Behind the scenes of the university in Niger: teachers denounce the pro-coup support of their union
In Niger, the political situation has been tense since the July 26 coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum. Among the players in this crisis, we find teacher-researchers, some of them mobilizing against the position of their union. Indeed, 37 academics published an open letter denouncing the support displayed by the executive office of the national union of teacher-researchers and higher education researchers (SNECS) for the military junta of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP).
In this letter, the signatories express their dissatisfaction with the position of the union which supports the coup and demand that it be condemned as well as the release of the elected president. According to Mahaman Bazanfaré, professor at Abdou Moumouni University in Niamey and signatory of the letter, the union did not consult any base before taking this decision and he recalls that in the past, the union of teacher-researchers has always condemned the seizure of power by force.
Indeed, since 1996 until today, the union of teacher-researchers has condemned all the coups that have taken place in Niger. Mahaman Bazanfaré points out that the union fought in 2018 to restore democracy in universities and that supporting the overthrow of democracy at the national level would call into question the advances made in academia.
This open letter highlights the divisions within the academic community in Niger in the face of the current political crisis. Some teacher-researchers refuse to support a military junta that seized power by force, while others believe that this coup was necessary to correct the dysfunctions of the previous government. Be that as it may, this internal dispute within the union highlights the complexity of the political situation in Niger and the debates that animate civil society.
The case also raises questions about the role of trade unions in the political life of the country. The teacher-researchers who signed the letter question the political commitment of the union and call for it to refocus on its primary mission: to defend the rights and interests of teacher-researchers and researchers in higher education.
In conclusion, the open letter from Nigerien academics denouncing the union’s pro-coup support highlights the differences of opinion and tensions that run through civil society in the country. The current political crisis will undoubtedly be the subject of numerous debates and discussions within the university, thus reflecting the issues and questions of a society in search of democratic stability