South Africa: land of contradictions - Liberia: Boakai states his presidential case
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Liberia: Boakai states his presidential case
News. Analysis. Comment September-October 2021 Vol.4 No.16
South Africa:
land of contradictions
African leadership: Zambia's
devastating moments new dawn
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE
ECOWAS credibility
PUBLISHER’S NOTE is
Publisher
Jon Offei-Ansah
on the line
Africa bucks global
Publisher
Jon Offei-Ansah
Editor
A
LITTLE over a 10 years ago, I wrote
economic
a commentarytrend
on the coup d’etat in
Niger saying why it was justified and
Desmond Davies
Editor
Desmond Davies
I
why some coups could be described as good Contributing Editors
n 2018,
coups. six of the
My argument 10premised
was fastest-growing
on a simple
economies in the world were in or leaders, are elected by the people to serve Deputy Editor
Stephen Williams
democratic principle – that governments,
Africa,Their
the nation. according
tenure to
of the World
office Bank,
is at the people’s ‘pleasure’. In order words, they must Angela Cobbinah
Prof. Toyin Falola
with Ghana
not tweak the lawleading the in
of the land pack.
orderWith
to entrench themselves in power to the detriment Tikum Mbah Azonga
GDP
of thegrowth
generalfor the continent projected to
good. Contributing Editor
accelerate to four per cent in 2019 and 4.1 Contributors
When governments ignore the wishes of the people for whom they are elected to serve,
per cent in 2020, Africa’s economic growth Stephen Williams
and whose wishes they have to respect and abide by; when they choose to use their Justice Lee Adoboe
story continues apace. Meanwhile, the World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business Index
powers of incumbency to extend their stay in power, enriching themselves in the process, Director, Special Projects
reveals that five of the 10 most-improved countries are in Africa, and one-third of Chief Chuks Iloegbunam
then they become prime candidates for a coup, I said.
all reforms recorded globally were in sub-Saharan Africa. Joseph Kayira
Michael Orji
My argument elicited a number of comments. One of them, from a good friend of mine, Zachary Ochieng
What makes
went thus: the where
‘I see story more impressive
you appear and heartening
to be coming is that
from on this one.the
Butgrowth
if we pursue your
–thesis
projected to be broad-based – ismessage
being achieved in a challenging global which Contributors
Olu Ojewale
to its logical conclusion, the poses a danger to African societies,
environment, Oladipo Okubanjo
are far greater bucking thed’etat
than coups trend.are predisposed to engender.’ Justice Lee Adoboe
Corinne Soar
The
In thecurrent
Coverpolitical
Story ofupheavals in West
this edition, Dr.Africa – the Fofack,
Hippolyte coups inChief
Mali, Chad and, most
Economist at the Chuks Iloegbunam
Kennedy Olilo
recently,Export-Import
African in Guinea had some
Bankthings in common:analyses
(Afreximbank), incumbentsthetweaking constitutions to
factors underpinning this Joseph Kayira
prolong their stay
performance. Twoinfactors,
office, corruption and poor
in my opinion, political
stand out inand
Dr.economic governance.
Hippolyte’s analysis: Designer
Zachary Ochieng
trade between
The August Africa
2020 coupand China
in Mali wasand the intra-African
preceded cross-border
by protests since investment
the previous and
June, with
infrastructure development.
the protesters calling for the resignation of then president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. Olu Ojewale
Simon Blemadzie
The protesters
Much has beenwere
saiddispleased
and writtenwith the government's
about managementeconomic
China’s ever-deepening of the ongoing
foray into Oladipo Okubanjo
Africa, especially by Western analysts and commentators who have beenand
insurgency, alleged government corruption, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, a
sounding Corinne
Country Soar
Representatives
floundering
alarm economy.
bells about Eleven deathsofand
re-colonisation 124 injuries
Africa, were
this time by reported duringBut
the Chinese. theempirical
protests.
Alpha Condé,
evidence paintsthea first president
different to be peacefully and democratically elected to the office
picture. Designer
South Africa
of President of Guinea, started governing the country in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015. Edward Walter Byerley
Despite the decelerating global growthlimit,
environment, trade between Africa and Gloria Ansah
Top Dog Media, 5 Ascot Knights
The country had a two-term presidential but the 2020 constitutional referendum
China increased
included by 14.5
a provision per cent
extending in the first
the length threeand
of terms quarters
allowedofCondé
2018,tosurpassing
"reset" his term 47 Grand National Boulevard Royal Ascot,
the growth
limit ratetwo
and seek of more
worldterms.
trade (11.6 per cent), reflecting the deepening economic Country Representatives
Milnerton 7441, South Africa
dependency between the two major trading partners.
The move had been controversial and sparked massive protests before and after the South
Tel: +27 Africa
(0) 21 555 0096
Empirical
referendum, evidence
which wereshows that China’s
brutally domestic
repressed, causing investment has become
more than thirty highly
deaths between Edward
Cell: +27 Walter Byerley
(0) 81 331 4887
linked
Octoberwith
2019economic
and March expansion
2020. After in Africa. A one percentage
the constitutional amendment point
wasincrease
approved, TopEmail:
Dog Media, 5 Ascot Knights
ed@topdog-media.net
inCondé
China’s
wondomestic
the 2020 investment growth is
presidential election andassociated with
thus a third termaninaverage of 0.6
office. This was again 47 Grand National Boulevard Royal Ascot,
percentage
followed bypoint increase
protests againstinthe
overall African
president, withexports. And,
opposition the expected
candidates economic
accusing Condé Ghana
development and Protests
trade impact of expanding
Milnerton 7441, South Africa
of ballot stuffing. continued throughoutChinese
the year,investment on resource-rich
and were harshly repressed by Nana Asiama Bekoe
African
security countries, especially
forces, claiming oil-exporting
at least countries,
12 civilian lives, is even
including more important.
two children in Conakry.
Tel:Kingdom
+27 (0)Concept
21 555Co.0096
France distanced itself from Condé following the 2020 election, leaving China, Egypt,
The resilience of African economies can also be attributed to growing intra-African Tel: +233 243 393 94381
Cell: +27 (0) 331303
/ +233 4887
967 470
Russia and Turkey foremost among the few powerful countries which continued to back Email: ed@topdog-media.net
kingsconceptsltd@gmail.com
cross-border investment and infrastructure development. A combination of the
the president. This happened as fellow West African and Central African countries have
two factors is accelerating the process of structural transformation in a continent
experienced democratic backsliding: Chad went through its own military takeover in Ghana
where industrial output and services account for a growing share of GDP. African Nigeria Bekoe
Nana Asiama
April 2021.
corporations and industrialists which are expanding their industrial footprint across Nnenna
Kingdom Ogbu Co.
