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

NEW ‘BLACK FACE’ ATTACK ON TRAORÉ

On 4 June 1962, revolutionary pan-African leader and first president of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972) spoke about skinfolk who betray the struggle for liberation. During a conference in Accra for African freedom fighters, he said that imperialists ‘operate from European and African centres, using agents who I am ashamed to say, are often unpatriotic sons of Africa.’ He added that they buy ‘personal satisfactions with the betrayal of their countries’ safety and integrity.’

Continued…….. These words remain as relevant today as they were over 60 years ago. African Stream’s @Sannario_ looks at the latest hit job against Burkina Faso’s president Ibrahim Traoré - penned by an African hand attached to imperialist strings.

Sources

https://www.sunesislearninginitiative.com/insights/217/steps-to-freedom-by-dr-kwame-nkrumah

https://www.cfr.org/blog/cult-traore

https://guardian.ng/news/disinformation-fuels-support-for-burkina-junta-leader-in-nigeria/

https://www.channelstv.com/2025/05/02/disinformation-fuels-support-for-burkina-faso-junta-leader-in-nigeria/

https://www.gidipoint.com/disinformation-fuels-support-for-burkina-faso-junta-leader-in-nigeria/

https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.44J62NP

https://www.barrons.com/news/disinformation-fuels-support-for-burkina-junta-leader-in-nigeria-baee68bc

https://www.macaubusiness.com/disinformation-fuels-support-for-burkina-junta-leader-in-nigeria/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/disinformation-fuels-support-burkina-fasos-125546750.html

https://x.com/ADFmagazine/status/1918946253271912769

https://www.cfr.org/expert/ebenezer-obadare

MALCOLM X: 'YOU'RE MORE DANGEROUS SOBER THAN DRUNK'

This week marks the 100th birthday of revolutionary Pan-Africanist icon Malcolm X (19 May 1925 - 21 February 1965).

The founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity clearly understood the dangers of escapism for the liberation of African people. In this 1963 video clip, Malcolm X highlighted how entertainment and drugs have distracted descendants of enslaved people in the United States. It's much like the 'bread and circuses' of ancient Rome.

Continued……..
Many decades later, the Pan-Africanist's remarks ring true. Capitalist entertainment companies have hijacked and diluted cultural products rooted in radical Black consciousness, such as hip-hop, turning the art form into a medium that glorifies misogyny, drug and alcohol use, and self-hate. The ongoing case of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, a hip-hop megastar and record executive accused of s*x trafficking, s*xual assault and racketeering, is an example of the degenerate influence.

While distracted, we cannot agitate for our interests. For example, no comprehensive plan exists to compensate Africans in the United States for their ancestors' forced labour. Further, the over-policing of Black communities feeds our people into the US prison-industrial complex.

As Malcolm X said, the white man worries when the African stops dancing, stops drinking and stops playing to hegemonic narratives that were created for us.

How powerful we can be if we avoid distractions and focus our collective energies on the struggle for the total liberation of African people worldwide!

P Diddy video credit: @LegacyDistribCo (X)

Sources

https://janicesellis.com/black-are-readily-accepted-in-sports-and-music/

https://www.city-journal.org/article/how-hip-hop-holds-blacks-back

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/cassie-diddy-settlement-alleges-rape-trial-1236398358/

https://www.thecrimson.com/column/where-rap-meets-race/article/2018/4/4/whererapmeetsrace-installment4/

https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/News/story?id=694982&page=1

https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2017/07/ucla-study-pro-social-lyrics-record-labels/

https://www.thestranger.com/sports/2017/09/25/25432524/why-the-over-representation-of-black-americans-in-professional-sports-is-not-a-good-thing

RUTO’S ABDUCTIONS U-TURN

Has Kenya’s president William Ruto let the cat out of the bag? In August last year, he denied any knowledge of abductions of protesters by his security forces. But during a media conference on Monday, he confirmed that all abductees had been returned to their families.

