{"id":241701,"date":"2023-08-14T12:02:12","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T11:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=241701"},"modified":"2023-08-10T06:07:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T05:07:22","slug":"from-chi-town-bagman-to-ecowas-chairman-meet-the-former-money-launderer-leading-the-push-to-invade-niger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/08\/from-chi-town-bagman-to-ecowas-chairman-meet-the-former-money-launderer-leading-the-push-to-invade-niger\/","title":{"rendered":"From Chi-Town Bagman to ECOWAS Chairman: Meet the Former Money Launderer Leading the Push to Invade Niger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the overthrow of Niger\u2019s US-friendly government, West African nations of the ECOWAS bloc have threatened an invasion of their neighbor. <\/em><\/p>\n

Before leading the charge for intervention, ECOWAS chair Bola Tinubu spent years laundering millions for heroin dealers in Chicago, and has since been ensnared in numerous corruption scandals.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Bola Tinubu – Nigeria’s President and Chairman of ECOWAS
Photo: Punch Newspapers<\/p><\/div>\n

5 Aug 2023 –<\/em> Hours after Niger\u2019s Western-backed leader was detained by the country\u2019s presidential guard on July 28, Nigerian President and chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Bola Tinubu leapt into action, warning<\/a> that the group of nations \u201cwill not tolerate any situation that incapacitates the democratically-elected government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Chairperson of ECOWAS\u2026I state without equivocation that Nigeria stands firmly with the elected government in Niger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days later, ECOWAS imposed<\/a> severe sanctions on Niger, and the bloc issued a stark ultimatum: if the newly-inaugurated junta won\u2019t reinstall the ousted president in a week\u2019s time, the group\u2019s pro-Western African governments will \u2014 by military means, if necessary.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, July 6 \u2014 one day before the deadline \u2014 ECOWAS leaders approved<\/a> a plan to invade the country, with the ominous caveat that they are \u201cnot going to tell the coup plotters when and where we are going to strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

If ECOWAS gets its way, member states Benin, Cabo Verde, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, S\u00e9n\u00e9gal and Togo will be pressured to send their soldiers to invade Niger.<\/p>\n

These developments have thrust the typically-overlooked West African country of Niger into the Western media spotlight. But if hostilities break out, it wouldn\u2019t just be one single impoverished African state in the crosshairs.<\/p>\n

Neighboring Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea, which are also governed by military administrations that recently seized power by force, have all warned that any attack on Niger will be viewed as an attack on them too. If their ECOWAS rivals make the first move, the nations which mainstream media have dubbed Africa\u2019s \u201ccoup belt\u201d have pledged to unleash their military forces as well \u2014 an announcement which should end any illusions that restoring the country\u2019s previous president would be a painless process.<\/p>\n

Leading the pro-Western coalition is the president of its most powerful country, Nigeria: Bola Tinubu. One of Nigeria\u2019s wealthiest men, the source of the scandal-plagued president\u2019s fortune remains unclear.<\/p>\n

Documents reviewed by The Grayzone reveal Tinubu as a longtime US asset who was named as an accomplice in a massive drug running operation that saw him launder millions on behalf of a heroin-dealing relative.<\/p>\n

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I had a great time with other Heads of State and important dignitaries at the State Banquet hosted by President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France, this evening. President Macron and his wife, First Lady Brigitte Macron were both gracious and warm, making the event a very pleasant\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/lTHTZfTIMC<\/a><\/p>\n

— Bola Ahmed Tinubu (@officialABAT) June 22, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n