Category: Great Moments

A Heritage of great moments in the history of the continent and the black race

Maji-Maji Uprising: A German Genocide in East Africa

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments6 Comments
German troops commanded by Wilhelm Kuhnert during the Battle of Mahenge in 1905

At the beginning of the month, on November 1, 2023, the German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized for the first time for the Maji Maji massacre and other colonial crimes committed by Germany in eastern Africa in what was then German East Africa, a colony comprised of Burundi, Rwanda (Ruanda-Urundi), mainland Tanzania (Tanganyika), and a small region in modern-day Mozambique known as the Kionga Triangle. The Maji Maji rebellion led to the death of over 300,000 Africans in 1905, in Tanganyika.

As we uncover this somber chapter of the history of Tanzania (then part of German East Africa), it is important to note that the events related mark yet again another part of German history that has been erased from history books: genocides in Africa.

Map of German East Africa with the areas affected by the rebellion highlighted in red

After the Berlin conference of 1884, Germany had several colonies in Africa, German South-West Africa (Namibia), German East Africa (Ruanda-Urundi, Tanganyika, and the Kionga Triangle), Kamerun, and Togoland. Germany tried to reinforce their presence in the different regions by using repressive methods. They built roads, bridges, and more, through forced labor. In 1902, in Tanganyika, they forced the populations to plant cotton as a cash-crop for export, levying harsh taxes upon whoever would not bring a particular quota of cotton. This caused an uproar among the populations who had to leave their own cultures of edible plants to cultivate cotton that nobody ate and which brought nothing to them but tough sanctions from the German occupants. In 1905, when a drought hit, the populations had reached breaking point. It is at that time that a prophet by the name of Kinjikitile Ngwale emerged, claiming to have made a war medicine, a potion that could repel German bullets called “Maji Maji,” which means “sacred water,” maji being water in Kiswahili. Armed with arrows, spears, and doused with Maji Maji water, the first warriors of the rebellion began to move against the Germans, attacking German outposts, and destroying cotton crops. Thus started the Maji Maji rebellion which spread throughout the colony, involving over 20 different ethnic groups, leading to a war which lasted from 1905 to 1907 where 75,000 to 300,000 Africans died.

Gustav Adolf von Götzen Governor of German East Africa from 1901 to 1905

As we saw earlier, there had been the Abushiri revolt of 1888 to 1889, the Chagga revolt with Mangi Meli in the North east of Tanganyika earlier, the Wahehe (Hehe) revolt of 1891 to 1898 which culminated with the decapitation of King Mkwawa, all served as precursors to the Maji Maji uprising. The height of the Maji Maji rebellion came at Mahenge on August 1905 where several thousand warriors attacked but failed to overrun a German stronghold defended by Lieutenant von Hassel. On October 21, 1905 the Germans retaliated with an attack on the camp of the unsuspecting Ngoni people who had recently joined the rebellion. The Germans killed hundreds of men, women, and children. This attack marked the beginning of a brutal counteroffensive that left an estimated 75,000 Maji Maji warriors dead by 1907. The Germans also adopted famine as a weapon, with their scorched-earth technique which destroyed the crops of the populations creating mass starvation; Captain Wangenheim, one of German troops’ leaders in the colony, wrote to the Governor of German East Africa Gustav Adolf von Götzen, “Only hunger and want can bring about a final submission. Military actions alone will remain more or less a drop in the ocean.”

Flag of Tanzania

During his visit to Tanzania at the beginning of the month, the German president stopped at the museum in Songea which was built in homage of Chief Songea Mbano, one of the leaders of the Maji Maji rebellion, executed in 1906 by German forces. Songea Mbano was a great Ngoni warrior, hanged in 1906 during the time of German repression of the Maji Maji rebellion. Songea had been spared the death sentence because he had surrendered. However he demanded to be hanged along with the other Ngoni leaders. The Germans happily complied.

