Afrika in Focus Special: Africa Day Tribute - Revolutionary Leaders and the Struggle for Continental Unity and Freedom

Embark on a journey through the revolutionary heartbeat of Africa with me, Kwame, as we honor the legacy of Africa Day and the fearless leaders who paved the way for the continent's future.

In this powerful episode, we dissect the historical and ongoing struggles for independence and self-determination, setting the stage for a discussion on the continent's transformative uprisings.

From the shadows of colonialism to the present fight against Western dominance, we pay homage to the unyielding African spirit, celebrating icons such as Kwame Nkrumah and Haile Selassie, while also mourning the silenced voices of African leaders who dared to stand up to external powers.

Witness the rise of a new generation of revolutionary leaders as they navigate a treacherous path toward sovereignty and self-reliance, undeterred by threats and foreign skepticism.

In an era proclaimed by the United Nations as the Decade of African Renaissance, we delve into the strategic alliances and regional pacts shaping Africa's destiny.

With an astrological nod to the Age of Aquarius, symbolizing rebirth and solidarity, this discussion examines both the promise and peril of Africa's reawakening. We scrutinize the role of international partnerships, particularly with Russia, urging vigilance to ensure these relationships bolster, rather than undermine, Africa's autonomous aspirations. Join us for an unflinching look at the continent's quest for unity and freedom, a narrative that resonates with resilience and the collective pursuit of a prosperous future for all Africans.

Sources:

Burkina Faso: Ibrahim Traoré Dedicates Over 78 Billion CFA Francs in Equipment to Enhance Agricultural Sector – AfriSQuare

Burkina Faso to launch its first gold refinery by the end of 2024 - Ecofin Agency

- Burkina Faso Expels French Diplomats for 'Subversive Activities' - allAfrica.com

Senegal's newly elected President announces immediate probe and renegotiation of all Oil, Gas and Mining contracts han

Chapters

• 0:05 Revolution in Africa
• 17:13 African Leaders in Revolutionary Times

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to this week's edition of Africa in Focus with myself Kwame, ghanaian broadcaster, writer, journalist, podcaster and entrepreneur. And in this week's edition of Africa in Focus, it's revolution in Africa has the revolution arrived? This is what is the focus on today, talking about the recent uprisings in five countries in West Africa. That's signifying a true African revolution. So, and we'll talk about the challenges and solutions also. So, before we get into the podcast, if you like what you hear, please share to your friends, your family, social media networks. Also subscribe to the Ghana African Focus Podcast on YouTube. We're on YouTube now. So if you want to subscribe on YouTube, please do Just look for Ghana African Focus on YouTube. We're on YouTube now. So if you want to subscribe on YouTube, please do Just look for Ghana Africa In Focus on YouTube, and we're going to get at least 200 subscribers by the end of the year. It doesn't cost anything. So please subscribe to the Ghana Africa In Focus podcast on YouTube. Also, hit the notification bell, Meaning that every time I upload a new podcast, youtube will notify you of that. You can also subscribe to spotify podcast as well. Again, look out for the ghana african focused podcast on spotify and again hit the follow button, meaning that you will also be notified by spotify every time I release a new podcast. Okay, and if you are wanting to come to Ghana, you know, do business, even though this climate, you know, but we can help you with that. You know, if you want to buy land, buy property, we do offer a consulting service where we can tell them, make a package for you. So if you are interested in wanting to do business in Ghana, buy property, buy property by land, then I will leave you my email address in the front of the podcast and you can arrange to book your consultation with myself and we can give you a lot of advice, a lot of tips. What have you? Alright? So let's get into the podcast. Looking at revolution in Africa on this Africa day weekend? Okay, so looking at revolution in Africa on this Africa Day weekend? Okay.