Concept
The above
Africa and events
globallyraise
arethe question
leading theofdiversification
the role of the from
regional economicinto
agriculture and higher
political #4 Babatunde Oduse crescent
grouping,
value goodsECOWAS.
in manufacturing and service sectors. These industrial champions Tel: +233 243 393 943 / +233 303 967 470
Isheri Olowora - Isheri Berger, Lagos
are carrying
After the Maliout transcontinental
coup in 2020, ECOWAS operations, withtheinvestment
suspended holdings
country, imposed aroundand
sanctions the kingsconceptsltd@gmail.com
Tel: +234 803 670 4879
globe, with a strong
set a roadmap for the presence in Europe
return to civilian rule.and
ThePacific
ink on Asia, together was
the agreement account
barelyfor more
dry
than
Nigeria
getnnenna.ogbu@gmail.com
when75theper cent ofremoved
coupists their combined activities
the civilian outsidethey
prime minister Africa.
had appointed. That was a
Taiwo Adedoyin
Aslap in the face of ECOWAS.
survey of 30 leading emerging African corporations with global footprints and MV Noble, Press Kenya
House, 3rd Floor
It’s a similar
combined situation
revenue ofwith
more Guinea. ECOWAS
than $118 have
billion demanded
shows a six-month
that they transition
are active in
in several Patrick MwangiIkeja, Lagos
Guinea. In response,
27 Acme Road, Ogba,
industries, includingcoup leader Mamady
manufacturing Doumbouya
(e.g., told the ECOWAS
Dangote Industries), basic delegation
materials,the Aquarius Media Ltd,806
PO Box
will of the Guinean people
telecommunications (e.g.,should
Econet,be Safaricom),
taken into account.
finance (e.g., Ecobank) and oil
Tel: +234 29110668-11000
7100
Nairobi, Kenya
and gas. In addition
ECOWAS’s credibilitytoinmitigating
Guinea hasrisks
beenhighly
strainedcorrelated
since 2018,with
whenAfrican
the bloceconomies,
failed to
taiadedoyin52@gmail.com
Tel: 0720 391 546/0773 35 41
these
condemnemerging
Conde African global
for running for acorporations are accelerating
third term in office the diversification
last year, despite a law declaring of Kenya
Email: mwangi@aquariusmedia.co.ke
sources of growth
that presidents mustand
stepreducing
down after the exposure of countries to adverse commodity
two.
terms of trade.
Naima Farah
The bloc also failed to act when Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara went for a third Room©Africa
22, 2ndBriefing Ltd Wing
Floor West
term makes
This in officeme
contrary to the country’s
very bullish constitutional provisions.
about Africa! 2 Redruth Close, London
Royal Square, Ngong Road, N22 8RN
Nairobi
Being more reactive than proactive, is the ECOWAS losing its credibility? United Kingdom
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Africa Briefing Ltd
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United Kingdom
Contents Vol.4 No.16 September - October 2021
LEADER
6 Security in the Sahel in the
wake of US withdrawal from
Afghanistan
10
COMMENT
07 Governance goes from
pillar to post
COVER STORY
10 South Africa: a country
of huge contradictions
The recent pillaging and violence highlighted the desperation
of the poor in a country with the world’s widest wealth gap. It
is a situation where there are a number of dollar billionaires,
but with more than half the population having more liabilities
than assets. South African industrialist and philanthropist Ivor
Ichikowitz gives an insight into these inconsistencies in an
interview with Jon Offei-Ansah
ANALYSIS
14
Devastating moments for African
leadership
With rampant cases of selfish and visionless leaders,
governance in Africa has become a practice in
20
divisions, victimisation, alienation and marginalisation,
34
argues Toyin Falola
20
What is the current state of Nigeria?
Questions have been asked recently about whether Nigeria
is a failing state or is already a failed state. Toyin Falola
argues that these posers could only be answered if the
government first of all accepts these claims and then seeks
to get the country out of the position it finds itself today
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
34
A new dawn for Zambia
Now that the elections have passed, people are focusing
their sights on whether the brand-new government would
walk the talk and fulfil the promises made during the
campaign trail to deliver a united, prosperous and equitable
REVIEW
40
Zambia and change the status quo which has been largely ‘Happiness was our vibe’
uninspiring, writes Nawa Mutumweno Angela Cobbinah talks to Teddy Osei, founder and
leader of legendary ‘sunshine’ band Osibisa, which
38 How Africa needs to seize the day has just released a new studio album
Covid-19 has hit Africa hard. The continent needs to
cooperate and integrate in order to empower an African
recovery, writes Theresa Henshaw
For in-depth
analysis on
developments in
a fast-changing
continent
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LEADER
Security in the Sahel in the wake of US
withdrawal from Afghanistan
T
HE recent spectacular collapse Barre’s government in Somalia in 1991 Nigeria. It is now clear that the Northern
of the US-backed government had already given free rein to Somalis politicians who were quick to re-introduce
in Afghanistan, ushering in the with militant tendencies. Crisis Group a wider form of Sharia law in 1999 no
Taliban to power after 20 years, came as notes that young people from East Africa longer seem to be on top of things, as is
a shock to the world. African countries in travelled to Afghanistan in the 1980s to usually the case when the foot soldiers
the troubled Sahel must now be worried join the anti-Soviet resistance. They then take charge.
about the way things will play out in their returned to their home countries to create That’s the name of the game. You
troubled region. their own militant cells. start off playing with one team, only for
The last few years have seen Africa’s political leaders have been, in the players to change sides mid-game.
an exponential growth of terrorist some ways, responsible for the growth of Everyone remembers that under Ronald
organisations and activities in the Sahel, these militants. Take Nigeria, for example. Reagan, the US supported the Mujahideen
pushing some countries almost to the When Olusegun Obasanjo became in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union.
brink. The jihadists in this region are president of Nigeria in 1999, the Northern Then, one Osama bin Laden was a staunch
clearly making headway, as well as in oligarchs who had been in charge at the US ally, who was to later turn against
places such as Somalia. centre for so long retreated. America.
