What’s Responsible for the Strained Relationship Between Benin and Niger?

“Niger has always honored its commitments and will continue to do so,” Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, Niger’s prime minister said while addressing the press earlier this week. “That’s why we told the Chinese side to take over and talk, and I think a solution will be found.” The outcome of the committee discussions would determine if Niger would continue to export its crude oil via their neighbors.

The temporary authorization follows last week’s statement made by Benin’s President Patrice Talon, that Niger will not be allowed to export oil through the port in Sèmè, despite plans for the crude pipeline dating back to 2019. Talon blamed Niger’s diplomatic stance for the tension between the two countries, citing lack of cooperation and paranoia from the Junta-ruled Niger.

The aftereffect of a coup

Last July, a coup displaced democratically elected president, Mohammed Bazoum, to the deep chagrin of the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, which threatened military action against the junta and imposed economic sanctions meant to isolate the country from its closest neighbors. Talon was particularly vocal in demanding Bazoum’s reinstatement, and Niger’s junta responded by closing its borders with Benin.

Recently, Niger’s military government, known as the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, said it was suspicious of Benin’s harboring of French soldiers. The French military has since addressed those concerns, stating that it doesn’t have any mission in Benin, unlike its past mission in Niger to help in the fight against armed insurgent groups.

Niger is also seemingly bothered by Benin’s heavy military presence in the border area between both countries, but Benin’s government has stated that it’s a strategic move to repel insurgent attacks that might come in from its neighbors dealing with armed terrorists.

“Perhaps [the military camps on the borders] are such high quality that Niger thinks African countries are not capable of building such high standard infrastructure,” Benin government spokesperson Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji told France24.

With Niger still harping on French military presence in Benin, Talon announced the embargo on oil exports. The Beninese president added that an ongoing border closure on the Nigerien side is profiting informal vendors and driving up the cost of living, despite Benin exporting large quantities of staple goods to Niger. He also accused Nigerien authorities of not being cooperative despite his country’s readiness to resume normal trade.

Is the project in jeopardy?

The near-20,000 kilometers (about 12,500 miles) of the Niger-Benin oil pipeline, Africa’s largest, was meant to be completed within two years — in 2021 — but it was only commissioned earlier this year. Last year’s coup complicated long-standing agreements between both countries, but it is expected that the relationship will be mended, for economic reasons at the very least.

Niger is reportedly sitting on about a billion barrels of crude deposits, and it wants to produce 200,000 barrels per day by 2026, which would make it a high volume oil-producing state. The pipeline is expected to create 3,000 jobs for both countries and rake in 300 billion CFA Francs (about $500 million) in revenue for Benin over the next 20 years.