Speaker 1: 2:28

So the 25th of May is Africa Day, or was Africa Day, and that was a day was founded upon in May 1963, when the likes of Osatio Kamekrumah of Ghana, emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, mujibu Kita of Mali, sekuture of Guinea Conakry and those other great African, they all met in Adesalba in 1963, when 32 African countries were independent, and those other great African leaders. They all met in Addis Ababa in 1963 when 32 African countries were independent, and they had that meeting to usher in a new sense of African nationalism under the guise of the African, or rather the Organisation for African, unity, and the 25th of May was declared a national holiday therefrom, which many currently in Africa celebrate today. So that's a bit about how this day, africa Day, was founded on the 25th of May 1963 and it celebrates most of the African continent. How this day, africa Day, was founded on May 23, 1963. And it's a British most of the African continent and in some countries it's also a public holiday.

Speaker 1: 3:53

But to cut a long story short, you know many countries in Africa, or rather all the countries in Africa, were not independent. The independent was a. It was a trick by the, the European, who colonized this for more than 200 years after enslaveness, and so you know they gave us a national anthem and a flag, but that didn't mean real independence, self-determination forging, etc. But that didn't mean real independence, self-determination, forging one's destiny into another, etc. So you know, and you know attempts by African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, you know, to sort of shake the yoke of white domination, western imperialism. You know they were, you know, even though Nkrumah tried to do what he did in Ghana for those six short years when Ghana became a republic, you know the enemy, the European, you know, wanted Nkrumah, basically dead, because obviously Nkrumah was a threat to them maintaining their stronghold. Wanted in criminal, basically dead, because obviously in criminal was a threat to them maintaining their stronghold on the African continent. And so in criminal was removed from power in February 24, 1986.

Speaker 1: 5:18

That I call Garnet de la Shame and if you are a subscriber you can find that podcast in the archive Garnet Derrushame, the movie of Carmen Kruma, february 24, 1966. So you know, african emancipation, self-determination, is not what the European was, because the European has always seen Africa and African people as children that need to be guided and that need to be sorted out in the future, or that need to be guided as to what the future is, and even more so under those African countries that were colonised by France. So, if you recall, I did a couple of podcasts about France, why France should leave Africa. And also you know, within that podcast it contains that wicked French colonial agreement within these 14 African countries that allows France to steal upwards of 1.5 trillion euros a year from these 14 African countries. So these African countries in so-called French-speaking West Africa are among some of the poorest in the world because the French, under this agreement, has melt those countries basically dry, and so you know the, under this wicked, killing agreement, has melted those countries basically dry, and so you know the Africans will to be free from European, western imperialism, have been forwarded many, many opportunities.

Speaker 1: 7:00

Like I said, like Kambing Krumah were killed. Other leaders, like Muhammad Gaddafi was killed. Like I said, you know, laisa Kwame, nkrumah, pachisi Mumba were killed. Other leaders, like you know, muammar Gaddafi was killed. There have been a lot of, you know, assassinations on African leaders since you know, lumumba in 1961. To me, that was the first great assassination on the African continent in 1961, if you remember. And so you know, our emancipation, our struggle for true freedom and equality as African people right, is still something that we have yet to achieve.

Speaker 1: 7:40

However, and this is the gist of my podcast today, there was a change when we see what's going on in five African countries. Four of them are French-speaking, one of them is Portuguese, so the Portuguese country is Guinea-Bissau and the French-speaking countries are Senegal, mali, burkina Faso and Niger. These five countries have now begun to take off the shackles of white supremacy, western domination, and are now charting a course whereby they are now the masters of their destinies and also self-determination self-determining, rather, the future of their people. Years beginning with the for me, I call it uprising, I don't call it coups. Uprising against white supremacy in Africa, particularly West Africa. It began in 2022 with Mali and, and then Guinea-Bissau, and in 2023, we saw Burkina Faso and Niger also have uprisings, which have been military, so to speak, but they've been bloodless military uprisings. And then this year, 2024, I think, february we saw young brother Bismu Faye becoming Africa's longest leader, at 40 or 41, when he won the Senegal election after having been released from prison, him and his brother Songo, having won the elections by defeating the incumbent who wanted to hold them to power, macky South, yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:48

