TINUBU DROPS TREASON CHARGES ON KIDS

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration has dropped charges on dozens of protesters, including children as young as 14, detained after participating in the #EndBadGovernance protests against the rising cost of living after Tinubu followed the International Monetary Fund’s advice.

Following viral videos of four children collapsing in court on 1 November, Tinubu ordered all detained children’s release on 5 November and called for an investigation into the conduct of police and officials involved. 

The children were among nearly 700 individuals detained, with some charged with treason and inciting a coup, among other charges, because authorities allegedly saw them flying Russian flags.

Sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4lzqe79x3o

https://trtafrika.com/africa/nigeria-frees-29-children-charged-with-treason-after-outcry-18228871

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-charges-76-including-minors-with-treason-after-august-protests-2024-11-01

THE MAN BEHIND AFRICA'S PARTITION

140 years ago today, on the 15th of November 1884, European powers came together and carved up Africa with not a single African in the room in what's called the Berlin Conference. This was the brainchild of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, and his thirst for German colonies in Africa led to a catastrophic tragedy. The Conference sparked the scramble for Africa among European powers. Participants drew arbitrary borders, disregarding cultural and political groups, causing disruption and conflicts. The result was the exploitation of Africa's resources by colonial powers. Bismarck's actions had devastating consequences for the African continent.

IS RWANDA MOVING OUT OF THE WEST’S ORBIT?

Western foreign policy has increasingly focused on isolating countries like Russia and China.

In contrast, Rwanda, one of Washington's key partners in Africa, appears to be strengthening ties with Russia. During the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum on 9-10 November in Sochi, Russia, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier JP Nduhungirehe said deeper cooperation with Russia aligns with Rwanda's strategy to achieve economic self-reliance through trade and investment over foreign aid. He said areas of possible cooperation include agriculture and civil security. 

The partnership between Rwanda and Russia has already produced a 2019 accord that involves sending Rwandan students to Russia to study nuclear sciences. Rwanda also works with Russia's atomic agency, ROSATOM, to build a nuclear power plant. The two countries have implemented a visa-free arrangement for diplomatic and official passport holders. 

Continued….. Let us know what you think this development means for Kigali, Moscow and Washington.

Sources
West isolating Russia to their detriment
https://www.ft.com/content/60e42ac2-03d8-4faf-ad88-9f92982420f5
https://fortune.com/europe/2024/04/11/germany-pay-reliance-russian-gas-power-chief-significant-structural-demand-destruction-energy-crisis/

News
https://www.rt.com/africa/607470-russia-help-rwanda-achieve-self-reliance/

Agreements
https://www.rt.com/africa/607470-russia-help-rwanda-achieve-self-reliance/

ROSATOM to build nuclear plant
https://en.sputniknews.africa/20241014/rwanda-partners-russias-rosatom-to-build-nuclear-power-plant--1068679412.html

Summit
https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1980737

BERLIN CONFERENCE: CARVING UP AFRICA

140 years ago, European powers redrew the map of Africa and kick-started an era of colonisation and resource exploitation - at what is known as the Berlin Conference. We break down how this occurred, who the main players were and its negative legacy and effects on the continent.

KWAME TURE BLASTS AFRICAN BOURGEOISIE

On this day in 1998, Pan-African revolutionary and icon Kwame Ture died in Guinea, Conakry. Born on 29 June 1941, Ture, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, moved to the United States from Trinidad with his family at 11. He led a life marked by a strong dedication to the Pan-African cause. In his mid-20s, he became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which primarily focused on organising and mobilising Black people in the US South to exercise their voting rights. He later oversaw SNCC members who co-founded the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, an SNCC affiliate focused on registering Black voters in Lowndes County, Alabama. Ture was at the forefront of this struggle throughout the 1960s, from the Freedom Rides (challenging segregation at bus stops) to the rise of the Black Power Movement. He later helped found the All-African People's Revolutionary Party.

Continued........The majority of Ture's last three decades were spent in the West African nation of Guinea, a testament to his commitment to Pan-Africanism. Here, he adopted the name ‘Kwame Tureaud in honour of Ghana's founding leader and Pan-African icon Kwame Nkrumah and Guinea's then-president Sékou Touré, two revolutionaries he drew a lot of inspiration from.

