Paradigm shift for Africa? A look at a changing geopolitical landscape and how Africa is taking advantage of it.

A lot has happened in the last few years. Africa as a continent is entrenching itself as a political and economic force and is exerting efforts independent of the external forces that have plundered Africa and African resources for many, many years.

The political and governance landscapes in many parts of Africa are also changing, with military takeovers in some of the countries in West Africa and the Sahel Regions including the ongoing fighting in Sudan. Many African leaders have realized that Africa’s problems must be resolved within Africa’s borders. Seeking external solutions to Africa’s problems is in itself not a solution, rather it exacerbates the problem. A solution to a problem cannot be sought from the one who caused the problem in the first place.

Further, there should be some inquiry into why the so-called “undemocratic takeovers” or “authoritarian takeovers” are happening. A look at who the military leaders that took power by force are, will reveal why these military takeovers happen in the first place. From Burkina Faso to Mali to Guinea to Cameroon, these leaders are young and energetic, and their countries have been pillaged by militants and other rebel groups. So, this tells us that the former leaders of these countries were not doing enough to rid them of the militant groups. The way those leaders bring in western powers in the name of providing security by fighting the militants provides leeway for these western powers to come to our countries and recolonize us while plundering our resources.

Taking control of our own affairs conforms to the sovereignty of our independent countries. We cannot surrender our security to foreign countries and expect them to protect us for free. And what are they protecting us from in the first place? The security issues that we have in our countries are created by these same foreign powers to give them a reason to send their militaries to our countries in the name of protection. It is not the strategic geographical position of Africa that is important to the imperialist powers. It is the strategic resources that we have in Africa and the threat of other countries extracting these resources that matter most to the imperialists. This to them is the real threat and it must be countered by military force and that military force must be based in Africa. Because that war is going to be fought in Africa or at least as a deterrent force in the vicinity, it must be based in Africa. Double tragedy. The destruction, the pillaging and the misery followed by poverty will provide the perfect condition for the continued plundering of African resources. So, the strategy includes convincing our African leaders to allow military bases on our lands that will be used to fight these wars in the motherland itself.

While other countries like China are coming to alleviate centuries of misery in our continent caused by the same colonizers and later imperialists, the same imperialists want to see us live in squalid conditions century after century. That at least is the game for now and for the foreseeable future. And our message to our leaders must be loud and clear. Take back our countries, don’t allow us to be recolonized and our continent to be plundered by the same colonizers who have been doing so for centuries and have oppressed our people for a very long time. We must stand up and not allow this to happen again.

Africa is, however, moving forward. The realization that the western powers want to keep Africa backward is becoming history. African leaders from all the corners of the continent are calling for the unity of Africa. Not only are leaders calling for unity of Africa, but they have moved to create regional organizations in addition to the African Union. What scares the west is the fact that African leaders have moved to create AfCFTA (Africa Continental Free Trade Area).

The African single currency which is being considered is another uniting factor in this process. The direction Africa is taking now was unimaginable a few years ago. A single African currency and the adaptation of an African common language are some of those things that give momentum to the unification agenda. And around the corner comes BRICS. These represent compounded problems and pose a threat to western hegemony.

Overall, these are positive steps for Africa. And it must continue expeditiously until the end results are achieved. The language of Africa towards the west is changing and the change in the unequal and unbalanced relations is being felt as a hit of an earthquake.

Aggripa Wajo,
Founder & CEO,
BLACKGLOBALHUB.COM

Similar Posts