(FinalCall.com)–Historically, slaves were considered “black gold.” However, in modern times the new black gold is oil. Not just any oil, but the oil from the soil and shores of Africa. The Bush Administration has “aimed their guns” at Africa and begun firing. Many articles featured recently in international magazines and the New York Times have mentioned West Africa as an area chosen for strong consideration for America’s oil supply.
The Bush Administration’s focus on African oil may even extend beyond West Africa. They are looking for oil from Angola to Guinea Bissau, from Libya, Chad and The Sudan to the Central African Republic. The opening shots were fired when Secretary of State Colin Powell made a visit to Angola and Gabon.
The first volley took place when Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the Unita movement, was killed in Angola in a so-called fire fight. He had become useless to America and the West. I believe he was killed when he became a real headache. His position did not fit into the new American plans for oil from West Africa. Thereafter, Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Angola to confer with the leaders of the Angolan government. Ironically, they are now having oil talks with the leaders of Angola after years of America’s support to Unita, which is a reactionary movement trying to replace the government of Angola.
›From Angola, Secretary of State Powell traveled up the coast to Gabon. Gabon is an oil rich country with a lot of land and only 1.2 million people. Omar Bongo, a Muslim, is the leader of this predominantly Christian nation.
You do not have to be an expert or specialist of international affairs to know that if President Bush turns a deaf ear on sound advice and goes ahead with his plan to attack Iraq and unseat Saddam Hussein, this will interfere with the oil flow from the Middle East. This administration fumbled the ball in Venezuela, which happens to be an important oil supplier to the United States in the Western hemisphere. When the Bush Administration secretly supported a coup against Hugo Chavez, the legitimate President, they saw his removal could cause a bloody civil war. The instability created by a civil war would have meant no oil at all for America. Venezuela is still the third largest supplier of oil for the United States. As a result, they are now making West Africa the focus of the new black gold.
Africa has a population of nearly 800 million people and Muslims make up half of this population. Had the Bush administration considered the repercussions to their ill-advised plans to attack Iraq, they would have addressed the fact that some of the key countries the U.S. is trying to cultivate for oil supplies are predominately Muslim or nations that are led by Muslim leaders.
War could cause a need to replace the oil supply that would have come from the Middle East. America would have to target The Sudan, Chad, Libya, Nigeria, Angola and Gabon, and on a smaller scale the country of Guinea Bissau in West Africa to replace the supply from countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.
As the slaves from West Africa were considered “black gold” 200+ years ago, they were not only needed, but there was a critical need for the slaves in order to turn the wheels of the American economy. The new black gold, which today is oil, is not just needed but it is also a critical need for this oil to turn the wheels of not just the American economy, but the wheels of the western world. The question is, “Where is the African-American community on this proposition?” We have a historical right to be involved. America deals with Africa without any thought for our inclusion. We have knowledgeable people among us to deal with these oil concerns. They would welcome the opportunity to serve, and they should be invited.
There are not just millions, but billions of dollars made every day in every aspect of oil industry. Very few African-Americans are involved in this business. As America focuses its guns on West Africa as a new source of oil, let us not stand on the sidelines or be marginalized in the situation.
Bush plans to go to Africa in the year 2003. He is sending a message that this is the White boy’s business and the nearly 40 million descendants of Africa will be locked out. The signal sent will be that African-Americans have no place in the oil business or we have not been considered. Bush dismisses Black America in his quest for West African oil.
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