OUATTARA FORGETS HIS LOVE FOR COUPS!

Listening to Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara condemn the coup in Niger, you’d be surprised to learn he held very different views when one took place in his country in 1999. Moreover, he as good as committed a constitutional coup himself just two years ago, when he ran for a third term - in violation of a two-term presidential limit.

Ouattara says Ivory Coast will provide 850 to 1,100 soldiers to support any ECOWAS military intervention to reinstate Bazoum in Niger. An ECOWAS ‘standby force’ is being assembled, despite member states like Nigeria insisting the bloc is focused on diplomacy. Completely ignored is the high level of popularity of the coup among Nigeriens - a fact attested to even by on-the-ground polls conducted by Western outlets, such as The Economist.

Any intervention in Niger would be devastating for Africa, but lucrative for Western interests that have pillaged the country for decades.

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

Amid all the changes happening in the Sahel, one figure stands taller than many others - Burkina Faso’s leader, Ibrahim Traoré. His youth, his energy, his Pan-Africanism, his revolutionary zeal, his military fatigues and beret - all mark him out. But these attributes are strongly reminiscent of another charismatic Burkinabe leader - the man who gave the country its name under his revolutionary leadership, Captain Thomas Sankara. We don’t know if Traoré also has a penchant for playing the electric guitar and composing national anthems like Sankara did, but in terms of political will and Pan-African vision and determination, he’s the re-embodiment. Alas, Sankara and his cause were betrayed when he was assassinated in 1987. Will Ibrahim Traoré be allowed to push ahead with his transformative policies for the region, like his federation with Mali and, it’s hoped, Niger and Guinea? Here’s a quick look at what the two captains have in common.

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

AFRICA’S LOVE FOR CASTRO

On this day, August 13th, Fidel Castro would have been 97 years old. A towering figure in history and a revolutionary leader and statesman. Castro’s charismatic leadership and unwavering commitment to the struggle for independence and anti-imperialism for the African people earned him respect and love in Africa. Today we find out why.

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

As European football is about to kick off again and as anti-France protests rage through the Sahel including in Senegal, we look back at what former France international Patrice Evra said last year about his regret choosing to play for France instead of Senegal. What do you think of what he said?

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

THABO MBEKI: I AM AN AFRICAN

Politicians and poets couldn’t be more different… you’d think! Prepare to be stirred by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, as he delivers his 1996 speech, ‘I am an African’ - during his vice-presidency, as the nation adopted a new constitution. In this snippet, he channels our continent’s immense geography. The full speech has been dubbed a love letter to Africa. If you feel inspired to hunt it down or know it already, let us know if you think it hits the nail on the head about what makes us African!

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

AMIN: I GOT CASTRO TO CUT ISRAEL TIES

Africa Rewound: African history is world history, and sometimes good and bad leaders can impact the course of global events. On what would have been Fidel Castro's 97th birthday we look back and the boastful claim made by Uganda’s Former President Idi Amin, that it was his “very good speech” at a 1973 summit that got Cuba to cut ties with Israel.

Do you believe him?

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

BOMBING DEMOCRACY INTO AFRICA

The West is busy “bombing democracy” into Africa and other parts of the world, but is itself a sham beacon of democracy - says Kwesi Pratt, founder of Pan-African Television. He cites the example of America’s phoney two-party system - where both dominant parties back the country’s military adventurism abroad - and of Western ‘global’ institutions that discriminate against the non-Western part of the globe! And they want to impose their preferred leaders on Africa?

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

MALI STOPS FRENCH VISAS

In a tit for tat, Mali has stopped issuing visas to French citizens. And is pushing back strongly against a string of insults coming out of Paris.

Last week, France put Mali on its “red zone” list and claimed it was unsafe for people to visit. It’s embassy in Bamako then stopped giving visas to Malians.

Mali’s embassy in Paris has now hit back and reciprocated.

There’s widening fallout between France and the region after the coup in Niger.

