The Sahel Split – Ep. 1/3: Who is really pulling the strings?
NewsFable Africa
[{'start': '0.080', 'end': '5.040', 'text': 'Aisha Ibrahim stared at the blinking\xa0\ncursor on her laptop screen,'}, {'start': '5.040', 'end': '11.600', 'text': 'the late Abuja heat doing little to thaw the\xa0\nknot of dread tightening in her stomach. The'}, {'start': '11.600', 'end': '17.760', 'text': 'deadline was looming for her feature piece\xa0\non the impending departure of Mali, Niger,'}, {'start': '17.760', 'end': '26.640', 'text': 'and Burkina Faso from the Economic Community\xa0\nof West African States (ECOWAS). January 29th,'}, {'start': '26.640', 'end': '32.560', 'text': '2025 – the date loomed like a guillotine\xa0\nfor regional unity, marking the official'}, {'start': '32.560', 'end': '37.920', 'text': "end of the one-year notice period triggered\xa0\nby the AES nations' announcement last year."}, {'start': '37.920', 'end': '44.160', 'text': 'Publicly, the narrative was clear, repeated\xa0\nendlessly in official statements and state'}, {'start': '44.160', 'end': '52.480', 'text': 'media across the Alliance of Sahel States (AES):\xa0\nECOWAS had failed them. Failed to protect their'}, {'start': '52.480', 'end': '57.680', 'text': 'citizens from the relentless jihadist violence\xa0\nthat had plagued their territories for years.'}, {'start': '57.680', 'end': '63.840', 'text': 'Failed to offer tangible solutions, opting instead\xa0\nfor harsh economic sanctions and military threats'}, {'start': '63.840', 'end': '71.360', 'text': 'that only worsened tensions. Most galling, they\xa0\naccused ECOWAS of being a puppet, its directives'}, {'start': '71.360', 'end': '78.800', 'text': 'dictated by foreign powers – specifically, the\xa0\nformer colonial master, France. Captain Ibrahim'}, {'start': '78.800', 'end': '85.520', 'text': 'Traoré of Burkina Faso, the most vocal, had\xa0\neven coined the chilling term "house slaves"'}, {'start': '85.520', 'end': '92.480', 'text': 'for African leaders perceived as still serving\xa0\ntheir old masters. General Abdourahamane Tiani of'}, {'start': '92.480', 'end': '100.000', 'text': 'Niger echoed the sentiment, declaring their people\xa0\nhad "irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS".'}, {'start': '100.000', 'end': '106.240', 'text': 'Aisha, a veteran investigative journalist for a\xa0\nprominent Nigerian newspaper, had covered West'}, {'start': '106.240', 'end': '113.600', 'text': 'Africa for over a decade. She knew rhetoric. She\xa0\nknew propaganda. But the vehemence this time felt'}, {'start': '113.600', 'end': '121.600', 'text': 'different. And the impact was undeniable. Trade\xa0\nroutes were disrupted, logistics costs soaring,'}, {'start': '121.600', 'end': '126.080', 'text': 'impacting food prices for ordinary people.\xa0\nThere were whispers of new passports,'}, {'start': '126.080', 'end': '131.440', 'text': 'new currencies, a whole new regional\xa0\norder being forged by the AES trio,'}, {'start': '131.440', 'end': '138.400', 'text': "Mali's Colonel Assimi Goïta, Niger's General\xa0\nTiani, and Burkina Faso's Captain Traoré. They"}, {'start': '138.400', 'end': '143.760', 'text': 'were creating their own joint military\xa0\nforce, talking of economic integration,'}, {'start': '143.760', 'end': '150.080', 'text': 'pooling resources. And they were forging\xa0\nnew ties, conspicuously with Russia.'}, {'start': '150.080', 'end': '156.080', 'text': 'Her editor, Mr. Obi Eze, a man who had\xa0\nseen too much and trusted too little,'}, {'start': '156.080', 'end': '162.400', 'text': 'wanted her to dig deeper. "Everyone talks about\xa0\nFrench influence, Aisha," he\'d said that morning,'}, {'start': '162.400', 'end': '167.840', 'text': 'his voice a low rasp over the phone. "But\xa0\nwho\'s really pulling the strings? Sanctions'}, {'start': '167.840', 'end': '174.320', 'text': "didn't work . Mediation efforts by Ghana and\xa0\nSenegal/Togo seem stuck. Why the hardline from"}, {'start': '174.320', 'end': '181.920', 'text': 'ECOWAS initially? Who benefits from this\xa0\nsplit, beyond the AES leaders themselves?"'}, {'start': '181.920', 'end': '190.800', 'text': 'Aisha knew exactly where to start. Baba Konaté.\xa0\nA quiet, meticulous Malian civil servant who'}, {'start': '190.800', 'end': '196.080', 'text': 'had worked at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja for\xa0\nfifteen years. He was one of the employees from'}, {'start': '196.080', 'end': '203.680', 'text': 'the AES countries receiving termination letters,\xa0\ncollateral damage in the escalating regional feud.'