Portrait

General Tchiani, Niger's new strongman put to the test of power

General Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the presidential guard behind the fall of President Mohamed Bazoum, presented himself on Friday, July 28 as the new strong man of Niger.

In this image from an ORTN video, General Abdourahamane Tchiani makes a statement on Friday, July 28, 2023 in Niamey, Niger. AP

Text by: Serge Daniel

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From our regional correspondent,

After 48 hours of discussions, he won against another general. A witness to the discussions told RFI: "The first day, at the presidential guard camp, it was a bit tense. For some, Abdourahame Tchania was not the right choice. In the army, people thought he was too close to former President Mahamadou Issoufou. He probably worked on both sides in the night from Thursday to Friday. »

It is true that it was the former president of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou (2011-2021) who brought the light of the one who was still a colonel by initially appointing him "aide-de-camp". He will soon be bombed head of the presidential and general guard. At the head of a few hundred well-trained men, he watched day and night over the head of state who had given him the means of his policy. Then General Tchiani will be confirmed in the same position when President Mohamed Bazoum comes to power in 2021, watching over his two bosses as the apple of his eye, for example by maneuvering two coup attempts. In return, both will have pampered him.

One of his classmates describes him: "We were recruited together in the army in 1984 in Niamey, more precisely in "commune1". I remember our first rookie outfit, blue with sandal on the first day. Recruitment per municipality was eight people. After our recruitment, the next day, we went to the training center of Tombia, located about ten kilometers from Niamey. And there, an instructor raised his voice on us. Tchiani immediately retaliated, he is a man of character.

In any case, he knows how to maneuver. While on the first day of the coup he knew that he was not in a good position to take the lead of the movement, he proposed that the various bodies send delegates on television to announce the seizure of power by the army. His deputy was present. The next day, as negotiations escalated, one of his deputies threatened to stop guaranteeing President Mohamed Bazoum's safety as a sign of threats.

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General Tchiani is a real military leader " says another Nigerien officer who has known him for 23 years. On the day of the coup, before taking action by sequestering President Mohamed Bazoum, he would have felt a grain of sand in his plan. But determined, he would have rushed into the office of the one who was still his leader to ask him to put himself at his disposal.

On Friday, July 28, he appeared on national television as the new strongman, reading a statement as president of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNPS). General Tchiani justified Wednesday's coup by "the deterioration of the security situation". According to him, under President Mohamed Bazoum, there was "political discourse" that wanted to make believe that "everything is fine". However, there was "the harsh reality with its share of deaths, displacements, humiliation and frustration". In the process, as if to show that he was taking matters into his own hands, he summoned the secretaries-general of the ministries responsible for managing day-to-day affairs.

" READ ALSO Coup d'état in Niger: first appearance of General Tchiani as "president of the CNSP"

Military training and career

Brigadier General Abdourahame Tchiani is an alumnus of the National School of Active Officers in Thiès, Senegal. He was rather an average student. The man has also completed several internships and training abroad. But he has also made ground in his country. For example, in the region of Diffa (Nguiguimi and Ngoourti), then Dirkou. Among the positions held is that of company commander on the Chadian border (1996-1997). He also served in the high command of the National Gendarmerie. In 2010, he was commander of Zone 3 in Zinder.

To thank him for his loyalty, President Bazoum dressed in white a few months ago publicly declared: "Brigadier General Tchiani Abdourahamane, commander of the Niger presidential guard, you have climbed all the command ranks of the Nigerien armed forces, from elementary units to defense zones. You have assumed all your responsibilities fully and with a spirit of dedication, self-sacrifice, availability and loyalty... Standing at attention, General Tchiani listened to his leader, received his decoration and disappeared.

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The other strong point of General Tchiani is that he knows how to be cold. You never know what he's thinking," said an African diplomat based in Niamey. A personality from the sub-region who received medical care a few months ago in Turkey, at the same time as Niger's new strongman, confirms: "I received medical care at the same time as him in Turkey, a few months ago. He knows how to cover things up. It can be funny, but difficult to know the bottom of his thoughts.

Man doesn't just have friends

Abdourahamane Tchiani does not only have friends. One of them throws the first jab at him after his installation in the chair of president of the CNSP: "When he criticizes the fight against terrorism led by President Mohamed Bazoum, I do not agree. He was at the heart of the system. I will even tell you: sometimes, when we had to fly a helicopter to attack the jihadists, he refused, arguing that the device could actually be used to carry out a coup d'état. "Galejades! " replies a captain of the Nigerien army very close to him.

Other interviewees believe he is less popular in the military than other senior officers. And others pout when we list the feats of arms of the one who was in 2010 the commander of the military zone n ° 3 of Zinder.

After the coup, former President Mahamadou Issoufou, former mentor of Niger's new strongman, did not speak. This silence has been variously interpreted. Does General Tchiani work for him in a submarine? A relative of Issoufou categorically denies.

It is at work that we know the craftsman. It is therefore necessary to see General Tchiani govern, whispers a supporter of Mohamed Bazoum, who announces "surprises".

" READ ALSO Niger: soldiers claim to have overthrown the president, the general staff of the armed forces announces "subscribe to the declaration" of the putschists

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