This week, we will talk about Faith Kipyegon, our Kenyan sister who made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics as the first African athlete to earn a gold medal in the same discipline three times in a row: Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and now Paris 2024. This is a remarkable feat never achieved before by an African, and only a select few athletes in the world can claim such in any Olympic discipline. She said, “It’s a big, big achievement. I was really looking forward to defending my title. I had a dream, I completed it. … I managed to make history, to win the gold medal in the 1500. It was my key target. I’m so, so grateful.” And Faith went further by setting a new Olympic record in the event with a time of 3:51.29. She is considered one of the greatest 1,500m athletes the world has ever seen, and has dominated the field for the past 7 years. Moreover, she has a gracious presence which makes her endearing to her fellow competitors. She is nicknamed the “smilingdestroyer.”
Faith Kipyegon winning historic 3rd gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics (source: Kelly Ayodi for Olympics Kenya – EastleighVoice.co.ke)
She posted on X,
“Track History Made in Kenya Three successive Olympic titles in women’s 1500m : Rio-2016, Tokyo-2020, Paris-2024
It has taken DISCIPLINE, HARD WORK, DEDICATION, CONSISTENCY and FAITH
Praise be to God Thanks for the love“
Flag of Kenya
Born in 1994 on a rural Kenyan farm in Nakuru County in the Rift Valley, Kipyegon, like so many Kenyan and Ethiopian distance runners, walked and jogged many miles to and from school. She grew up exposed to a culture of running in her family (her elder sister Beatrice Mutai is a 10km and half marathon specialist, her dad Samuel Kipyegon Koech was a 400m and 800m runner, whole her mother was also in athletics) and community. Her talent was identified early on by her physical education (P.E.) teacher. By the time she was 16, she had already placed 4th in the World Cross Country championships. She trains in Kaptagat and shares the same coach, Patrick Sang, as another great Eliud Kipchoge. She is also a mother of a beautiful daughter, and on the year she came back from maternity in 2019, she won at the Diamond League in Oregon. She owes her success to, as she says, hard work, discipline, dedication, consistency and faith, but also to the great Kenya’s athletics training system which has given us phenomenal distance runners over the years.
Now onto further victories for Faith, for Kenya, and for Africa as whole. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are around the corner. Let’s keep working hard, consistently, in a discipline manner, and with faith.
This past weekend, Senegal marked a milestone in its history by launching its very first satellite from the SpaceX launchpad in California in the USA. By this action, it has become one of 12 African nations to launch satellites to space.
The satellite, GAINDESAT-1A was built by Senegalese engineers in collaboration with the French Space Centre of Montpellier University (Centre Spatiale Universitaire de Montpellier (CSUM)). It is a nanosatellite, launched into orbit with 115 others from different countries. This satellite will focus on collecting data for multiple state agencies including the Directorate for Water Resources Management and Planning (DGPRE) and the National Civil Aviation and Meteorology Agency.
GAINDESAT-1A (Source: Space in Africa)
The country’s president Bassirou Diomaye Faye said the move marks a major step towards Senegal’s “technological sovereignty,” … he said on X, “I would like to express my pride and gratitude to all those who made this project possible.” Maram Kaïré, director of Senegal’s space agency, described the launch as “an important step and a historic day in our country’s progress and determination to become a space-faring nation”.
Tamirat Tola wins Men’s Marathon at Paris 2024 Olympics (Source: afrik.com)
There were many awesome stories at Paris 2024 Olympics. Many athletes surpassed themselves, broke new records, and set new firsts. The Olympics are over, but over the next few weeks, we will highlight those whose story may inspire us to get even better at what we do in our day-to-day lives. One athlete whose story particularly touched us was Ethiopian Tamirat Tola. Why?
