In his sales pitch aka his “address to the African Union” last week, US president Barack Obama gave Africans a worse deal than Amazon.com, Inc. gives book publishers on any given day.
Obama’s pitch was pally, persuasive and punchy as any skilled salesperson’s. Terms like ‘partnership’, ‘development’, ‘co-operation’ and ‘opportunity’ were abundantly used. But make no mistake, its intention was to mask dubious policy in soundbites.
Yet Obama’s insincerity is not the point for Africans. At least it should not be. Sure, the US president is “one of our own” as AU chair, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, put it. We are proud of him for various reasons. But his commitment is not to our own. Rather it is to the empire over which he reigns – the USA – and he left Africa having secured more resources for the empire. (As well as with a fuck you-grin to China on his face.)
Meanwhile, and this is the point, instead of over-analysing Obama’s role, let’s ask what the leaders of the African Union, or African Onion as I call it, are doing? Here’s what. They are proceeding to mindlessly sign so called ‘partnerships’ that are sure to ruin the lives of generations to come. The Onion itself refers to its partnerships as “Win-Win”. However, you don’t have to be on an expert judge panel to observe that Africans aren’t winning anything but fake trophies.
This is why I call the African Union the African Onion, because the things they do make me weep!
Trade and development partnerships are the modern-day version of England’s indirect rule, a continuation of a painfully dark history of exploitation. To name only a few, there’s the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), which Obama mentioned and which considering that it creates 100,000 jobs in the US ought to be called the “American Growth and Opportunities Act”; the New Alliance Cooperation Framework through which African nations legitimise the theft of natural resources to for profit corporations under the aegis of “private sector investment plans”; the “Pan-African initiative”, or PanAf as it deceptively locally sounds, was set up by the EU to improve trade, observe elections, run governance initiatives, yada yada – it just so happens that African states are forced to tie a large portion of their markets to Europe in exchange. There’s also the rather sinisterly named “Trade Africa“, which boosts intra-African trade, not a bad thing per se, but what does the US get in return? Well, how about a million bucks.
The Onion was established in 2001 when it (largely thanks to Gaddafi) replaced the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). It has since risen to a significant position within international politics. It has become more powerful as a political, economic and military pan-African body. To that measure, I value its work.
However, – and the reason for which I write this post – is precisely the political weight it is gaining and will rapidly loose if we do not monitor it. If we want to keep the Onion relevant, we are going to have to be critical of it. We are going to need to chop off any pungent taste and odour with surgical precision.
The Onion’s 2014 budget was $308 billion, out of which $126 billion was from member states while $170 billion was secured from ‘international partners’. It smells like some international partner is planning a big, spicy dinner party with the Onion and Africans don’t seem to be on the guest list! (https://www.safpi.org/news/article/2013/budget-african-union-2014-financial-year)
Ha ha!
Thanks for the info, depressing as it is. Do you have another link? That one is broken
https://www.safpi.org/news/article/2013/budget-african-union-2014-financial-year
Thanks. Interesting.
Glad someone is seeing this new colonialsm for what it really is. South America has produced leaders prepared to reject this model but with Gaddafi gone (for all his faults) I am struggling to think of any African leaders doing likewise – have you got any examples to give us hope?
In terms of radicalising economic structures, tackling poverty and corruption, battling sexism and homophobia, taking back power from the corporate sector, and above all, revolting against new colonialism, no, I’m afraid I do not have comparisons to South American leadership in Africa.
Hey but if Africa has to be colonized why don’t the Africans choose the US? They have free will like everyone else…
“Has to be colonised” & free will don’t really go together do they.
Precisely.
First of all I love your blog and all it represents. My question is what is the solution?
Thank you very much.
I don’t have a solution but I know that public awareness is key. If our leaders know that we are watching them diligently, the more accountable they will become.
I’ve always been of the opinion that leaders cannot be relied upon if those who are being led also cannot be relied upon. So coming from this perspective, I really like the suggestion of being critical of the “Onion” (lol) simultaneously, I am reminded again to look at myself and encourage other Africans to look at themselves too.
The road to true independence won’t be easy and a requirement is that every single one of us think of ourselves as leaders in the same way that we look at those with official titles as leaders.
Once we achieve a critical mass with this mindset, there’s no limit to the greatness that we can achieve on our continent.
Hi Kola, sorry it seems I missed this comment. You are so right that we need to look inward first. To change the world, we need to first change ourselves. To change our illusions about things. We have all been miseducated (as Lauryn Hill’s might put it), and there’s no point in miseducated people teaching one another how to be miseducated. Thank you for stopping by.
Every time I hear or see Obama in the same sentence, or perceive him and the continent within the same concept, I feel a strange meta-infinite-loop-“black mirror” pang. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something satirical about America sending an American’d African to an African entity who’s struggling to compete in an American-lead global culture (built in-part by Africans), and having the aformentioned American’d African fast talk said African entity. It’s like a fractaline pattern that folds in on itself and conintues to end up with the same result.
Every time I hear or see Obama and Africa in the same sentence, or perceive him
and the continent within the same concept, I feel a strange
meta-infinite-loop-“black mirror” pang. I can’t put my finger on it,
but there’s something satirical about America sending an American’d
African to an African entity who’s struggling to compete in an
American-lead global culture (built in-part by Africans), and having the
aformentioned American’d African fast talk said African entity. It’s
like a fractaline pattern that folds in on itself and conintues to end
up with the same result.
“a strange meta-infinite-loop-“black mirror” pang” – but you put your finger on it precisely! Thanks for the insightful, explorative and poetic comment (also appreciate the fractaline pattern image).