Crucially, while the US was They saw Obasanjo, a Southern In Africa, the rise of armed resistance
prosecuting its War on Terror, Al Qaida Christian, as a threat to the status quo – religious or otherwise – is really down
and ISIS retreated from their original that had existed in the country. So, the to governance and socio-economic issues.
spheres of operation to different African Northern Muslim states declared Islamic Jihadist groups in some parts of Africa
‘
countries. They have become one of the
The last few years have seen
most potent threats to peace and security
in Africa.
For the region, though, the precarious
security situation in the Sahel exploded an exponential growth of
after the fall of Colonel Muammar
Gaddafi in 2011. The disastrous NATO-led terrorist organisations and
’
bombing, without any contingency plan to
secure the immense stockpiles of weapons
that were part of Gaddafi’s formidable
activities in the Sahel
arsenal, opened the floodgates. Sharia law in their territories. While, have been able to provide some succour
before 1999, Sharia law was limited to to their young recruits – better than they
In the first place, as experts point
civil matters, the new order incorporated could get from their governments.
out, Libya’s weapons stockpiles were far
civil and criminal matters. As a result, in Africa today there are
beyond the country’s needs. Naturally, the
weapons fell into the wrong hands. Today, In any such situation, there are those more Islamists groups than at the start of
they are being illegally traded around the waiting in the wings to capitalise on the War on Terror.
continent. the opportunity presented for enforcing This is where Africa’s political leaders
As African diplomats trying to tackle strict Islamic law. Under the Nigerian will have to work hard. They need to put
the spread of illicit weapons on the Constitution, Federal law supersedes state their houses in order so that young people,
continent have pointed out, thousands of law including sharia. But there was no who have a long life ahead of them, do not
Africans have been killed in the Sahel going back by the North. feel disillusioned enough for them to take
and other trouble spots in Africa by these As fanatics tried to implement Sharia their chances with terrorist organisations
terrorist groups using the diverted Libyan law a wave of inter-religious violence whose message is loud and clear: that
weapons. exploded that claimed thousands of lives jihadism is the best way to change
Security experts have noted that the and the destruction of properties. When illegitimate and corrupt local governance
growth of Islamic terrorism in Africa is not the War on Terror began, it just fuelled systems and that these local wars were
solely down to America’s War on Terror. the expansion of Islamist support that saw part of a larger, just cause, as Crisis Group
The seeds of discontent had been sown many disaffected young people joining the argues.
long before then and had germinated into ranks of Boko Haram, which was founded Thus, African governments have some
terror atrocities such as the bombing of by Mohamed Yusuf in the Northern hard lessons to be learned from the War
the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Nigerian town of Maiduguri. on Terror to make sure that the continent
Salaam in 1998. Boko Haram has now become a thorn is not saddled with Islamist violence for
The collapse of President Siad in the flesh of subsequent governments in another 20 years. AB
6 AFRICA BRIEFING SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021
COMMENT
Governance goes from pillar
to post Desmond Davies
A
FTER six attempts at of hand when it comes to political To be honest, the matter of term
the presidency, Zambian manipulation. limits is no longer important. These
businessman Hakainde Conde himself is not a stranger to should be removed while the processes of
Hichilema finally made it to the top office political chicanery. After contesting the governance and elections are strengthened
in his country when he overwhelmingly 1998 presidential election against Lansana so that they become watertight.
defeated the incumbent, President Edgar Conte – which he lost – he was arrested Then it will be the voters who will
Lungu, in the election on August 12. and sentenced in a trial that many felt was ultimately have the final say on which
Hichilema’s victory was quicky seized unfair. When he was released in 2001, he leader extends his or her stay in power.
upon by African opposition politicians as visited me in my office in London while I And who are these voters? Africa’s
a positive sign for their own leadership was editor of West Africa magazine. overwhelmingly young people. They
ambitions. should no longer allow themselves to be
Conde waxed lyrical about democracy
But as they were celebrating, used as cannon fodder by politicians who,
and the rule law not only in Guinea but
the soldiers intervened in Guinea to once ensconced in power, fail to deliver
also in Africa. In an interview with one
oust President Alpha Conde who had for their young citizens.
of my journalists, Conde said he was
been elected to a controversial third It's a difficult ask, though, for young
“fairly optimistic” about the progress of
term just under a year ago. So, while Africans who suffer the most from
democracy on the continent, adding that
opposition politicians were cock-a-hoop unemployment and lack of opportunities
much had changed.
at Hichilema’s victory, the spectre of to make their live better. But they have
“unconstitutional” change of government “Suppressing information is no longer
to ensure that their future is secure
still loomed large over the continent. possible because of the globalisation now by regularly holding their leaders
of information. And almost 75 per cent accountable. If they do not deliver, they
This issue is a moot one. The
of Africans are under 30, many are should be kicked out of power through a
Economic Community of West African
unemployed and have no interest in system that is free and fair.
States quickly suspended Guinea, which
maintaining the status quo; they are a force
was expected. But whether this would hold In Ghana, for instance, since the
for change,” Conde said.
is another issue. return to regularly held elections in 1992,
How right he was. Since Conde the electorate has been in control. The
The problem with the ECOWAS action
gave that interview 20 years ago, young two main parties have been changed on a
is that Conde himself had been accused of
Africans have been gradually making regular basis – that is, after serving two
manipulating his country’s Constitution
their presence felt on the governance and terms.
to go for a third term as president, which
law and order fronts. In Nigeria, young
he got in October last year. But there was John Mahama got a shock when he
people forced the government to disband a
no harsh action taken against Conde by lost the presidential election in Ghana in
murderous police unit.
ECOWAS, such as we are now witnessing 2016, even though he had just done one
in regard to the military regime in In Zambia, it was the massive turnout full term, having become president on
Conakry. of young voters who gave Hichilema the death of John Atta Mills in July 2012.
