OPINION: Is West Africa Leading The Global South Against The West?

June 25, France, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa warned against cultured promises without fulfilment from the West.

He was making references to Western powers’ penchant for promising billions of dollars in aid to African countries without fulfilment during the Global Summit.

Ramaphosa was invariably telling the West that the Global South is unifying its effort to work together and confront agelong Western “deceit and lies.”

Of course, the increasing demand for scarce commodity, the frequent outbreak of pandemic, growing pressure for new sources of energy, and the emerging new world order have conspired to make many countries in Global South poor, weak and exposed to internal eruption of dissent, ethnic skirmishes, anti-government sentiments and general expression of hatred towards the leaders.

The central focus of this anti-government sentiment is the West. For years, even after independence, the West has held and tossed about West Africa, Africa and many countries in the Global South, leaving them infinitely needing financial lifting.

Disenchanted citizens have now risen up to challenge that status quo. And nowhere else than West Africa that this is being given prominence. And it is coming in the most anti-globalisation form– coup.

Commentators in the West in cahoots with their sympathisers in the Global South have argued that coups’ reemergence is a sign of de-globalisation. That coups in Africa, especially the coup belt in West Africa, would serve as an incentive for other countries in the sub-region and probably the region and other weak Global South to adopt the new phase.

Plausible as that may sound, what’s haemorrhaging Africa, especially
West Africa, is the concern of inequality. The unequal sharing of state resources while the leaders continue to live in affluence is increasingly being viewed by the masses as an incitement, and in itself a threat to democracy.

In Nigeria, seen as the leader of ECOWAS, and most populous black country, years of oil exploration and exploitation has only led to increasing poverty, ethnic resentment, and general disproportionate distribution of resources. Put it plainly, the poor have remained poor and the government only succeeded in creating poverty out of the middle class.

Contiguous states like Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin Republic, that looked at Nigeria as a possible escape route have been left disappointed and now mock the country. The situation in Nigeria by all statistics appears grim and worse than those countries.

Other countries like Togo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia among others are being held by poor leadership, ethnic division and corrupt political class.

This has been the case in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic where coups have recurred. The support for the coups indicate anti-western sentiments.

Chiefly to blame in these countries with recent coups, is France. Years of exploiting raw and natural resources to the metropolitan France with nothing left to develop these sources of resources has seen a rise in anti-French sentiment.

In Nigeria, commentaries have largely supported the coups but mostly from youth who have not experienced military government and are aggrieved at the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, whose outcome is a subject of litigation.

Suffice to say, history is rebirthing here. In the years preceding independence, the military took over with a singular accusation of corruption in civil governments, ethnic strife and overbearing influence of the colonialists.

The citizens wanted wholly indigenous governments. The anti-British sentiment in Nigerian schools for instance leading to the abrogation of the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact was one of those expressions of intense hatred towards the colonialists.

Today, with increasingly scarce commodity, Western pressure for Africa to abandon cheapest sources of energy, demand for reshape of polity to conform with Western democratic practice, frequent interference in the personal lives of people to adopt same sex marriage and promises without fulfilment have all created a mindset – the West is not a partner.

Ramaphosa spoke of this partnership when he said “we are not here to beg” and “so don’t look at us like beggars”, capturing the emerging sentiment driving the demand for a fresh relationship with the West. He said there’s “the need for the West to start walking the walk.”

Indeed, the rising anti-West sentiment is putting pressure on African countries and many countries in the Global South to be open to China and Russia relationships.

China, for instance, committed $153 billion to African public sector development between 2000 and 2019.

It also announced a further yearly $60 billion in aid and loans which Chinese President Xi Jinping said while hosting 40 African Presidents in 2020, during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation that, “China’s investment in Africa does not come with any political conditions attached and will neither interfere in internal politics nor make demands that people feel are difficult to fulfil.”

Russia on its part has stepped up bids to deepen its relationship with African countries. It announced recently that it had written off the $23 billion debt burden of African countries while promising tons of grains on both a commercial and aid basis to the continent.

There’s also Moscow’s promise to electrify the continent, which Ramaphosa said is a major problem in the continent.

The Global South sees Russia and China as willing allies and are willing to align. These two leaders of the Global South are being seen as “walking the walk” as against the many years of lip service, which Ramaphosa talked about in the Paris Summit.

The point widely held across the Global South is that Western nations have not benefited Africa. The citizens know this. Across schools, the politics of aid is a hot topic for debate. The hidden conditions are often cited as reasons why Africa would continue to go to the West cup in hand.

But in Russia and China, Africa is beginning to see real intervention in railway, energy and housing, three key areas Africa needs help without the demand to conform to Western culture, which Ramaphosa called “equal relationship and partnership.”

The street celebration in these countries where coups have recurred showed that the high youth population in Africa and the general masses desire punishment for civilian leaders.

The celebration in Niger Republic for instance was laced with “praise for Putin, down for France” and an expression of adulation for Russia.

As many commentators have said, the mistake from ECOWAS would be to allow West Africa to be a centre of proxy military confrontation between the West and Russia/China.

The common denominator is the failure of leadership which includes pandering to the whim of the West. The worsening economic situation demands new drive and approaches as well as partnership. At the moment the West doesn’t appear so.

With Russia and China now leading the Global South with firm commitment for shared values and equal partnership, West Africa which appears to be the highest beneficiary of their largesse may be leading the fight from the side of the Global South against the West. And that’s a silent revolt and resetting of Global world order.

Isuma Mark is an Abuja-based journalist. He writes for THE WHISTLER Newspaper.

Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.