According to statements made by the military authorities of Niger, the country has ceased all collaboration with the International Organization of Francophone Nations (OIF) as it continues to break its connections with France gradually. This country ruled it as a colonial power.
On national television late on Sunday night, a representative of the Nigerian junta said that France “has always used the 88-member group as an instrument to defend French interests.”
In July, the junta took control of the government in a coup that France and other Western allies fiercely criticized. Almost immediately, it expelled French forces that had been assisting in the battle against an Islamist insurgency that had been going on for ten years in the West African nation.
As a result of the coup, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIF) had already halted the majority of its collaboration with Niger the previous week. However, it stated that it will continue supporting programs that “directly benefit civilian populations and those contributing to the restoration of democracy.”
It is said that the organization’s purpose is to foster education and development in Francophone nations worldwide, many of which were formerly French colonies. The organization is also committed to promoting the French language, peace, and democracy and supporting democracy.
“The government of Niger calls on the African people to decolonize their minds and promote their national languages following the ideas of the founding fathers of Pan-Africanism,” according to the junta’s declaration.
In a separate statement released on Sunday, the junta stated that it had not yet decided on the amount of time it would remain in power but that the duration of the transition would be determined following an inclusive national discourse. The time at which the conversation would take place was not specified.