It’s also seen Niger - along with allies Mali and Burkina - ban Air France.

That followed the carrier’s decision to stop flying to Niger immediately after the coup.

France’s flagship airline now stands accused of breaching the terms of its contract.

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

NIGERIA'S OSUN OSOGBO WATER FESTIVAL

Experience the vibrant pulse of Nigerian culture by taking part in the Osun Osogbo Festival! With roots dating back centuries, this annual celebration pays homage to the revered river goddess Osun, intertwining history with modern revelry. Brightly coloured clothes and a charged crowd make this festival a must-see. Devotees come to the river to worship the river goddess, to give homage to Osun for her life-giving waters and benevolence. Indulge in delectable local cuisine, explore traditional crafts, and feel the electric energy of unity and reverence during this spectacular festival in Nigeria. Tourists and locals join the joyful procession through the historic city of Osogbo to seek blessings and celebrate. Be sure to tick this festival off your bucket list when in Nigeria.

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

ECOWAS - THE NEW ASKARIS?

It’s 2023, but ECOWAS seems determined to continue a depressing tradition of colonised peoples fighting on behalf of their masters. In West and Central Africa, French colonisers used to deploy African soldiers known as ‘tirailleurs’ to crush rebellions and movements across their empire. Meanwhile, the British, Germans, Italians, Spanish and Portuguese referred to their African (especially East African) foot soldiers as ‘askaris.’ And in Belgian Congo, Africans were forced to brutalise other Africans while serving in a local army known as the Force Publique. Are ECOWAS soldiers now playing, or poised to play, the role of latter-day tirailleurs and askaris - by fighting on behalf of neocolonial interests in Niger? Share your take with us below.

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

VISA-FREE TRAVEL TO KENYA!

For Africans, travelling around Africa is like trying to ‘brush the teeth of a crocodile’, while for Europeans, it’s like 'having a cup of tea’.

That’s how Kenya’s foreign affairs minister summed up the visa nightmare facing many on the continent. However, Nairobi is leading the way to change this. It’s opening up its borders to fellow African Union members and abolishing visa requirements. It's hoped to boost trade long restrained by frontiers imposed during Africa's past colonisers.

To use another colourful phrase from Mr Mutua: ‘Let us remove the shackles of colonialism that are still embedded in our heads and be able to move forward.”
We’ll second that. Have a listen to his recent speech at an African Union summit.

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

NIGERIENS PROTEST AGAINST FRENCH BASE

Thousands of Nigeriens surrounded a French military base in the capital Niamey on Friday. Calls for a French departure have been loud since the military overthrew Western darling Mohamed Bazoum in response to his failure to curb insecurity and economic woes. The protestors were defiant as ECOWAS activated a standby force and mulls a military intervention.

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

Continued- NIGERIENS PROTEST AGAINST FRENCH BASE

Niger has been under sanctions since the coup, including power cuts from Nigeria.  The most vulnerable are on the frontlines as ECOWAS opts for collective punishment.  Hospitals are operating sub-optimally, businesspeople are working at a fraction of their capacity and hundreds of trucks are stranded with goods destined for Niger.

The West supports ECOWAS initiatives, and is suspected of pulling the strings.  Already, aid programmes to Niger have been suspended.  On the other side, neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso have denounced ECOWAS sanctions and pledged full support in case of intervention.  So does Guinea Conakry, which received a Nigerien delegation during the weekend.

A war in Niger would only serve Western interests.  NATO’s 2011 Libya bombing led to an influx of weapons and a ballooning of an islamist insurgency in the Sahel.  Millions of Africans fled their homes and have been subjected to the indignity of migrating to Europe, with more than 1,800 Africans dying in the attempt in the first half of 2023 alone.

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

NIGERIANS AGAINST WAR WITH NIGER

Hundreds of Nigerians rallied in the northern city of Kano to denounce a possible military intervention in neighbouring Niger by West African regional body ECOWAS. Protesters waved Nigerien flags and trampled on flags of Niger's former colonial ruler France, whom they accuse of being behind the push for military action.