This marked a dark chapter in the history of the country, and the entire region. Today, it is also seen by Tanzanians as the beginning of true nationalism triggered by the unity of several large groups in Tanzania to fight the foreign invaders. To learn more, check out Violence in Twentieth Century – The Maji Maji Rebellion, 300,000 Tanzanians were killed by Germany during the Maji-Maji uprising – it was genocide and it should be called that, and Was Quashing the Maji-Maji Uprising Genocide? An Evaluation of Germany’s Conduct through the Lens of International Criminal Law by K. Bachmann.

Dutch King Heckled in Slavery Museum in South Africa

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment
Flag of South Africa

Last month, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands visited South Africa, for what was their first official visit, and decided to visit the Iziko Slave Museum in Cape Town. At the end of their visit, as they were exiting the museum, they were surprised by about 100 protesters who confronted them about their country’s part in the enslavement of Africans transported to the Americas. Excerpts below are from AP.

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Flag of the Netherlands

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Angry protesters in Cape Town confronted the king and queen of the Netherlands on Friday as they visited a museum that traces part of their country’s 150-year involvement in slavery in South Africa.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima were leaving the Slave Lodge building in central Cape Town when a small group of protesters representing South Africa’s First Nations groups — the earliest inhabitants of the region around Cape Town — surrounded the royal couple and shouted slogans about Dutch colonizers stealing land from their ancestors.

… The Dutch colonized the southwestern part of South Africa in 1652 through the Dutch East India trading company. They controlled the Dutch Cape Colony for more than 150 years before British occupation. Modern-day South Africa still reflects that complicated Dutch history, most notably in the Afrikaans language, which is derived from Dutch and is widely spoken as an official language of the country, including by First Nations descendants.

San (Basarwa/Bushmen) hunters
San (Basarwa/Bushmen) hunters

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima made no speeches during their visit to the Slave Lodge but spent time walking through rooms where slaves were kept under Dutch colonial rule. The Slave Lodge was built in 1679, making it one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town. It was used to keep slaves — men, women and children — until 1811. Slavery in South Africa was abolished by the English colonizers in 1834.

Garth Erasmus, a First Nations representative who accompanied the king and queen on their walk through the Slave Lodge, said their visit should serve to “exorcise some ghosts.”

The Dutch East India Company established Cape Town as a settlement for trading ships to pick up supplies on their way to and from Asia. Slaves were brought to work at the colony from Asian and other African countries, but First Nations inhabitants of South Africa were also enslaved and forced off their land. Historians estimate there were nearly 40,000 slaves in the Cape Colony when slavery ended.

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Dutch King Apologizes for Colonial-Era Slavery

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments3 Comments
Slaves on board a ship

Last July, Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologized for his country’s involvement in slavery, transporting Africans to the Americas. At this point, any blind person can clearly see the rush for the New Scramble for Africa. As said earlier, although we hear these apologies, Africans are tired of these empty words followed by no actions; words spoken to put Africans back to sleep, while another New Scramble starts. Africans are not dumb: Africa is at the center of the survival of the world. Now we see all these heads of state, kings, queens, and pope, crisscross the African continent; Africans have to wake up… to not fall asleep to these sign off the continent.

Excerpts below are from DW.

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Flag of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is marking a century and a half since the end of the Dutch slave trade which transported Africans to the Americas. King Willem-Alexander used the occasion to apologize on behalf of his country.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander has apologized for his country’s historic involvement in slavery and its ongoing repercussions, as the Netherlands on Saturday begins an official event to mark 150 years since the end of slavery in Dutch colonies.

The king issued his apology during a speech marking the event.

“Today I’m standing here in front of you as your king and as part of the government. Today I am apologizing myself,” Willem-Alexander said. “And I feel the weight of the words in my heart and my soul.”

The king commissioned a study into the exact role the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau, played in slavery in the Netherlands.

He asked for forgiveness “for the clear failure to act in the face of this crime against humanity.”

