Following the coup, authorities in Malanville, which is located on the border between Benin and Niger, have stopped more than one hundred trucks on their way to Niger. Benin blocked its border with Niger in compliance with one of the decisions issued by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has resulted in the blockade continuing for more than a week. Transporters in the border town are lamenting how the situation has negatively impacted them.
“When you’re parked like that, the validity of the insurance expires every day, the technical inspection does as well, and the papers are running out,” says Ousmane Ouataro, a truck driver who is traveling to Niger. “Don’t even get me started on the restaurant’s cuisine. How much food are you planning to consume during the next two weeks? The apprentices, of which there are two, will each spend 1,000 CFA francs (about 1.52 euros) every day on food.
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On Tuesday, August 8, 2023, Rabiou Garba, President of the Syndicat des transporteurs et des importateurs nouveaux associés du Bénin (Syntra-Inab), gave an interview to Bip radio. Garba was heard saying on the radio, “Many Trucks Have Stopped at Kandi” because the Malanville fleet has a capacity of 200 trucks. There are 600 trucks, and on each truck, there is more than one container loaded, and in some cases, there are even two. Therefore, there are billions of dollars in backlogs,” he emphasized.
Issiaka Bassé, a truck diver who is currently traveling to Niger, is similarly distraught about the current predicament. We had to leave our family in order to find something to eat so that we could provide for them. We are in the dark regarding what is occurring. We can’t get out of here! Today marks around the 16th day since we’ve been here. We are requesting that the people of Africa resolve their issues so that we can pass through; in exchange, we will unload our belongings and make our way back to our families without incident, as is appropriate.
After an emergency conference in the Nigerian capital Abuja, the West African bloc gave its approval on Thursday to the deployment of what it dubbed a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger. However, their conference of defense chiefs, which was planned to take place on Saturday, August 12, has been postponed.