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has been among the loudest bangers of the drums of war. In his capacity as ECOWAS chairperson, Tinubu has threatened the use of force if coup leaders don’t renounce power - and reverse the ousting of (France-friendly) former president Mohammed Bazoum.

The prospect of an imposed war with their fellow African brothers and sisters is not apparently one many Nigerians relish.

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

OUR REACTION TO CNN ‘EXPERT’S’ TAKE ON NIGER

The speed at which Africa is realigning with the new multipolar world, finding its footing and expelling imperialists from the continent has left Western media breathless. Believing their own propaganda line - that Africans need the West for stability and growth - they are clutching at straws trying to understand Africa's self-confidence in reclaiming its destiny.

In this CNN interview, host Zain Asher echoes the West's fear of an awakened continent when she wonders why Nigeriens are happy to depose a 'democratically elected' leader, then asks DC think-tanker Aneliese Bernard if the coup in Niger can be somehow undone.

The African Stream team unpacks this Western narrative in our latest reaction video - go to our YouTube channel for the full version.

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

JIMMY DORE ON HOW U.S. BOOSTS TERROR IN AFRICA

Even as Washington criticises events in Niger, it’s reluctant to designate them as a 'coup’ - because that would interrupt the flow of dollars to US military programmes in the country. US law prohibits assistance to the government of any country whose elected head of state was deposed in a military coup or in a coup in which the military had a “decisive” role. The president can bypass this law by issuing a national security waiver, but this would prove problematic as it would have to be taken to Congress for approval by lawmakers.

Such legal hurdles have not prevented the cutting of “certain foreign assistance programmes benefitting the government of Niger,” according to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

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

Continued - JIMMY DORE ON HOW U.S. BOOSTS TERROR IN AFRICA



In this clip, US political commentator Jimmy Dore - reacting to an article on this topic - claims that, since the US began anti-terror programmes in Niger, terrorism has grown by a whopping 30,000%. And he digs deeper into the real reasons why the US is fretting about Niger so much.

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

MELONI TO MACRON:
“AFRICA DOES NOT WANT YOU”

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Italy’s extreme-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is known for her despicable racist, anti-African views and links with fascism. But she was on the money here. Calling out France’s exploitation of Niger five years ago and blaming it for a surge in African migrants making the desperate journey to Europe. Obviously, her concern arises from her dislike for asylum seekers - her party, Brothers of Italy, has fascist roots. But when it comes to the cause of Europe’s migrant crisis - she isn’t wrong. She delivered this speech at an annual party conference in 2018 and also called out France’s destruction of Libya.

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

US HYPOCRISY IN LIBYA

The US Embassy in Libya has tweeted ‘concern’ after fighting ramped up in the North African country.

But isn’t this rich coming from one of the key arsonists that set Libya ablaze during the NATO-led intervention in 2011?
Since then, civil war has ravaged the country.

And things have just got a whole lot worse after the commander in charge of militia group 444 Brigade was arrested.

Mahmoud Hamza, was seized at Mitiga airport by the state-backed Special Deterrence Force.

Still, good to know America is urging ‘de-escalation.’

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

ETHIOPIA'S AMHARA CONFLICT EXPLAINED

Ethiopia is embroiled in yet another fierce local conflict. This time the country's army is pitted against militia groups in the Amhara region.

The clashes were triggered by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's order to dismantle regional security forces. Mixed in with that, there are tensions still spilling over from the Tigray War.

We break down what’s happening.

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

WOMEN’S WEDNESDAY: WINNIE MANDELA

In this episode of Women’s Wednesday, we celebrate Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

Also fondly known as the ‘Mother of the Nation’ in her country South Africa, she was a fearless advocate of justice for her people. Her legacy illuminated the path for equality and she’s remembered in history books as a woman of courage, determination and change.

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