}, {'start': '203.680', 'end': '208.960', 'text': 'Baba had agreed to meet her, but his voice\xa0\non the phone had been tight with fear.'}, {'start': '208.960', 'end': '214.320', 'text': 'They met at a nondescript cafe, the\xa0\ndrone of traffic a flimsy cover for'}, {'start': '214.320', 'end': '220.480', 'text': 'their conversation. Baba looked thinner,\xa0\nhis usual placid expression replaced by'}, {'start': '220.480', 'end': '227.040', 'text': 'nervous darting eyes. He spoke in hushed\xa0\ntones, carefully choosing his words.'}, {'start': '227.040', 'end': '233.920', 'text': '"It started after the Niger coup, Aisha," he\xa0\nsaid, stirring untouched tea. "The pressure'}, {'start': '233.920', 'end': '240.000', 'text': 'on the Commission. Not just from the\xa0\nHeads of State, but… from outside."'}, {'start': '240.000', 'end': '243.920', 'text': '"Outside?" Aisha prompted, leaning closer.'}, {'start': '243.920', 'end': '249.920', 'text': '"Advisors. Consultants. People from certain\xa0\nWestern embassies. They were everywhere,'}, {'start': '249.920', 'end': '255.920', 'text': 'suddenly," Baba confessed, his gaze fixed\xa0\non the tabletop. "Pushing for the toughest'}, {'start': '255.920', 'end': '261.920', 'text': "possible sanctions. Threatening consequences\xa0\nif ECOWAS wasn't seen to be 'strong' against"}, {'start': '261.920', 'end': '267.680', 'text': "the unconstitutional changes. It felt…\xa0\norchestrated. Like the goal wasn't"}, {'start': '267.680', 'end': '273.840', 'text': 'really restoring democracy, but punishing\xa0\nthe juntas for… for looking elsewhere."'}, {'start': '273.840', 'end': '282.240', 'text': 'He paused, looking around the cafe nervously.\xa0\n"There was talk of… strategic interests. Security'}, {'start': '282.240', 'end': '289.600', 'text': 'postures. Redrawing lines." He fumbled in his\xa0\nbag and slid a folded piece of paper across the'}, {'start': '289.600', 'end': '297.440', 'text': 'table. "This is just… fragments. Notes I took.\xa0\nMeetings I wasn\'t supposed to see minutes from."'}, {'start': '297.440', 'end': '301.280', 'text': 'Aisha took the paper, careful\xa0\nnot to touch it directly,'}, {'start': '301.280', 'end': '306.800', 'text': 'sliding it into her notebook.\xa0\n"Baba, thank you. Anything else?"'}, {'start': '306.800', 'end': '312.560', 'text': '"Just… be careful, Aisha," he\xa0\nwhispered. "Some of these people…'}, {'start': '312.560', 'end': '317.040', 'text': 'they have long reach. And they don\'t\xa0\nlike journalists asking questions."'}, {'start': '317.040', 'end': '323.360', 'text': 'Back at her desk, Aisha unfolded the\xa0\npaper. Scrawled notes, abbreviations,'}, {'start': '323.360', 'end': '329.760', 'text': 'names she didn\'t immediately recognize alongside\xa0\nmentions of "security architecture," "resource'}, {'start': '329.760', 'end': '337.120', 'text': 'access," and a chilling phrase: "Containment Plan\xa0\nB - post-Niger." The date on the notes was just'}, {'start': '337.120', 'end': '344.800', 'text': "weeks after the Niger coup. Baba's words echoed\xa0\nin her mind: orchestrated, strategic interests,"}, {'start': '344.800', 'end': '351.520', 'text': "redrawing lines. This wasn't just a regional\xa0\nspat. It felt like something far more complex,"}, {'start': '351.520', 'end': '356.480', 'text': 'with powerful, hidden hands pulling the\xa0\nstrings on both sides of the growing divide.'}, {'start': '356.480', 'end': '362.880', 'text': 'The idea that ECOWAS was being used as part\xa0\nof a larger Western policy to contain Russian'}, {'start': '362.880', 'end': '370.400', 'text': 'influence in the region, a concern noted in\xa0\nthe sources, suddenly felt terrifyingly real.'}, {'start': '370.400', 'end': '374.720', 'text': 'Her phone buzzed. An unknown\xa0\nnumber. She hesitated,'}, {'start': '374.720', 'end': '381.040', 'text': 'then answered. A distorted voice,\xa0\ncold and flat, spoke one sentence.'}, {'start': '381.040', 'end': '385.280', 'text': '"Stop digging, Ms. Ibrahim. Some\xa0\ntruths are better left buried."'}, {'start': '385.280', 'end': '390.800', 'text': 'The line went dead. Aisha looked at the cryptic\xa0\nnotes, then at the glowing screen displaying the'}, {'start': '390.800', 'end': '396.055', 'text': "ominous date of the AES withdrawal. She\xa0\nwas clearly already on someone's radar."}]