Profiting from Peril in the Sahel
ABC News reports another tragic incident: dawn raids in Nigeria's Niger state left at least 32 dead after gunmen attacked three communities. This is presented as another grim statistic in the region's ongoing struggle against unspecified 'bandits' or 'insurgents,' a narrative often devoid of the deeper geopolitical currents at play. Yet, Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, has seen insecurity
spike precisely in areas adjacent to or slated for significant resource extraction. The Niger state, for instance, is not only agriculturally vital but also possesses considerable gold and uranium deposits. These 'bandits' often operate with military-grade equipment, suggesting financing far beyond petty local squabbles. The Nigerian government's own defense budget, meanwhile, has been
consistently outmatched, despite US military aid totaling over $900 million since 2000, much of it channeled through the State Department's International Military Education and Training (IMET) program. One might observe that the destabilization of resource-rich nations often precedes increased calls for foreign intervention or 'security assistance,' which invariably benefits arms manufacturers and
resource conglomerates. It's a playbook seen across the continent, from the Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral wealth fueling decades of conflict to the recent surge in coups across the Sahel, all under the guise of combating homegrown extremism. The quiet part is that maintaining instability can be more profitable for certain actors than achieving genuine peace. These attacks are not random