Abebe Bikila on the podium during the 1960 Olympics in Rome, after winning the gold medal in the marathon, and surrounded by Rhadi Ben Abdesselam of Morocco (silver) and Barry Magee of New Zealand (Bronze)
Tamirat Tola is not a stranger to the Olympics: he was a bronze medalist in the Men’s 10,000 m at the Rio 2016 Olympics. He has had many victories since then, more recently winning the 2023 New York CityMarathon, and coming 3rd at the 2023 London Marathon. However, his performances this year were not enough for him to make it into the Ethiopian team selected for this year’s Olympics/Marathon. Ethiopia is a powerhouse for long distance runners, producing some of the best runners in the world: there is no secret that since Abebe Bikila: Emperor of the Distance and Running Barefoot, the world of long distance has been partially dominated by Ethiopia (and Kenya). So in a powerhouse team, Tola’s performance this year was not enough to make the cut. This makes it so that some of the best athletes may not make the cut for the team even though they are very good, and would be outstanding for other countries.
Tamirat Tola crosses the finish line at the Paris 2024 Olympics winning the gold medal and setting a new Olympic Record (Source: EthiopiansToday.com)
Two weeks prior to the Men’s Marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tola was added to the team as a substitute for teammate Sisay Lemma, winner of this year’s Boston Marathon, who had been injured. Teams are selected weeks ahead of the Olympics, and Tola was just selected 2 weeks prior. He made the best of this second chance and won the gold medal at the Olympics in a very hilly route billed extremely difficult with inclines as steep as 13%. Tola also set up an Olympic Record in 2 hours 6 minutes 26 seconds. His win also marks Ethiopia’s first gold medal in the event since Sydney 2000. He said, “I was the reserve in the Ethiopian team, but when Sisay had injuries then I had a chance, … I was fully prepared and knew I could fulfil my dream. I am very proud, very happy.” Indeed, it was an opportunity given to him by his teammate, and Tola acknowledged his teammate in his victory. “Sisay told me that it was better for him to drop out and for me to compete. He said, ‘You can do better than me in my condition.’ … It is thanks to him. This victory also belongs to him for giving me this opportunity.… I am happy today because I fulfilled my goal, … I prepared well. I trained hard so I could win. In my life, this is my great achievement.”
Tola’s victory inspired us to remember to always be ready, one never knows when a second chance will come, be ready, stay ready, and make the best of it.
The Paris 2024 Olympics have just ended, and African athletes have shined in usual disciplines i.e. those where we are used to seeing them, but also on those never conquered before. They made us proud and served us joy, endurance, and passion. At these games, we also saw more Africans representing other countries European and even Asian and winning medals: Bahrain, Qatar, Japan, Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Canada, US, … and winning for them as well. In essence, Africa shined a lot! For this article, our focus will be on African athletes representing the continent.
Faith Kipyegon (Source: StarConnectMedia)
We had faith in our Kenyan sister Faith Kipyegon… and she delivered: Faith won her 3rd successive Olympic gold in the women’s 1500 m, making her the first African to ever win gold in the same event 3 times in a row. Last Monday, she had won silver in a very contested Women’s 5000 m at the Olympics, where she was first disqualified for track obstruction, and then reinstated as the silver medal winner after appeal by the Kenyan federation. Her compatriot Beatrice Chebet won the first Kenyan gold medal of these Olympics in the Women’s 5000 m, and proved unbeatable in the Women’s 10,000 m delivering gold there as well. Mary Moraa, Faith Cherotich, and Hellen Obiri all took home the bronze medal in the Women’s 800 m, Women’s 3000m steeplechase, and in the Women’s Marathon respectively. EmmanuelWanyonyi won gold in the Men’s 800 m. Ronald Kwemoi won silver in the Men’s 5000 m, while BensonKipruto and Abraham Kibiwot took home bronze in the Men’s Marathon and Men’s 3000m steeplechase respectively. In total, Kenya earned 11 olympic medals: 4 gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronzes.
Letsile Tebogo after winning gold in 200m (Source: Onuaonline)
We had our eyes on Letsile Tebogo who missed out on the 100m podium, but earned the top most place in the Men’s 200 m thus giving Botswana and Africa as a whole its first ever gold medal in a 200 m. Since our brother Frankie Fredericks of Namibia who used to delight us, and always ended with silver, this is a very first. Tebogo also led the Botswana’s team to a silver medal in the Men’s 4x400m relay, again a first for any African country ever, letting the world know that Africans can no longer be discarded in these disciplines.