And so what we see in those five African countries, yeah, is a reawakening of the African spirit in terms of the African wants to be free from Western dominance, from Western interference and from white supremacy, and, in particular, the French speaking African countries, because, if you recall, under that French colonial agreement, these countries literally are slaves to the French and it's how the French make the money, like I saw. I even saw on a on, you know, wikipedia, the GDP of France, right, which is their total income GDP, is about 3.5 trillion euros. Yeah, now, half of that 3.5 trillion euros. Yeah, now, half of that 3.5 trillion euros is stolen from those 14 African countries. That include the taxes, the royalties that this country have to pay to France and also the fact that 95% of this country's income goes directly to the French treasury in Paris. So France literally steals and lives off Africa, that is, for African countries, whereby all the minerals in those African countries, be it gold, diamonds, oil, rubber, lithium, tin know, lithium tin, uranium, copper, belongs to France, not to those African countries that actually have these things on their land. Yeah, and France has the first, you could say, right to exploit these, you know, minerals that are in the land of these 14 African countries.

Speaker 1: 11:46

And so, given this backdrop and this thievery, this looting of African wealth by particular French, given this backdrop, it's not a surprise for me that four of the five African countries that have had uprisings in the last two years of French speaking, because France has virtually looted, teethed these countries' wealth and, you know, enrich France as a country. And, just to give an example of what we're talking about, do you know that. You know Niger. Niger is the third biggest, you know, supply of uranium in the world. Yeah, but do you know that 70% of France's energy comes from Niger? Hmm, and Niger is literally in darkness because 70% of this uranium powers France Arriva, which is a French company, that is the nuclear reactor in France. That applies France's electricity. Electricity, a river, gets all its uranium to make nuclear energy from Niger, and Niger's in darkness.

Speaker 1: 13:11

So for me, I'm not surprised that this uprising has happened, in particular within the French speaking African countries, because there's a massive white lash, or black lash, against French domination, french rule in African countries yeah, and these courageous leaders like Ibrahim Touareg of Burkina Faso, tiani of Niger, yeah, and our brother. What they've shown is that they've shown leadership and they've shown that there is a new African, all the way back to Kramer, when Kramer got independent for Ghana, in his speech he said there is a new African, yeah, but today this African has reawoken from his sleep and there's a new African today who is prepared to go boot to boot with the West and saying we are sick and tired of your domination. You tell us what to do. Right, those days of telling us what to do is saving us, taking our resources, etc. This is a gun. We, as proud, upstanding Africans, now we are taking our destiny into our own hands and we, as Africans, are going to self-determine our own destiny, our own future. Yeah, and this is why, for me, the what we see, the situation now in these African countries that have taken the destiny into their hands, is very, very interesting. Because these African countries now who are following the template of Nkrumah yeah, by being self-determinate and by saying to the world that a black man is capable of managing his own affairs and what we see in Senegal, but particularly in Burkina Faso with Ibrahim Chiruri, we see the African taking charge of his own affairs and managing his own affairs.

Speaker 1: 15:17

So many of you are not aware of some of the developments that are going on in those countries, but I'll come back to that in a minute. But why is it important? Why is the importance that on Africa Day, africa Liberation Weekend, that we talk about these African countries like Niger, like Senegal, who are taking their destiny into their own hands? Why is it important? It is important because, like I said, this whole notion about independence was a con, was a fraud to give you the illusion of freedom and the illusion of independence because you go and flag a national anthem, not understanding that the enemy, the white enemy, the European enemy, and the illusion of independence because he got a flag and national anthem, not understanding that the enemy, the white enemy, the European enemy, the Caucasian, was still there in your country, taking your resources and also his system of education, their legal system, those pillars of governance were still dictated in those countries. And so by these countries Senegal, mali, niger, burkina Faso, guinea Bissau now taking their destiny into their own hands is a paradigm shift from being a puppet nation, like these nations were before the uprisings, and having leaders quote unquote who were subservient to the whims and did tax of the west. You have now af, now African leaders, in the shape of Pai in Senegal, chiani in Niger, chore in Burkina Faso, etc.