Despite becoming friends with many African leaders during his time on the continent, Ture never held back from calling out the worst tendencies of the African bourgeoisie. He pointed out that it was essential to understand that not all Africans are on the side of the masses and revolutionaries. In remembrance of this great son of Africa, here is a 1989 clip of him exposing the African bourgeoisie.

NEW ZEALAND: POWERFUL HAKA AGAINST BILL

On 14 November, 22-year-old Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, New Zealand’s youngest member of Parliament, led a protest on the floor using the indigenous Maori people’s Haka, a ceremonial dance and chant, against a proposed bill that seeks to redefine New Zealand’s foundational agreement between the indigenous tribes and the British Crown. Other MPs joined Maipi-Clarke when she started chanting the ‘Ka Mate' Haka and tore up what appeared to be her copy of the controversial bill. The protest caused Parliament to suspend the vote.

The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi between the British Crown and 540 Maori chiefs was signed to guarantee the protection of Maori rights, sovereignty and recognition in exchange for handing over governance to the British.

Continued......The bill calls for equality for all people in New Zealand, representing a threat to the Maoris, who went from controlling all land before British colonisation to becoming a dispossessed people, now making up about 20 per cent of the population.

The Haka performed in this clip represents defiance and resistance to colonisation. Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha (1768-1849) composed it to ‘stiffen the sinews, to summon up the blood,’ according to Timoti Karetu, considered a ‘godfather’ of the Maori Language Movement.

Video credit: Stuff on YouTube (@NZStuff on X)

Sources:

https://www.creativeteamevents.com/the-history-words-haka-ka-mate

https://www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/kmko/01/ka_mate01_sullivan.pdf

https://archive.org/details/hakadanceofnoble0000kare

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-brief

https://teara.govt.nz/en/ethnic-inequalities/page-2

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/15/thousands-march-on-new-zealand-capital-against-indigenous-treaty-overhaul

https://www.dw.com/en/new-zealand-maori-mps-disrupt-parliament-with-haka/a-70781928

While on a visit to discuss a tax dispute with Malian authorities, Australia-based Resolute Mining’s CEO Terence Holohan and two other employees were detained on 8 November.

Three years after a successful coup d’état set Mali on a course to decolonise and reclaim its natural resources, foreign companies exploiting Mali’s wealth are under scrutiny. 

Aside from auditing foreign companies' revenues to retrieve back taxes, Mali adopted a mining code on 29 August 2023 to increase the government's share of foreign-operated mines to as much as 35 per cent. The code also prioritises local investors and state-owned companies over foreign companies.

Continued............The US International Trade Administration reports Mali’s Ministry of Mines estimated Mali has 800 tonnes of gold deposits, 2 million tonnes of iron ore, 5,000 tonnes of uranium, 20 million tonnes of manganese, 4 million tonnes of lithium and 10 million tonnes of limestone.

Resolute Mining is the latest foreign corporation to be held accountable in Mali. Since detaining the CEO, the company’s shares significantly dropped, forcing it to halt trading on the stock market.

Continued......Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/resolute-ceo-still-held-mali-diplomatic-sources-say-shares-suspended-2024-11-14/

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australias-resolute-mining-confirms-ceo-two-other-employees-detained-mali-2024-11-10/

https://www.theafricareport.com/367989/mali-junta-detains-3-executives-from-gold-mining-firm-resolute/

https://www.a-mla.org/en/country/Mali

https://www.ft.com/content/da63f749-1ebe-42f7-b43e-b832962d5c49

https://miningdataonline.com/property/1005/Syama-Operation.aspx

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.gold.org/download/file/16615/Country-Profile-Mali.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj255vp-92JAxWHMlkFHRHwLKYQFnoECC4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2i02nO7rhJc-ZyCoPdXtJ2

https://thesudantimes.com/africa/resolute-ceo-remains-detained-in-mali-amidst-tax-dispute

https://www.mining.com/web/mali-seeks-160-million-from-resolute-mining-after-detaining-its-ceo

https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/gold-and-grievances-malis-junta-detains-resolute-ceo-seeks-dollar160m-payout/22slprx

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/resolute-shares-suspended-mali-demands-054018857.html

https://www.ensafrica.com/news/detail/9042/mining-legislation-reform-in-mali-strengtheni

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/mali-mining

TRUMP TO PAY REPARATIONS TO WHITE STUDENTS OVER DEI?

