Amidst regional and international condemnations regarding the recent military coup in Niger, governance experts are expressing concerns about its potentially severe ramifications on democratic progress and the ongoing fight against jihadist militants in the sub-region.

In the Sahel region of West Africa, Niger stood as a democratic outlier, given the history of military takeovers in neighboring Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad in the year 2020. However, the situation has now changed, as all four countries in this arid Sahel region, situated just south of the Sahara, are currently under military leadership. This shift occurred when soldiers in Niger declared that they had ousted President Mohamed Bazoum on Wednesday night.

The prevailing questions surrounding the reasons behind this military takeover are raising eyebrows throughout the sub-region. As questions of why a military takeover engulfs the sub-region, WADR has been speaking with Ibrahima a Khan, a regional governance expert on the development.