Conde could argue that there was some victory. Young Zambians clearly see him He was entitled to another term, but for
sort of legality to the constitutional change as a leader who could create the enabling Ghanaian voters his party, the National
because it was approved in a referendum environment that would serve them in Democratic Congress, had already
in March 2020, although there were good stead in the future. done two terms and they voted for the
violent demonstrations after the result After all, young people are the future opposition New Patriotic Party.
was announced. Some 30 protesters were of Africa but they seem to be being let This is how things should really work.
killed. down regularly by leaders who seem Forget about term limits; strengthen the
This is where one has an issue with to be clueless about what is needed to electoral process and ensure that it works.
the debate on democracy and governance make their countries more welcoming for Then everything will be in the hands of the
in Africa. African leaders have a way of their young citizens. They want to see voters who matter instead of allowing the
doing things in a manner that borders leaders who are ready to rein in corruption continent’s political process to be going
on illegitimacy but with some veneer of in government, make judicious pubic back and forth when it suits the whims of
legality. They are masters of the sleight expenditure and be politically accountable. power-hungry politicians and soldiers. AB
AFRICA BRIEFING SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021 7
COMMENT
Democracy rocks in
Buhari’s Nigeria Chuks Iloegbunam
T
HE two dates: July 5, 1984 Mossad agent led the kidnap team that he had checked in a day earlier, one of the
and June 27, 2021! What do included a Nigerian intelligence officer, businesses that made him wing his way
they have in common, in so Major Mohammed Yusufu, and two other from Europe to the East African country
far as Nigeria is concerned? Only an Israelis, Felix Abitbol and Dr. Lev-Arie nicely tied up. How wrong he was. He
extraordinarily gifted genius would be Shapiro, who was to inject Dikko with an ended up repatriated to Nigeria, from
in a position to readily hazard a rationale anaesthetic. Crated, Dikko was driven to where he had escaped a few years earlier,
answer to this poser. To save readers from Stansted airport, 40 miles (64km) north one step ahead of cadres minded to do him
needless mind racking over dates separated of London where a Nigerian Airways in.
by a chasm of 37 years, the answer is here Boeing 707 aircraft was on the tarmac with
‘
provided: Muhammadu Buhari! How is
Nigeria has not
this so? Please read on.
On the last day of 1983, the
democratically elected government of
President Shehu Shagari was toppled by
selected factors in the hierarchy of the
said a word on the
Nigerian Army which set up a regime that
drove into exile and jail houses scores circumstances of Kanu’s
return to Nigeria
’
of politicians they had quite thoroughly
discredited. One of those that luckily
escaped the dismal prospect of a dreary
stretch behind bars was Alhaji Umaru His Special Counsel, Mr. Aloy
Dikko, the influential Transport Minister engines revving. Two crates waiting to be Ejimakor, told the BBC Igbo Service
in Shagari’s government, who relocated loaded into the aircraft lay on the tarmac. what happened. He said that Kanu was
to London for what he thought would be But the elaborate plan was aborted by Mr. abducted on June 19, 2021 in Nairobi,
a peaceful, even if lonely, sojourn outside Charles David Morrow, an eagle-eyed held incommunicado for eight days during
the shores of his fatherland. He was rudely customs officer, who contacted higher which he was chained to the bare floor
disappointed. authorities. The crates labelled diplomatc by Kenyan security operatives who then
“On a summer's day, (July 5, 1984), baggage were prised open. Airport officials bundled him on a plane and flown to
Mr Dikko walked out of his front door in found an unconscious Dikko and Dr. Abuja.
an upmarket neighbourhood of Bayswater Shapiro in one of the crates. The second
crate had in it the other two Israelis – “The people that abducted him said
in London. Within seconds he had been that they were told by their sponsors that
grabbed by two men and bundled into the Barak and Abitbol. The incident, an
international scandal, caused a diplomatic Kanu was a Nigerian terrorist linked to the
back of a transit van,” reported a BBC Islamic terrorists in Kenya, presumably
Witness programme. Said Mr. Dikko row between Britain and Nigeria.
Al-Shabab.
to the BBC a year after the nightmarish During June 2021, something
experience: "I remember the very violent somewhat similar to the Dikko Affair “But after several days when they
way in which I was grabbed and hurled happened in Africa. On June 19, Mazi discovered his true identity, they tended to
into a van, with a huge fellow sitting on Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the separatist treat him less badly. Despite that, they told
my head – and the way in which they group known as the Indigenous People Of him they felt committed to hand him over
immediately put on me handcuffs and Biafra (IPOB) and a remorseless nemesis to those that hired them.
chains on my legs.” The plan was to of the controllers of the levers of political “Kanu was, in point of fact, tortured
kidnap Mr. Dikko, drug him, stick him into power in Nigeria thought that a quiet, and subjected to untold cruel and inhuman
a specially made crate and put him on a anonymous drive to the Jomo Kenyatta treatment in Kenya. He said his abductors
plane back to Nigeria – alive. International Airport will, after a couple disclosed to him that they abducted him at
Alexander Barak, said to be an ex- of hours, terminate inside the hotel where the behest of the Nigerian government. He
8 AFRICA BRIEFING SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021
COMMENT
was blindfolded and driven to the tarmac But there is a third country in this cities agitating for Yoruba independence.
very close to the plane without passing triangular charade – the United Kingdom Abuja did not find his effrontery funny.
through the airport immigration. The of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – the On July 1, 2021, A joint security team
plane departed Nairobi at about 12 pm and bastion of protocol and constitutionalism. led by the DSS stormed Igboho’s Soka,
arrived Abuja in the evening.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson is yet to Ibadan residence in the dead of the night.
In both London of 1984 and Nairobi say a word on the absurd affair involving By the time they left, the place stood
of this year, Muhammadu Buhari looms Kanu, a holder of the British passport. Nor ransacked, two of Igboho’s supporters lay
large as the political leader of Nigeria, has the Foreign Office. Would all of Britain dead while 13 others were seized and taken
first as military Head of State, and then as have remained tight-lipped had Kanu, away. A DSS spokesman told the Nigerian
elected President. The Dikko Affair ended instead of being born an Igbo from an area press that Igboho’s aides subjected the
in dismal failure for the perpetrators. As of Nigeria formally known as Biafra was a joint security team to heavy gunfire as
is common knowledge, failure invariably blue-eyed son of pure white parents from they approached. A “gun duel” naturally
comes at a rather high cost. The three Birmingham or Bristol or Cambridge or ensued during which two of Igboho’s
Israelis involved in Dikko’s kidnap and a Cardiff or Derby or Dover. Two weeks
men were shot dead. Igboho escaped. The
Nigerian were in February 1985 convicted after Kanu returned to detention in Abuja,
DSS claimed it searched the premises and
by the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court Johnson met with Buhari and Kenyatta
recovered seven AK47 assault rifles, three
for kidnapping and drugging Dikko and in London, the communiqué issued at the
pump action guns, thousands of rounds
sentenced to jail terms ranging from 10 to end of their meeting being, in so far as the
of ammunition and charms and amulets!