Joshua Cheptegei (Source: Dailyexpress.co.ug)
Before the Olympics, our Ugandan brother JoshuaCheptegei told us that this will be his last Olympics, and promised us magic. Cheptegei did not disappoint, he ran his heart out serving us a performance worthy of a novel, coming from behind to win gold in the Men’s 10,000 m, and landing Uganda its first gold at the games. Compatriot Peruth Chemutai won silver in the Women’s 3000m steeplechase.
South African team after 4 x 100m Relay win (Source: dispatchlive.co.za)
In swimming, Tatjana Smith of South Africa made her country proud by winning gold and silver medals in the Women’s200m and 100m breaststroke events; recall that Smith, born Schoenmaker, was the Tokyo 2020 Gold medalist in the 200m breaststroke category. South Africa also landed 2 bronze medals in rugby and mountain bike with Alan Hatherly. Although flag bearer Akani Simbineended 4th in a highly contested Men’s 100 m track and field, Simbine and the rest of his team delivered us silver in the Men’s 4 x 100 m relay, again a first for South Africa, and for Africa as a whole in winning a medal in the discipline. Jo-Ane van Dyk delivered silver in the Women’s javelin throw.
Algeria took home 2 gold and 1 bronze medals, one gold from the controversial athlete Imane Khelif who is said to be a man competing in female boxing, and another gold from Kaylia Nemour in the Women’s Uneven bars in artistic gymnastics. Nemour‘s victory is a first for Africans in gymnastics. DjamelSedjati took home the bronze medal in the Men’s 800 m.
Tamirat Tola wins Men’s Marathon at Paris 2024 Olympics (Source: afrik.com)
Tamirat Tola, who was just added to the Ethiopian Olympics’s team 2 weeks ago after his compatriot Sisay Lemma was injured, took home the gold medal in the Men’s Marathon, making Ethiopia and our legend Haile Gebrselassie who opened the marathon, proud. Berihu Aregawi won a silver medal for his participation in the Men’s 10,000 m. Tsige Duguma and Tigst Assefa both won silver in the Women’s 800 m, and the Women’s Marathon respectively.
Ahmed Elgendy wins gold in the first ever modern pentathlon (Source: TheTelegraph.com)
Egypt won 3 medals: 1 gold in the Men’s Modern Pentathlon with Ahmed Elgendy, 1 silver in Women’s 81kg weightlifting with Sara Ahmed, and 1 bronze in fencing with the Men’s individual Epee with Mohamed Elsayed. Elgendy‘s gold is the first gold medal for Egypt at any olympics, and a first in the discipline for an African athlete; he also becomes the first person to win in this brand new discipline at the Olympics.
Morocco delighted us when Soufiane El Bakkali won the gold medal in the Men’s 3000m steeplechase; and the Moroccan football (soccer) team, currently Africa’s highest ranked soccer team at number 4 (the senior men’s team) in the world’s ranking of football team, took home the bronze medal by defeating Egypt.
Tunisia reveled us with gold in Taekwondo in the Men’s 80 kg with Firas Katoussi, and bronze in the Men’s58 kg with Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi. Fares Ferjani won silver in Fencing the Men’s Individual Sabre.
Our dear brother Cheikh Sallah Cisse of Ivory Coast did not disappoint by taking the bronze medal in Taekwondo for Ivory Coast, in the Men’s 80kg; Cisse had given Côte d’Ivoire its very first gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Cabo Verde got its very first medal at the Olympic games through David de Pina who won bronze in the Men’s 51 kgBoxing.
Muzala Samukonga of Zambia wins Bronze in the Men’s 400m (Source: pulsesports.ng)
Zambian Muzala Samukonga won the bronze medal in the Men’s 400m. This may be Zambia’s first medal at the Olympics; if not, it is Zambia’s first medal in the discipline ever. And the Zambian team also came out 4th in the Men’s 4 x 100 m relay one step short of a place on the podium; this tells you the future that this Zambian team holds if it perseveres.
We cannot wait to see Africa at the Los Angeles Games in 2028!
