International media outlets reported on fired US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent visit in East and West Africa whereas in his stopover at Ethiopia warned the continent on China’s dangerous huge economic engagement over Africa which “promotes dependency” and “undermines the sovereignty of Africa”.
Comment:
From quick observation on the five countries chosen for Tillerson’s visit in Africa confirms the clear perception that Washington’s first and foremost interest in Africa is security and had nothing to offer to Africa or caring on Africans’ sovereignty.
The continent of Africa lost its sovereignty since the rise of capitalism and has never enjoyed since, inspite of its states now having national anthems, currencies, flags and national days, all of these merely do not represent sovereignty in its true perspective.
When the European imperialism rise in 19th century, it was hand in hand with subjugating natives states, political dominance, economic exploitation, racial discrimination then ultimately led to divide Africa as a sphere of exploitation of its natural resources such as mines, agricultural products, raw materials, manpower and physical occupation over strategic areas for safeguarding their influences, the same was experienced in the Americas and Asia.
Capitalist nations once they established themselves, they exploited a bulk of resources, and during physical colonial invasion even employed local rulers indirectly who are supervised behind the scenes by colonial advisors such as Sultan of Zanzibar, Buganda, Sokoto etc. to reach their end.
The emergence of independence movements especially after World War 2 was accompanied by the slogan of fighting for national sovereignty and was loudly trumpeted by freedom fighters. However, this independence campaign in the real sense was a plan and strategy of US and Soviet Union to harness their world hegemony agenda took over British and French colonies. Since US was dominant nation after World War 2, while UK and France were weakened and exhausted from the war. Regarding Soviet Union was also having hot desire as a new ideological nation in the world stage. The independence call was embraced by the masses in the African continent and Asia with the hope of gaining real freedom and sovereignty from colonial masters, something that never happened.
The current situation of neocolonialism has worsened since the collapse of the Soviet Union, whereby the US is the biggest international master while the UK, France and others enjoy a tiny influence. Today the US dictates each and every nation in the political, economic, cultural and military sphere where it locates its military bases everywhere in Africa with army deployment of more than 6,000 troops on the continent, without consideration of any national sovereignty.
US warning on Africans’ sovereignty is an insult, scornful and ridiculing the continent, and infact US has no moral ground to make a such statement, since it treats Africa as a backdoor to exploit whatever, whenever and how much it wants. Not to mention on the political side where it dictates to its rulers as its slaves. Yet it warned Africa on safeguarding its sovereignty!
Africa and the third world in general needs a fair and just ideology of Islam under its Khilafah Rashidah state, that will offer true independence and sovereignty unlike the evil and destructive ideology of capitalism. It is time to turn to Islam and abandon capitalism.
Masoud Msellem
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Tanzania