The African Perspective

Why Is It So Difficult for Africans to Comprehend That Any Foreign Interests, Corporations, Or Countries Are Not on Our Continent for Our Benefit?

The difficulty in recognizing that foreign interests often prioritize their own agendas over African benefit stems from a mix of historical, economic, and psychological factors:

1. Historical Conditioning: Colonial legacies and post-colonial narratives have framed foreign involvement as "developmental" or "civilizing." This creates a lingering trust in external actors, reinforced by aid programs or infrastructure projects that appear benevolent but often serve strategic interests.
2. Economic Dependence: Many African economies rely heavily on foreign investment, trade, or aid. This dependency can obscure exploitative motives, as governments and populations prioritize short-term gains (jobs, infrastructure) over long-term sovereignty or resource control.
3. Information Asymmetry: Foreign corporations and governments often control narratives through media, PR campaigns, or local elite capture. This drowns out critical voices, making it harder for populations to access clear evidence of exploitation.
4. Divide-and-Rule Tactics: Foreign interests exploit ethnic, political, or regional divisions, aligning with local power brokers who benefit personally, thus fragmenting unified resistance or skepticism.
5. Psychological Hope: The promise of "development" or "progress" tied to foreign involvement taps into collective aspirations, making it emotionally challenging to accept that these actors prioritize profit or geopolitical dominance.
6. Lack of Unified Education: Education systems rarely emphasize critical analysis of neocolonial dynamics, leaving populations less equipped to question foreign motives systematically.

This isn't unique to Africa-global South nations face similar challenges. Breaking this cycle requires grassroots education, strong local leadership, and amplifying voices that expose these dynamics. We need to realize that the entities behind the atrocities committed against Africa cannot be the solutions for our collective liberation. They want to continue to have access to the resources and the intellectual property. Consequently, they would do anything and everything to dig in and stay as long as possible. The most current and recent example is what's happening with the Sahel trio. We Africans need to be our own solutions.

Author: Oladele Dosunmu, Co-Founder of the Emerging Alkeubulan Professing African-Centered Community Solutions to Counter Foreign Interests.

WHY THE U.S REJECTED FUNDING THE NEW MISSION IN SOMALIA

To redefine US-Africa engagement, Washington must recognize the power of the African diaspora

The United States needs to pay more attention to the digital identity economy. In my work researching how African diaspora communities in the United States maintain their connections to their homelands, I have found that long-standing experiences involving racism, combined with growing anti-immigrant sentiments, have led many members of the African diaspora to strengthen their ties to the continent.

THE AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY OF UBUNTU

Enemy Within or Seeking Geostrategic and National Interests?

To Stay or To Go: Comrades in Arms or Colonizers in the Frontlines? Statement by Malian Interim President General Assimi Goita

Those who say that France hasn't done anything or that France has to stay. I have been on the frontline with them, I have eaten with them, I patrolled with them, and I listened to their radio.

Why Is It So Difficult for Africans to Comprehend That Any Foreign Interests, Corporations, Or Countries Are Not on Our Continent for Our Benefit?

The difficulty in recognizing that foreign interests often prioritize their own agendas over African benefit stems from a mix of historical, economic, and psychological factors.

Our Skinfolks Are Not Always Our Kinfolks

The Cote d'Ivoire president Alassane Ouattara and the Africom commander General Michael Langley. History tells us that they always use one of us to infiltrate us. When are we going to stop focusing on greed driven personal gains? When are we going to start thinking about our collective interests? When are we going to go back to our foundational values of Ubuntu and Agbajowo? As long as we focus on capitalism, there will always be those who will betray us.