Hugues Fabrice Zango getting his triple jump (Source: bbc.co.uk)
The controversial opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games has not dimmed the spirits of African athletes, they know that they are there to work and make their continent proud.
Before the beginning of the games, there were a few African athletes to watch out for:
Our golden athlete Hugues Fabrice Zango, the first gold medal of Burkina Faso, and representing us all on the triple jump. As a fun fact, Zango also recently defended his PhD thesis in Electrical Engineering, and looks to make the colors of his country shine again this year.
Faith Kipyegon (Source: StarConnectMedia)
Our loved one, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon… we all have faith in her to make us proud again. With 2 world titles won and 4 world records, Faith is hoping to win her 3rd successive Olympic gold in the women’s 1500m; if she manages to accomplish this, she will be the first African to even win gold in the same event 3 times in a row. On Monday, she already won silver in a very contested Women’s 5000 m at the Olympics, where she was first disqualified for track obstruction, and then reinstated as the silver medal winner after appeal by the Kenyan federation. Her compatriot Beatrice Chebet won the first Kenyan gold medal of these olympics.
The revelation is this year’s Eritrean athlete Biniam Girmay who has won stage events at the Tour de France, becoming the first African to ever do so, and also topping the points classification. We will be on the look out for him in cycling.
Letsile Tebogo (Source: SportNewsAfrica)
We had our eyes on Letsile Tebogo of Botswana who took silver in the 100m and bronze over 200m at the world championships; however, the 100m did not go well for Tebogo, but we are all throwing our support behind him for the 200m. Our young brother lost his mother, Seratiwa Tebogo, his pillar and rock back in May, and we are sending him lots of love and support.
Blessing Oborududu of Nigeria is a wrestling baobab in Nigeria and Africa, with 14 continental titles, 4 commonwealth medals, and a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, today, Oborududu lost on advancing to gold or silver, but will be competing for the Bronze medal tomorrow.
Flag of Uganda
Before the Olympics, our Ugandan brother Joshua Cheptegei told us that this will be his last Olympics, and promised us magic. Cheptegei did not disappoint, he ran his heart out serving us a performance worthy of a novel, he came from behind to win gold in the men’s 10,000m, and land Uganda its first gold at the games so far. Compatriot Peruth Chemutai won silver in the Women’s 3000m steeplechase, while Kenyan Faith Cherotich won the Bronze medal.
In swimming, Tatjana Smith of South Africa made her country proud by winning gold and silver medals in 200m and 100m breaststroke events. South Africa also landed 2 bronze medals in rugby and mountain bike with Alan Hatherly. Flag bearer Akani Simbine ended 4th in a highly contested 100m track and field men’s final.
I will write an article at the end of the Paris 2024 Olympics games to tally all our victories.
The Guinea of Sekou Toure was the first country to say ‘NO’ to the General de Gaulle. Sekou Touré, proud descendent of one of the great African leaders who fought colonialism, Samori Touré, said, on 25 August1958, Sekou Touré said: “Il n’ya pas de dignité sans liberté. Nous préférons la liberté dans la pauvreté à la richesse dans l’esclavage.” [There is no dignity without freedom. We prefer freedom in poverty to wealth in slavery].
After Sekou Toure said ‘No‘, De Gaulle did not take it lightly and reacted harshly to crush the new Guinean state, and ensure that no other African countries followed the Guinean example. The Washington Post back then, observed how brutal the French were in tearing down all what they thought was their contributions to Guinea: “In reaction, and as a warning to other French-speaking territories, the French pulled out of Guinea over a two-month period, taking everything they could with them. They unscrewed light bulbs, removed plans for sewage pipelines in Conakry, the capital, and even burned medicines rather than leave them for the Guineans.” Imagine that, they unscrewed light bulbs! It is said that they even poured cement on water pipes!… the French reacted like a really angry boyfriend who had been thrown out.
