Tag: Ali Bongo

Who/What did We Say Goodbye to in Africa in 2025 ?

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great PeopleLeave a comment
Sam Nujoma (Source: newscentral.africa)

2025 is coming to an end, and there are a few people we said goodbye too, and situations as well. Below are some of them:

  1. This February, on Saturday, February 8 2025, Sam Nujoma, Namibia’s first president and founding father passed away at the age of 95. Nujoma led the long fight for independence from South Africa for many years, which culminated with independence on 21 March 1990 of South West Africa, as the country was formerly known. So Long to Sam Nujoma, Namibia’s First President.
  2. In April, Amadou, of the Malian duo Amadou and Mariam passed away at their home in Bamako, Mali. The Grammy-nominated duo Amadou & Mariam was a blind duo from Mali. They both met at the Institute for the young blind in Bamako in 1976 and their song “Je pense a toi” helped them get world fame. So Long to Malian Singer, Member of Duo Amadou & Mariam
  3. Flag of Gabon

    Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon, the coup leader who kicked Ali Bongo out of power, the one the West lauds so much, traded his military fatigues for a suit and won the elections by a landslide with a score worthy of a Banana Republic, 90.35%! and Yes, he got all the accolades of the West! This was a total imposture! Recall that Oligui Nguema took the power when the populations protested the presidential elections when Ali Bongo was declared winner instead of the rightful winner who was Albert Ondo Ossa; thus Nguema should have stepped in to right the wrong by putting on the one the people had voted for; instead he took over under the applause of the “international community”. Gabon and the Double Standards of the International Community, and Gabon Oligui Nguema Wins by Landslide.

  4. Raila Odinga (Source: World Economic Forum)

    This year Kenya, and the whole of Africa said goodbye to Raila Odinga, the inevitable and greatest opposition leader and fighter to the end for Kenyan democracy. Raila Odinga had been a dominant unavoidable force in Kenyan politics for over 30 years. He was a baobab in Kenya’s political scene, who has always fought for the freedom and democracy in Kenya. Out of the past 5 elections, 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022, he had always contested, came second, and even narrowly won to the point that there have always been disputes which have gone as far as civil unrest as in 2007… even the last elections which saw Ruto win were tight with the presence of Odinga. So Long to Raila Odinga, Fighter to the End for Kenyan Democracy, and Raila Odinga in His Own Words.

  5. Flag of Cameroon

    Cameroonians saw another weird presidential elections. Not sure if what happened there was a real election. Paul Biya was reelected for a 7th term after 43 years as president of the country, with 20 before as minister and prime minister. This would mark 43 years of walking backwards for Cameroon… no electricity, no water in most places, and major cities overflowing with refuse.  After a magic trick in the 11th hour, where by a switch of a virtual pen, the best and strongest opponent, Maurice Kamto, was removed from the presidential election contest; then the elections took place with another opponent who barely 2 months before was a minister to the regime Issa Tchiroma. To be honest, after 43 years, there is no doubt that anybody would win against the incumbent. Cameroon – Where Self-Hate is used to Keep a Country in Bondage, and Cameroon – History Repeats Itself ? Since then, there have been protests in the country.

  6. La Cote d'Ivoire
    La Cote d’Ivoire

    Alassane Ouattara, president of Cote d’ivoire, was reelected for a 4th term he was not supposed to be able to run for (in view of the country’s constitution), after selectively eliminating some of the major contenders like Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, leaving only a few such as Simone Gbagbo, Jean-Louis Billon, Ahoua Don Mello, and Henriette Lagou Adjoua. He won the elections with another Banana Republic-type score of 91.2%. Wow! The hijacking of the constitution and Ivorian freedom continues! Given that he serves well Western interests, he was congratulated for his reelection.

  7. Flag of Tanzania

    President Samia Suhulu Hassan of Tanzania was elected under shady circumstances and protests. The protests were suppressed in blood; it has been said that since the October 29 elections, there have been more than 2,000 detained, vehicles and buildings burned, and hundreds of deaths. Even the lady was inaugurated under tight security. Recall that she was never elected, but rather came to power after President John Magufuli passed away in office (So Long to President John Magufuli of Tanzania: The Bulldozer). She won with another kafkaesque score of 97%, after the country’s two main opposition parties were barred and the main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, was imprisoned. Only seen on our continent! This is a clear hijacking of the freedom of Tanzanians; which we will go as far as calling it a coup against the people’s will.

  8. Flag of Guinea Bissau

    There was a coup d’etat in Guinea-Bissau, which looks more like a fake coup. Unlike other places, the coup d’etat was not condemned by ECOWAS or other places; and nobody was called junta by the West. Thus, Guinea Bissau traded Umaro Sissoco Embalo for a general he chose. Recall that he was not even supposed to run for elections, and violated his country’s constitution. He first ran into exile in Senegal, but later moved to the Republic of Congo; he has been accused by opposition and international figures such as former Nigerian president and election monitor Goodluck Jonathan of staging the coup to avoid losing the election against Fernando Dias da Costa. Since it was staged, nobody has called the newcomers, led by Horta Inta-A Na Man, as junta like for the Sahel.

  9. Flag of Madagascar

    There was a coup in Madagascar (2025 Malagasy coup d’état) which saw the fall of President Andry Rajoelina, the DJ who had previously been installed by France, and had also come into power after a coup against Marc Ravalomanana who was not accepted by the West. Macron and France helped fly Rajoelina out to safety in Dubai where he now resides. The new man in charge is general Michael Randrianirina. This coup started by the protests of the populations against power cuts and water outages which have been very common nationwide especially in the capital Antananarivo… they were met with violence from the government police… then it went on, until the army stepped up, and took Rajoelina out. Goodbye to Rajoelina, and welcome to Randrianirina … we hope that he will work for the Malagasy people.

  10. Flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo

    The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed a “peace” agreement with Rwanda. It started The Declaration of Principles between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda signed in June by DRC and Rwanda foreign affairs ministers including the American Secretary of State. This was later ratified in December by both presidents Felix Tshisekedi of DRC and Paul Kagame of Rwanda in presence of the American President Donald Trump. As we had pointed out, how could a peace agreement with DRC be signed which does not clearly state that Rwanda is the aggressor of the DRC? How can there be a peace agreement, if Rwanda does not admit to its crimes against the Congolese people? Why is there no mention of the close to 10 million dead Congolese from this 30-year-old conflict? What sort of a peace is that if there is no justice? Well, to prove us right, new conflicts started in the region immediately after the signature of the agreement, or rather they never stopped. Peace Agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda: Is this for Real? Thus, the DRC is still under attack. We should tell all these Congolese and African politicians to stop signing documents in fear… nothing good comes out of negotiating from a position of fear!

  11. Flag of Sudan

    As the year closes, the civil war is still ongoing in Sudan, all of that under the eyes of the “international” community. Sudan’s brutal civil war has dragged on for over 2½ years, displacing millions and killing in excess of 150,000 people. This is now among one of the deadliest conflict in the world today. Our hearts go out to our Sudanese brothers and sisters.

Gabon and the Double Standards of the International Community

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment
Flag of Gabon

This Saturday April 12, 2025, Gabon will go to the presidential elections to elect its next president. There are honestly just a few candidates, more like 2 real ones, and one of them is General Brice Oligui Nguema, a military leader who orchestrated a coup that removed Ali Bongo almost 2 years ago [Is the Wind of Change blowing in Gabon too?], while the other candidate is just there for show. Oligui Nguema is the only military leader who made a coup on the continent in the past few years, and has been applauded by the West and the mainstream media. While Colonel Assimi Goita, Captain Ibrahim Traore, or General Abdourahamane Tchiani have been insulted and called all sorts of names, like junta leaders, little captains, illiterates, etc, for wanting the freedom of their people and leading coups that have kicked out the West’s puppets, colonial powers and external forces that were leeching onto their lands and resources, Oligui Nguema on the other hand has been applauded, saluted, and lauded. Why? because he represents the status quo in the relationship between Gabon and the West, particularly France; after all Gabon is known as the cash cow of France. Now, he has traded his military uniform to take part in the presidential elections, and every single Western news outlets has been applauding him, calling him, like BBC, the “coup-mastermind-turned-transitional leader … highly articulate ….” The double standard of the west is appalling!

Excerpts below are from the BBC, but the same praises are sung by France24, RFI, Reuters, and others. 

=====

President Ali Bongo

Little more than 19 months after the bloodless coup that brought an end to more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family [Oligui Nguema is a nephew of Ali Bongo, thus still a part of the Bongo Family], the people of Gabon are about to head to the polls to choose a new head of state – bucking a trend that has seen military leaders elsewhere in Africa cling on to power.

The overwhelming [western] favourite in the race on Saturday is the man who led that peaceful putsch and has dominated the political scene ever since, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema.

Having abandoned his soldier’s fatigues and military status in favour of a politician’s suit, this highly articulate former commander of the elite Republican Guard [since he is the one they like, he is articulate, while those of the AES are illiterates] faces seven other candidates.

Basking in popularity among a population relieved to be rid of dynastic rule [the leaders in the AES also bask in popularity among their people, but that doesn’t count since they are not going in the direction wanted by the west] – and assisted by electoral regulations that disqualified some key challengers [that is not questionable?] – the 50-year-old appears almost certain to secure an outright majority in the first ballot.

… His chances of avoiding a second round run-off are bolstered by the fact that his main challenger – one of the rare senior political or civil society figures not to have rallied to his cause – is the old regime’s last prime minister, Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, known by his initials ACBBN.

Victory will bring a seven-year mandate and the resources to implement development and modernising reform at a pace that the rulers of crisis-beset African countries could not even dream of.

With only 2.5 million people, Gabon is an established oil producer [yet, given that it is France’s cash cow, it looks nothing like the Gulf countries] and the world’s second-largest exporter of manganese.

Map of Gabon

… Oligui Nguema took shrewd advantage, reaching out to build a broad base of support for his transitional regime. He brought former government figures, opponents and prominent hitherto critical civil society voices into the power structure or institutions such as the appointed senate. Political detainees were freed, though Ali Bongo’s wife and son remain in detention awaiting trial on corruption charges [There is no problem with the west if Nguema keeps Bongo’s wife and son in detention, but Tchiani cannot hold Bazoum – double standards].

He did not resort to the sort of crackdowns on dissent or media freedom that have become a routine tool of Francophone Africa’s other military leaders, in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Niger [Nguema is good for the West, not bad like those of the AES – double standards].

… On the diplomatic front, in marked contrast to the assertively anti-Western posture adopted by the regimes in West Africa, Oligui Nguema despatched senior figures to cultivate international goodwill and reassure Gabon’s traditional partners of his determination to restore civilian constitutional government within a tightly limited timeframe [nice puppy].

Relations with France, the former colonial power and previously a close ally of the Bongo regime, are warm [of course].

… When Oligui Nguema brushed off some parliamentarians’ concern about the concentration of executive power in the presidency by abolishing the post of prime minister, there was little fuss [Just imagine the ruckus the MSM will make if Goita or Tchiani eliminated the prime minister office].

…

Is the Wind of Change blowing in Gabon too?

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments2 Comments

Flag of Gabon

On August 30, 2023, we all woke up to a coup d’etat in Gabon by the army. The military took over, and cancelled the results of Saturday’s election in which Mr. Ali Bongo was declared winner the night before on August 29, but the opposition led by Albert Ondo Ossa claimed it was a fraudulent election. In an announcement on Gabon’s state TV on Wednesday, the coup leaders said their republican guard chief, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, had been “unanimously” designated president of a transitional committee to lead the country. Note that Oligui is a cousin of Bongo and used to be the bodyguard of Bongo’s father, the late President Omar Bongo. He was also head of the secret service in 2019 before becoming head of the republican guard.

President Ali Bongo

This coup puts an end to 56 years of the Bongo dynasty. Ali Bongo came to power at the end of his father Omar Bongo‘s 42 years in power from 1967 to 2009. Bongo son, Ali, ruled the country for 14 years, and although he had suffered a stroke in 2018, he was vying for a third term in office during these past elections. After his stroke, television appearances had shown him leaning heavily on a silver-topped cane. He had appeared healthier during the latest election when he was again declared victor – until military officers stepped in. Oil-rich Gabon has been known as the piece de resistance of France in the entire central African region.

Map of Gabon

Many who have heard news of the coup in Gabon, which puts an end to 56 years of one family treacherous rule, popped bottles of champagne, and rightfully so. This coup comes on the heels of the one in Niger last month on 26 July 2023, and we cannot help but rejoice and long for genuine change. Is the wind of change really blowing in Gabon as well? or is it simply France understanding that given the current anti-French climate in Africa, and in order to keep control over their biggest cow in the Francafrique’s chessboard, understanding that the people of Gabon had had enough of Ali Bongo, and not trusting that they could control the opposition guy who had been voted by the people, chose to place their very own puppet instead? After all, the day after controversial elections, if the military is there to defend the democracy of the country as they claimed in their speech, why not have votes recounted? Why not have the election results reversed since the people selected Ossa to lead them? Why hold Bongo and son under house arrest, but release the first lady (who is French), Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, who, as everybody knows has been the one leading the country since her husband’s stroke in 2018? Lastly, the new leader is a cousin of Bongo: are we going to have a similar scenario to David Dacko-Jean-Bedel Bokassa of Central African Republic (CAR)?

Upcoming days will tell us which way this wind is blowing. 

To read more, check out this article “A ‘Coup’ in Gabon: Who, What, and Why?” on Al Jazeera.

Africa’s Independence: the case of Gabon’s Presidential Election 2016

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment

gabonAbout 6 years ago, most African countries, particularly those in Francophone Africa, celebrated 50 years of independence. Yes… we were all told how many of them fought for their independence, how some of our forefathers bled to death, were killed, to get a chance to march proudly as Africans. We all cheered, and proclaimed ourselves independent. Then, a few months later, starting on 16 December 2010, the light shined on our “dependence”. On that fateful day of 11 April 2011, when the French army bombed the presidential palace of Cote d’Ivoire (and had been bombing all state institutions for over 10 days without any UN mandate and no declaration of war) and dragged its president and first lady in front of the world like mere criminals. In February 2011, NATO and the UN issued an order to bomb Libya and its institutions because Kadhafi was supposedly killing its people… They bombed Libya, killed, and uprooted its people. Today, 5 years later, the people of Gabon are now witnesses to their “obvious dependence” to France. Yes… you heard me right: these countries with that slave currency called FCFA are vassals of France, and today more than ever it has been made clear to us. “Vassals” you asked? “How come? we are independent?”… well, explain to me why a sovereign country with laws, institutions, and a constitution, will not be able to handle elections without meddling from France as was the case in Cote d’Ivoire in 2010 and currently in Gabon in 2016.

gabon3After I heard the French prime minister tell the Gabon president that he needed to have the elections recounted “bureau de vote par bureau de vote”, I thought: could the president of any African country ask the French people to recount their elections? Could the president of any African country tell the French president that he needs to pack his bags and let someone sit on his seat because he did not win the elections fair and square? Well, for starters, elections in Europe, and in America are usually won in the 50-55% range, and nobody says: “the country is divided in the middle”. Second of all, no candidate proclaims himself president before the results of the elections are announced by the constitutional court or supreme court of the country, like we just saw in Gabon. Third, no African ambassador to a European country or the African union calls the headquarters of the opponent or drags the person supposed to read the elections’ results to a hotel the day/hour he is supposed to read (Cote d’Ivoire 2010, where the French and US ambassadors took Mr. to Hotel Ivoire, headquarters of the opponent to read the results of an election). Fourth, nobody, and I mean nobody, goes to TV to issue warning to Bush or Gore to let go because they lost or won. Nobody sullies the constitution of another country. However, for the past 6 years, we have seen the constitutions of African countries being trampled upon by France, the European Union, NATO, and the US. Now, during hurricane Katrina when countless Americans were dying and their government was not raising a finger, did we Africans bomb their land? Did anybody go to the UN security council and say this is outrageous? Did anybody even talk? Did we interfere in that country’s government, and laws? In November 2015 when there was a terrorist attack in France, did the UN security council say to Francois Hollande: “you are destroying that country, your security is not tough enough, basta … we will take it from here”? NO…

Libreville today
Libreville today

SO now when I hear French ministers having a say in the Gabonese elections, and some French journalists telling us “prior to these elections, Ali Bongo reached out to the Americans, looking for a rupture with France, how dare he?” I say “are we really independent?”