14 years. Barak got 14 years. Shapiro and Extraordinary Rendition was concerned, a
Igboho was next heard of in neighbouring
Abitbol each got 10 years. Major Yusufu silence of deafening proportions.
Benin Republic where he was arrested as
got 12 years. While political prevarications play he attempted to board a flight for Germany.
In Kanu’s case, only one benefit has, out, one thing is sure about Nnamdi Kanu. He has German residency permit. Officials
so far, accrued to ordinary Nigerians. It Of the numerous thoughts that must be in Benin did not consider Igboho’s
is something tied to language. Nigerians fleeting through his restless mind, one Extraordinary Rendition to Nigeria an
have since learnt from Kanu’s lawyers must stand out for its uniqueness. That option. They paid scant attention to Abuja
that the abduction, torture, and forcible is whether or not Sunday Adeyemo aka pressures for the fugitive to be turned over.
repatriation of Kanu to Nigeria amounted Sunday Igboho would, sooner or later, Instead the matter ended in a Cotonou
to Extraordinary Rendition. It is legalese. become his co-tenant at the detention court where Igboho is fighting against
It is high-sounding. But people have got facilities of the Department of State extradition.
the hang of it. Services (DSS) in Abuja. Like Kanu,
whose eternal mission is the restoration It is obvious that anyone or body
A question now arises. Since propagating self-determination in today’s
Extraordinary Rendition is a crime against of the defunct Biafran Republic, Igboho
recently had the temerity to agitate for Nigeria has pitted themselves against the
international law, who gets punished for Buhari government. In some quarters,
its perpetration against Nnamdi Kanu, a his Yoruba ethnic group’s independence
from Nigeria, something anathema to this is puzzling because of positions
British citizen, and a Nigerian, apparently taken by President Buhari at international
conducting lawful business in an African Buhari’s ears. Unlike Kanu, who has
been a constant in the Nigerian psyche forums. In 2015, Buhari urged the United
country? Nigeria has not said a word Nations to grant the State of Palestine
on the circumstances of Kanu’s return for nearly a decade, Igboho was to most
people outside Yoruba land an unknown self-determination and recognise it as a
to Nigeria. It has returned Kanu to the sovereign nation. This was during the
Federal High Court in Abuja, for the quantity a spare six months ago. But he
got roused into activism because of the United Nations Summit on Sustainable
continuation of a trial truncated when Development Knowledge Platform held
he jumped bail and fled the country in peculiar rocking of Nigerian democracy
under Buhari. from 25 to 27 September 2015, in New
2017. How does one talk of sanctions York.
when the prime suspect has neither been When herdsmen of Buhari’s ethnic
formally charged nor entered a plea? The Fulani nationality killed Dr. Aborede in Recently, President Buhari said on
other corporate entity involved is another Ibarapa in January 2021, Igboho gave the network service of the Nigerian
country – Kenya. If the country’s leader, them an ultimatum to leave the place, Television Authority (NTA) that the
President Uhuru Kenyatta, has heard of and enforced it! That was audacity at ethnic Rohingya in Myanmar should be
Kanu’s extraordinary rendition inside its most prominent display. The Fulani protected and granted self-determination
the country he is president of, he has herdsmen are all over the place, burning, by the United Nations. He appealed to
not as much as favoured the story with looting, raping and killing people in the global organisation to impose one
a single word. Ashen-faced, his High their traditional homes without a word of its principles which protects ethnic
Commissioner in Abuja called a hurried of condemnation from the Federal minorities fighting for self-determination
press conference, denying that Kenya was Government and without any of them ever and facing brutality and murder in the host
in any way involved in Kanu’s plight. He being arrested, let alone prosecuted. Thus, country. Both Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday
has since slammed shut his lips when it Igboho, for achieving the unimaginable Adeyemo Igboho have ben shouting from
became proven beyond any iota of doubt became an instant Yoruba hero. He called the rooftops that their people are facing
that Kenyan authorities had handed Kanu demonstrations and drew tumultuous brutality and murder at the hands of Buhari
over to their Nigerian counterparts. crowds across many Yoruba towns and and his brand of democracy.
AB
AFRICA BRIEFING SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021 9
COVER STORY
South Africa: a country of huge contradictions
The recent pillaging and violence highlighted the desperation of the poor in a country
with the world’s widest wealth gap. It is a situation where there are a number of dollar
billionaires, but with more than half the population having more liabilities than assets.
South African industrialist and philanthropist Ivor Ichikowitz gives an insight into these
inconsistencies in an interview with Jon Offei-Ansah
B
USINESS owners are counting without trial was complete nonsense – it corruption during Zuma’s tenure was more
the cost after mass looting was an absolute lie.’ than $30bn.
and damage to property in Zuma was in office from 2009 to 2018, In February this year, Zuma refused
some of the worst violence seen in South a time marked by corruption and cronyism to appear before the Zondo Commission
Africa since apartheid in the 1990s. More at the highest levels of government. Zuma set up to investigate corruption during his
than 350 people were killed. Some shot, was forced to resign in 2018 because of time in office, even though he testified
some trampled in stampedes. Across two all the allegations against him. He has before. In June the Constitutional Court
provinces – KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng – been fighting those allegations ever since, sentenced Zuma to 15 months in prison for
people burned down factories, the transport and denies he did anything wrong. But contempt of court. He was given a deadline
and supply system was paralysed. Small President Ramaphosa says the cost of to turn himself in and at the last minute, he
businesses were destroyed.
President Cyril Ramaphosa sent in
soldiers, saying the violence was planned.
So, what triggered the violence free-for-
all? Where does former president Jacob
Zuma fit in? And what does this mean for
South Africa? In a frank interview with
Africa Briefing, South African industrialist
and philanthropist Ivor Ichikowitz gave his
take on the situation and his hopes for the
country’s future.