The back of a slave

Thousands of descendants from the former Dutch colony of Suriname and the Dutch overseas territories of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are attending celebrations in Amsterdam.

The event has been dubbed “Keti Koti,” meaning “breaking chains” in Sranan Togo, a Creole language spoken in Suriname.

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Beginning in the 17th Century, the Netherlands grew into one of Europe’s major colonial powers and was responsible for about 5% of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Some 600,000 slaves were transported from Africa to colonies in the Americas, and many Javanese and Balinese people were enslaved and taken to South Africa under Dutch colonial rule.

German President Apologizes for Colonial Past in Tanzania

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments6 Comments
Flag of Tanzania

On a visit to Tanzania on November 1, 2023, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized for the first time for the Maji Maji massacre and other colonial crimes committed by Germany in eastern Africa in what was then German East Africa, a colony comprised of Burundi, Rwanda (Ruanda-Urundi), mainland Tanzania (Tanganyika), and a small region in modern-day Mozambique known as the Kionga Triangle. The Maji Maji rebellion led to the murder of over 300,000 Africans at the hand of German forces in 1905, in Tanganyika .

Flag of German East Africa

President Steinmeier vowed to raise awareness of the atrocities in his country, in a step towards “communal healing” of the bloody past. “I would like to ask for forgiveness for what Germans did to your ancestors here,” Steinmeier said during a visit to the Maji Maji Museum in the southern Tanzanian city of Songea. “What happened here is our shared history, the history of your ancestors and the history of our ancestors in Germany.” “I want to assure you that we Germans will search with you for answers to the unanswered questions that give you no peace.”

Flag of Germany

A few years back, we shared how the German people we met did not even know that Germany had African colonies! or that Germany committed the very first genocide of the 20th century on African soil! What do they think was the place of Otto Von Bismark in the 1884 Berlin Conference? (Most are Unaware of Germany’s Colonial Past and the First Genocide of the 20th Century). This to say that Germans suffer from amnesia when it comes to Africa, so the German president is vowing to make it known.

We appreciate the German President’s formal apology. However, it needs to be followed by actions, and cannot be just another empty “sorry” meant to appease us so we close our eyes to future atrocities committed in the name of cooperation. Clear actions need to follow: return of remains, return of lands, opening of archives, a clear “here is what we will do to right the wrongs,…” a clear correction and inclusion in the history textbooks, and above all a clear “respect for those killed, and for those living today,” reparations, and so much more. We are tired of empty sorry!

Excerpts below are from the BBC.

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German troops commanded by Wilhelm Kuhnert during the Battle of Mahenge in 1905

The German president has expressed “shame” for the colonial atrocities his country inflicted on Tanzania.

German forces killed almost 300,000 people during the Maji Maji rebellion in the early 1900s, one of the bloodiest anti-colonial uprisings.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was speaking at a museum in Songea, where the uprising took place.

“I would like to ask for forgiveness for what Germans did to your ancestors here,” he said.

“What happened here is our shared history, the history of your ancestors and the history of our ancestors in Germany.”

The Maji Maji rebellion was triggered by a German policy designed to force the indigenous population to grow cotton for export. Tanzania, then known as Tanganyika, was a part of German East Africa, which also consisted of modern-day Rwanda, Burundi and parts of Mozambique.

President Steinmeier said he hoped Tanzania and Germany could work towards “communal processing” of the past. He promised to “take these stories with me to Germany, so that more people in my country will know about them.” Germany has, until recently, had “colonial amnesia”, according to Jürgen Zimmerer, a history professor at the University of Hamburg. “The brutality and the racism of this colonial empire was not understood in the German public.”

As part of the three-day visit, the president met the descendants of one of the Maji Maji leaders, Chief Songea Mbano, who was among those executed in 1906. He is now considered a national hero in Tanzania and President Steinmeier told the family the German authorities would try to find his remains.

Thousands of human remains were brought from German colonies – partly as “trophies” but also for racist research.

