chinese economic partner that operates the Niger oil pipeline, a million barrels were shipped to the Beninese coast. But on May 23, Benin announced the closure of the river crossing that marks the border with Niger.
Niger, whose media interactions on the subject are few and far between, justified the continued closure of its borders by citing the presence on Beninese territory of French military camps.
Niger had demanded and obtained the departure of the French army from its territory only a few months earlier.
"We have sovereignly decided to keep our border with Benin closed for the good and simple reason that our former friends, the French, returned to Beninese territory after leaving Niger," Ali Mahamane Lamine Zene, Niger's transitional Prime Minister, said in a statement on May 17.
Longstanding discord
Some believe the Niger-Benin conflict could be the catalyst for tensions between the ECOWAS members, often accused of being manipulated by France, and the AES nations, which are suspected of having more than cordial relations with Russia.
Moustapha Abdoulaye, a specialist in international relations and security, believes mediation is needed to restore diplomatic order between countries with longstanding ties.
To date, only private economic groups have attempted mediation, especially the China National Petroleum Corporation, which taps into Niger's oil.
"Niger decided to leave ECOWAS and align with the AES, particularly Burkina Faso. It also has its sights set on the port of Lomé in Togo as a transit point," Abdoulaye tells TRT Afrika. “This (the Niger-Benin conflict) may indeed be a larger conflict by proxy.”
Divergent opinions
Dr Romaric Badoussi, a Beninese specialist on ECOWAS and democratic governance, sees the theory of Niger being in conflict with Benin on the back of a proxy war as one riddled with inconsistencies.
"I don't see the situation as a war or conflict between ECOWAS and AES. It's more a question of political calculation on the part of the Niger junta. They have to run a country that is in trouble from several points of view. In social terms, the junta cannot meet the people's demands," he explains to TRT Afrika.
"You can see growing discontent among the people, especially about rising food prices."
While opinion is divided on who is at fault and what are the compulsions for either side, the people of Benin and Niger have been bearing the brunt of the dispute.
The closure of borders on the Niger side and the blocking of all border crossings from Benin to the neighbouring country are affecting the movement of goods and services that both sides need.
"I think that the authorities of Niger and Benin must find a solution. And that solution can only be found through dialogue. But are the two parties ready to negotiate? That's a big 'if'," says Abdoulaye.
He is banking on rational analysis by both sides to yield a solution. "In diplomacy, yesterday's friend can be tomorrow's enemy. And yesterday's enemy can become today's friend. The cornerstone is dialogue."
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