This!

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MALI SANCTIONED BY IMPERIALISTS POWERS

The US has slapped Mali with sanctions over its alleged collaboration with Russian mercenary group Wagner. It ratchets up the pressure, adding to EU sanctions imposed in the wake to Mali’s coup.

Bamako has been charting a more independent course for itself lately. It’s kicked out the French military, banned French NGOs and media outlets, and removed French as its official language.

It’s also sought new security partnerships with countries that do not share a history of colonialism or regime-change intervention on the African continent.

This has all clearly upset the West. But its sanctions will no doubt only end up hurting the Malian people by hindering the country’s economy.

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ANOTHER NAIL IN FRANCE’S SAHEL COFFIN

First Mali gave France the boot, then Burkina Faso - could Niger now make it a hat trick? One thing is sure: Paris is fast losing influence over its former colonies. In this latest edition of ‘Africa in 90 Seconds,’ our man Ahmed Ghoneim tries not to get too excited at the prospect of France getting driven out of the Sahel for good!

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NIGERIENS WANT FOREIGN
FORCES OUT!

‘Do not give in to blackmail!’ - that’s the message from many Nigeriens to their new military leaders, amid threats of an armed intervention. West African regional body ECOWAS has said it may use force if the government of deposed president Mohammed Bazoum isn’t restored within a week. Niger’s coup leaders have also alleged former colonial ruler France is planning to intervene - something Paris denies. Here are some more reactions from people on the ground in Niger.

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NIGERIANS ON NIGER COUP

Nigeria's president has condemned the coup in neighbouring Niger and demands his counterpart returns to power.

But that's not exactly the vibe on the streets of Abuja.
When we spoke to people in Nigeria's capital, their anger was clear.

They told us, in part, tensions are boiling over in the region due to years of poverty exacerbated by foreign countries exploiting resources.

On top of that, governments are turning a blind eye to what’s happening and ignoring the needs of their own people.

Have they nailed what's going on?

Your thoughts please.

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SANKARA ON IMPERIALISM

African coups are often dismissed as merely reactionary - not revolutionary. Well, today, we celebrate a shining counter-example to that idea: the seizure of power in Burkina Faso (then Upper Volta) by Pan-African visionary Thomas Sankara 40 years ago today.

On August 4th, 1983, Sankara and his compatriots in the Popular Front changed their country’s history forever. This extraordinary day marks a new era, the triumph of the Burkinabe people's aspirations for justice, equality and self-reliance, and the rise of a leader whose legacy continues to inspire the world.

Sankara's government swiftly implemented a transformative agenda to empower the Burkinabe people and foster a sense of national pride. A raft of radical reforms greatly boosted education and health, environmental conservation, and national self-sufficiency.

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Continued - SANKARA ON IMPERIALISM

Forty years later, the revolutionary spirit of this day is alive and well across the Sahel, where recent coups in Mali and Burkina Faso have brought about the expulsion of French forces, embassies and media - demands that emanated from the streets and were carried out by leaders Assimi Goïta and Ibrahim Traoré. And Niger too now looks poised for a radical change of direction after a military seizure of power.

That leaves the question of why coups are even still necessary. Well, as Captain Sankara puts it in this clip - imperialism is a bad student; it never learns and keeps trying to repeat the same old mistakes! Now we must expel that student for good!

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TRAORE'S HERO'S WELCOME

Some people wonder if recent coups in West Africa are popular. Well, in the case of Burkina Faso, the answer seems to be yes.

This footage shows how Captain Ibrahim Traore was cheered on the streets of Ouagadougou when he grabbed power last year. And it’s followed by images of similar scenes when he returned from the recent Russia-Africa summit. A quick look at his words and actions will help you understand this popularity.

In Saint Petersburg he questioned how Africa remains the poorest continent despite its resources.
He’s called for its unification and for Africans to fight poverty and imperialism. Traore has broken neocolonial ties with France and championed a federation with Mali and Guinea. He’s also standing firm with Niger’s army, following last week’s coup and warned against an ECOWAS intervention.

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Continued - TRAORE'S HERO'S WELCOME


These actions are resonating with Burkinabes, who draw comparisons with their first president and pan-Africanist Thomas Sankara. What’s more, Traore promises to improve security in a region where an insurgency has displaced nearly two million people.

Putting it simply, he’s giving his population hope. Forty per cent live below the poverty line and feel he’s the man to restore the country's dignity and empower the masses.

How much he can will become clear over the coming months and years. Although in terms of economic outlook, the World Bank predicts growth of five per cent by 2025. Perhaps this helps explain the jubilant scenes on show.

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NEPOTISM! SOMALIA'S
SLOWEST ATHLETE

It’s a video that’s gone viral.
An out-of-shape Somali athlete clocking the slowest-ever time for the 100m in an international competition.

Nasra Ali Abukar slumped over the line in 21.81 seconds during the World University Games in China.
But there’s little sympathy for the 20-year-old, amid claims of rampant nepotism.
It appears she’s the niece of the vice-president of the Somali Athletics Federation and was selected ahead of another runner who’d trained for five years.

The scandal’s been described as a national embarrassment by the country’s sports minister who’s promised an investigation.

Anyway, if you’ve got a spare twenty seconds, have a watch. Although be warned, she goes out of shot after the first five.

Maybe we’re being too harsh?

Give us your comments.

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TRAORÉ ON PAN-AFRICAN FEDERATION

The armies of Burkina Faso and Mali are as good as one - that’s according to Burkinabe president Ibrahim Traoré, who’s been sharing more details on Ouagadougou and Bamako‘s Pan-African federation. He also revealed that economic ties were being strengthened and that the federation was open to newcomers, with Guinea already moving closer. While regional body ECOWAS has balked at the idea of such a union, Traoré here points out that it’s what young people all over the region are calling for. Earlier this year, crowds walked 860 km on foot between Bamako and Ouagadougou to express their support for the Burkina-Mali federation. Traoré also makes clear that it’s only by uniting that the struggle against outside domination can be overcome. Let us know down below if you’d be up for your country joining!

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Following the widely-supported military overthrow of the French-aligned president of Niger, the West has cut 'aid' to the country to retaliate and arm-twist the new leadership into reinstating the deposed head of state. Shameful as the tactic is, using aid to control and manipulate African leaders is not a new concept but one that the West has used for decades. Pan-Africanist and revolutionary figurehead Thomas Sankara, who on this day 40 years ago became Burkina Faso's president, had warned fellow African leaders to be wary of the West's carrot-and-stick method of using aid and debt to keep the continent in the shackles of neo-colonialism.

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Continued - Sankara urged African leaders to unite against the World Bank and the IMF - and warned that if it was just his country, Burkina Faso, taking on these Western institutions, then he would not be alive for long. Sadly, as he predicted, Sankara was assassinated less than three months after he delivered this iconic speech on the 15th of October 1987.

The recent events in Niger show that the late Sankara's message is still as relevant as it was three decades ago.

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