It must be the greatest wish of every sub-Saharan leader to, in their lifetime, witness the collapse of the American empire which many think-tanks have concluded is nigh.
America’s global domination has hung like a dark cloud over the world and has affected African politics in a huge way. The US has led or supported wars to determine the governance of a number of countries, many of them in Africa. This, ostensibly is to spread “democracy and freedom” but history has shown that its actions have had the opposite effect namely entrenched dictatorship through war and mayhem.
In the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, which signalled the collapse of the Soviet empire, there emerged a unipolar world with the US seated at the apex. To maintain this position America, aided by its currency, had to see to it that no country stood up against it.
But China has risen and is threatening to move America’s cheese. Russia is awakening too, hence the proxy war in Ukraine. The resultant geopolitical conflict has affected world politics and is causing mayhem in sub-Saharan Africa.
In the past few decades Russia and China have made big strides into Africa and the US doesn’t like it. It is encouraging conflict in Uganda over gay rights; in Sudan to push back the influence of the Russian Wagner group; in Senegal because Macky Sall is no longer desirable to them; and in Rwanda because Paul Kagame stands in the way of US dominance in the Great Lakes Region. There are many sub-Saharan African countries where American fingers are evident.
Now the US is taking on the most powerful country in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa is now in America’s crosshairs and this is not going to be good for the region.
Moves are already underway to sanction it. The devastating effects of sanctions have been seen and felt in neighbouring Zimbabwe which has lost US$100 billion worth of business over 20 years.
South Africa was supposed to host the Agoa summit this year but a group of American lawmakers have proposed the summit be taken away for its “deepening military relationship” with Russia.
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The military drills it held with China and Russia and an accusation that it supplied weapons to the latter in support of its fight in Ukraine are at the centre of the row. If South Africa is removed from Agoa it stands to lose US$1 billion annually which it makes through exports to America. A weakened South Africa will adversely affect the whole southern African region.
The Ukraine war has united the West in its parochial interests; it should unite Africa too. The Nato principle of collective defence which says an attack on one ally is an attack on all should be incorporated in the African Union psyche too.
The events taking place in Africa now should birth a pan-African renaissance that creates a bulwark against all forms of foreign domination and imperialist bullying epitomised by the US’s latest moves against South Africa.
- This opinion piece is from the YouTube.com//InConversationWithTrevor and convowithtrevor.com platforms. https://convowithtrevor.com/icwt-newsletter-issue-42/
- Nevanji Madanhire is a journalist at Alpha Media Holdings
