General Tchiani: From averting coup in 2021 to ousting sitting president: Here’s what we know about Niger military leader
It’s been 21 days since General Abdourahmane Tchiani seized power from President Mohamed Bazoum in Niger Republic, ushering the West African country into military rule. The country, which shares borders with seven Northern States in Nigeria, has been mired in talks aimed at restoring democracy, but these efforts have largely proven unsuccessful.
Niger became the sixth African country under military rule when Tchiani orchestrated a palace coup on July 26, 2023, toppling Bazoum. Although the coup leaders have agreed to engage in direct talks with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), according to Sheikh Abdullahi, who acted as one of the mediators between Nigeria and the Jutas, growing tensions persist concerning a potential military intervention by ECOWAS.
The July 2023 coup caught the international community off guard, partly due to the absence of an overt political crisis in the country. Additionally, Tchiani, who declared himself the coup’s leader, was relatively unknown even within the Niger military.
The Trigger for the Coup
“The defense and security forces… have opted to terminate the familiar regime. This decision follows the continuous deterioration of the security situation, as well as poor social and economic management,” announced Army spokesperson Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane in a statement broadcast on a state-run television channel after President Bazoum was placed under house arrest.
While concerns have mounted over insecurity resulting from groups like Boko Haram and other Islamic jihadists within the Sahel region—encompassing Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mauritania—sources close to the presidency have alleged that the mutineers are using security challenges as a pretext, rather than pursuing personal gain. These sources claim that Bazoum planned to replace Tchiani as the commander of the Presidential Guard.
Who is General Tchiani?
Born in 1960, the same year Niger gained independence from France, Tchiani has been referred to as a ‘soldier’s soldier’ due to his little interest in the nation’s politics since his enlistment in the military nearly 40 years ago, back in 1984.
Trained at the National School of Active Officers in Thiès, Senegal, Tchiani’s first military accolade came five years after joining the army, when he was the first officer to reach the site of the UTA Flight 772 crash in the Ténéré desert.
UTA Flight 772, a scheduled international passenger flight of the French airline Union de Transports Aériens, crashed into the Ténéré desert near Bilma, Niger, on September 19, 1989. This incident, caused by a suitcase bomb, led to one of the deadliest aviation disasters in Niger, claiming the lives of all 170 individuals on board.
Before his appointment as the head of the presidential guard in 2011 by Bazoum’s predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou, Tchiani participated in various peacekeeping missions across Africa, including Ivory Coast, Sudan’s Darfur region, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
United Nations peacekeeping, overseen by the UN’s Department of Peace Operations, aims to help conflict-afflicted countries achieve enduring peace.
Tchiani also formed part of the troops deployed by ECOWAS after Ivory Coast’s armed forces and rebel groups reached a ceasefire agreement in 2003. He was equally involved in the Multinational Joint Task Force, a collaboration of troops from Niger, Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon, working against the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
His role in fostering democracy through peacekeeping missions later transitioned to securing the lives of elected Nigérien presidents when he assumed leadership of the Presidential Guard in 2011—a position he held until overthrowing Bazoum.
In 2021, during Bazoum’s election as president of Niger—an event marking Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence in 1960—Tchiani reportedly led the unit that foiled a coup attempt shortly before Bazoum’s inauguration on April 2, 2021.
With a month in power and mounting pressure from ECOWAS and the international community, the support General Tchiani garnered from Nigériens who celebrated the coup might soon dwindle.
For instance, Nigeria, following President Bola Tinubu’s directive in early August 2023, cut off electricity supply to Niger, plunging the nation, which relies on Nigeria for 70% of its electricity, into darkness. Moreover, on August 4, 2023, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the suspension of aid to Niger in light of the coup.
Given that 66% of Nigériens live in poverty, the sanctions are expected to push more people below the poverty line. The resultant reaction could further weaken Tchiani’s grip on leadership.
