On this day, 20 February, in 1895, Frederick Douglass (1818-95), a leading figure in the slavery abolition movement, died aged 77 due to either a heart attack or a stroke.

Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey to Harriet Bailey, an enslaved African woman and a white man whose details remain unknown. Though his exact date of birth is unknown, it is estimated to be around February 1818. He later adopted 14 February as his birthday.

Douglass was separated from his mother as a child and spent most of his early years with his maternal grandmother. His mother died when he was still a child. He spent most of his teens enslaved on different plantations.

Continued….. Despite slaveholders banning enslaved people from learning to read and write, Douglass found ways to educate himself.

In 1838, Douglass escaped from Maryland to New York by disguising himself as a sailor. He later moved to Massachusetts with his wife, Anna Murray (1813-82), a free African woman who helped Douglass escape his final enslaver. In Massachusetts, he changed his surname to Douglass. Here, he also got involved with the local abolitionist movement. In 1841, he addressed the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society’s annual convention. His oratory prowess mesmerised the audience, prompting his rise through the movement’s ranks.

Aside from his oration, Douglass was a gifted writer. In 1845, he published his first book, an autobiography, ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.’

He spent the 1840s travelling around the United States advocating for the abolition of slavery and suffering several physical attacks, including one in Pendleton, Indiana, in 1843 that broke his hand. However, these attacks did not deter Douglass.

In his later years, he was a newspaper publisher and held several government positions. He also advocated for the US Constitution to grant formerly enslaved people the right to vote.

Until his death, Douglass remained a champion of African people. Now, he continues to be a source of inspiration for all those standing against imperialist exploitation.

Sources:

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/frederick-douglass

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/frederick-douglass

https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/news/posts/frederick-douglass-abolitionist-journalist-reformer-1818-1895

https://www.biography.com/activists/frederick-douglass

https://www.nantucket-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/37300/FD-WALKING-TOUR-FINAL-2-003

https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/douglass/exb/visionary/FRDO497_deathHand.html

https://freedomcenter.org/voice/agitation-and-activism-the-life-and-legacy-of-frederick-douglass

https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/suffrage/Pages/bio/douglass.aspx

SILENCE OF RWANDANS ON CONGO IS A TRAGEDY

An unsettling silence envelops Rwanda. Kigali is complicit in the mineral war that’s tearing the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo apart. The UN says Kigali has sent up 4,000 troops across the border to assist M23 rebels in their bid to control the region’s most lucrative mines. M23 is guilty of multiple atrocities against the Congolese people. Yet Rwandans - despite their own tragic past - are silent.

Is that simply a reflection of Kigali’s tight grip over the media and public discourse? Or, like their president Paul Kagame, are they simply feigning ignorance about what’s happening in eastern DRC?

Continued…….. Claude Gatebuke, a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide and human-rights advocate, acknowledges that it’s difficult to voice dissent in what’s widely considered Rwanda’s police state. In this clip, he explains why, all the same, the muted response from Rwandans to what their government is doing to its neighbour in pursuit of profit - is a tragedy.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/03/africa/rwanda-kigame-troops-dr-congo-intl/index.html

http://www.hscentre.org/africa/silenced-critics-repression-journalism-rwanda/

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20240712-rwandan-mother-aims-to-prove-that-politics-is-for-all

FROM THE ALLIANCE OF SAHEL STATES TO THE UNITED STATES OF AFRICA

The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) is capturing the attention of Pan-Africanists and anti-imperialists worldwide for its courageous, outspoken leadership. But those on the frontlines pushing the AES forward are not just the brilliant presidents Ibrahim Traoré, Assimi Goïta, and Abdourahamane Tiani, but also the dedicated people who assert their Pan-African demands.

In this video, a Pan-African leader from the civil society organisation Headquarter of the Revolution, Pape Diallo, explained the urgent need and popular demand for the AES to move from a confederation—or a bloc of three countries—to a federation, meaning a single Pan-African country with a shared government and citizenship.

Continued……Diallo spoke about the long history of African resistance to slavery and colonialism and the fight to unify Africa to create a sovereign and self-determining superstate. Like many others, he sees the AES as a step toward that goal.