… On Tuesday, after meeting President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Dar es Salaam, he [President Steinmeier] promised that Germany would co-operate with Tanzania for the “repatriation of cultural property“.

Tanzania historian Mohamed Said welcomed the president’s apology but told the BBC it did not go far enough. “They decided to set farms on fire so people would run out of food and be unable to fight. This is unacceptable, in today’s world they would be taken to court,” he said.

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No Apology from King Charles III in Kenya

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments12 Comments
Flag of Kenya

King Charles III landed in Kenya on Tuesday October 31, 2023. On his first official visit to Kenya as monarch, the king of the British gave a speech in which he acknowledged the past atrocities committed by Great Britain and its colonial legacy. He said there were ‘no excuses‘ for it, yet did not apologize! He told guests that “the wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret.” He recognized the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans” in their struggle for statehood adding, “there can be no excuse.” Today, he held a private meeting with the family of Kenyan freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi murdered by the British colonial regime, and whose remains are still to be found to this day; the British High Commission said that the meeting was an “opportunity for the king to hear firsthand about the violence committed against Kenyans during their struggle for independence.” Are we supposed to clap for the king? Why does it have to be a private meeting? Kimathi no longer just belongs to his family, but to the whole of Kenya as he led the rebellion to liberate the whole country; thus whatever concerns him, concerns ALL Kenyans!

Are we surprised? NO… we are used to these useless kings and presidents of the former colonial powers parading in our countries with nothing to show for… walk and expect to be treated well by us, when they have not even given us the decency of burying our dead or returning the skulls of our ancestors, let alone recognize the genocides committed by their forces on our lands, or even the trauma caused, or even our lands confiscated, futures destroyed, and our resources to this day stolen away. (France Admits Murder of Algerians … A Step Forward?, In Madagascar, People remember one of the deadliest French colonial wars in history,  French President Acknowledges French Genocide in Cameroon, Belgian King Expresses ‘Deepest Regrets’ for Colonial Past in Congo). It is just saddening that African leaders empty coffers for these parades.

Excerpts below are from the Washington Post.

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Map of Kenya with its capital Nairobi

NAIROBI — In his first public remarks as monarch on colonial atrocities, during his first visit as king to a Commonwealth country, King Charles III said there were “no excuses” for the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans” during their struggle for independence from Britain, but he did not offer the full apology that many people in Kenya have called for.

Speaking at a state banquet Tuesday, Charles hewed closely to the British government line, saying he felt “the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret” for the wrongdoings of the past. He steered clear of any language that might open a broader conversation about reparations.

Nonetheless, Britain, like other former colonial powers, is in a period of reckoning, and the king has been under pressure to address the legacy of decades of British rule in East Africa.

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Britain-Kenya relations at the “official level are very good,” said Nick Westcott, a professor of diplomacy at SOAS University of London and former director of the Royal African Society, but “that’s not to say there’s not some difficult issues that go back to the colonial period.”

… There have been calls for Charles to acknowledge, in particular, the violent suppression carried out by British authorities in Kenya during the early reign of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. In the 1950s, British officials responded to what was known as the Mau Mau revolt — a movement to reclaim land and independence — with a brutal crackdown on the broader population. Thousands were killed and significant numbers imprisoned and tortured…

France Delivers Classified Colonization Documents to Cameroon

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment
French flag

It is no secret that France perpetrated a genocide in Cameroon in the years leading to independence and after, French President Acknowledges French Genocide in Cameroon. It is also no secret that France perpetrated a genocide in Algeria and Madagascar during the same periods (France Admits Murder of Algerians … A Step Forward?, In Madagascar, People remember one of the deadliest French colonial wars in history). Those were some of the bloodiest and deadliest French colonial wars in history, counting over at least a combined 2 million deaths, and countless injured, and displaced populations.

