Niger’s Prime Minister, Lamine Zeine Ali Mahaman, denounced attempts by foreign powers to recolonize the Sahel region under the guise of fighting terrorism during his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday, demanding greater international representation for African nations.

The Niger’s Prime Minister rejected foreign attempts to undermine local governance, directly blaming France and its allies for orchestrating operations aimed at destabilizing the central Sahel, including alleged plots targeting oil facilities and military bases.

“The Sahel sees. The Sahel hears,” he said during the 81st session of the General Assembly (UNGA) this Friday, reaffirming the population’s firm stance in defense of its freedom and dignity.

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“They want to make us believe that we are incapable of governing ourselves,” PM Zeine said, pushing back against narratives that reduce African nations to dependency on international aid while their natural wealth is extracted and exploited for the benefit of others.

“How can we restore trust when, for decades, propaganda has been used to sustain the idea of a poor Africa?,” he asked.

Zeine pointed to structural inequality within multilateral institutions, noting that Africa is home to more than 1.4 billion people across 54 states, yet still lacks a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

The PM directly addressed what he described as the true motivations behind armed conflict in the region, declaring that Sahel “is fighting a war of liberation against a conspiracy aimed at recolonizing it.” He argued that what some label terrorism in the region is in fact “the cynical machinery of recolonization,” driven by greed over uranium and other natural resources found in Niger.

Des mots justes, forts et patriotiques.

Merci Son Excellence Monsieur le Premier Ministre de la République Fière du Niger 🇳🇪 vous avez dignement représenté notre pays à cette tribune des Nations Unies où toutes les cartes sont en train d’être jouées.

Bravo 👏🏿 un discours…

— ꜱᴀʜᴇʟ ʙʀᴜᴛ (@sahelbrut) September 25, 2026

Sovereignty Not Negotiable

Zeine defended the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) as a historic milestone in the region’s fight against neocolonialism and a definitive path toward regional political and economic independence. In this sense, he clarified that Niger’s ongoing process of national refoundation is not directed against any particular nation, but instead reflects the country’s determination to rely on itself, exercise full control over its natural resources, and take responsibility for its own decisions and alliances going forward.

“Our states’ sovereignty is not negotiable. Our resources belong to our peoples. Our future will no longer be decided elsewhere,” Zeine told the General Assembly, closing his remarks with a direct appeal for the international community to recognize Sahel nations’ right to self-determination.

Niger, along with fellow AES members Mali and Burkina Faso, has increasingly positioned itself in opposition to former colonial powers, pursuing new alliances and asserting greater control over natural resource extraction, particularly in the uranium sector that has long drawn foreign interest in the region.

The speech comes amid heightened tensions between Niger and France following the country’s 2023 military takeover, which severed longstanding security and economic ties between Niamey and Paris.

PM Zeine’s remarks add to a growing chorus of African leaders using the UN platform this year to challenge longstanding international power structures and call for a fundamental restructuring of global governance institutions, including permanent African representation on the Security Council, an issue that has repeatedly surfaced throughout this year’s General Assembly session.

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