In Ichikowitz’s view, elements
within and outside the ruling African
National Congress (ANC) are engaged in
a political battle to make a point. ‘They
had threatened insurrection and they had
carefully orchestrated a planned process of
igniting the flames that they thought would
lead to an insurrection,’ he said.
‘Now it actually failed spectacularly
because what happened was that in
KwaZulu Natal, which is Zuma’s ground,
they were successful, sparking what
became criminally motivated riots and
looting and they dissipated a lie and the
lie was that Zuma had been jailed without
trial – that was a complete lie, Zuma
brought his incarceration upon himself.
You could question whether it was to test
his populist support or was to give the
finger to the South African system, but
it was an absolute act of defiance which
brought about his incarceration and that the
whole concept of the fact that it was arrest
Ichikowitz: I’m extremely hopeful and extremely positive
10 AFRICA BRIEFING SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021COVER STORY
‘I think that there are many examples
like that, that indicate that this was more
based on tactics that were used against
the apartheid government than they were
tactics that were copied from the United
States. Sure, there are parallels between
what happened in the US seven months
ago and what happened in South Africa and
I think that the parallels come out in the
fact that there were people in America that
turned around and said “not in my name,
we’re not going to allow this to happen,
and that happened in South Africa” – and
that civil society and elements that were
not even part of civil society, just people
out of everyday life, just turned and said
“no way, we’re not getting involved in
Zuma’s term was marked by corruption and cronyism at the highest levels this, we’re not going to join this looting
and rioting, we’re not going to allow this
showed up at a police station. than the poorest 32 million, and only one to be an insurrection, we’re going to do
While all that was going on, hundreds in five 18-to-24-year-olds are in work. everything we can to stop, even if the
of Zuma supporters, some carrying ‘It’s also been very negative in that it police and army can’t and that’s a huge
weapons, rallied in KwaZulu Natal, his has exposed the soft underbelly of South thing.”’
home province. South Africa is dealing Africa’s true issues and that is that we’ve According to Ichikowitz, one of the
with a lot of problems: the legacy of got to deal with this massive poverty and fundamental structural problems in South
apartheid, huge economic inequality, massive inequality between the haves Africa is the lack of a well-trained, efficient
crushing unemployment and the most and the have nots - that is today South police force and a well-trained, efficient
recorded cases of unemployment in Africa. Africa’s biggest risk, its biggest challenge. military.
But none of that, except for the pandemic, I think that what started as a Zuma issue ‘Part of that, by the way, is because
is new. So why did things kick off back in very quickly turned into an issue around there’s been a lot of pressure on South
early July? desperate poor people,’ Ichikowitz said. Africa by the West, by the rating agencies,
‘What the people around Zuma did, is He disagreed with some comparisons by international institutions – to not
that they used this as a mechanism to light with the January 6 insurrection in the invest in institutions of security – and
a flame, to ignite a spark which they hoped United States, saying that most of the that’s a catastrophe. If you’re going to
would then catch on to a national flame. instigators of the lootings and violence in have a democracy, you’re going to have
It caught on in KwaZulu Natal because South Africa were former combatants from to have strong institutions to protect that
they planned it in KwaZulu Natal and the armed wing of the ANC who were democracy. If nothing else has come out
there is evidence that a lot of the riots were schooled in sparking insurrection under the of this, the wake-up call to South Africa, is
actually initiated by this organised action apartheid system. to say sort out your police force, sort out
around Zuma. And what happened? Very ‘I think these people used tactics that your defence force to give them the ability
similar to what happened in the United were used during the apartheid days. I to deal with these kinds of criminal actions,
States, was that criminal elements and the think they manipulated the masses by because if you don’t do that, you’re not
desperate poor then just jumped on the spreading false information. I think they going to be able to defend what everyone
band wagon,’ he explained. used a lot of strategies around that they else is fighting for from a democratic and
used in the apartheid days – and I’ll give economic perspective,’ he said.
‘Was this in support of Zuma? I really
you a personal example. There was an Ichikowitz believes that the looting and
don’t think so and there seems to be very
orchestrated, well-co-ordinated, planned violence of July have swung public opinion
limited evidence that it any case that the
attack on ATMs in shopping centres. in President Ramaphosa’s favour.
population by and large rose up in support
Those ATMs were not attacked by the
‘I think this was a real test of public
of Zuma and I think that that has been very
masses. The masses stole food, they stole
opinion that happened to have come out in
positive because it emboldened President
clothing, they stole underwear, they stole
favour of Ramaphosa and his faction and I
Ramaphosa.’
basics. But there was a group of people,
think you’re right, you can’t avoid splitting
The looting and violence highlighted or organised criminals who went around
the ANC today - into the element of good
the desperation of the country’s poor big shopping centres and used the chaos
which is represented by Ramaphosa and
and the world’s widest wealth gap. as cover to professionally extract cash
the element of bad which appears to be
South Africa boasts a number of dollar from ATMs,’ he said. He explained that the
represented by Zuma. We mustn’t fool
billionaires, yet more than half the objective behind that was to then use the
ourselves, these are not new factions,
population have more liabilities than cash to pay off more criminals to create
there have been factions in the ANC since
assets, according to the World Inequality more chaos. And that was a strategy that
Mandela’s day. There have been people in
Lab. was applied in the apartheid days, going
the ANC who believe that they have a right
The richest 3,500 citizens own more back to the 70s and 80s.
to right the wrongs of the past through
AFRICA BRIEFING SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021 11COVER STORY
looting and pillaging. Then there’s always ‘If that campaign was used in the not cool that lives were lost, as much as
been a faction in the ANC who are driven UK, was used in the USA, people would it’s not cool that the police force couldn’t
by ideology, who are driven by the interests have seen if for what it was. The problem do their job and that intelligence services
of the people and who believe that the way in South Africa is you were talking to failed, what is cool is that South Africa is
to right the wrongs of the past is through a fundamentally uninformed illiterate intact, we have a very, very credible and
hard work and honest contribution to the population at that time and they took this strong President in place (albeit some of
development of society,’ he said. promise literally and 27 years on there are the people around him are not yet) and we
According to him, it is not just about still people sitting on the floor of mud huts have a foundation now to rebuild. I use the
two individuals who represent two different waiting for government to give them a analogy of a bush fire – in African culture,
house, still waiting for government to give in nature in Africa, the whole concept of
sides of the ANC, but South African society
them a job,’ he added. sometimes having to destroy before you can
at large and the ANC. ‘One of the big
‘In South Africa everybody has looked rebuild is a constantly reoccurring theme
myths about South Africa is that we’re a
to government with completely unrealistic and if you’re a conservationist, as I am, you
democracy. It’s a huge myth, everyone
expectations. I think the other positive that are constantly watching how the African
talks about South Africa’s democratic
has come out of this rioting was that people bush has to go through catastrophes before
experiment, we talk about the most liberal
in South Africa got a serious wake up call. it rejuvenates and I think to a large extent
constitution in the world and we talk
They quickly came to the realisation that that’s what’s going on in South Africa right
about the fact that this is a great example
government can only do so much and that now and we need to embrace it.’