Speaker 1: 17:13

These five African leaders are, for me, revolutionaries. Let's not call them leaders, but revolutionaries are now beginning to take the destiny of their individual countries into their own hands. Yeah, and this is a paradigm shift from what we had even just five years ago. Who would have thought five years ago that you know, five African countries were now in a fight for their right, as African people, to be self-determining, to be, in the true word of the word, independent from white supremacy, from white domination, from white interference. Who would have thought about that? But, I mean, it's something that we, as African scholars, know.

Speaker 1: 18:03

We are living in a time of Aquarius, it is our time, it is the time of the African and mind you not how many of you are aware that this decade that we're in, from 2020 to 2030, is the decade of the African. That was designated by the United Nations the decade of Africa, but a lot of you don't know about that. Yeah, because it would be hidden from me in plain sight, but this decade is the decade of the African Renaissance, yeah, and so these five African revolutionaries, yeah, have shown that it's our time. The enemy may do his bit and I'll come on to that also, but the ancestors, the African ancestors, are watching and guiding over those five revolutionaries because, like I said, it's our time. Again, we are living in the days of Aquarius, when you follow the galactic stars and the living in the days of Aquarius, when you follow the galactic stars and the alignment and the rotation of the planets, of the solar system. Right, we are living in a time of Aquarius and the symbolism of Aquarius is that you will see the rise of the African and the European, the African and the European, the Asian, the Chinese, the Arab.

Speaker 1: 19:26

There's not a damn thing that they can do. They may try, and you know, bribe some of us, you know with their, you know drinks and what have you. They may try and kill some of us, but the big picture is that it will not succeed Because, like Bob Marley said, who Jah has blessed, no man can curse yeah. And so the enemy. And we've seen it. Even in Bukidda, faso, there's been attempts On Ibn Choy's life. There's been attempts On Chani in Niger. Life In Mali. There's been attempts, uncharted in Niger. Life in Mali. There's been a couple of failed coups in Mali.

Speaker 1: 20:10

Why? Because the French are now scared that these four, well, all five of them, even though Guinea-Bissau is Portuguese speaking all five of these countries make up the 14 countries that are part of that wicked French colonial agreement. So they've lost nearly half, yeah, of those countries that they had under the agreement. Now the big one is La Côte d'Ivoire. If La Côte d'Ivoire falls game over, it is game over for France, and this is why they are so frightened Of the revolution that is sweeping French speaking ones, africa, that they will not stop at any means To stop the revolution by paying even black people, african people, to kill their brother Chore In Burkina, like they tried to do, or Faye in Senegal, or Chani in Niger, or the brothers in Guinea-Bissau or in Mali.

Speaker 1: 21:19

And so, because of this, you know desperation from the French to try and stop other African countries from joining, or from you know, self-determining their own destiny by leaving that Wikifest colonial agreement right. The French will not stoop to anything to ensure that no other country you know leaves the colonial agreement. Because right now, what's happening? Like I said, you're seeing a paradigm shift and I love this paradigm shift, and this is not a development that you may not have heard, but Mali, niger and Burkina Faso have formed a military pact whereby if one country is attacked, no two will support them. So, for example, if Burkina Faso is attacked by a foreign or an internal enemy, mali and Niger will come to Burkina Faso's aid. If Niger is attacked, yeah, under this military pact, mali and Burkina Faso will come to Niger's aid, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 22:44