Ruben Um Nyobé
Ruben Um Nyobé, assassinated during the French genocide in Cameroon

Last week, France delivered classified files to a joint commission of historians from both France and Cameroon; this comes 2 years after France sped up access to Algeria War secret archives (why did it take so long?). The mixed multidisciplinary commission was created 6 months ago under the impulse of Cameroonian and French civil societies to focus on the role of France in Cameroon during the period ranging from 1945 to 1971. The commission is led by the French historian Karine Ramondy and the Cameroonian singer Blick Bassy. A big part of the work now is to collect all the information, 70+ year old information, and interviews from the remaining witnesses. Although we applaud this, and we look forward to this part of Cameroonian history being brought forward, we cannot help but wonder why the French government waited 70 years to declassify these documents? It is so reminiscent of King Philippe of Belgium’s Visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to, among other things, acknowledge the last surviving World War II Congolese veteran soldier who served for Belgium, 97 year-old Corporal Albert Kunyuku; or the story of the 9 tirailleurs Senegalais who at last are now allowed to receive their pension while living in Senegal after serving to free up France during World wars I and II (they are aged 85 to 96 years old); or the British Government which apologized for Mau Mau atrocities. Sadly, this happens when the last witnesses are on their deathbeds, or dead already. We hope to be proven wrong, but these acts feel like these governments think, “let’s open this now that there are no survivors to point out our faults, nobody to complain on the other side, no eyewitnesses left, and just gratitude for our candid opening of classified documents.” We, the descendants, and generations to come will not forget, and we will keep the memories of our ancestors alive.

Excerpts below are from AfricaNews.

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UPC Leaders (L. to R.) front row: Castor Osende Afana, Abel Kingué, Ruben Um Nyobé, Felix Moumié, and Ernest Ouandié
UPC Leaders (L. to R.) front row: Castor Osende Afana, Abel Kingué, Ruben Um Nyobé, Felix Moumié, and Ernest Ouandié, all killed by France during the Cameroonian wars of independence

In a recent turn of events, Paris willingly delivered its classified files to a commission of historians from both countries charged by President Paul Biya of Cameroon and French President Emmanuel Macron to unveil the gruesome yet often ignored part of colonisation and decolonization process of the central African country, as it would seem colonial history remained a negligible component of French Identity.

This comes as one of many actions undertaken by French President Macron to prone a new relationship with Africa.

“Since president Macron, was committed to it, Cameroonian researchers benefit from conditions of access to these files which are classified,” stated Mrs. Ramondy.

Decapitated Heads during the genocide in Cameroon

Comprised of 15 historians, the team, directed by Karine Ramondy, will work on France’s involvement in Cameroon in the repression of independence and opposition movements between 1945 and 1971.

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Nevertheless, some historians, such as Boniface Mongo-Mboussa, conceptualize memory work as selective and belonging to the realm of enchantment as opposed to the truth of history which is undeniable and indelible.

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Burkina Faso Names Boulevard in Honor of Thomas Sankara

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Ibrahim Traore, President of the Transition, raises the new plate renaming the boulevard after President Thomas Sankara (Source: LeFaso.net)

On the 36th anniversary of Thomas Sankara’s assassination, Burkina Faso rulers have officially renamed one of the main streets of the capital Ouagadougou, previously known as General Charles de Gaulle Boulevard, replacing the country’s former colonial ruler with its very own leader and inspiration of the nation, Thomas Sankara.

The event took place on October 15 at the Thomas Sankara Memorial in Ouagadougou. Attendees included relatives of the late leader, the president of the transition, Ibrahim Traore, and government officials were in Ouagadougou. During this ceremony, President Thomas Sankara was elevated to the rank of hero of the nation.

“We are heirs of the revolution” by Thomas Sankara

“Article 1. The late Captain Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara is recognised as a Hero of the Nation […] The day of homage to the late Captain Isidore Thomas Noël Sankara is to be celebrated every 15th of October in Ouagadougou,” Bassolma Bazié, Minister of the Civil Service of Burkina Faso said.

