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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SANKARA LIVES ON

For many Burkinabe, August 4th represents the true Independence Day for the West African Nation. On this date, in 1983, Thomas Sankara came to power, kick-starting a people’s revolution few thought possible. African Stream talked to residents of Ouagadougou to hear their thoughts on his greatest achievements.

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Forty years ago this week, military captain and Pan-Africanist Thomas Sankara seized power in Upper Volta.

He was only in charge four years before being assassinated, but his achievements were immense.
The region was re-named Burkina Faso and a popular revolution unfolded.

Sankara fought for the liberation of workers, rural farmers, women, children and the elderly. His policies acknowledged the intrinsic dignity and humanity of African people.

And he nationalised the country’s mineral wealth. Sankara showed how previously impoverished, exploited countries could transform the lives of their citizens.

However, in 1987, he was killed in a coup d’etat lead by former colleague Blaise Compaoré.
Corruption helped keep Compaoré in power for the next 27 years and Sankara’s good work was reversed
Burkina was set back decades.
To help you understand what happened, we’ve done a simple graphic.

The shocking differences between the two leaders cannot be overstated.

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South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has given notice: the era of giving our raw materials away for cheap is coming to an end! Speaking at the recent Russia-Africa Summit, he said Africa would now seek to ensure that the lion’s share of the wealth created by turning our raw materials into high-value products stays on the continent.

Africa is home to vast amounts of gold, chromium, titanium, platinum, cobalt, zinc, copper, oil and natural gas. Of the hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth generated by these resources, Africa currently gets a tiny percentage - most of it ends up in the pockets of rich Western conglomerates. It is time for Africa to flip this exploitative model to its advantage.

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In the wake of sanctions and manoeuvres by the West against Niger's military government, Niamey has banned broadcasts of RFI and France 24, media outlets funded by the French government. It’s the third time that the two media outlets have been banned in the region in less than two years - they were taken off air in Burkina Faso and Mali for providing a platform to terrorist groups and fomenting dissent against the two governments that replaced pro-France regimes. In their reporting of the latest events in Niger, the two outlets have focused on the condemnation of the new government by Western governments and regional bodies such as ECOWAS, ignoring the voices of the thousands of people who have thronged the streets to give their stamp of approval to the new leaders.

The new government has also revoked five longstanding military deals with former colonial power France.

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Continued - In the wake of sanctions and manoeuvres by the West against Niger's military government

The deals, which date back to the 1970s, were inked with previous governments to enhance security. But they have failed to curtail a growing Islamist insurgency in the country, one of the factors which triggered the recent military takeover.

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BLINKEN BACKS ECOWAS WAR-MONGERING

Gushing praise from the US for ECOWAS. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says Washington supports the West African alliance’s “strong leadership” on Niger. True to war-monger form, he said America backed the recent statements made by ECOWAS - which, let’s recall, included threats to intervene militarily in the African nation.

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Continued - BLINKEN BACKS ECOWAS WAR-MONGERING

The new leadership in Niamey, meanwhile, shows no signs of being cowed - neither by ECOWAS sabre-rattling, nor by US pressure. Thousands of citizens have been taking to the street to show their support for the country’s new direction, away from ex-coloniser France and its ongoing exploitation of the country in terms of resources and military bases. The US, as well as Italy and the EU, also have troops stationed in the country - a fact decried by locals.

Should ECOWAS carry out its threat of war, Niger has already received staunch support from fellow anti-imperialist governments in Burkina Faso and Mali - who have declared that any attack on Niamey will be regarded as an attack on them.

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'AFRICA IS NOT POOR'

What have Africa, Philippines, Mexico and Brazil got in common?
They are rich! Only the people are poor.

That famous line was used by American political scientist Michael Parenti while describing Africa’s exploitation over the last 400 years.
And his speech on Third World poverty resonates today.

Niger’s latest coup has again spotlighted exploitative relationships with France. Paris gets rich extracting resources from the West African state whose people get little in return.

It’s gone on for centuries and is the source of conflict. Parenti could have delivered this speech this week, never mind decades ago.

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SENEGAL TROOPS TO ENTER NIGER?

Senegal says its troops would back an ECOWAS military intervention in Niger. The bloc threatened to use force to restore ‘constitutional normality’ after soldiers took charge in Niamey.

Speaking at a press conference in Dakar, Senegal’s foreign minister claimed the power grab was ‘one coup too many.’

Last Sunday, Ecowas warned Niger’s elected president Mohamed Bazoum must be returned to office within seven days or face possible military intervention.

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