And also we understand that Senegal is also looking at joining these military parties as well, and I understand that all those countries have also aligned themselves with Russia, which is a very, very interesting move, because Russia may be white Europeans, they are Caucasians, but they have a different kind of mentality to the Western Europeans, particularly when it comes to Africa, particularly under Putin, because they know that the Western Europeans have been to Africa for more than 400 years, and even Putin said this many times, so they understand that their Western cousins have no desire Putin said this many times, so they understand that their Western colonists have no desire to emancipate African people. All their desire is to continue to subjugate African people using puppets like Akufo-Addo in Ghana, Gisambwe in Togo, biyat in Cameroon, obiang in in uh equatorial guinea, watawa, who is who is wants to extend his term in the code of war, using various people right to try and subject us and take our resources by proxy, and so russia that. So this is why, in the recent not even the recent, actually, because I was talking about the recent African France Summit, sorry the recent Russia-Africa Summit, whereby yeah, it is pretty recent Whereby, you know, russia invited I think it was 36 African countries to come to Russia to talk about security and how Russia can be act as a kind of friend. What I will say to that, though, is that Russians are Europeans, but they've got the only agenda in which African is concerned. It may not be the Western agenda, but they've got their own agenda.

Speaker 1: 24:40

So what I will say to Burkina, mali, senegal, you know, niger is keep your further open, keep your eyes wide awake, particularly when dealing with a white man. You've got to keep your eyes wide open, because if you don't, they can attack tricksters right and get you. Yeah, the same way that Tony Blair tricked Gaddafi to get rid of his nuclear weapons and then, three years later, gaddafi ended up dead. You think if Gaddafi had his nuclear weapons, you think they would have killed him? You think they would have conspired to kill him? I don't think so.

Speaker 1: 25:18

So these leaders, or these revolutionaries, have to watch out with Russia, because, at the end of the day, you can't trust a white man. These leaders, or these revolutions, got to watch out with Russia because, at the end of the day, you can't trust a white man. Like Mugabe said, the only white man you can trust is a dead white man, and so, in that regard, given what they've done to us from slavery, colonization, neocolonization, right and if you doubt that there, you can go and read a book called. It's even on YouTube. Just put on YouTube Confessions of Necromancer Hitman telling you what they've done to us, particularly in the last 50 years. You can't trust them. So you've got to keep your eyes wide open, advocating with the beneficiaries when dealing with Russia, but Russia knows the nature of the Western cousins and so you know.

Speaker 1: 26:08

Like I said, we've seen a paradigm shift in the way that you know. These countries now are now taking the game now out the West, now looking at African interests, and what I gather now also is that these countries and this is also a game changer now these countries now Senegal, mali, niger, burkina Faso I'm not sure about Guinea-Bissau, but there is four, or there's three of them, because Senegal is still in its infancy, but it has plans to do so these four African countries now are looking at having their own currency, leaving the CFA, which is a so-called African franc that was originally tied to the French franc, which is now tied to the euro. Yeah, when France joined the European currency, the ECU in the I think on 1999, because this year in 25 years, joined the European currency, the ECU in the I think 1999, because this year, 25 years of the European single currency, so 1999, so the African franc CFA is linked to the euro, these African countries, as part of that revolutionary act. So you've got the military part. Secondly, you will now get the single currency whereby these African countries Mali, senegal, etc. Leave the TSAFA and form their own currency. That will be a game changer.

Speaker 1: 27:33

And also, what we hear, also in the background, is that all these countries not sure about Senegal because it's still only for Senegal, but definitely Mali, definitely Burkina Faso and definitely Niger they're in the process of building gold refineries. I want to say that again Mali, niger, burkina Faso are all in line to build gold refineries. That is a very strategic move. Why? Because, like I said, the currency. What, if you know what? If they're gonna use the currency to back with gold. So it's a very, very strategic move that they've done to a talk about and that's not strategic. It's a very, very strategic move that they've done to A talk about and it's not strategic, it's revolutionary. Talk about A leaving the SEPA and from your own currency and, more importantly, building a gold refinery, because that would allow. Because these three countries are big producers of gold Mali, burkina Faso and Niger. Maybe not as big as Ghana, because Ghana is the biggest gold producer in South Africa. South Africa is the second biggest producer, but these countries gold deposits are quite huge Mali, burkina Faso, niger yeah, and if there's gold in the fine rice, so is that day and that.

