Sovereignty as a Conquest: Bassolma Bazié’s Defense of the AES Strategy at the Sahel Summit
At a pivotal High-Level Meeting on Togo’s new Sahel strategy, Bassolma Bazié, President of the National Commission of the Confederation of Sahel States (CN-CES), delivered a powerful address that went beyond diplomatic niceties to articulate the core ideological and strategic vision of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). His speech served as a robust defense of the bloc’s pursuit of absolute sovereignty, framing it not as a request but as a fundamental right to be seized.
Contextualizing the Stance: Acknowledging Togo Amidst Regional Realignment
Bazié began by strategically acknowledging Togo’s role, a nation not part of the AES but hosting the talks. He praised Togo for “never closing its borders to its brothers,” a statement that underscores the complex web of regional relations where bilateral ties persist despite broader political fractures. This nod served a dual purpose: showing diplomatic respect while subtly highlighting the AES’s perception of solidarity versus exclusion. By invoking the historical Kurukanfuga Charter—a 13th-century Mandé constitution emphasizing social harmony—he rooted the AES’s modern political struggle in a deep-seated African tradition of self-determination and mutual respect, contrasting it with contemporary external impositions.
The Core Doctrine: Sovereignty as an Active Conquest
The central, most potent theme of Bazié’s address was a redefinition of sovereignty. He explicitly rejected the notion of sovereignty as a grant or “alms,” declaring instead that “the struggle in the Sahel is… a conquest of it.” This framing is critical. It positions the AES not as passive recipients of international policy but as active agents in a fight for self-definition. To illustrate this conquest in action, he pointed to tangible sectors in Burkina Faso: health, agriculture, and security. This suggests a model where sovereignty is built from the ground up—through food self-sufficiency, domestic healthcare capacity, and independent security apparatuses—rather than decreed from above.
Rejecting Imposed Models: A Critique of Governance and Human Rights
Bazié extended this sovereignty doctrine to the political realm with a nuanced distinction that is central to understanding the AES’s political philosophy. “We have never rejected democracy, but we refuse the imposed liberal version,” he stated. This is a direct challenge to the Western democratic paradigm that has dominated post-colonial African political discourse. He denounced a “double standard” in judging African political transitions, implying that internal processes tailored to local contexts are unfairly measured against external benchmarks.
His criticism intensified regarding international human rights reporting, which he labeled “biased” and based on unverified grounds. This reflects a broader AES and regional sentiment that such reports often fail to account for the extreme security realities of the Sahel—namely the fight against jihadist insurgencies—and can serve as political tools rather than objective assessments. He called for a more contextualized analysis, demanding that the region’s challenges be understood on its own terms.
The Strategic Pillars of the AES: A Four-Front Conquest
Bazié crystallized the AES’s ambitions into a clear, multi-domain strategy, explicitly listing the sovereignties to be conquered: political, economic, security, and cultural. This holistic approach indicates that the alliance views its mission as a total societal transformation.
- Political Sovereignty: Autonomy in governance models and international alliances.
- Economic Sovereignty: Control over resources and development pathways, reducing dependency.
- Security Sovereignty: Military self-reliance and regional cooperation outside traditional frameworks like the former G5 Sahel.
- Cultural Sovereignty: Reclaiming historical narratives and promoting endogenous value systems, as referenced with the Kurukanfuga Charter.
His solemn declaration, “We are ready to lose our lives for this,” underscores the depth of commitment, framing the endeavor as an existential national project rather than a mere policy shift.
Conclusion: A Defining Moment in Sahelian Geopolitics
Bassolma Bazié’s speech at the Togo meeting was far more than a routine diplomatic statement. It was a comprehensive manifesto of the AES’s identity and intent, delivered at a forum designed to discuss alternative strategies. It encapsulates the bloc’s driving ideology in a period of profound regional realignment, where old partnerships with Western powers are being severed in favor of strategic autonomy and south-south cooperation. The address makes clear that for Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the path forward is one of assertive, uncompromising self-determination across all spheres of national life.
Kémoko Diabaté
Source: Le PAYS