Video credit: Quartier Général de la Révolution (Facebook)

Nigeria has sued Binance in the Federal High Court in Abuja to recover a staggering $81.5 billion allegedly owed by the multinational cryptocurrency giant to the treasury.

Authorities say Binance must pay $79.5 billion for alleged economic damages for unlicensed operations and an additional $2 billion in back taxes and accrued interest, as revealed in court documents filed on 19 February, according to the Guardian.

They have accused Binance, the largest crypto exchange globally, of contributing to the naira’s (national currency) troubles. 

This lawsuit marks the latest chapter in the ongoing conflict between the Nigerian government and Binance. In February 2024, Nigeria arrested two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, in a meeting supposedly about legal matters. At first, the government hit them with charges of tax evasion and money laundering, but authorities eventually decided to continue with only four counts of tax evasion, according to the Guardian.

Continued……Binance, which operates in 20 countries and has no headquarters, had previously indicated a willingness to collaborate with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to address potential tax obligations.

The FIRS claims that Binance is liable for corporate income taxes because it has established a ‘significant economic presence’ in Nigeria. FIRS seeks a court ruling to enforce tax payments for 2022 and 2023, along with a 10 per cent annual penalty on any unpaid amounts. Additionally, it is pursuing a 26.75 per cent interest rate on these overdue taxes, calculated based on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s lending rate.

Sources:

https://www.binance.com/en/square/post/20549316058689

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/19/nigeria-binance-crypto-lawsuit

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/02/20/nigeria-sues-binance-for-usd81-5-billion-in-economic-losses-and-back-taxes

https://news.bitcoin.com/binance-faces-massive-81-5-billion-lawsuit-from-nigerian-government

RWANDA CANCELS BELGIUM AID

Rwanda has turned its back on a $99-million aid programme with Belgium - accusing the latter of blackmail. Kigali alleges that Brussels - together with the Democratic Republic of Congo - has been working behind the scenes to ensure Rwanda can’t access development financing so long as it backs rebels fighting in eastern DRC’s mineral war. Kagame’s suspension of Belgian aid is a strategic move to posture as a victim of Western interference while Rwanda continues its Western-backed looting of Congo’s resources. Kigali has long profited from the instability in neighbouring Congo. While African nations not relying on Western support is something generally to be applauded, is this an implicit admission by Rwanda that it values the illegal mineral trade more highly than peace in Africa?

Continued….. Sources:

https://archive.ph/93894#selection-1787.12-1787.16

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgyzl1mlkvo

https://docs.un.org/en/s/2024/432

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-63899461
https://www.hrw.org/report/2005/06/01/curse-gold

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/13/as-the-drc-battles-rwanda-backed-m23-whats-needed-to-stop-the-fighting

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/06/africa/dr-congo-goma-violence-deaths-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo

WORLD ADVANCES ON THE BACK OF CONGO’S PAIN

In this clip, @tothelefttotheleft7, an activist and organiser from The Future of Congo, rails against the world’s silence over the Western greed-fuelled, Rwanda-enabled gen*cide of the Congolese people. Her powerful speech was filmed at the ‘Rwanda out of Congo’ protest outside Kigali’s embassy in Washington DC (1 February).

As she notes, much of the modern world would be impossible without the resources of the Congo. The DRC provides over 60% of the world’s cobalt - used in everything from smartphones and laptops to electric vehicles - much of it, illegally mined and exported through Rwanda to global markets. Yet as the West advances technologically, the DRC and its people spiral deeper into misery and horror.

Silence is unjustifiable.

Video credit: @thefutureofcongo (Instagram)

Continued….. Sources

https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/democratic-republic-congo/faced-gun-what-can-you-do

https://cd.usembassy.gov/statement-of-concern-related-to-certain-minerals-supply-chains-from-rwanda-and-eastern-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-contributing-to-the-ongoing-co

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/5/2/blood-minerals-what-are-the-hidden-costs-of-the-eu-rwanda-supply-deal

http://cdn-globalwitness-production-2.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/archive/files/import/drc_release_uk_final.pdf

https://africanarguments.org/2024/11/children-and-the-coltan-wars-in-eastern-congo

https://issafrica.org/iss-today/could-fdi-be-rwandas-lifeline-as-donors-pull-the-plug

