By Cheikh Fall, Founder of The Third Path Africa
In Niger, uranium lights up French homes while villages near the mines lack electricity. In Senegal, oil flows, but profits slip offshore. This is Africa’s fight against predatory corporations that wield international arbitration as a weapon to preserve unjust agreements. These practices drain wealth from the continent and undermine sovereign efforts to reclaim natural resources. As African governments push back, the world must recognize this as a fight for economic justice, not mere contractual disputes.
Take Niger, a country whose uranium has powered French nuclear reactors for decades while leaving its people in poverty. In June 2025, Niger’s military-led government nationalized the Somaïr uranium mine, previously operated by the French state-owned giant Orano, accusing it of disproportionate profits and environmental neglect. While Orano’s uranium fuels France’s energy grid, communities near Somaïr suffer from water contamination and meager job opportunities. Orano swiftly retaliated by initiating arbitration proceedings at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank-affiliated tribunal often criticized for favoring corporate interests. Orano claims it was “spoliated” of uranium stocks, demanding compensation that could cripple Niger’s economy.
Niger’s response has been defiant: It recently challenged the impartiality of an arbitrator appointed by Orano in an ICSID tribunal, citing potential bias from a past ruling against Niger over a decade ago. This maneuver has suspended the proceedings, buying time for Niamey to assert its sovereignty. Orano’s actions exemplify predatory behavior—exploitation dressed in legal garb to block nationalization and maintain a stranglehold on resources.
Senegal’s Parallel Struggle
In Senegal, the new government under President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has vowed to renegotiate lopsided oil and gas contracts. In August 2024, Senegal established a commission to review these deals, resonating with voters tired of foreign firms reaping windfalls from the Sangomar oil field, operational since June 2024. Australia’s Woodside Energy, Sangomar’s operator, faced a $65 million tax reassessment and filed for ICSID arbitration in June 2025, rejecting amicable resolution. This isn’t an isolated tax spat; it’s resistance to Senegal’s audit of contracts signed under opaque conditions that shortchanged the state.
These cases highlight a systemic issue. International extractive companies, backed by powerful home governments, embed arbitration clauses in contracts that allow them to sue states in biased forums like ICSID, where arbitrators often have ties to the industry. This setup discourages renegotiation, even when deals are patently unfair or when circumstances—like climate change or political shifts—demand change. In Africa, where colonial-era resource grabs evolved into modern investment treaties, such practices perpetuate dependency. Niger and Senegal aren’t alone; from Tanzania’s mining disputes to Nigeria’s oil arbitrations, the pattern is clear: Corporations profit, communities suffer.
Yet, there’s hope in resistance. Niger’s nationalization and Senegal’s contract reviews signal a growing assertiveness among African leaders. Faye and Sonko’s administration must stand firm against Woodside’s legal barrage. Similarly, Niger’s challenge to Orano’s arbitrator could set a precedent for questioning the neutrality of these tribunals. As Kwame Nkrumah warned in Africa Must Unite, “…the problem is how to obtain capital investment and still keep it under sufficient control to prevent exploitation; and how to preserve integrity and sovereignty without crippling economic or political ties to any country, bloc or system.” The international community should support these efforts by reforming ISDS systems—making them more transparent, accountable, and equitable. African nations deserve fair shares of their resources, not perpetual litigation from predatory giants. Until then, stories like Niger’s and Senegal’s will remind us: True independence begins with reclaiming what’s rightfully theirs.
Author Note: Written by Cheikh Fall, with insights from Grok, to shed light on African nations’ struggles against exploitative extractive practices. The author seeks to amplify calls for economic justice and sovereignty in global resource governance.