Following the coup initiated during the week, General Abdourahamane Tchiani is Niger’s new strongman. Head of the presidential guard since 2011, a discreet character and described as a tough man, he assured that his actions were justified by “the deterioration of the security situation” And “poor economic and social governance“.
Conflict between the president and the head of his presidential guard
According tontourage of the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, this coup d’etat responds to other motivations. “What very directly led to the situation was a conflict between the president himself and the head of his presidential guard, General Tchiani, who had been appointed by his predecessor“, specifies Niagalé Bagayoko, political scientist and president of the African Security Sector Networks. A presence visibly perceived as a weight by President Bazoum. Among the changes announced by the putschists: the suspension of the Constitution and the dissolution of the institutions.