Sahel Reporter

At the podium of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Niger’s military-appointed Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, delivered yet another performance of his signature routine: the grand sovereignist sermon. Before a gathering of international envoys, the junta’s frontman hammered out the familiar slogans of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP): “reclaiming national resources,” “economic independence,” and “breaking with neocolonialism.”

But once the cameras went dark and the lyrical flights were packed away, the hard numbers caught up with the generals in Niamey. Under General Abdourahamane Tiani and his government, the crown jewels of Niger’s economy are sinking into outright chaotic management. Behind the patriotic veneer, the industrial record of SOMAÏR and SONIDEP reveals a financial fiasco that is beginning to cost the Nigerian people dearly.

The SOMAÏR collapse: from “reclamation” to uranium’s cardiac arrest

For decades, the uranium of Arlit fueled a rhetoric of resentment. By taking operational control of the Société des Mines de l’Aïr (SOMAÏR) and sidelining its historic French partner Orano, Tiani and his clique promised a restored financial windfall for the country.

The result on the ground is catastrophic: uranium production has plummeted by roughly 80% since the new authorities took over.

• Broken supply chains: The inability to deliver essential chemical reagents (such as sulfuric acid) and logistical blockages at the borders have paralyzed the Arlit site.
• Commercial bottleneck: Lacking solid distribution networks and reliable export certificates, tons of uranium concentrate (yellowcake) remain stockpiled on site, unsellable.
• Immediate social impact: Local subcontractors are no longer paid, jobs are evaporating, and the tax revenues expected to fund Nigerien hospitals or schools have turned into a mirage.

Changing the flag on a factory gate does not make its machines run. In mining engineering, the amateurism of slogans is no substitute for technical competence and rigorous management.

SONIDEP and the mystery of the 25 billion CFA franc black hole

If uranium management amounts to a shipwreck, the oil dossier borders on a state scandal. The Société Nigérienne des Produits Pétroliers (SONIDEP), propelled by the CNSP to the heart of the crude marketing strategy—notably via the new giant pipeline to the Beninese coast—was supposed to be the financial engine of this new era.

Yet, according to internal balance sheets and progress reports, SONIDEP is showing an abyssal loss estimated at more than 25 billion CFA francs.

That figure alone illustrates the bankruptcy of the military management model: on one side, SOMAÏR sees its production collapse by nearly 80%, destroying the added value of the uranium sector along the way; on the other, SONIDEP, meant to harvest the fruits of national oil, is accumulating a record deficit of 25 billion CFA francs instead of filling state coffers. Together, these two public flagships symbolize a veritable system of evaporating public resources under the cover of illusory nationalism.

How does a national company holding a monopoly on black gold distribution, in a country supposedly becoming a major oil exporter, manage the feat of accumulating such a financial abyss? The absence of certified accounting statements and the oil ministry’s radio silence fuel every suspicion: poor management, dubious negotiated contracts, improvised intermediaries, and overbilling.

Sovereignty cannot serve as a screen for incompetence

Faced with this industrial rout, the reflex of the Tiani-Zeine tandem is well-oiled: systematically blaming ECOWAS, international sanctions, the “invisible hand of imperialism,” or the management of previous regimes.

At some point, the leaders led by Abdourahamane Tiani must answer to their population:

1. Where are the audit reports promised with great fanfare during the July 2023 coup?
2. How are the sales contracts for Nigerien oil and uranium actually negotiated?
3. What exactly are the rare revenues collected by the public treasury used for if the major national companies are going bankrupt?

The true sovereignty of a people is measured by concrete actions and results: public companies that create value, salaries paid on time, investments in basic services, and total transparency on public finances.

By using the patriotic argument to mask the bankruptcies of SOMAÏR and SONIDEP, the CNSP distorts the very meaning of the word sovereignty. The Nigerian people do not feed on speeches at the UN: they need an economy that works.

By Anne Nkeng — Société et culture