This video that resurfaced after US President-elect Donald Trump declared victory in the 5 November election shows him announcing universities would be fined and their endowments taxed for deploying Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) measures.

Trump said some of the revenue generated would go toward compensating students who do not receive the same treatment.

Many are wondering if Trump was suggesting reparations for white people. That would be ironic, given the US has yet to pay reparations to Africans in the United States for slavery, discrimination and human-rights violations they have experienced for more than four centuries in the US. Our people’s forced labour created the economic foundation of the country.

Continued.......It reminds many that since the US Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1964 to prohibit discrimination, both Republican and Democrat presidents have refused to implement and protect wide-ranging policies that raise the quality of life for Black, Latino, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Indigenous people, leaving the most marginalised groups in the United States under-resourced. High-ranking universities have said Affirmative Action ensures that a student body does not remain majority white and Asian.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against Affirmative Action at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, saying race-based admissions violate the US Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. Of the six judges who ruled in the majority, Trump’s three appointees swayed the court's decision.

Video credit: @Forbes (X)

Sources:

https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/donald-trump-to-pay-reparations-to-white-victims-of-racial-discrimination-claims-surface-article-115230699

https://x.com/keithboykin/status/1856396150011768837

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/29/affirmative-action-supreme-court-ruling 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/27/supreme-court-affirmative-action-admissions-history/?itid=lk_inline_manual_20 

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964

https://wrrv.com/trump-checks-new-yorkers/

https://www.instagram.com/vanlathan/reel/DCR3svqyZ4S/

https://x.com/feelmyhelpcomin/status/1856324921082728873

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW_wnSP7dAA&t=7s

https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/06/29/trump-cheers-amazing-affirmative-action-ruling-what-a-wonderful-day/

https://www.investopedia.com/supreme-court-affirmative-action-decision-2023-7555848

KWAME TURE: WE CAN'T BE POLITICALLY IRRESPONSIBLE

In this video, revolutionary Pan-Africanist Kwame Ture emphasises that our political responsibility should extend beyond just voting in elections - which take years to come round. We need to show daily commitment to the revolutionary struggle. He encourages us to educate ourselves and stay informed about current events to better guide our activism.

Ture left the US in the late ‘60s after being targeted by the FBI (which had secretly identified him as the man who would succeed Malcolm X as the dominant Black leader) and moved to Africa, where he became a prominent figure in the pan-African movement. It was there he changed his name from ‘Stokely Standiford Churchill Carmichael’ and campaigned for revolutionary socialist pan-Africanism. He played a key role in founding the All-African People's Revolutionary Party. Today, the AAPRP has a presence across the continent, from Guinea-Bissau to Kenya. Ture died on 15 November 1998 in Guinea, aged 57.

'PALESTINE WILL NEVER DIE' - LOWKEY'S SONG FOR GAZA

British-Iraqi rapper Lowkey, one of the most vocal supporters of Palestine, has used his online platforms to highlight the shocking scale of human suffering in Gaza at the hands of Israel's Western-backed military onslaught. 

Here's a fan (@omar.sala78 on Instagram) in Deir Al-Balah, Central Gaza, showing children enjoying Lowkey's song ('Palestine Will Never Die') as it plays on a large projected screen. The children sit in rows like they are in a dark movie theatre, a respite from the destruction around them.

Lowkey's song refers to suffering Palestinian children, striking a particularly painful chord given a recent report by the UN Human Rights Office stated nearly 70 per cent of Gaza's casualties are women and children.

Continued........Meanwhile, in July, the British medical journal The Lancet reported Gaza's death toll could be over 186,000 and climbing, given Israel has not relented in the latest escalation of the 76-year-old occupation.

However, as Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline on X) powerfully reminds the world, Palestine will never die.

Video credit: @omar.sala78 on IG

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5wel11pgdo

https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2824%2901169-3

https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/death-toll-in-gaza-could-exceed-186000-the-lancet-18181205