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-says-congo-rebels-generating-300000-monthly-seized-mining-area-2024-09-30

https://www.caritas.org/2010/02/six-million-dead-in-congos-war

https://drcongo.iom.int/en/news/internal-displacement-overview-2024-published

https://www.dw.com/en/dr-congo-people-flee-homes-2025/a-71440536

NIGERIAN MINISTER DROPS BOKO HARAM USAID BOMBSHELL

On 18 February, former Nigerian Foreign Minister Bolaji Akinyemi dropped a bombshell amidst revelations that the recently dismantled US International Agency for Development (USAID) had allegedly been funding t*rrorist groups like Boko Haram.

Akinyemi told Nigerian TV network Arise News that during an investigation into Boko Haram’s reign of terror in northeastern Nigeria, villagers reported seeing foreign pilots operating helicopters that delivered weapons and supplies to the insurgents.

Continued……During a congressional Oversight and Accountability Committee meeting on 13 February, US Congressman Scott Perry accused the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) of financing terrorist organisations. He claimed that the US funnelled nearly $697 million into initiatives that supported militant factions worldwide. Perry asserted that USAID’s funds, allegedly intended for humanitarian and educational purposes, had been directed to finance madrassas (Arabic for ‘school,’ though often referring to Islamic institutions), t*rrorist training facilities, and extremist groups like Boko Haram, ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

On 19 February, the US embassy in Nigeria issued a statement that the US had officially designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on 14 November 2013, including freezing its assets.

Akinyemi, who returned to academia after his time as foreign minister (1985-87), said the Obama administration tied Nigeria’s hands in the fight against t*rrorism when it refused to sell arms to Nigeria in 2014, citing concerns over human rights violations by the Nigerian military in its fight against Boko Haram. In July 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari accused the US of indirectly supporting Boko Haram’s extremist agenda by invoking the Leahy Law, which restricts arms sales to militaries accused of human rights abuses.

Boko Haram has been active since 2009, aiming to overthrow the Nigerian government and impose a radical interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, whilst displacing 2.4 million people in the broader region.

Video credit: @AriseTV (X)

Sources:

https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2025/02/14/u-s-congressman-drops-bombshell-claims-usaid-funded-boko-haram-isis-al-qaeda/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33634607

https://dailytrust.com/usaid-funded-boko-haram-other-terror-groups-us-congressman/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30006066

https://www.facebook.com/GarShehu/photos/a.1636528929894525.1073741828.1636468759900542/1650068531873898/?type=1&source=48&ref=m_notif&notif_t=like&_rdr

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2025/02/16/round-peg-and-round-hole-diplomacy-the-return-of-professor-bolaji-akinyemi-to-niia

https://www.facebook.com/TimesofIndia/videos/usaid-funding-isis-al-qaeda-boko-haram-big-storm-strikes-congress-hearing/1770120260388182

https://ng.usembassy.gov/u-s-condemns-boko-haram-continues-aid-monitoring-and-evaluation-systems

https://appliednetsci.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s41109-020-00264-4

https://www.cna.org/archive/CNA_Files/pdf/dop-2014-u-009272-final.pdf

The longstanding row between Mali and mining firm Barrick Gold over unpaid taxes is one step closer to resolution - with the Canadian enterprise agreeing to pay up $438 million. Bamako has yet to approve the deal, which would see arrested employees released, seized gold returned and mining operations resume. Like fellow revolutionary Sahel states Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali has been working to end exploitative agreements and secure a fairer return on its mineral resources.

Continued……. Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/barrick-gold-signs-agreement-with-mali-end-mining-dispute-2025-02-19/?taid=67b66bdd4babdc000171c0be&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/in-west-africa-canadian-mining-firms-come-up-against-bloc-of-independent-states

https://www.barrons.com/news/canadian-mining-firm-employees-arrested-in-mali-sources-3e682292

https://en.sputniknews.africa/20240928/four-employees-of-canadian-miner-barrick-gold-reportedly-arrested-in-mali-for-financial-crimes-1068456430.html

https://archive.ph/BDsaN

MALCOLM X ON U.S. COMPLICITY IN DRC

Sixty years ago on this day, 21 February, in 1965, Pan-Africanist revolutionary and human rights activist Malcolm X was assassinated at the age of 39 when he was about to address a meeting of the Organization for Afro-American Unity at Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom in New York City.