Recall that, in June 2024, Kenyans protested in huge numbers against IMF-backed tax increases (on everything from bread to wheelchairs). The government’s response was a vicious crackdown, marked by arrests, abductions and killings.

Continued……. While Ruto now admits there were abductions, some families don’t believe his claim that all abductees have been returned. For example, Mary Nduta continues looking for her son, who was reportedly abducted by men that identified themselves as police in October 2024.

Do you trust Ruto?

Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKQIdIwn0uM

https://citizen.digital/news/president-ruto-there-are-no-missing-persons-all-abducted-kenyans-have-returned-home-n362615

https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/112008-ruto-accused-lying-about-abductions-list-missing-kenyans-emerges

NIGERIA PAID OFF IMF DEBT WITH SOVEREIGNTY

Revolutionary pan-African icon Thomas Sankara once made a prophetic plea: ‘If we do not pay, the capital lenders will not die; if we pay, we will die. We cannot pay, and we don’t want to pay.’ The former Burkinabe president said this in a speech at the Organisation of African Unity summit in 1986 in Addis Ababa. Less than a year later, Sankara was killed! Decades on, his call goes unheeded.

In this video, Moussa Ibrahim, the former spokesman for Muammar Gaddafi’s revolutionary government, gives his take on Nigeria’s announcement on 8 May 2025 that it had paid off its IMF debt. Abuja had borrowed $3.4 billion during the COVID-19 crisis.

Continued…….. But what was the cost? IMF loans come with painful conditions attached, such as the scrapping of subsidies and the devaluation of national currencies. In this clip, @_moussa_ibrahim (X)—the former spokesperson for deposed ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi—shares his take on whether Nigeria’s IMF loan was worth it.

To satisfy the IMF, President Bola Tinubu floated the naira, which shed 70% of its value, badly harming Nigerians’ purchasing power. A fuel subsidy was removed, sending pump prices skyrocketing. Amid this austerity, Nigeria experienced its highest food inflation in 28 years.

It’s funny how the IMF never demands that corruption be rooted out. In Nigeria, this reportedly sucked $20 trillion from the economy between 1960 and 2005. Much of this wealth is in Western jurisdictions like the City of London and the Cayman Islands.

Video Credit: @_moussa_ibrahim (X) and @moussa.ibrahim.in.english (Insta)

Sources
https://www.documenta14.de/en/south/37_a_united_front_against_the_debt
https://www.facebook.com/Sankaralebt/posts/if-we-do-not-pay-the-capital-lenders-will-not-die-if-we-pay-we-will-die-we-canno/919654058103684/

https://archive.ph/Pcegg#selection-1995.3-1998.0

https://www.academia.edu/110662387/Analysis_on_IMF_Loan_Conditions_with_more_Detrimental_Impact_on_the_Economy_A_Case_Study_of_Nigeria

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/6/nigerias-petrol-use-falls-after-end-of-subsidy-regulator-says

https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/nigerian-inflation-rate-climbs-to-28-year-high-on-food-costs

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377297627_A_CHRONOLOGY_OF_CORRUPTION_AND_LEADERSHIP_WOES_IN_NIGERIA_1960_-2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/opinion/pandora-papers-britain-london.html
https://www.ft.com/content/6dab83e4-4320-4867-9848-8d298023c324

DUTCH GOV’T SEES RED FOR SUPPORTING ISRAEL

On 18 May, The Netherlands witnessed one of the largest public demonstrations in two decades, with as many as 100,000 protesters demanding the Dutch government cease its political, economic, and military support for Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza.

Protesters symbolically created a ‘red line’ by wearing red and marching for five kilometres around the centre of The Hague, which houses the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). A ‘red line’ is a diplomatic term aimed at compelling authorities to adhere to a moral and legal threshold lest they face consequences.

A 2024 survey by market researcher Ipsos I&O showed that more than half of the Dutch people want the Netherlands to stop supplying weapons to Israel, and 63 per cent want the government to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Continued………. In February 2024, a Dutch court ruled that the Netherlands must halt sending parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel due to its ongoing attacks on Gaza. The government is now evaluating military and dual-use exports to Israel case-by-case.

