Progress of West African nations must be forged through cooperative economics
Last month Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja, called on member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to remove what he described as “outdated physical and psychological boundaries and other colonially-inspired differences” for the region to progress economically. Buhari, who because of the two-term limit cannot run again for a third-term in the upcoming February...
AFRICA WATCH Death of President Idriss Deby signals uncertain future for the Sahel, Chad
What are the chances in 2021 of a world leader dying on the battlefield? asked France24 news commentator Francois Picard. Chad’s longtime president and military leader for 31 years recently died from wounds sustained after going to a military front. President Idriss Deby, who received military training as a pilot in France and last year took on the title of...
Israel, Egypt, Ethiopia and convoluted U.S. foreign policy
Israel and Egypt are America’s principal Middle East and North Africa watchdogs of United States foreign policy. Why else would Israel be endowed by Washington with $3.8 billion in aid plus $8 billion in loan guarantees annually. Coming in a distant second is aid to Egypt, which according to the State Department’s website has long played a central role...
Activist: Sudan’s kleptocratic military system won’t stop the people’s movement from rising
Sudanese activist, educator Nour Tawir Aburass Anti-military coup, pro-democracy marches occurring in Sudan with growing numbers and increasing frequency since October show there is a renewed, unquestionable call among the people for civilian rule. The growing protest movement is a sign, this writer was told by longtime Sudanese activist educator, Nour Tawir Aburass who hails from the Nuba Mountains, that the...
The Gambia says child deaths linked to Indian cough syrup have risen to 70
The Gambia says the number of children who died of acute kidney damage thought to be linked to Indian-made cough syrups has increased to 70. President Adama Barrow gave the update at an emergency cabinet meeting held on October 13 to review various aspects of the incident. The cough syrup was made by an Indian company called Maiden based in New Delhi. The...
Is scholar linked to Sudanese rebel group?
(FinalCall.com) - Looking into the reasons for Dr. Hassan Al-Turabi's most recent arrest, his fifth since his falling out with President Omar Al-Bashir, analysis as always comes from different quarters: Political science professor at Al Neilein University Hassan Al-Sa'ori believes the detention is somehow connected to Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim's “failure to distort the...
Facebook sued in Kenya over work conditions for moderators
KAMPALA, Uganda—A man who says he is “destroyed” after working as a content moderator for Facebook has filed a lawsuit accusing the company of human trafficking Africans to work in an exploitative and unsafe facility in Kenya. The case against Meta Platforms, the Menlo Park, Calif. company that owns Facebook, and Sama, a San Francisco subcontractor, was lodged May 10...
The contradictions in trying to reform African debt with outdated post-neoliberal era mechanisms
While viewing OXFAM America’s recent forum on “Remaking Global Economic Governance For A Post-Neoliberal Era,” the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s words about the standard by which doing “good” is measured came to mind. Discussing the doing of good or retooling the neoliberal policies of the past to somehow benefit the recipients of capitalism’s history of exploitation, sounds more like an...
Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba and the fight for a united Africa
The only remains of murdered Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba—a gold-capped tooth in a blue box—was handed over to his family during a ceremony in Brussels, noted the German international newscaster. This symbolic handover of the first democratically elected leader of the now Democratic Republic of Congo, and recent visit by Belgium’s King Phillippe to the minerally rich country appeared...
The importance of exploring the cultural history of Islam in the Motherland
In W.E.B. DuBois’ 1939 book, “Black Folks Then and Now,” the prolific author, scholar, and convener of Pan African Congresses explains the substance of the continent of Africa during pre-colonial times and during the heyday of global imperialism. While on my many trips to Egypt and Sudan, my last time in 2021 having spent two months living in the capital...