Military Juntas: My advice to fellow Africans, by Yakubu Almustapha
“Nobody is defeated until he starts blaming somebody else. My advice to you is don’t fix the blame. Fix the problem.”
— John Wooden
Following series of coups d’état that toppled the democratic governments in Francophone African countries, to wit; Chad, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, and lately Gabon, which hitherto were under the bandwagon of civilian leadership before all hell let loose by the military juntas which appears as if they pre-planned the agenda to strike together in chronological order.
On the other hand, its aftermath flared up the platitude remark from the opponents of how developed states influence African countries in their policy decision.
And at the same time others are reprimanding the ‘West’ and in particular, they singled out France and United States, and designated them as a parasites which must be crushed to pave way for African economy to blossom.
This phenomenon was so noticeable for the keen observers going by the cacophony on the streets of the affected states, due to idiosyncracies of the coup supporters which they apparently displayed at the rally, coupled with the enunciation from the coup leaders in chorus to a campaign of hostility against neocolonialism sentiment.
To take for example, since in the early days when soldiers seized power from Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubakar Keita, in August 2020, the coupists in an attempt of divorcement from their colonial masters, issued an ultimatum to France’s foreign minister to leave the country.
This news was however, well received by the people who in return, thronged to Bamako the capital city for jubilation wherein they waved Russian flag and torched cardboard cut-out of the French President Emanuel Macron.
In spite of the circumstances that led the ‘revolutionary council’ or whatever nomenclature they call themselves to strike might differ, but the objectives as pronounced by them were the same, that is to simply salvage their land by getting rid of the unwanted system, on the part of compatriots to take the destiny of the country into their hands.
In Niger Republic like its counterparts, the head of the military government Abdourahmane Tchiani, toed the line of Mali by expelling the France’s ambassador, after he got support from the Nigeriens who gathered in capital Niamey chanting anti French slogan and waving the Russian flag as well.
I watched the commotion with rapt attention especially when one of the protesters, while granting interview, utterly complained about hardship they’re undergoing despite there’s abundances of uranium at their soil, but it doesn’t impacted their general well-being.
The gentleman tried very hard to insinuate to the world that France was feeding fat on their God given resources, whereas on the other side of the coin rendering them in abject poverty.
In my honest opinion as regards to the public outrage is that, the temperament of the support group was to the immediate advantage of the putschists only, who as a matter of fact cannot take their countries to the promise land as they implied in broadcasts.
Although seeking a renegotiation with France is not a bad idea at all especially if they noticed a dark spots in diplomatic ties that need remedy, but doing it in proper and peaceful way is second to none.
On one hand, trying to achieve it through a back door, would rather adds up to the already deteriorating situation, because nowhere in the world where the military ever solved diplomatic imperfection or political instability.
In the meantime, right here in Nigeria the impression amongst many people is the same as that of Francophone, but since we’re not part of former French colony, then US is mostly held responsible for our economic depravation through the siphoning of the natural resources.
I was told about this sentiment at least on two separate occasions, in the cause of the dialogue I had with some individuals who happened to be educated elites.
Until date, I’m not sold on such fantasy based on my rational thinking despite their effort to convince me into buying the idea.
On the whole, everything they say in support of their argument, it went in one ear and out the other.
I admit that I didn’t read much books to know the truth about this claim, but no matter how naive I might be, my common sense will not accommodate their narration, being America a country where Aircrafts are manufactured in greater quantity than how Aluminum pots are produced here in Nigeria, and yet again to believe that its economic survival solely depends on exploitation of mineral resources from underdeveloped African country.
Contrary to popular belief, American economy is originated in the high productivity with import of raw materials that pep up their industries from countries suchlike China as largest trading partner for annual supplies of goods totaled $536.3 billion, followed by Mexico $454.8 billion, Canada $436.6 billion, Japan $148.1 billion, Germany $146.6 billion, and imports from other European countries that amounted to the sum of $553.3 billion.
Thus, even if the word ‘import’ has become a synonym for ‘exploit’ then I will still say that no African nation has a moral sense to claim over it, because none of them was among the top five suppliers of good and services to US.
It is imperative to also note that there are other companies in US that have nothing to do with outside raw materials.
One of such is Media and Entertainment Industries, ranging from Hollywood motion pictures, streaming content, music, and video games, which is said to have generated the whopping amount of $717 billion, which by comparison is larger than the GDPs of all African countries combined together.
By the way, a cursory glance and without dwelling into details of the monetary strength of other financial institutions whose total consolidated assets amounted to trillions of dollars will shed more light about how multifaceted US economy represents, which is at variance with what is being speculated.
Thus, to start with: JPMorgan Chase, worth $3.2 trillion, Goldman Sachs $1.441 trillion, Citigroup $1.8 trillion, along with others.
Then again if we scrutinize one out of many retailing companies in US, we would see that it has 10’586 branches worldwide with workforce of 2.3 million employees, which is repute as the largest private employer in the world. The company in contention is Walmart Inc.
So, these components and other unmentionable businesses are the impetus that made the US GDP of more than $22 trillion.
In this juncture, I deemed it fit to borrow the words of wisdom which John Wooden is quoted saying, to counsel my fellow compatriots.
My advice to Africans is to think of how to fix a problem rather than to shift blame, and for economy to be fixed, it needs a multi-dimensional approach. The idea of reliance on uranium or whatsoever mentality should be jettisoned and there should be diversification of economy.
Therefore, all what is being said about how western world are making money out of us should be buried, because there’s no probative value attached to it.
I believe India that is now becoming a towering figure in the worlds of technology and medicine won’t waste a time discussing how they are being undermined by the west, instead they would utilise the time to discuss ideas and make the best out of it.
I strongly believe that God has abundantly blessed Africa in terms of all resources and everything needed to make the continent great.
But for sure, we lack able leaders who can break the shell to actualise it. So, how do we fix that? We should shun mediocrity and strive for the best men and women with grandiose vision to lead us.
Those who can turn a lemon into lemonade, those who have the capacity to explore the opportunities in areas where it seems unthinkable.
Yakubu Almustapha, a political analyst, writes from Bauchi.
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