The Netherlands’ traditional support for Israel is also under pressure within the ruling coalition. Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), holds the most parliamentary seats and is a strong pro-Israel advocate. Wilders has accused pro-Palestine demonstrators of supporting H*mas, saying they are ‘confused.’ 

In contrast, Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp of the centre-right New Social Contract (NSC) party has adopted a more critical stance, urging the EU to reassess its trade deal with Israel due to the Gaza aid blockade, which he views as a violation of international law.

Israel’s Western-backed onslaught on Gaza and the Palestinian people has k*lled over 61,700, according to Gaza authorities, but other analysts put the figure much higher. In July 2024, British medical journal The Lancet estimated the death toll at over 186,000.

Will the people’s voices be heard, or will they be ignored?

Sources

https://www.timesofisrael.com/huge-protest-in-the-hague-demands-dutch-government-draw-red-line-on-gaza-war/

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/-draw-a-red-line-for-gaza-protesters-rally-in-the-hague-demanding-dutch-action/3572458#

https://x.com/nourdeenw/status/1924132136598098080

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/5/19/tens-of-thousands-march-in-the-netherlands-to-protest-against-gaza-genocide

https://paxforpeace.nl/news/majority-of-dutch-people-oppose-to-arms-supplies-to-israel/

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/arms-exports-israel-must-stop-immediately-un-experts?ref=tumbleweird.org

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/dutch-far-right-leader-seeks-to-legitimize-israels-genocide-with-anti-islamism/3350708

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/05/19/tens-of-thousands-protest-in-the-hague-to-demand-dutch-government-action-on-gaza-war

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/dutch-court-order-to-halt-f-35-part-exports-to-israel-may-influence-other-nations-says-oxfam-policy-advisor/3135423

https://www.politico.eu/article/the-netherlands-will-control-arms-exports-to-israel-more-closely

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/23/netherlands-tilts-to-the-right-with-geert-wilders-poll-victory

https://www.government.nl/government/members-of-cabinet/caspar-veldkamp

https://www.yalejournal.org/publications/crossing-the-red-line-international-legal-limits-on-policy-options

RSF LOSES LAST BASE IN KHARTOUM STATE

Momentum in Sudan’s proxy war appears to be with the country’s army. On Monday, it claimed another critical victory against the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, forcing the United Arab Emirates proxy out of its remaining stronghold in Khartoum State.

This video, which has emerged online, purports to show locals in the Al-Salha district celebrating the national military’s entry. Fighting there has been raging for weeks.

According to a group of researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, more than 61,000 people were k*lled in Khartoum State during the first 14 months of the war (which started 15 April 2023).

Continued…….. Al-Salha is strategically essential. It contains key infrastructure - roads, a train station and a military camp. At the end of March, the army recaptured most of Khartoum’s capital - including the airport and Presidential Palace. In January, it wrested back control of Wad-Madani - a vital commercial, agricultural and transport hub in central Sudan, which raised hopes that the devastating war could be concluded.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over two years of fighting have displaced more than 14 million people. Over 3 million Sudanese have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, and nearly half of the country’s population is facing acute malnourishment. According to the UN, Sudan is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, but it gets relatively little coverage compared to other conflicts.

Sources

https://sudantribune.com/article301092/

https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2024/invisible-and-severe-death-toll-sudan-conflict-revealed

https://theconversation.com/the-battle-for-khartoum-tracking-sudans-war-over-two-years-253242

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/12/could-the-sudanese-armys-capture-of-wad-madani-be-a-turning-point-of-war

THOMAS SANKARA MAUSOLEUM UNVEILED IN BURKINA FASO

Burkina Faso’s revolutionary former president, Captain Thomas Sankara (1949 - 1987), remains a towering presence in his home country - figuratively and, now, also literally.