Speaker 1: 29:05

And gold was then used as a backer tip for a single currency. That is power, that is revolution, that is, that would be a game changer. Yeah, and if that happens, why France will be shaking in his boots big time? Because now these countries will now be economically independent. And that is the key in this whole revolutionary thing. Because, like I said about Ghana, economic independence is sorry, political independence is useless without economic independence. Because in Ghana right now, ghana is not economic independent. Ghana is economically dependent on others, and that is very, very dangerous. The great Marcus Mazaigovic said this any country who relies on their former oppressor for their economic survival sooner or later dies. You see what's happening in Ghana right now high interest rates, high inflation, high cost of borrowing, high cost of doing businesses. See where Ghana is right now.

Speaker 1: 30:16

So if these countries are able to form a single currency using gold as a bucket of money, that is a game changer and that is something the West would never count as, and this is why they killed Gaddafi, because Gaddafi was on route to building a single African currency using gold Dinar. Yeah, and also an African central bank, not the. You know, the Britain was African central, but Gaddafi won his. Britain was the African development bank, not the. You know, the Britain was African central, but Gaddafi won his Britain Woods. The African development bank that, you see, is a Britain Woods one that is owned by the Rockefeller Rothschild Cabal. That's not an African one, african by name, but African in practice. Gaddafi was going to an African central bank whereby we Africans will be in charge of that bank, manage that bank, own that bank for African purposes and African self-determination, yeah.

Speaker 1: 31:11

And so if Mali, niger, burkina Faso can build this Gold Defineries and we have it by the end of this year, early next year, all three of them will have built their Gold Defineries, and I gather that they're seeking Russian support for that. But that would be a huge game changer and that will see a massive paradigm shift and that will, and even Senegal will, join that monetary union when it happens not if, but when it happens. Yeah, and right now, talking of Senegal under FI, fi is now saying that they're going to review all the contracts that Senegal has signed in the last 10 years, particularly on the Marquesal, yeah. And so this again is another revolutionary act, because France has looted Senegal, doesn't pay tax, doesn't pay any royalties, particularly in the mining area. So if I do a severe audit of these mining companies operating in Senegal, stealing Senegal's wealth, he will find out that a lot of these companies have underpaid tax, underpaid royalties. Yeah, and he should get that back.

Speaker 1: 32:39

Senegal, burkina Faso and Niger is an act of African revolutionary change, it is an act of African defiance, it is an act of self-determination, it is an act of saying that we want to be free. We are no longer slaves, we are no longer colonial subjects, we are an African people and we have a right to self-determine our own destiny without interference from anyone else. Yeah, and there'll be some Africans who will be gorgeous and work with the enemy, yeah, to try and you know, destroy what Burkina, mali, senegal, guinea-bissau and Niger are doing. But, like I said, we are living in the age of Aquarius and there ain't a damn thing these people can do. They will try and they have done, but they will not succeed.

Speaker 1: 33:37

And so, on this Africa Day, I salute the five African women in the leadership, and I hope that other African countries, the people in those other African countries Ghana, nigeria, sierra Leone, the Gambia, chad, mauritania, south Africa is going to pose on Wednesday. These countries also have uprisings. Cameroon get rid of that old man Bia, who we gather is probably dead, but you know he's still got iron fist in that country. But we urge our people in those countries to rise up, claim your destiny, claim your birthright into your own hands. Not a lot of people who don't look like you, who have no interest at heart to steal your birthright and keep you forever enslaved.

Speaker 1: 34:33

And so I thank you for listening to this special edition of Africa In Focus with myself, kwame. If you like what you hear, please share it to your friends, your family. If you like what you hear, please share it to your friends, your family, especially your networks. Please subscribe to Ghana African Focus on YouTube. Also subscribe on Spotify and click the notification button or follow me so that you can get a notification every time I upload a new podcast. All right, and so, from myself, kwame, and from the crew here on Africa in Focus, thank you very much for listening and we'll see you next time for some more Africa in Focus.