The President of the transition, captain Traoré, laid the foundation stone for the Thomas Sankara mausoleum. The mausoleum will be built on the very site of the assassination of Thomas Sankara and of 12 of his companions. The Memorial complex will contribute to the strengthening of national unity, the valorization of history and collective memory, the revival of tourism in Burkina Faso, the revitalization of cultural and creative industries, the blossoming of science productions and education.

Ibrahim Traore lays the foundation for the Thomas Sankara Mausoleum (Source: LeFaso.net)

The boulevard, previously known as Boulevard Charles de Gaulle, adjoining the memorial, has been renamed after the panafricanist icon and former president Thomas Sankara.

“Today the Boulevard has been named Boulevard Thomas Sankara instead of Boulevard Charles de Gaulle. So today we’re very proud. Because if the Boulevard had been named after imperialists, today we think that we also have heroes, we also have valiant Burkinabe [after whom we] can name these Boulevards or streets […]” [Africanews]

Is Air France Resuming Flights in Mali?

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments3 Comments
Flag of Mali
Flag of Mali

The answer is a resounding NO! or rather not yet! When someone has treated another like a sub-human, it might be hard to all of a sudden recognize the other person’s humanity. This is what Air France has been doing on the African continent. After helping to wipe out Air Afrique, it is no secret that Air France has been the main carrier servicing many African countries for the past decades, and it has enjoyed a perfect monopoly with super-hiked up prices… it is cheaper to fly to Paris from any African capital, than to fly to a neighboring country (story for another day).

Map of Mali with its capital Bamako

On August 7, the commercial company, Air France, decided to take a political stand against the countries of Mali, Burkina Faso, cancelling its flights to those countries without as much as a notice, a real breech of contract, because of the coup d’etat in neighboring Niger. Air France suspended its flights to Mali (seven per week) and Burkina Faso (five) on August 7 after the closure of the airspace of neighboring Niger following the coup in Niger. Imagine all the passengers who had paid tickets? Air France’s service is notoriously bad in Africa, do you think that they reimbursed them? Why should the coup in Niger make Air France stop servicing Mali or Burkina Faso? Just because the countries are neighbors? Imagine a country has issues with say, Germany, then as a result its airline cancels all flights to neighboring Belgium, and Netherlands without as much as a notice… the height of disrespect! how does it make sense?

After the suspension of Paris-Bamako connections by Air France, the Malian authorities decided on August 11 to cancel the company’s authorization to operate this line.

Now Air France would like to resume flights in Mali and Burkina Faso. Air France was set to resume this Friday October 13, and Malian authorities have halted the process with more requests to Air France. If you were the Malian or Burkinabe governments, would you agree? Shouldn’t there be new conditions to the partnership, if it is meant to resume?

To read more, check out SimpleFlying.

Bye Bye to French Troops in Niger

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment
Map of Niger

French troops have started withdrawing from Niger this week. The first convoy of French soldiers was escorted by Niger troops out of the country; they are moving to neighboring Chad where they are planning to stay. The French ambassador to Niger has already left the country, after defiantly ignoring the the numerous requests from the Niger government for him to leave (France set to Withdraw Troops and Ambassador from Niger). To this day, the Western media and the West still call the Niger government “junta leaders” or “mutinous soldiers” while they praise the Gabon military coup leader; such double standards! Niger’s government has also given 72 hours to the UN resident coordinator in Niger to leave the country; citing “underhanded maneuvers” by the U.N. secretary-general to prevent Niger’s full participation at last month’s General Assembly in New York, given that Niger’s representative was denied attendance (can you imagine: a nation belonging to the UN has a conflict with another member state, and the UN (organization supposed to serve all nations) refuses it a chance to talk at its tribune?). The US has now called the deposed president (puppet Bazoum), and suspended aid to Niger, while still maintaining their military drone base in Niger… All Niger people should remain on high alert!!!

