Niger: growing unrest among transport workers as Tiani regime faces mounting pressure

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The convoy, which had departed from the Port of Lomé and was transiting through Burkina Faso, was ambushed near the Niger border. The attack left three drivers dead, several injured, and two missing before being rescued by the army. Three trucks belonging to the Ariba company were also torched. “It’s one tragedy too many,” said Gamaté in an interview with journalist Rudolph Karl, visibly shaken. He reminded listeners that this was far from an isolated incident—transporters operate daily under the threat of armed groups on this route.

In response, Uttan issued a statement demanding greater protection for convoys. But the move prompted a summons from Nigerien authorities. “I was blamed for speaking out before the official government communiqué,” said Gamaté. He was particularly criticized for raising the possibility of reopening the border with Benin—a highly sensitive topic amid current diplomatic tensions. Yet for him, informing transporters and calling for increased security is simply part of his union duty.

Since Niger’s border with Benin was closed in July 2023, authorities have relied on the Burkina Faso corridor as an alternative. While initially framed as a strategic rerouting, the reality has proven increasingly perilous. Gamaté described the corridor as a “death trap for transporters,” a route that has cost lives and inflicted major financial losses.

He urged authorities to “soften their stance” and reconsider using the Beninese corridor, which he described as “the shortest, safest, and most cost-effective.” He stressed that this proposal is not a political statement, but a pragmatic solution to save lives and sustain the national economy.

“If Presidents Tiani and Talon have a personal issue, they should leave us out of it,” he declared, noting that Benin has reopened its side of the border and is signaling readiness for normalization. For Gamaté, this is now a humanitarian and economic emergency.

Heavy economic toll

According to the union leader, the situation for transport workers has become dire. He described drivers stranded for months under precarious conditions, vehicle owners suffering heavy losses, and ongoing fixed costs despite the drop in activity. “A truck that made four trips a month before the crisis now barely manages one trip every three months,” he warned. And when a truck is destroyed, neither the state nor insurance companies cover the losses.

“We’ve lost colleagues and friends. They’ve left behind families—wives and children—that we now must support.”

Gamaté believes most transporters, traders, and economic operators share this frustration but are too afraid to speak out. “There’s fear of retaliation,” he said. “Those in power had the support of 98% of Nigeriens—they should listen to our pleas, not repress them.”

“If there’s a problem between him and President Talon, let him spare us. We are transporters, not politicians.”

The ongoing crisis stems from the military coup in Niger on July 26, 2023, which ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum. In response, ECOWAS—of which Benin is a key member—imposed a series of sanctions on Niger’s military regime, including a blockade of land borders.

Benin enforced the sanctions strictly, notably by blocking imports and exports through its strategic Port of Cotonou. This was perceived in Niamey as alignment with ECOWAS’s hardline stance and as a politically hostile move from President Patrice Talon.

Despite ECOWAS gradually easing its sanctions in 2024, tensions between Niger and Benin have persisted. Niger has chosen to keep its border with Benin closed, rerouting its commercial traffic through Lomé via Burkina Faso—exposing drivers to greater danger in a region plagued by jihadist violence.

Two years after the closure, the stalemate remains. While Benin has officially reopened its side of the border, calls for de-escalation are growing louder—especially from Nigerien transport unions advocating a return to the Beninese corridor, deemed safer and more economically viable. “What we’re living through is the consequence of diplomatic stubbornness,” Gamaté concluded, calling for an African solution rooted in pragmatism and fraternal solidarity.