AES: Gabonese President calls on critics to stop judging Sahel leaders
As the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) made up of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger; pursues its ambitious refoundation process in a context of fighting terrorism and asserting sovereignty, the Gabonese president, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, issued a strong appeal to the international community. When a French journalist questioned the political choices of Sahelian leaders, the Gabonese Head of state urged detractors of the AES to stop passing judgment and applying pressure, instead advocating for respectful support toward the concerned states.
The intervention by President Oligui Nguema marks a major geopolitical shift in how the struggle led by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger is perceived.
By redirecting the Western journalist to his own electoral obsessions, the Gabonese leader shattered the distorted mirror of imperialist propaganda.
Demanding that AES leaders be “left alone” means recognizing that legitimacy is no longer decreed in foreign chancelleries but is deeply rooted in the will of struggling peoples.
“Let us find ways to support them in bringing calm, without frustrating them, without looking down on them. No. That no longer works,” the Gabonese president insisted.
This public stance is a resounding moral victory for the people of the Sahel. It validates the relevance of the current path: giving absolute priority to security, territorial reconquest, and the protection of human lives, far before the imposed democratic facades that, in the past, weakened state structures.
This is an explicit recognition that the AES is building an endogenous development model, designed by and for Africans.
This powerful reframing shows that sovereignist consciousness has now crossed the borders of the Sahel to infuse the entire continent. Decision-making autonomy is an inalienable right.
A Head of State, supported by his people in a break with the old order, takes orders from no one.
African institutions, starting with the African Union, are called to embrace this dynamic of mutual respect, far from the unjust sanctions and suffocating pressures that have failed to break Sahelian determination.
In the face of this growing international recognition, this is no time for complacency but for consolidating the patriotic bloc.
Imperialist forces, cornered by the loss of their historic influence, will redouble their ingenuity to sow division. The Burkinabe people, standing tall and united around the ideals of the popular revolution, must remain vigilant at all times.
Neil Camara