Excerpts below are from Al-Jazeera.

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French flag

French soldiers have started to withdraw from their bases in Niger, with the first convoy of troops escorted out of the country by Niger’s military as it travelled in the “direction of Chad”, authorities in the capital Niamey said.

Pick-up trucks and armoured personnel carriers laden with French soldiers drove through the dusty outskirts of Niamey on Tuesday, marking a departure demanded by Niger’s military rulers who seized power in July.

In a statement read on state television, Niger’s military called on citizens to cooperate with the troop movements, which it said would involve some of the 1,500 French soldiers leaving Niger by road to Chad, a journey of hundreds of kilometres through sometimes insecure territory.

“The troops based in Ouallam have left their base today. These are the operations for the departure of the first ground convoy in the direction of Chad, escorted by our defence and security forces,” the military said.

In addition to the departure by land, “three special flights” have been registered at the airport in Niamey, two for the departure of “97 special forces elements” and one “dedicated to logistics.”

… Approximately 1,000 French troops were stationed in Niamey, with another 400 deployed at two forward bases in the northwest, near Mali and Burkina Faso, ….

Flag of Niger

Niger’s military rulers, which assured the withdrawal will take place in “complete safety”, said remaining French forces would continue to leave on “a timetable agreed to by both parties”.

The United States on Tuesday also formally declared that Niger’s democratically-elected president was removed in a military coup, which results in officially suspending assistance to Niger [what else is new?]. Though there are no plans to change the US troop presence in the country, senior administration officials said….

There are now about 1,000 US defence department personnel in Niger, according to the officials. …

African Governments should make Contracts Public to their Populations!

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments5 Comments

As we remember the Zambia Sovereign Debt Crisis, the Entebbe airport Uganda-China debt (Ugandan international airport at Entebbe about to be seized by China), the 999-year land lease granted to Europeans in Kenya, and the price of gold in Mali or uranium in Niger, the common thread seems to be that in most of these cases African countries are taken in for a ride, and that these contracts are negotiated without the people’s knowledge, or rather none of these contracts are discussed in the parliaments of these countries were the people’s representatives could all get to vote on it. The contracts are instead negotiated behind closed doors, thus ensuring constant corruption, and of course many years of “walking blindfolded”. If the future of their constituents is going to be traded away, why shouldn’t the people be invited to the negotiation table? Some argue that this would take too long, that sometimes, waiting for parliament’s approval may lead to gridlocks and more… however if the people’s future is going to be signed away like in the case of Zambia and countless African countries, contracts need to be made public. Now if it is confidential, why not release at least the ones that were signed over 20, 50 years ago? or the ones signed at independence (which are now over 60 years old)? This will help the new generations of lawyers to also learn how to negotiate for better contracts in the future. The reason is most likely that, just like in the case of The 11 Components of the French Colonial Tax in Africa, if Africans were made aware of what their forefathers were made to sign, they would have risen in riots, and many of the puppet governments installed to serve the West will all get toppled down.

It is about time that current African governments release the contracts signed at the time of independence!!! More importantly, it is also high time that when negotiating our future away, that we, the people, are invited at the negotiation table so that our children and children’s children and generations to come do not spend centuries paying interest on a debt that keeps increasing because of poor deals! Some may say, “we are in 2023, why do you need to know what happened in the 1960s? We need to focus on the present!“ Oh yes, but the past will inform the future! The contracts of yesterday still affect today, particularly in Africa, see The 11 Components of the French Colonial Tax in Africa, and The Bank of Senegal: Ancestor to the FCFA – producing Bank. It is because we do not keep archives that we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. If we all learned from the fact that, for instance, Pascal Lissouba of Congo was deposed because he asked for the re-negotiation of Congo’s oil and dared change partners from French to Americans, and then later under fire he back-pedaled back to French, we will know never to back-pedal and that once we have set our minds for liberty, no matter how hard it is, we should stay the course.