A few hours after signing a defense agreement with Niger Republic’s new military government, the head of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin gave his take on the situation in Niger and the subregion, and said that he sees all these struggles as “liberating,” calling France and the collective West “thieves.”
On the major problems that led to the coup in Niger, Prigozin said, “I will answer what the basis for the change of power in Niger is. The basis is the economy. The population of Niger has been driven to poverty for a long time. For example, a French company that mines uranium sold it in the market for $218 while paying Niger only $11 out of every $218 for it.”
He continues to unload on France and the West saying, “You can work with investors on a 50-50 or 30-70% basis, but it is impossible to return to the natives of the country, who were born in this country, who live in this country and who expect that the natural resources of this country belong to them, and which according to the constitution belong to them, only 5% of the wealth you receive from their land.”
Furthermore, he said, “To cover up these financial crimes, the country has been infiltrated by huge number of terrorists. This huge number of terrorists, in theory, should be controlled by a huge number of different troops, funded by the UN (United Nations), the European Union, the Americans, the British, and others. As a result, the population of Niger, who should be free and happy because of the economic opportunities that existed, was robbed, and kept in fear for decades to keep them silent .”
“To show that these thieves and looters are necessary on the territory of the state, I mean the western countries like France, the USA and so on, they sent their crowds of soldiers who did nothing but receive big budgets which were also misused in various levels. That is why the transformation (coup) in Niger was simply necessary,” he added.
Speaking further he stressed that “The power that was in alliance with Bazoum (the ousted Nigerien president) and his followers, simply covered up, allowing the coalition of people who looted the nation to be present on Niger soil. That’s all. So this is a liberation struggle, a liberation movement for the independence of this country, and May God grant them success,” he concluded.
A few days ago, before this exclusive interview, Prigozhin had admitted that Wagner PMC fighters were all set to help the local government in Niger, and report has it that they’ve already taken position in multiple locations within the country and beyond.
So, as far as Prigozhin is concerned, this isn’t just business as usual for him. It’s a fight for liberation and one about which he is undoubtedly passionate. Now, that’s a very dangerous dimension because all items will most definitely be on the table.
This war is not gonna be child’s play if it happens. We can definitely do without it. The wind of change is already in full swing and unstoppable, and I believe this is why Europe will need this war. But We can refuse to be tools. We can.
