By Mehenou Amouzou
The unilateral development that Africa experienced more than sixty years ago is a one-way development that is to say for the benefit of the West which has impoverished Africa. How can the West offer only 10% to 15% maximum of revenues and keep the 85% to a continent as rich in natural resources as Africa! The West is threatening Africa with a coup d’état if it does not sign an agreement to cooperate (a fool’s agreement).
Africa has endured several stages of cultural and commercial transformation; such transformation has occurred in different forms: slave trade, colonization, decolonization, independence and neocolonialism. Albeit a form of change has occurred, it’s probably safe to say there has been no real evolution. The nation still lives in plantation times. African citizens have no real enforceable rights; the present and future of the African people is precarious and uncertain. After gaining independence almost 70 years ago, Africa remains a very rich continent in terms of natural resources but very poor in infrastructure, everything is archaic and unsanitary. The faces of aging mothers and fathers reflect that the twilight is getting darker, the better future is very distant.
What can the explanation be for other similar continents evolving and finding happiness and prosperity, yet Africans are still dying of all kinds of ills. For example, a lack of drinking water, food, etc.? Are these African States led by powers foreign to Africa? Like the West, China, India? Do some African leaders have moods and consciences?
In addition to their inability to lead their countries, they want to monopolize power, they do not respect any established law; this is why the leaders of other continents neither respect nor consider Africa as a safe stable place. They find us irresponsible. The main cause is that we do not respect our constitution. How can a president arbitrarily change the constitution to stay in power? Maybe he considers himself a king?
In international relations, a host country can decide on the accreditation of a third person by accepting or refusing their request. We remember the story of an African diplomat in Germany, following the behavior of the Ambassador, who had his accreditation withdrawn. Consider the case of General de Gaulle who when he became president of France through a coup d’état, did so without influence from any other country. It appears only Africa is able to attract third party sovereign attention regarding how it should be governed.
We wonder what action the French government wants to take by refusing to recall its ambassador on the grounds that the current Nigerien government is not legitimate. The French government is playing a ridiculous game. Niger is a sovereign country, Niger has the right to accept or refuse whoever it wishes. Can the French government interfere in the internal affairs of the United States, China, Japan, Belgium and Russia? Never. What is agitating France? Why does France want to go to war with Niger with the help of its vassals? The Nigerian people are not looking for war. The government of Niger wants its country to be respected. It’s truly a paradox: Niger, the poorest country, allows France, an industrialized country, to benefit from electricity supply. Niger, which supplies uranium to France, may only benefit from 15 to 20% of the electricity. France exports Nigerien electricity and uranium to other countries. In other words, it’s a sham position. How long will this sham last? Another 100 years? The people of Niger suffer from a lack of electrification in the country. If because of uranium France wants to wage war on a poor country it would be better to find an enemy of its size such as the United States, China, Russia, Japan, Algeria, India, North Korea or Iran etc.
Why hide behind countries like Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Benin to declare war on Niger? Can France enter into conflict with China? Russia? Algeria? Or is there something the French government is hiding from us? The vassal countries of France, i.e. the warring countries, such as Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Benin are in an economically and politically disastrous state. Nigeria’s government is tired, humiliated by its inability to end the ongoing war against the Boko Haram group and unable to find a solution to the economic and social problem. Despite all the problems Nigeria faces, France believes they can declare war on Niger!
The leaders of Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin have nothing to offer their populations who only ask for respect for their institutions but their leaders do not care. It is the cult of personality while forgetting the misery of the people. The people of these countries want their governments to take care of them as a priority, they are unconstitutional leaders, sowing anarchy; such leaders are the laughing stock of an entire continent. Which of these four states can give lessons in democracy and human rights to the Nigerien people? Does the charter that governs ECOWAS make it possible to declare war on a member state or to promote the development of the region? Declaring war on a member state was not part of the founding fathers’ plan. If the people who are supposed to represent us do not obey the basic rules, do they still need our support? It is not the interest of ECOWAS that these people represent but the interest of the West.