However, a few months earlier, in 1964, Malcolm criticised Moïse Tshombe (1919-69), a former Katanga separatist leader in Washington’s good books who played a role in Lumumba’s assassination and later served as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s prime minister. Malcolm denounced Tshombe for being a Western puppet, much like how many today call out Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for enabling a three-decade-long, Western-backed mineral war that rages in the eastern DRC.

Continued……In this clip, Malcolm responded to a CBS News reporter’s inquiry about ‘Operation Dragon Rouge,’ a covert military operation executed by Belgian forces, US forces, Congolese troops and mercenaries from apartheid-era South Africa on 24 November 1964. It k*lled two dozen out of 1,000 hostages in the short-lived People’s Republic of the Congo, specifically in Stanleyville, now known as Kisangani. Congolese fighters loyal to assassinated Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba (1925-61) used European and US hostages to protect their villages from US-backed aerial assaults.

Just 10 days before his assassination, Malcolm adeptly highlighted for an audience at the London School of Economics how imperialist media manipulates language and imagery to oppress Black people, both in Africa and the diaspora. He pointed out that the term ‘rebel-held’ was a strategic choice, framing the freedom fighters as enemies and justifying any violence inflicted upon them.

The US supported Tshombe and later the tyrannical Mobutu Sese Seko (1930-97), who permitted foreign corporations to exploit the DRC’s vast resources. Today, many monitoring organisations and activists say Rwanda and Uganda are guilty of taking part in exploiting the DRC’s mineral resources whilst receiving foreign aid.

Video credit: @cbsnews

Sources:

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsehistory/2015/02/11/brilliant-rhetoric-malcolm-x-at-lse-11-february-1965/

https://www.hnn.us/article/malcolm-x-called-him-the-most-impressive-black-man

https://web.mst.edu/lib-circ/files/Special%20Collections/mxebook.pdf

https://medium.com/ummah-wide/the-final-international-speech-by-malcolm-x-74f4e90f97a4

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/congo-decolonization

At the tender age of 21, most are still navigating the waters of youth, free from the weight of the world’s expectations. But Fredrick Allen Hampton, Sr (1948-69), was no ordinary young man. By his late teens, he was uniting rival street organisations (whom imperialists call ‘gangs’), feeding hungry people and igniting a revolution in his community. 

Continued……. A born leader, Fred was more than just a bright student. He was an athlete fuelled by a strong commitment to uplift his community. Hampton enrolled at Triton Junior College, immersing himself in pre-law studies, determined to weaponise the law against police brutality. His activism ignited early on when he took charge of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s West Suburban Branch’s Youth Council, transforming it into a formidable force of 500 activists.

Hampton joined the Black Panther Party (BPP) in 1968, becoming a self-styled revolutionary socialist. As deputy chairman of the national BPP and chair of its Illinois chapter, he didn’t just recite the party’s mantra, ‘Power to the People.’ He lived it, invigorating a movement that sought to dismantle systemic oppression. He was the architect of the Rainbow Coalition, a working-class, multicultural alliance that brought together rival Chicago street organisations under a shared vision of justice and equality. To stay close to the action, he and his partner, Akua Njeri, made their home in a four-room apartment at 2337 West Monroe Street, just blocks from the BPP headquarters.

As Fred’s influence grew, so did the fear of those in power. By 1967, the FBI had branded him and his fellow Panthers a radical menace. They unleashed a campaign that sent infiltrators into chapters to sow discord. A subsequent investigation into FBI misconduct would reveal the depths of their paranoia and the lengths they would go to silence voices.

Hampton’s life ended abruptly when a joint force of the FBI, Chicago police and the county prosecutor’s tactical unit fired 100 bullets into his home.

Post credit: @whostye (X) / @classwar.memes (IG)

Sources:

https://exhibits.stanford.edu/saytheirnames/feature/fred-hampton

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Hampton

https://www.biography.com/activists/a45988576/fred-hampton

https://www.instagram.com/p/DGQ5X8avwcc/?igsh=QkFFSV9YblplVA%3D%3D