Guinea-Conakry
Maurice Robert, head of the African cell for the Service de documentation extérieure et de contre-espionnage (SDECE), France‘s external intelligence agency from 6 November 1944 to 2 April 1982 said in an interview, « Nous devions déstabiliser Sékou Touré, le rendre vulnérable, impopulaire et faciliter la prise du pouvoir par l’opposition. Une opération de cette envergure comporte plusieurs phases : le recueil et l’analyse des renseignements, l’élaboration d’un plan d’action à partir de ces renseignements, l’étude et la mise en place des moyens logistiques, l’adoption de mesures pour la réalisation du plan. Avec l’aide d’exilés guinéens réfugiés au Sénégal, nous avons aussi organisé des maquis d’opposition dans leFouta-Djalon. L’encadrement était assuré par des experts français en opérations clandestines. Nous avons armé et entraîné ces opposants guinéens pour qu’ils développent un climat d’insécurité en Guinée et, si possible, qu’ils renversent Sékou Touré. Parmi ces actions de déstabilisation, je peux citer l’opération Persil, par exemple, qui a consisté à introduire dans le pays une grande quantité de faux billets de banque guinéens dans le but de déséquilibrer l’économie. » [“We had to destabilize Sékou Touré, make him vulnerable, unpopular and facilitate the seizure of power by the opposition. An operation of this scale involves several phases: the collection and analysis of information, the development of an action plan based on this information, the study and implementation of logistical means, the adoption of measures to implement the plan. With the help of Guinean exiles who had taken refuge in Senegal, we also organized opposition groups in Fouta-Djallon. Supervision was provided by French experts in clandestine operations. We have armed and trained these Guinean opponents so that they develop a climate of insecurity in Guinea and, if possible, overthrow Sékou Touré. Among these destabilizing actions, I can cite Operation Persil, for example, which consisted of introducing a large quantity of counterfeit Guinean banknotes into the country with the aim of unbalancing the economy.”]
Flag of Guinea
Thus, the strategies to destabilize Guinea were, among others, 1) Make Sekou Toure weak and impopular by financing and arming his opponents; 2) using exiled Guineans in neighboring Senegal, training them militarily to create zones of insecurities in the country to eventually topple off Sekou Toure’s government; 3) economically weaken the country by using fake currency.
There are numerous examples of how these strategies were used in recent years: in Cote d’Ivoire during the presidency of Laurent Gbagbo with the armed rebellion financed from external forces, terrorist forces’ attacks in the AES countries, and much more…
Two weeks before his murder, on January 4th 1961, Patrice Lumumba wrote from prison in Thysville (now Mbanza-Ngungu) to Rajeshwar Dayal, a Special Representative to the UN Secretary General. In prison, Lumumba was accompanied by Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, two political associates who had planned to assist him in setting up a new government. They were fed poorly by the prison guards, as per Mobutu’s orders. In one of Lumumba’s last documented letter, he wrote to Dayal who was the head of the United Nations Operation in the Congo: “In a word, we are living amid absolutely impossible conditions; moreover, they are against the law.”
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LETTER TO M. DAYAL, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL Thysville, January 4, 1961
Mr. Special Representative,
On December 27 last, I had the pleasure of receiving a visit from the Red Cross, which occupied itself with my plight and with the plight of the other parliamentarians imprisoned together with me. I told them of the inhuman conditions we are living in.
Lumumba detained
Briefly, the situation is as follows. I am here with seven other parliamentarians. In addition there are with us Mr. Okito, President of the Senate, a Senate employee and a driver. Altogether there are ten of us. We have been locked up in damp cells since December 2, 1960, and at no time have we been permitted to leave them. The meals that we are brought twice a day are very bad. For three or four days 1 ate nothing but a banana. I told this to the Red Cross medical officer sent to me. I spoke to him in the presence of a colonel from Thysville. I demanded that fruit be bought on my own money because the food that I am given here is atrocious. Although the medical officer gave his permission, the military authorities guarding me turned down my request, stating that they were following orders from Kasavubu and Colonel Mobutu. The medical officer from Thysville prescribed a short walk every evening so that I could leave my cell for at least a little while. But the colonel and the district commissioner denied me this. The clothes that I wear have not been washed for thirty-five days. I am forbidden to wear shoes.
In a word, the conditions we are living in are absolutely intolerable and run counter to all rules.