According to article 9 of the Vienna Convention in April 1961, Niger can notify France that its ambassador is not welcome on its territory and in this case, France is obliged to respect the sovereign decision of Niger. What right does France have to impose its choice? Even though it knows article 9 well! Can France declare war on Russia or Brazil? If Africa has cooperated with France unilaterally for 100 years, it is time to review and provide other winners, winners and not from dominant to dominated. This cooperation is not healthy, it is misleading. Awakening Our continent sinks into Misfortune, ridicule and deflects the ridicule of others. If Africa is bad, why do other people like to come and live there but do not want to cohabit with Africans? It is time for some incompetent leaders, confused in their heads, to stop considering the power of the people as a private domain. Let’s stop receiving external orders. Why do these heads of state not care about their population who are dying of hunger and unsanitary conditions? This is now suffering more than during the colonial period. It’s sad, it’s a bitter observation which demonstrates our inability to take charge of ourselves; Europe, Asia, the United States cannot develop Africa for us. Since independence and until the present, some African leaders are walking backwards; it is only in Africa that we see ministers who have never worked in the private sector become billionaires; it really is the culture of mediocrity. Ministers of this type will never initiate research projects because their interests lie elsewhere.
Two years ago we published the new Africa, where we envisaged a division into four regions. North Africa, West Africa, East Africa and South Africa, so that the president of all Africa is elected by the four regions. There is an urgent need to move towards making this project a reality. This is possible by counting on our own forces and on aid from friendly African countries. This time we will control all African projects of up to 60% and open the capital to 40% to foreign investors. The Inga dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo (according to experts who conducted the Dutch firm’s feasibility studies) can produce electricity for almost the entire African continent. This study was carried out during the time of former President Mobutu. Until today, nothing has been able to see the light of day. Why has such an ambitious project, the pride of Africa, remained in the drawers? Not even a start of work? No African leader wants to start this project as if it were unachievable. Now, the DRC is ravaged by three wars: a civil war, an invader’s war, and a perpetual war to destabilize the Congo so that it does not seize the opportunity to develop, and that its wealth does not benefit the Congolese. Africa is capable, and we must avoid the mistakes that have been made in the past, economic and financial sabotage by white collar experts, putting our countries, very rich in raw materials, in debt to the point that they become beggars. For example, the construction of the Ivorian oil refinery is not used to refine oil produced in Ivory Coast; the latter is sold in its raw state to France, but the aim of this oil complex was to refine Ivorian black gold. Why is this refinery not used? To better indebt the country into billions of francs? This method of management by economic and technical advisors was detrimental to the African economy and lasted several decades. How to amortize these debts which become heavy burdens. Governments are cutting basic funding for the population; the same goes for the marketing of oil, phosphate, uranium, manganese, and gold, etc. Africa sells its resources but it is the buyer who sets the price and the quantity purchased. It’s deception. Africa has trained a good number of executives but they are not in their area of expertise. These economic advisors and technical assistants do nothing to stop or avoid the economic collapse, but their salaries are guaranteed, however their effectiveness on the ground has not been demonstrated
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Mali is a blessed country thanks to its ancestors and those of Africa. When former President Sanogo had just taken power, there were more than ten intelligence services outside Africa. What were they looking for? This is why we persist in saying that the economic problems of the West have led to the development of terrorism. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger must work together; open a community space, forming a zone of free movement of people and goods. We must focus on the development of agriculture, it is very important. Europe, the United States and China have passed through there. Now they have preferred to abandon traditional agriculture, and have chosen GMOs which have become one of the big problems of humanity. In 3 years, the three countries will be proud of their choice, others in the sub-region and even around the world will follow suit. Nigeria, which survived by utilizing agriculture, exported its know-how to the USA and all over the world. The Nigerian Naira was stronger than the American dollar in the 1970s. At that time, Nigeria exported agricultural products which constituted its first resource, oil the second. Nigeria, which had become known for its know-how as the best agricultural producer in the world, lost its leading position and became an importer of these products. The majority of what is imported is GMO, unsuitable food, risky for the health of the population which already lives in a precarious state.
Nigeria, which was supposed to be a political, military and economic force in the sub-region, has become a country without a pilot. Nigeria is searching for itself, it was unable to destroy Boko Haram which destroyed the country and displaced millions of people. Insecurity has become a recurring problem. As the economic situation does not improve, 30% of the population finds it difficult to have two meals a day.
Dr. Mehenou Amouzou received his Master in Business, from the European Advanced Institute of Management, also a Certificate in Finance and Investment in Paris, France.