of democracy at work – but it’s not a
democracy – the ANC has ruled absolutely average citizens had to do the rest. That’s Last month’s riots and looting spree,
for the last 27 years and it has not been the long answer, but the truth is that this in which more than 350 people died,
completely successful because of these
constant factional fights, or this constant
moral dilemma that exists inside the heart
of the party.’
He believes that the events of July have
forced this factionalism completely into the
open and put it to a test by the public.
‘What could have happened here and
what the Zuma supporters were hoping
would happen is that this rioting and looting
would spread throughout the country in
all 11 provinces, that the country would
become ungovernable and I would not be
surprised if the ultimate plan was some
form of a coup inside the ANC. I have no
evidence of this but knowing the ANC,
knowing some of the individuals, knowing
the way they think, I would be pretty sure The element of good in SA politics is represented by Ramaphosa
that was the plan, the masterplan.’
today remains one of South Africa’s biggest highlighted the desperation of the country’s
Ichikowitz agrees that the ANC has
challenges - the fact that the rank-and-file poor and the world’s widest wealth gap.
failed to manage the high expectations
population has unrealistic expectations South Africa boasts a number of dollar
of economic upliftment among the Black
of government and even somebody like billionaires, yet more than half the
population with the advent of majority rule
President Ramaphosa – who has his heart population have more liabilities than assets,
in 1994, blaming the party for creating
in the right place, who understands what according to the World Inequality Lab.
those expectations in the first place.
needs to be done, who I don’t believe has
‘These expectations were created by the The richest 3,500 citizens own more
a corrupt bone in his body, can’t fix this
ANC itself. The ANC came up with a than the poorest 32 million, and only one in
on his own. And he can’t fix it in a 5-year
campaign [in 1994] that said, “elect us into five 18-to-24-year-olds are in work.
presidential term. You can’t take 60 years
government and we will ensure jobs, we The government has twice had to
of apartheid and fix the results, fix the
will ensure housing and we will ensure implement a blanket pay out of about
consequences in 20 years or 25 years of
your prosperity” – that was the campaign. $24 a month to the needy on a temporary
democracy.’
I might have got the words slightly wrong basis, first during the initial stages of the
but the principle was that if ANC came into But Ichikowitz is bullish about South
Africa’s future. ‘I’m extremely hopeful coronavirus pandemic and now in the
power all of the wrongs of the past would
and extremely positive. This thing could aftermath of the riots. Yet to meet South
be corrected and the ANC would take
have gone very wrong and it didn’t. And Africa’s own definition of what makes
responsibility for ensuring that everybody
as much as it’s not cool that $3 billion someone poor requires a stipend of almost
in South Africa would become prosperous,’
of damage was done, and as much as it’s four times that amount. AB
he said.
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Mr, Felix Ji phone: 86-13501786280ANALYSIS
Devastating moments for African leadership
With rampant cases of selfish and visionless leaders, governance in Africa has
become a practice in divisions, victimisation, alienation and marginalisation, argues
Toyin Falola
M
OST of post-independence fortunes at the turn of the millennium
Africa had been dominated gradually take a downward turn.
by an unsuccessful Continuing on an economically fragile
struggle to achieve the modest goals of and politically precarious state, it was only
political stability, economic prosperity a matter of time before all the negative
and development laid out in the liberation actions and failures of government tipped
manifestos of nationalist leaders and the balance over towards anarchy. This was
revised by subsequent governments. brought on by a convergence of certain
But the new millennium brought certain factors, some of which were foreseeable
developments that gave hope to spectators and others that can be summed up as
and stakeholders alike that the continent coincidences or acts of providence.
was approaching a new dawn. In the foreseeable future, there is
These developments were evident in the issue of endemic poverty, a growing
the appreciation of the per capita figures of population of young, unemployed,
certain African economies, an increasing dissatisfied and restive people, and that
transition from despotic to democratic of limited government, slowly leading to
governments and in the successful failing states.
resolution of some of Africa’s protracted Though there were some warning
conflicts. This, though, did not mean the Africa: different shades of leaders indications of an impending crisis, such
disappearance of underlying factors like as the growing exodus of young Africans
poverty, ethnic divisions, climate change through the Sahara and across the
to attain its development potential, but
and bad governance. Mediterranean to Europe, as well as other
the said resources have turned around to
It was taken as an indication that Africa become a curse on the African people, also minor cases of xenophobic expressions,
had turned a corner in its development attracting the worst kind of characters to particularly in South Africa, things started
journey, with better prospects for the its shores. to come to a head in Africa, perceptibly
future. Hence, for a period, especially from 2009. And for deducible reasons,
With the rampant cases of selfish countries both in and bordering the
with the economic revolutions inspired
and visionless leadership, governance Sahelian regions were worst hit by the
by the proliferation of communications
in Africa has become a practice in crisis.
technology on the continent, this vision of
divisions, victimisation, alienation
a transformed Africa seemed even more Stretching from the Red Sea in the
and marginalisation. To perpetuate
viable. East to the Atlantic coast in the West,
themselves in office, power-mongering
Unfortunately for Africa, the question and kleptomaniacal African leaders have the Sahelian region, which comprises
of good governance has persistently organised and supervised reigns of terror, parts of Eritrea, Sudan, Mali, Burkina
remained an albatross to political and heavily suppressing dissents and ruling as Faso, Senegal, Chad, Niger and Nigeria,
economic advancement and growth kings at the expense of mobilising social is known to contain some of the world’s
sustainability on the continent. For a region energies towards combating the ever- poorest countries, according to the UN
endowed with enough human and material present threats of poverty and conflict. Development Index. Niger is at the bottom
resources to emerge as one of, if not the These have been further worsened by position, with Chad, Burkina Faso and
most, prosperous region of the world, population explosion and climatic changes. Mali ranking directly above it.