Moreover, I receive no news of my wife and I do not even know where she is. Normally I should have had regular visits from her as is provided for by the prison regulations in force in the Congo. On the other hand, the prison regulations clearly state that not later than a day after his arrest a prisoner must be brought before the investigator handling his case. Five days after this a prisoner must again be arraigned before a judge, who must decide whether to remand him in custody or not. In any case, a prisoner must have a lawyer.
The criminal code provides that a prisoner is released from prison if five days after he is taken into custody the judge takes no decision on remanding him. The same happens in cases when the first decision (which is taken five days after a person is arrested) is not reaffirmed within fifteen days. Since our arrest on December 1 and to this day we have not been arraigned before a judge or visited by a judge. No arrest warrant has been shown to us. We are kept simply in a military camp and have been here for thirty-four days. We are kept in military detention cells.
The criminal code is ignored as are the prison rules. Ours is purely a case of arbitrary imprisonment. I must add that we possess parliamentary immunity.
Such is the situation and I ask you to inform the United Nations Secretary-General of it.
I remain calm and hope the United Nations will help us out of this situation.
I stand for reconciliation between all the children of this country.
I am writing this letter secretly on bad paper. I have the honour to be, etc.
Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso’s leaders met on July 6, 2024 in Niamey, Niger, as part of the first summit of the Alliance des Etats du Sahel (AES – Alliance of the Sahel States). During the summit, the three leaders signed a confederation treaty aimed at strengthening the links between the three nations in terms of defence, and other aspects such as the economy, infrastructures, and more. They reinforced their mutual defence pact. This is a pivotal moment whih marks a new era, and we rejoice for Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, and the whole of Africa.
The military leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have hailed a newly signed treaty as a step “towards greater integration” between the three countries, in the latest showing of their shift away from traditional regional and Western allies.
During a summit in the Nigerien capital of Niamey on Saturday, the three leaders signed a confederation treaty that aims to strengthen a mutual defence pact announced last year, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The signing capped the first joint summit of the leaders – Niger’s General Abdourahmane Tchiani, Burkina Faso’s Captain Ibrahim Traore, and Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goita – since they came to power in successive coups in their bordering West African nations.
… Speaking at the summit on Saturday, Tchiani called the 50-year-old ECOWAS “a threat to our states”.
… “We are going to create an AES of the peoples, instead of an ECOWAS whose directives and instructions are dictated to it by powers that are foreign to Africa,” Tchiani said.
Flag of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso’s Traore also accused foreign powers of seeking to exploit the countries. The three nations have regularly accused former colonial ruler France of meddling in ECOWAS.
“Westerners consider that we belong to them and our wealth also belongs to them. They think that they are the ones who must continue to tell us what is good for our states,” he said.
“This era is gone forever. Our resources will remain for us and our population’s.”
… For his part, Mali’s Goita said the strengthened relationship means an “attack on one of us will be an attack on all the other members”.
… The Niamey summit also came a day before the United States is set to complete its withdrawal from a key base in Niger, underscoring how the new military leaders have redrawn security relations that had defined the region in recent years.
… French troops completed their withdrawal from Mali in 2022, and they left Niger and Burkina Faso last year.
Meanwhile, US Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman said earlier this week that about 1,000 military personnel would complete their withdrawal from Niger’s Air Base 101 by Sunday.
The US is also in the process of leaving a separate, $100m drone base near Agadez in central Niger, which officials have described as essential to gathering intelligence about armed groups in the region.
