Nigeria, Sept. 5 -- Niger Republic was rocked by an attempted coup from 29 to 30 August. The plotters invaded the Diori Hamani International Airport, where Air Base 101 is stationed. They also stormed the state broadcaster and the presidential palace.

They were defeated, and the populace took to the streets in protest against the attempt to return France to its position of dominance in the country. France had, in 1898, invaded, destroyed and colonised territories that now constitute Niger Republic. It virtually dictated to that country for 125 years until the 2023 coup led by General Abdourahamane Tiani.

Interestingly, it was in Niger Republic that France met one of the stiffest resistances to its military colonisation of Africa. That r...