On 17 May 2025, Ouagadougou unveiled its new Thomas Sankara Mausoleum. Designed by acclaimed Burkinabe architect Francis Kéré, the 87-metre-tall structure is a bold statement on African self-reliance, unity and resilience.

The 14-hectare site includes the building in which Sankara drew his last breath. It’s now encircled by a reflective water feature. And a tower offers panoramic views of the capital.

The space includes green parks, community centres and educational hubs, where Sankara's radical ideas will continue to inspire generations. Our short video gives you a glimpse.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

The concept of white supremacy emerged as an ideology to dehumanise African and Indigenous peoples worldwide, thereby justifying their exploitation in the service of capitalist imperial expansion. Capitalism inherently depends on hierarchical structures. As Pan-Africanist Malcolm X (1925-65) astutely pointed out, it cannot exist without r*cism, since the ruling class employs race as a tool to cement and perpetuate these hierarchies. Moreover, r*cism functions as part of a divide-and-conquer strategy against the working class to prevent collective resistance as a united front against the minority ruling elite.

The founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity would have turned 100 on 19 May. Six decades since his tragic assassination, his speeches and words still resonate deeply and reflect present-day realities.

Continued……Sources

https://www.lasairdhearg.com/you-cant-have-capitalism-without-racism/

https://www.socialistalternative.org/2005/07/01/you-cant-have-capitalism-without-racism-looking-back-at-malcolm-x-1925-1965/

POWERFUL U.S. THINK TANK PUSHES NIGERIA CARVE-UP

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is an influential think tank that has pushed multiple recommendations into US government policy. Now, it’s turned its attention to Balkanising - dividing - Africa’s most populous country. Over the past nine months, AEI’s senior policy fellow, Michael Rubin, has published a series of articles on the AEI website. These urge Washington to use its diplomatic and military power in favour of Biafran separatists in Nigeria’s gas-rich southeast, which would facilitate the country’s breakup, ostensibly to ‘protect oppressed Christians’ against Nigeria’s ‘hostile Islamic majority.’

Continued……. There is indeed a recorded pattern of violence in Nigeria’s Northern and Middle Belt regions that disproportionately affects Christians, a problem that needs urgent resolution. However, it is also a completely different issue from Biafran separatism - a detail Rubin conceals in his articles. He omits critical information, such as the fact that Nigeria’s population is almost evenly split between Christianity and Islam. He also fails to note that the geographical areas affected by religious violence are ethnically and geographically distinct from those linked to Biafran separatism.

Rubin forgets to mention that modern Biafran ethnic separatism is heavily influenced by and associated with Zionism, with the modern Biafran flag featuring a Star of David. The separatists themselves have never characterised their struggle as Christian nationalism. Most dangerously of all, Rubin makes multiple references to violent separatist leader Simon Ekpa - currently on trial for terrorism in Finland - as a ‘persecuted African dissident.’

Why is Rubin intentionally muddying up issues and mischaracterising violent extremists as ‘dissidents’? Some suspect he’s creating a fictitious premise for intervention, laying the groundwork for a destructive, US-led neo-colonial resource-exploitation war. Any such intervention would Balkanise Africa’s most populous country and create a serious setback for African unity.

Our colleague @DavidHundeyin breaks it down.

Sources

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/virtue-signaling-gets-people-killed-there-are-no-shortcuts-to-palestinian-statehood/

https://israelrising.com/why-an-independent-igbo-israelite-state-is-necessary-in-west-africa/

https://israelrising.com/israel-biafra-strategy/

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/can-christianity-survive-nigerian-unity/

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/biafra-declares-independence-a-renewed-quest-for-freedom/

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/finlands-persecution-of-african-dissidents-betrays-its-top-freedom-ranking/

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Enterprise_Institute

https://dailypost.ng/2024/08/22/simon-ekpa-commends-aei-fellow-rubin-over-calls-for-us-support-of-biafra-liberation/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nigerian-civil-war

https://yle.fi/a/74-20162231

https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/12/458372