A few years ago, after the horrors of the electoral crisis in Cote d’Ivoire and the bombing of its presidential palace with the capture of President Laurent Gbagbo and First Lady Simone Gbagbo, I watched a video interview of the Franco-Cameroonian journalist Charles Onana who was talking about his book “Côte d’Ivoire : le coup d’État, Duboiris, 2011 (with a preface by Thabo Mbeki).” At the end of the interview, Onana stated, “… Quand vous avez un pays riche qui est convoité par des multinationales, par des groupes mafieux, par des états, etc, vous devez décupler votre intelligence pour défendre votre pays. … En face vous avez des équipes de think-tanks qui sont là pour penser comment destabiliser le pays, donc les Africains ne peuvent pas faire l’économie d’un travail acharné, d’un travail surhumain pour s’en sortir … Pendant que la crise se calme ou s’apaise, les autres continuent de travailler pour vous destabiliser, ils refléchissent à d’autres stratégies, mais il faut que [les Africains] apprennent à refléchir à differentes stratégies de manière à ce que le Président de la République ne se retrouve pas toujours seul à penser à tout, seul à reflechir à tout, …” [When you are a rich country that is coveted by multinationals, by mafia groups, by states, etc, you must increase your intelligence tenfold to defend your country. … On the other side, you have think-tank teams that are thinking ways to destabilize the country, so Africans cannot avoid hard work, superhuman work to be free … When the crisis calms down or subsides, others continue to work to destabilize you, they think other strategies, but Africans too need to think different strategies so that the President of the Republic does not always find himself thinking not the only one think all by himself, …]
The New Scramble for Africa (Source: Source: Dr Jack & Curtis for City Press, National Institute African Studies (NIAS))
With the New Scramble for Africa, African countries should have think-tanks, the enemy has think-tanks strategizing over decades, how come we, Africans, do not? Even in times of peace, we should be strategizing… as we heard the French general, it is clear that they are already planning the defeat of Africa, and the return of Africans into their fold in 10 years… how come? When Sekou Toure said NO to the General De Gaulle and Guinea gained independence, not only were the French busy destabilizing his regime politically, militarily, arming his local opponents, but they even flooded his economy with fake currency to destroy his own free Guinean Franc (as he had said NO to the slave currency that is FCFA); the attacks were non stop for several decades, and honestly, are still going on. Thus, Africans, we need to gain our independence, and for our independence to be complete, we need to have strategies for the immediate day-to-day events, but also long-term, over 20-50 or even 100 years. It took China 100 years to get back Hong-Kong and Macau from Great Britain and Portugal… that happened because of a clear vision and strategy of defense against the enemy and reclaiming of lands.
On Friday, it was announced that the French Army has now created an African Command center to deal with current issues on the continent; it is believed to be in response to them being chased out of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. This new creation would be similar to the American AFRICOM. Although, it appears to be new, in reality, it is just like an iceberg which is now showing out its visible side for all to see. There have always been French forces on African soil, there has always been a cell meant to deal with Africa (militarily) in the French government; that is how the Francafrique happened! Now, in view of the loss of uranium from Niger, gold from Mali, many other resources from Burkina Faso, France is starting to lose its place among the top nations of this world, and quickly needs to try to regain the upper hand in its former colonies. Of course, the big reason (lie) given for this is, to help partner countries in the fight against terrorism (terrorism brought to us by them).
The French army has established a Command for Africa, similar to what the American armys have already done for a long time [AFRICOM], at a pivotal moment in the French military presence, in sharp decline on the continent, according to the Official Journal (JO).
… This unprecedented creation in France of an Africa Command comes as Paris plans to reduce its military presence in West and Central Africa to a few hundred men [reduce? Maybe transform the official army and soldiers into mercenaries as it was done with Bob Denard and co?], within the framework of “renovated” and more discreet partnerships [renovated, discreet? sounds more like the Bob Denard style or Elf?].
So is the redeployment of French forces in West and Central Africa at the origin of this creation? This is indeed the primary reason, because until now the French elements in Chad, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Gabon each had a combined regional arms staff.
However, this permanent military presence is no longer in keeping with the times. The French contingent in Africa must, in the near future, be reduced to the bare minimum. …
… The concern for discretion is indeed the first desired effect. Informational attacks have made the French army radioactive [this foreign army works for foreign interests and thus has always been radioactive for African countries]. To change the situation, the army general staff wants to “reduce visibility and footprint”: very logically, this Africa Command will therefore be based in Paris.
But the objectives remain unchanged. This Command will be intended to organize support for partner countries in the fight against terrorism and the expansion of trafficking, the training of regional armies, and the access strategy. … the French military personnel will evolve according to needs and missions, but always in close collaboration with the host countries.
African Heritage 