When a dog passes a bone in the public square without gnashing its teeth, or perhaps at most, only giving a growl, you must suspect that it was the one that gnawed the meat off it during the night! This seems to be the case with France and the US’s response to the ongoing coup in Gabon. Connecting the dots, one suspects that this could be a convenient coup for France, and the US. The events leading up to the disputed election and ever since the coup starting on Wednesday validate this suspicion.
France’s lukewarm response to Bongo’s ouster
France’s lukewarm response to the coup is particularly telling, and unlike in the case of Niger’s Bazoum another French ally, who suffered a similar fate. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s statement that they were following events “with the greatest attention” appears more diplomatically obligatory.
This is in stark contrast to the country’s response to the ousting of former President Bazoum in Niger. France swiftly called for his reinstatement and even issued military threats against the coup leaders. In the case of Bongo, despite his unknown whereabouts in the early hours of the coup, France’s response was limited to only stating that it was closely monitoring events.
So perhaps France knew of the coup beforehand, and the orchestrator, notwithstanding that this is far from the first time such a coup attempt has been made on Bongo. It would now seem that it is indeed possible France proactively intervened, activating its assets to preemptively remove Bongo before others not aligned with France could.
French Media giving Brice Oligui Nguem positive reviews
Indeed, following the meeting of the mutinous soldiers, the newly appointed leader, General Brice Oligui Nguema, is already receiving positive reviews in both French and American media. They are labeling him as “popular” and experienced. Moreover, when discussing the disputed elections, they emphasize that Bongo Ali was ‘awarded’ a term, subtly discrediting the deposed president.
Since being announced as the interim leader, the French media has romanticized General Brice Oligui Nguema, with France24 lavishly referring to him as a “’Caesar’ caring for his men.” Contrasting this with how quickly and aggressively they criticized and attacked the Nigerien coup leader, it is obvious which of the two countries experienced a ‘’genuine’ coup, and which one has experienced a ‘convenient’ coup to perpetuate the collective interests of the conceptual West.
Brice Oligui Nguema has ties to Washington
However, my bet would be on the US. It’s no secret that General Brice Oligui Nguema, the leader of the coup and now the chosen interim president has ties to Washington. If you carefully trace the path, you’ll discover that the US has protected General Brice Oligui Nguema from a past that could be subject to prosecution in various ways. This was possibly done with the intention of eventually replacing Ali Bongo with him, creating a leader who is equally compromised.
Bongo became expendable as his health deteriorated. The plan was for Oligui Nguema to take over from Bongo, preferably through a manipulated election, allowing the US and Paris to install him while maintaining the facade of democracy.
The events in Mali, Burkina Faso, and now Niger, however, have forced their hand, compelling them to fast-track the replacement, lest someone not aligned with their interests takes power. The selection of Brice Oligui Nguema is unsurprising and fits into the broader rationale that the West uses to ‘select’ African leaders.
Oligui Nguema has skeletons in his closet that US authorities are aware of and have indeed been covering up. They know that by eventually installing him, they’ll have leverage to manipulate him to serve their interests. He has been part of the looting machine, embezzling from Gabon, and his wealth, much like that of the Bongos, is stashed in US banks and properties.
A shadowed history, like Nigeria’s Tinubu
For example, Brice Oligui Nguema possesses assets and properties in the US, acquired under circumstances that often warrant investigation. In 2018, reports surfaced about Nguema’s ownership of at least three known houses in the US state of Maryland. Initially, the CIA took an interest in these reports but later seemed to overlook them.
These properties were confirmed in a 2020 investigation by The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which revealed that Oligui-Nguema purchased a $447,000 property in Maryland in 2018 without a mortgage. According to the report, “He acquired three properties in middle- and working-class neighborhoods in the Maryland suburbs of Hyattsville and Silver Spring, just outside the capital, in 2015 and 2018. These homes were purchased with a total of over $1 million in cash.”
Brice Oligui Nguema’s ‘selection’ is thus akin to the approach used with Bola Tinubu of Nigeria. He, too, had a history involving money laundering, yet the US provided protection for him. Ultimately, they orchestrated his ascension to the presidency in Nigeria through a manipulated election and leveraging their influence; they now effectively guide his every move. This influence is becoming evident in ECOWAS’ plans to intervene in Niger, acting on behalf of the US and France.
But why would the US oust a French-allied leader like Bongo? I’ve already explained that. Given the growing anti-French sentiment and resistance against France in former colonies, the US seems to have concluded that France is no longer capable of adequately safeguarding the interests of the collective West, which includes the USA, in African territories it holds sway over as per the Western consensus, hence, its intervention.
