Abuja (Nigeria) 11 July 2025 (SPS)- Nigerian "Premium Times" published a strong opinion piece by Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf, titled “Morocco and the Plundering of Western Sahara,” on July 9, 2025, arguing that Morocco’s renewable energy activities in the occupied Western Sahara represent not progress but a deepening of colonial exploitation.

Drawing from the 2025 report by the Saharawi Observatory for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (SONREP), the article concludes that the renewable energy boom in WS has become a human, political, economic, and environmental catastrophe for the Sahrawi people, who remain excluded from its benefits and crushed under occupation.

The central claim of the article is that Morocco, supported by powerful Western and Middle Eastern allies, is engaged in large-scale plunder of Western Sahara’s rich renewable energy resources.

According to Yusuf, these projects (wind, solar, and hydrogen energy) are structured to benefit Morocco, transnational corporations (TNCs), and foreign governments, not the Sahrawi people. This dynamic mirrors classical colonial exploitation, rebranded under the guise of sustainable development.

Yusuf sharply contrasts Morocco’s authoritarian monarchy with the historical European colonial powers. While European colonizers operated under what he calls “civilized ethics,” Morocco’s style of occupation is described as "vicious and fascistic." This is especially dangerous, Yusuf argues, because Morocco is a dependent, neo-colonial state that uses brute force, displacement, and demographic manipulation to entrench its grip over the territory.

According to SONREP’s report, the installed wind energy capacity in occupied WS is 792.2 megawatts, with annual output at over 1.5 million MWh. Solar energy capacity stands at 455 MW. Together, they yield approximately US$1.95 billion annually for Morocco. However, Yusuf stresses that the Sahrawi people see no benefit from this wealth. Instead, the power generated is integrated into Morocco’s national grid and exported, while foreign companies, including giants from France, Spain, Germany, the U.S., China, and the Gulf states, reap massive profits.

Yusuf details the extensive foreign involvement in the renewable energy projects, listing major investors from Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East. France alone committed over €10 billion in 2024, and the UAE has poured in US$25 billion.

These investments, he argues, do not only fund infrastructure—they also finance Morocco’s occupation and militarization of WS. As a result, Morocco’s foreign partners become complicit in a system that violates international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids demographic alteration in occupied territories.

Another key point raised in the article is the demographic shift engineered by Morocco. Moroccan settlers are moved into the region, often taking up jobs in the energy sector, while Sahrawi communities are displaced, disenfranchised, and subjected to systemic abuse.

Yusuf condemns these actions as a form of modern apartheid, noting widespread human rights violations including arbitrary arrests, torture, and suppression of free expression.

Environmentally, the projects are also damaging. Yusuf explains that hydrogen production and related activities are depleting water sources, worsening ecological fragility, and jeopardizing pastoral and agricultural livelihoods. This has created what he calls “climate injustice”, where the Sahrawi people, who bear no benefit, suffer the worst environmental impacts.

Finally, Yusuf asserts that renewable energy in WS has become a political weapon. Rather than fostering peace and development, it reinforces Morocco’s economic dominance, undermines Sahrawi rights to self-determination, and disrupts international efforts toward a fair resolution of the conflict.

The article ends on a sobering note: for the Sahrawi people, these energy projects have only brought deeper suffering and intensified the call for liberation and justice.

Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). (SPS)

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Morocco and the plundering of Western Sahara, By Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf