BOKO HARAM USING ISRAEL-UKRAINE-STYLE DRONES

The Nigerian Army has confirmed that Boko Haram is now using armed drones in its northeast region. These drones are harder to detect on radar, making defence more difficult. Senior military official Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar said these drones are similar to those used in Israel and Ukraine. He also noted that insurgents have shifted tactics to launch coordinated attacks on vulnerable military positions and use such events for propaganda.

While Boko Haram formed in 2002 and took up arms in 2009, the West backing rebels who ousted Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi (1942-2011) through the 2011 US-led NATO invasion added fuel to the fire. The ensuing chaos allowed Libyan weapons and ‘rebels’ to pour into Africa’s Sahel region.

Continued………. This influx helped Boko Haram sharpen its guerilla skills, fighting alongside more experienced groups in Mali, such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Boko Haram went from using low-cost AK-47 assault rifles to using combat vehicles designed for traversing deserts and anti-aircraft/anti-tank guns, according to The Week. As political commentator Dan Glazebrook (@DanGlazebrook on X) argued in 2015 on RT.com, ‘NATO had effectively turned over the entire armoury of an advanced industrial state to the region’s most sectarian militias.’

Nigerian civilians have paid the highest price, with 37,530 Boko Haram-related fatalities between 2011 and 2018.

Sources
https://saharareporters.com/2025/05/14/nigerian-army-confirms-boko-harams-use-armed-drones-borno-similar-israeli-ukrainian

https://www.infoplease.com/current-events/special-issues/what-boko-haram

https://www.globalresearch.ca/is-boko-haram-a-cia-covert-op-to-divide-and-conquer-africa/5431177

https://www.cfr.org/article/boko-harams-deadly-impact

https://www.counterpunch.org/2015/11/27/deadliest-terror-in-the-world-the-wests-latest-gift-to-africa

https://theweek.com/articles/447032/whos-financing-boko-haram

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boko-Haram

Our African proverb this week suggests that not all problems can be solved through confrontation. Every problem has its own unique solution. Some challenges require understanding, diplomacy and a flexible mindset.

BISHOP AMENUKU AGBLE: THE CHURCH MUST SPEAK ON IMPERIALISM!

The church remains one of the most influential and revered institutions in Africa. Yet, many times, it opts to uphold the status quo in the face of injustice, going against the teachings of Jesus Christ, whom the Roman Empire k*lled for his anti-imperialist preachings and principles. 

In this clip, Ghanaian bishop Amenuku Agble (@johnnyamenuku on IG) highlighted President Ibrahim Traoré’s revolutionary leadership in Burkina Faso, noting Africa needs more leaders, not politicians. Agble raised the issue amidst increasing calls from ordinary people on the continent and the diaspora that Traoré must be protected, given Western powers' history of assassinating or ousting revolutionary leaders.

Continued………On 3 April, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) General Michael Langley said during a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that Traoré's government nationalised gold to protect a 'junta regime.' That remark angered Africans, leading to a day of solidarity rallies and marches worldwide on 30 April.

Like many on the continent, he also argued that the church should advocate for African people. An example of this trend includes Kenyan youth demanding that church leaders take a stance during the 2024 protests against a finance bill that included tax hikes and programme cuts recommended by the International Monetary Fund. While Kenya suppresses calls for decent living standards, it has been leading an unpopular US-backed occupation in Haiti. 

Traoré came to power following a people-backed coup d’état in Burkina Faso. Under a Western-aligned leader, foreign companies primarily controlled the country's resources, such as gold. Of course, imperialist-dominated global and local media have branded Traoré a dictator for closing the doors on Western exploitation and pushing back against neocolonialism.

Video credit: @the_arm__y (YT), @the_arm__y (IG)

Sources

https://www.ensafrica.com/news/detail/9259/new-mining-code-enacted-in-burkina-faso-major

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czq60w351zjo

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/5/coup-in-burkina-faso-what-you-need-to-know

https://tcwanyanwu.medium.com/why-western-media-and-military-voices-are-calling-captain-ibrahim-traor%C3%A9-a-dictator-86b3319798aa

https://amp.dw.com/en/kenya-sends-more-troops-to-haiti-to-fight-gang-violence/a-71339807

KENYAN PILOT KILLED IN SUDAN

Fresh evidence points yet again to Kenya’s involvement in Sudan’s spiralling conflict. When Nairobi hosted the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and gave them a platform to announce a parallel government, a move that threatens to tear the country in two, it crossed a dangerous threshold - no longer a bystander, but an enabler of the RSF in a deadly proxy war. Now, the confirmed presence of a Kenyan pilot aboard a plane struck by Sudanese forces casts more doubt over Kenya’s claims of neutrality.

Two African pilots allegedly moving weapons to be used for the slaughter of fellow Africans met a grizzly end following a Sudanese airstrike on an airport in Nyala, South Darfur’s capital.

Kenyan Captain Michael George Oluoch Nyamodi and South Sudanese pilot Samson Ohide were reportedly k*lled in the attack, alongside 18 Emirati nationals - among them, four officials.

Continued………. The 3-May strike was launched after the plane made several logistical stops. It’s been tracked operating between Somalia and Chad. Chad has previously been outed as a transit hub for weapons shipments from the United Arab Emirates to its proxy, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary in Sudan.

Kenya has hosted RSF leader Hemedti multiple times, treating him with honours typically reserved for a head-of-state. Kenya’s president, William Ruto, also seems personally invested, once sharing a flight with the RSF’s deputy commander (Hemedti’s brother).

The proxy war in Sudan has cost millions of Sudanese lives. The International Organization for Migration reports that 15-million Sudanese have been uprooted from their homes (with 4 million fleeing to other countries). The UN says half of the country’s 50-million people face acute food insecurity. And according to the US envoy for Sudan, Tom Periello, by May 2024, the war had already killed up to 150,000 people.

Sources
https://archive.ph/Lu9sH#selection-1365.45-1365.60

https://deepnewz.com/kenya/sudanese-airstrike-on-nyala-airport-kills-emirati-officers-kenyan-pilot-targets-753d1210

https://deepnewz.com/kenya/kenyan-pilot-george-nyamodi-killed-sudan-rsf-mission-plane-registered-uganda-18-bf5f76a2

https://archive.ph/E4Ni3#selection-1297.71-1299.4

https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/sudan/humanitarian-crisis-sudan-statement-humanitarian-coordination-forum-hcf

https://dtm.iom.int/reports/two-years-conflict-sudan-visualizing-worlds-largest-displacement-crisis

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-accuses-rsf-of-sudan-genocide-and-sanctions-its-leader/ar-AA1x9ZAb

PIETER KRIEL TO WHITE SETTLERS FLEEING SOUTH AFRICA: YOU ARE NOT REFUGEES!

On 12 May, the Trump administration granted refugee status to a reported 59 white settlers from South Africa, predominantly descendants of Dutch colonialists, on the grounds of alleged persecution by the country’s government.

South Africa has countered the claim, with President Cyril Ramaphosa calling those who fled ‘cowards’ opposed to the policies his government is implementing to address the inequities caused by apartheid.

Activist and writer Pieter Kriel @pieterkrielorg (X) has also added his voice to the debate, arguing that crime affects all South African communities. For instance, police statistics show South African homicide victims are predominantly young Black men.

On top of that, the ‘white gen*cide’ theory has been widely debunked and dismissed recently by a South African judge as ‘clearly imagined’ and ‘not real.’

Continued…….. South Africa maintains that the US government’s decision to prioritise admitting white ‘refugees’ from the country while suspending a refugee programme for people in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo was politically motivated. 

In short, while South Africa grapples with crime and inequity, white South African persecution has no basis in facts. 

Video credit: @pieterkriel (X)

Sources

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/12/trump-afrikaners-refugees-immigration-00342029

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyj1198wy3o

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv2jlyl20lzo

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-us-refugees-trump-afrikaners-16e34760b93cfa66f15b4cd8380743c1

https://www.saps.gov.za/services/crimestats.php

https://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=737&id=5=5

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/22/trump-refugee-program

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2q937wlqgo

MALCOLM X STANDS FOR PALESTINE

On this day a century ago, 19 May 1925, Malcolm X, one of the most prominent Pan-Africanist revolutionaries, was born in Omaha in the US state of Nebraska.

Like many revolutionaries, Malcolm knew that the African struggle was fundamentally linked to the struggles of other oppressed people in different parts of the world.

One struggle Malcolm stood with was that of the people of Palestine. In early September 1964, Malcolm X visited Gaza to witness first-hand the horrors of the Israeli occupation. During the trip, he visited the Khan Younis refugee camp, which housed displaced Palestinians, which deepened his appreciation of the suffering of the Palestinian people. 

Continued……. Shortly after the visit, Malcolm X authored an article in the Egyptian Gazette highlighting the flawed logic of the Zi*nist project in Occupied Palestine, laying out the lack of logic or legality for the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. He also raised that the state of Israel also threatens African sovereignty. Though the article is now more than 60 years old, his arguments remain relevant today, especially as Tel Aviv ramps up its brutal onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza.

Rest in power, Malcolm X.

Sources

https://mondoweiss.net/2024/03/malcolm-xs-final-written-words-were-about-zionism-here-is-what-he-said

https://www.newarab.com/news/what-did-malcolm-x-say-about-palestine-gaza-and-zionism

https://www.workers.org/2025/05/85675

https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/socialist-viewpoint-us/mayjun_05/mayjun_05_21.htm

MALCOLM X'S REVOLUTIONARY TRIP TO AFRICA

Revolutionary pan-African icon Malcolm X would have turned 100 today. He was born 19 May 1925 to parents who followed the teachings of Black nationalist Marcus Garvey. He would go on to become one of the most revered figures in African history.

His trips to Africa in 1959 and 1964 were pivotal in shaping his evolving political ideology. These exposed him to newly independent nations, pan-Africanist leaders and vibrant anti-colonial movements. His experiences deepened his understanding of global racial and economic oppression.

He began drawing clear parallels between colonialism abroad and systemic racism in the US. He once said, ‘As long as we think that we should get Mississippi straightened out before we worry about the Congo, you’ll never get Mississippi straightened out.’

In Nigeria, he was welcomed as a returning ‘child.’ He engaged in dialogue with influential figures such as Egypt's Abdel Nasser, Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah and Tanzania's Julius Nyerere.

Continued……. During his Africa visits, Malcolm X spoke passionately about the need for the Black population to connect with global struggles against imperialism and capitalism. He embraced an internationalist perspective, emphasising the interconnectedness of Black struggles worldwide.

One century of iconic life and influence. Happy 100th, X.


Sources
https://africasacountry.com/2011/06/malcolm-x-in-africa1/

ITALIAN PM DRAGGED OVER ISRAEL HYPOCRISY

Italy’s support for what the International Court of Justice has called Israel’s ‘plausible’ g*nocide in Gaza has come under fire. Angelo Bonelli, Italian parliamentarian and spokesperson of the Italian left-wing political party Green Europe (@AngeloBonelli1 on X), denounced Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government on 14 May.

Italian support for Israel survived the 7 October 2023 escalation of Israel’s 77-year occupation of Palestine, with Italy immediately declaring its support for Israel. Thus began a hike in Italian arms transfers, such as the $2.3 million in arms and munitions sold to Israel in the final three months of 2023. In December 2023, Italy exported $1.47 million in arms, three times the value of its December 2022 exports. Meanwhile, Italian law forbids sales to entities at war or international human rights violators.

Continued….. However, Italian Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto defended the sales, saying they fulfilled outstanding contracts and that Italy had ascertained the weapons wouldn’t be used against civilians. Francesco Vignarca, head of a national pacifist network, however, criticised the lack of clarity on the arms sales and attempts to reform the export law.

Italy also hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announcing it would not fulfil its obligations to carry out an arrest warrant against him and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Italy's Foreign and Justice Ministries claimed immunity for visiting leaders is permissible under the Vienna Convention.

Israel’s massacres of Palestinians in Gaza, ongoing since 7 October 2023 with a brief reprieve in January 2025, possibly claimed more than 186,000 Palestinian lives by July 2024, according to the Lancet medical journal. Israel has also weaponised humanitarian aid deliveries, with convoys of trucks carrying essentials like food stranded outside Gaza as its population grapples with a hunger crisis. In 2024, the United Nations reported 100 per cent of Gaza’s people faced acute food shortages.

Video credit: la Repubblica (@repubblica on X)

Sources
https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-hamas-palestinians-aid-explainer-ecc0e70d5ff1120a04bf36626dfd96f4

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/europe/artc-italy-joins-france-in-granting-immunity-to-netanyahu-rejecting-icc-arrest-warrants

https://archive.ph/jhy9E#selection-1875.0-1875.55

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/europe/artc-italy-joins-france-in-granting-immunity-to-netanyahu-rejecting-icc-arrest-warrants#google_vignette

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163321

WE STILL HAVE HOUSE NEGROES AND FIELD NEGROES

Pan-Africanist revolutionary Malcolm X would have celebrated his 100th birthday today. In his renowned 1965 speech delivered just days before his assassination on 21 February at the age of 39, he drew a powerful distinction between the ‘house negro’ and the ‘field negro.’

Sixty years have passed since he was gunned down in what many contend was a US-intelligence orchestrated plot. In 2024, Malcolm X's family sued the FBI, CIA and New York Police Department for $100 million over the agencies' complicity. Their attorney, Ben Crump, said they believe these institutions ‘all conspired to assassinate Malcolm X.’

Yet, even today, as we continue the struggle against racism, imperialism, and neo-colonialism, we see the same tactics at play, with the oppressor often enlisting people who share our skin colour in the divide-and-conquer strategy.

Continued……For example, the United States recently attempted to manufacture consent for intervention in Burkina Faso through a campaign of character assassination against the country’s revolutionary president, Ibrahim Traoré. US Africa Command’s General Michael E Langley became the imperial mouthpiece, appearing before the US Senate Armed Services Committee to accuse Traoré of squandering the country’s recently reclaimed gold to fortify his position. Meanwhile, in what appears to be a carefully orchestrated smear campaign to delegitimise his revolutionary leadership, Western media and certain African media lazily circulated the same headline and story. In it, they claimed widespread support for Traoré is simply a product of 'disinformation.'

House negroes like Langley do not wish to see the master's house burning. They work against those like Traoré, who resist imperial dictates, reciting their master’s noscript to promote and maintain the status quo. Thus, Malcolm X's speech serves as a timely reminder that in our fight for true independence, some of our 'skin folk' are no more than tools employed by the oppressors to undermine the movements they seem to resemble.

Sources

https://www.themilitant.com/2015/7906/790650.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Jmw5o9ulA

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rxzndzl7yo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYjb6R489tM&t=45s

Perhaps another milestone has been reached in Senegal’s decolonisation process with the withdrawal of French military personnel from the Contre-Amiral Protet base, strategically located in the port of the capital, Dakar.

The French embassy in Senegal announced in a statement that the transfer happened on 15 May. In March, France had handed over two other bases, Maréchal and Saint-Exupéry. France plans to return the remaining French military facilities by the end of September 2025.

Elected in March 2024 on a Pan-Africanist agenda, 45-year-old President Bassirou Diomaye Faye had called for closing French military bases during a speech marking a notorious massacre. On 1 December 1944, French troops opened fire on around 1,600 unarmed ‘Tirailleurs Sénégalais,’ a corp of African soldiers who had demanded unpaid wages after fighting for France in World War II, k*lling nearly 400, according to some historians.

Continued……..
Senegal said the goal of the mutually agreed upon withdrawals is to ‘lay the foundation for a new strategic relationship built on shared priorities and mutual respect,’ which could mean possible continued cooperation with France. The base closures took place under the eyes of a joint France-Senegal commission. China-based publication Xinhua reports, ‘Both sides expressed their intention to establish a new framework for defence and security cooperation based on shared strategic priorities.’ 

The trend of booting French troops began with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), an anti-imperialist confederation of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger that ousted Western-aligned leaders. These three countries cut off ties with France after booting its troops.

Public outcry demanding an end to French occupation even led France-aligned Côte d’Ivoire (formerly the Ivory Coast) to boot French troops in February, raising questions if all efforts to close bases will move the continent toward Pan-Africanist unity.

Sources

https://caliber.az/en/post/france-transfers-
third-military-base-to-senegal-as-full-withdrawal-advances

https://x.com/FranceoSenegal/status/1923026231265550818

https://english.news.cn/africa/20250516/7bf2f1e79c444636aff30cd724e772a6/c.html

https://apanews.net/france-hands-over-military-base-to-senegal/

https://en.sputniknews.africa/20250517/1073176788.html

https://www.wavn.org/france-transfers-key-military-base-in-dakar-to-senegalese-authorities/

https://africabriefing.com/france-quits-military-base-dakar/

https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20241129-senegal-s-leader-says-france-should-close-all-army-bases-in-country

https://www.newarab.com/news/senegal-leader-calls-france-close-military-bases

https://english.news.cn/20241129/698175acadee400d9d4fc18526de2b19/c.html

https://diplomaticwatch.com/end-of-an-era-senegal-closes-french-military-bases/

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/senegal-follows-chad--seeks-to-end-french-military-presence

https://tass.com/world/1879807

https://apnews.com/article/senegal-france-thiaroye-colonial-massacre-tirailleurs-76db7190dcbc12349ff0d6ade82309b3

https://english.news.cn/africa/20250516/7bf2f1e79c444636aff30cd724e772a6/c.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/1/ivory-coast-says-french-troops-to-leave-country-after-decades

WADI HALFA: THE ERASURE OF NUBIAN CIVILISATION

Have you heard of Wadi Halfa? The town sits on the eastern bank of the Nile River in northern Sudan, just 30 kilometres from the Egyptian border. 

According to archaeologists, Nubians have inhabited the region for thousands of years, at least as far back as 1500 BC. For millennia, it has been a crossroads for civilisations and trade.

The Nubians, known for their rich culture and elaborate architectural heritage, have strong ties to the region going as far back as the Kush empire when they ruled Egypt during the 25th dynasty in the 7th to 8th centuries BC. In the 19th century, Wadi Halfa served as a port of commerce between Africa and the Mediterranean Sea.

Continued…….. In this clip, author and content creator Abir Ibrahim (@itsabiribrahim on Instagram) reminded us of how the Aswan High Dam's construction in the 20th century displaced tens of thousands of Nubians from Wadi Halfa. Today, many Nubians remain marginalised after being forced to settle in places like Egypt, with their culture and languages eroded. Archaeologists have estimated that as much as 90 per cent of the Nubian civilisation's historical record may be lost. 

Now, Nubians in Sudan, Egypt, and other countries where they have been scattered struggle to preserve what remains of their heritage.

Video credit: @itsabiribrahim

Sources

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sudan/regional-risks

https://newlinesmag.com/essays/how-egypts-aswan-dam-washed-away-nubian-heritage

https://www.jstor.org/stable/44947278

https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item:2933639/view

https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/oimp24.pdf

https://magdiamin.com/2015/03/02/wadi-halfa-a-painful-history/

https://journals.openedition.org/ema/2913

https://www.proquest.com/openview/dd0472be303165059e87dec94a828b18/1?cbl=1820943&pq-origsite=gscholar

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/12/sudans-anti-dam-movement-fights-the-flooding-of-nubian-culture