True Independence Impossible Without Monetary Sovereignty: Niger Hosts Conference to Promote AES Single Currency

NIAMEY, NIGER – May 4, 2025

Calls for Africa’s monetary liberation echoed strongly in Niamey as Niger hosted a high-level conference focused on abolishing the CFA franc and replacing it with a single currency for the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Pan-Africanists, economists, and political leaders gathered to champion what they described as the final step toward true independence for former French colonies.

“It [CFA franc] is the only colonial currency still in use — which means that this situation is not normal,” said Abdourahamane Oumarou, president of the Urgences Panafricanistes movement, in an interview with Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the conference.

The event comes at a critical time as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — all members of the AES bloc — continue to distance themselves from France and reassert regional autonomy in governance, military affairs, and now, monetary policy.

According to Oumarou, the ideological fight against colonialism, once fought in the streets by activists, has now moved into diplomatic and intellectual arenas. The conference in Niamey, he said, was not just symbolic, but strategic. “It is necessary to provide African nations with a real compass, a roadmap that can guide the leaders on the path toward sovereignty,” he stated.

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For decades, the CFA franc has been criticized as a tool of economic control by France, as it is backed by the French treasury and used by 14 African countries. Critics argue that the system severely limits African nations’ economic freedom and subjects them to outdated colonial-era policies.

“The day will certainly come when our leaders will be forced to lance the abscess and finally get rid of these chains of imperialism, these chains of this colonial currency,” Oumarou added, highlighting growing urgency among Pan-African leaders and citizens alike.

The proposed AES single currency aims to facilitate trade, strengthen economic integration, and assert fiscal independence for the member states. While logistical and technical challenges remain, the Niamey conference underscored a bold shift in African leadership’s political will — one increasingly aligned with regional solidarity and post-colonial self-determination.

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