Africa has not been so lucky with the crop Starved of critical investments by Outside of the endemic poverty, lack
of leaders who have managed its affairs. these larcenous tendencies, the strategic of education, employment opportunities
The continent has witnessed a institutions of already fragile, colonially and state presence, which made it easy for
combination of authoritarian dispensations inherited African states have begun to armed groups to recruit and thrive in these
with their characteristic despotic, sit-tight collapse, resulting in limited government areas, the ill-fated NATO-backed regime
leaders, and other democratic kleptocracies coverage and failing states. Thus, Africans, change in Libya, and the attendant uprising
manned by “fantastically corrupt” and the rest of the world, have had to in Northern Mali in 2012, worsened the
presidents. As a result, not only has the watch as what seemed to be a revolution security situation in most of the region.
continent been unable to use its resources in Africa’s social, economic and political In Mali, the armed groups that emerged
14 AFRICA BRIEFING SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021ANALYSIS
in areas neglected by the state for decades humanitarian groups to generate the funds and a prominent practice in Northern
took advantage of available recruits and to mitigate its impacts. In the meantime, Nigeria, it is considered within African
today have increased their ranks, spreading tens of thousands of refugees across the “democratic” circles as a necessary
conflict and violence to the central region continue to live in displacement, political arsenal for any candidate hoping
regions of the country and spilling over to unable to return home due to the persistent to run on the platform of any major
neighbouring Burkina Faso and the Niger situation of insecurity. political party.
Republic. Also, the impact of climate The more recent conflicts in Ethiopia Africa in 2021 is a cause for worry
change on the region and livelihoods of between state security forces and the for everyone interested in the peace
about 50 million livestock herders, which “rebel” Tigrayan region, as well as the and prosperity of the continent. Almost
has instigated increased farmer-herder rioting in South Africa over the arrest everywhere one turns, a conflict is
clashes, has resulted in scores of people of former President Jacob Zuma, cannot
happening or waiting to unfold. Daily
being killed and millions displaced. be separated from the aforementioned
reports of deaths and numerous forms of
In Nigeria in 2002, what began as underlying factors: poor governance
human suffering steadily plague the senses
a clampdown by government security practices, high youth unemployment rates,
of all who call it home.
agencies on a “radicalising” Islamic sect climatic changes and debilitating poverty.
led by an obscure Islamic cleric named Indeed, these have become a
In Ethiopia, the Tigrayan People’s
Mohammed Yusuf, and comprised mainly Liberation Front (TPLF), the front-line devastating period for everyone, especially
of “poor Muslim families from across unit defending the interests of Tigrayans after emerging out of the scourge of a
Nigeria and neighbouring countries,” (the third largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, global pandemic that is yet threatening to
grew into a full-fledged insurgency by constituting 67 per cent of the population), make a comeback. In today’s Africa, the
2009. This rebel group, which came to be was formed in the mid-1970s in reaction streets are no longer safe; children live in
known as Boko Haram, gained notoriety to allegations of marginalisation. fear and danger of a bleak future; people’s
for its disavowal of the canons of Western Additionally, the ongoing war between the identities are redefined as they flee from
civilisation. TPLF and the central government of Prime war, roaming the world as unwanted and
This was backed up with a repudiation Minister Abiy Ahmed is an outcome of the unwelcomed aliens.
of the Nigerian state, the sacking of latter’s ambition to suppress the former To reflect on how far we have come
its North-Eastern towns, and the mass by diminishing its power and political and how much efforts have been invested
slaughter of its inhabitants. Since 2009, influence. As it stands, the conflict has to see Africa rise and remain standing,
Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for not only claimed the lives of thousands of only to watch it all fall apart again before
the deaths of tens of thousands of Nigerian civilians, while displacing over a million,
our very eyes, is heart-wrenching – a thing
citizens and the displacement of millions. but is also riddled with allegations of
that would break lesser men and women.
sexual violence and other atrocities.
By 2014, the armed conflict in North- However, are we lesser men? This is one
East Nigeria between security forces and Another evidence of the tragedy of question that providence seems to want
non-state armed groups, with ties to ISIL governance in Africa is the pro-Zuma us to answer again, after many occasions.
and factions like IS West African Province rioting in South Africa. This is a classic We have come to a point where we must
‘
(ISWAP), had spread to neighbouring
countries, drawing Cameroon, Niger and
Chad into the conflict. The devastating The ill-fated NATO-backed regime
impact of this conflict on the region is
perhaps best captured in Cameroon, where change in Libya, and the attendant
the schism in areas bordering Nigeria
and Cameroon, coupled with pre-existing uprising in Northern Mali in 2012,
unrests between the French-speaking
north-western regions and the English- worsened the security situation in
’
Speaking south-west, has resulted in
massive destabilisation in the country. By the Sahel
2018, the violence in Cameroon had led to
African scenario where the leader of
the displacement of an estimated 437,000
a multi-national state takes advantage acknowledge that much more is required,
Cameroonians, with about 30,000 refugees
of the teeming number of unemployed notwithstanding the numerous sacrifices
crossing over into Nigeria.
youths amongst his sub-national group we have made. With the fragments of our
This interconnected conflict between broken hearts in our hands, we are obliged
and develops a cult-like following. He
the countries of the Sahel belt has to rebuild, and we must rebuild because
allows this group the best benefits of
continuously expanded in scale and scope now is the time to build and not to tear
of devastation over the years, especially his administration, and in return he gets
down.
between 2018 and the present. It has also unquestioned allegiance, even against the
general interest of the federation. The alternative is to sit and watch our
risen to the status of “one of the world’s beloved and beautiful Africa die – from
worst humanitarian crises,” especially Unfortunately, this is not peculiar to numerous blows dealt by division,
owing to the growing difficulty for South Africa alone. Spread around Africa hatred, poverty, war and hunger. AB
Toyin Falola is University Distinguished Teaching Professor and Humanities Chair at The University of Texas at Austin in the US
AFRICA BRIEFING SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021 15You can also read
