CRY, THE BELOVED CONTINENT!
The endemic turmoil in Africa, of course alongside a myriad of other life-threatening issues, is partly responsible for the deplorable underdevelopment of the continent.
Startling international media revelations are to the effect that the violent armed conflict between rival factions of the military government of Sudan which began on 15 April 2023 has led to the displacement of over a million people and the death of over 700, while over 5000 have been wounded since the beginning of the conflict.
Even last month’s ceasefire agreement could not be helpful and both sides have already been accused of breaching the agreement, prompting the US government to implement three specific measures to promote what it terms to be accountability for the actions committed by the two forces, including imposing visa restrictions, levying economic sanctions, and updating our business advisory for Sudan.
“These actions are in response to SAF and RSF violations of the obligations they undertook in Jeddah: looting, occupation of and attacks on civilian residences and infrastructure, use of aerial bombardment and artillery, attacks and prohibited movements, and obstruction of humanitarian assistance and essential services restoration,” reads the US government statement issued on Thursday 1 June 2023.
It remains to be seen if the people of Sudan, working with the region, continent, and the world can finally solve their problems and allow for democracy and stability to prevail in the Northeast African country.
In West Africa, the people of Senegal, mainly the youth, have taken to the street following the sentencing of opposition political leader Ousmane Sonko for “corrupting the youth.” Consequently, this has sparked some deadly violence in the country because his supporters argue that the sentence is a ploy to prevent him from running in next year’s presidential elections.
Meanwhile, Africa’s second-largest country by land area, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to suffer serious challenges, especially in the eastern region, due to domestic political rivalries between groups or factions, land disputes, as well as foreign countries that are looking for the mineral wealth of the DRC. Again here, it is reported that these armed clashes have resulted in the killing of civilians and triggered massive displacements. The ordinary Congolese find themselves in a situation whereby they are unable to satisfy their most urgent needs without humanitarian assistance.
The sad part about the situation of Congo is that, with great leadership, DRC can become one of the most successful countries in the world; after all, it has all the natural resources you can think of, from cobalt to coltan, copper, diamonds, and others. Quite clearly, there are objective factors for the crisis, emanating from the West’s interest in the Congo, as has been the case with many African countries.
For instance, when President Tshisekedi came into office France and Belgium did not approve of the outcome. At the time, Aljazeera reported that these two nations from Western Europe were challenging the outcome of the DRC’s presidential election, with France's Foreign Minister saying the declared victory of opposition chief Felix Tshisekedi was "not consistent" with the results and that his rival Martin Fayulu appeared to have won. Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders was also reported to have cast doubt on the election result, saying his country would use its temporary seat on the UN Security Council to seek clarification about Tshisekedi’s surprise victory.
Well, France and Belgium’s interests in the DRC must be understood in the context of this African nation’s economy. After the Belgians had long left DR Congo, the powers of the so-called New International Order have allegedly taken a particular interest in the thievery of Congolese resources. Patrice Lumumba, the DRC independence leader whom many people praise for having had a clear vision of how to develop Congo and take its resources back to the people, was publicly humiliated, arrested, and bundled into a truck with a subsequent assassination.
Ever since, the nation has been unstable, from Joseph Mobutu (Mobutu Sese Seko) to Laurent-Desire Kabila, Joseph Kabila, and now Tshisekedi. What is more painful is the indisputable fact that the DRC has been unstable because of what appears to be outside forces that have an interest in the looting of that country’s resources. It is sad to know that DRC is a very wealthy nation in terms of natural resources, but also one of the poor nations of the world because its resources are not benefiting the people of that country.
When you go further south, in Zimbabwe, an opposition Member of Parliament, Job Sikhala, accused of inciting public violence, has been in jail for close to a year now and he recently lost a bid to have his case dismissed. Instead, the state has added more charges. As the country goes to elections, it looks like there is no hope of having free and fair elections because the political and security environment does not seem to be conducive for such elections. A similar incident happened in Eswatini where this past week members of parliament Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube were found guilty of murder and inciting violence during the country’s political unrest of 2021.
In Botswana, former President Ian Khama has been in exile for almost two years now and a court in Botswana issued an arrest warrant for the former President for the possession of “illegal firearms.” There are some seemingly irreversible tensions between Khama and President Mokgweetsi Masisi ahead of next year’s general election in Botswana.
The list of conflicts, instabilities, and squabbles in Africa goes on and on. The net result has been the pathetic underdevelopment of the continent, as defined by dehumanizing poverty, high rates of unemployment, weak educational and healthcare systems, and low life expectancy. While it can be argued that the explanation for Africa's underdevelopment is its history of extraction characterized by the slave trade and colonialism, subjective factors are equally responsible for these. As things stand, we can only say: CRY, THE BELOVED CONTINENT!