From the first ships that docked on African shores in the 15th century, the African continent has been the breeding ground for imperialism.
The global capitalist system was built by exploiting our resources and people, with Europeans first seeking out gold in Africa. Europeans then began kidnapping and enslaving Africans, evolving into the systematic looting of land, minerals, and labour through military force to protect their ‘profits.’ Today, this system still operates, but it hides behind the polished language of ‘investment,’ ‘loans,’ and ‘development aid.’
Let's be clear: Africa is wealthy. According to the UN Environment Programme, our continent is home to 30 per cent of the world's mineral reserves, 8 per cent of the world's natural gas and 12 per cent of the world's oil reserves. Africa also holds 40 per cent of the world's gold reserves and up to 90 per cent of its chromium and platinum. The largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum and uranium in the world are also in Africa. Plus, Africa is home to 65 per cent of the world’s arable land.
Western-backed financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank impose structural adjustment programmes that gut public services and kill local industries. Our people suffer due to foreign debt that puts our governments’ budgets in the red, causing unemployment and expensive infrastructure projects that don’t benefit us.
Further, comprador African leaders allow multinational corporations to extract raw materials at a fraction of their value.
Every time Africa has tried to break free through Pan-Africanism, socialism or resource nationalisation, the West has blocked us.
But in the past few years, people-backed coups d’état in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have ousted Western-aligned leaders, expelled French troops, and formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). This anti-imperialist confederation is working to create a federal, Pan-African state that would eventually lead to a single governance for the whole continent.
Meme credit: @africanlivesmatter1 (IG)