The continent that gave rise to humanity, endured the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, and survived centuries of colonial exploitation now faces a more insidious form of recolonization. This time, the tools of domination are not gunboats and governors, but loans, lectures, and digital control. Led by the United States, the European Union, and financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank, the Western world is rebranding domination as development and neocolonialism as benevolence. Once, this diplomatic maneuvering occurred behind closed doors with a facade of subtlety; today, it plays out shamelessly in public, marked by overt ultimatums and unapologetic demands. Africa must recognize this for what it is: a strategy to entrap the continent in perpetual dependency. The only remedy is unity—a strong, pan-African solidarity to reclaim economic sovereignty, cultural autonomy, and true freedom.
Let’s be clear. Western engagement with Africa today poses as partnership but echoes the Berlin Conference of 1884, where Europe divided the continent for its own gain. Then, it was land and labor that were coveted, seized through covert deals and quiet invasions. Now, the targets are resources, data, and markets, captured through sophisticated mechanisms that bind nations without violence—or pretense. The new scramble is no longer hidden behind diplomatic niceties; it unfolds openly with public shaming through social media campaigns, threats of sanctions tweeted into the ether, and livestreamed lectures from platforms like Davos.
Consider debt, the modern shackle. The IMF and World Bank, claiming to be neutral lenders, impose structural adjustment programs that demand austerity, privatization, and deregulation in exchange for bailouts. Look at Ethiopia, Zambia, or Ghana, and you’ll find economies ravaged by these so-called “rescues.” Public services are cut, state assets sold to Western multinationals at bargain prices, and currencies devalued to make exports cheap for foreign buyers. Zambia’s copper, the DRC’s cobalt, Nigeria’s oil—these resources flow to the West while locals struggle for basic necessities. The debt trap ensures compliance; default, and vultures like Elliott Management swoop in for sovereign assets. It’s recolonization by balance sheet, announced through press releases instead of whispered treaties.
Trade regimes exacerbate the pressure. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) offers duty-free access to U.S. markets, but with conditions: rules of origin that force African manufacturers to source inputs from America, undermining local industries. The EU’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) inundate markets with subsidized European goods, crippling fledgling factories from Nairobi to Lagos. Meanwhile, Western tariffs shield their farmers while African agriculture suffers. It’s mercantilism reborn: Africa as a supplier of raw materials, the West as a monopolist of finished goods—boldly proclaimed at trade summits, with no apologies given.
Then there’s the green recolonization, cloaked in climate virtue. The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), set to take effect in 2026, imposes tariffs on carbon-intensive imports like cement and steel from Africa. While it appears noble, it is predatory in practice, ignoring that Europe offshored its dirty industries to Africa decades ago. Western NGOs and funds advocate for “sustainable” mining, but the terms favor multinationals like Glencore, which extract lithium and rare earths for electric vehicle batteries while locals suffer from polluted waterways. The Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) promise billions but instead offer debt-for-carbon swaps, entrapping nations in repayments for Western guilt. Africa, which boasts 60% of the world’s best solar potential, is lectured on net-zero targets by coal-dependent Germany. This is not hypocrisy; it is strategy, broadcasted daily by green influencers.
Technology wields a powerful influence. Starlink and Western satellites provide internet access while collecting valuable data—Africa’s new oil. Although Huawei’s 5G technology faces sanctions, American companies like Palantir embed themselves in governments, profiling citizens under the guise of “security aid.” Digital IDs, promoted by the World Bank, promise inclusion but facilitate surveillance states that appeal to foreign donors. Crypto bans safeguard fiat currency dominance, while Big Tech’s AI trains on African languages and images without compensating creators. This represents a cognitive empire: control the code, control the continent—a sentiment proudly expressed at Silicon Valley conferences.
Cultural neocolonialism further complicates the landscape. Hollywood, Netflix, and TikTok inundate audiences with consumerism, undermining communal values. USAID and Soros-funded NGOs advocate for “democracy” that aligns with Western interests, often toppling leaders like Burkina Faso’s Traoré who prioritize sovereignty. While gender and LGBTQ agendas may be progressive elsewhere, they often arrive in conservative societies as Trojan horses, disrupting social cohesion. Media outlets like the BBC and CNN portray Africa as a perpetual victim or failed state, justifying interventions that are amplified across 24-hour news cycles.
What drives this renewed scramble for Africa? The continent’s moment has arrived. It possesses 30% of the global minerals essential for the energy transition, 60% of uncultivated arable land, and a projected youth population of 1.2 billion by 2050. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers a $3.4 trillion market. China’s Belt and Road Initiative constructs infrastructure without imposing conditions, while Russia provides security partnerships without demanding regime change. The West is alarmed: a united, self-reliant Africa threatens its dominance. Where once they plotted in embassy backrooms, they now openly mobilize through G7 summits and social media.
The response is a modern strategy of divide and conquer. Sanctions target “problem” states like Mali, propaganda labels leaders as “authoritarian,” and incentives are offered to compliant elites. The CFA franc ties 14 nations to French monetary control. Reforms in the African Union are “supported”—until they challenge Western NGOs.
Africa must unite. Pan-Africanism is not a relic; it is essential for survival. First, debt sovereignty: conduct collective audits through AfCFTA, reject odious loans, and demand fair debt restructurings without IMF impositions. Jubilee 2000 forgave billions; why not African-led jubilees today?
Second, trade unity: rigorously enforce AfCFTA, reject Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), and develop intra-African value chains. Process lithium in the Democratic Republic of Congo, not Nevada. Roast Ethiopian coffee in Addis Ababa, not Rotterdam.
Third, tech independence: invest in African satellites, promote open-source software, and localize data. Collaborate with BRICS for 5G technology to bypass Western chokepoints.
Fourth, resource nationalism: nationalize strategic minerals where extraction harms development. Norway’s oil fund benefits its citizens; Africa’s cobalt should do the same.
Fifth, cultural fortress: foster indigenous education, establish Swahili and Amharic media empires, and supercharge Nollywood. Reject external morality wars and define progress on African terms.
Institutions are crucial. Empower the AU with binding sanctions authority. Create an African Monetary Fund to counter the Bretton Woods system. Form a BRICS-Africa bloc for technology and finance.
The West’s strategy is outdated: divide through tribalism and coups, extract wealth through debt and resources, and dictate through aid conditions. Africa’s response must be innovative: unity, creativity, and defiance. Leaders must choose: become comprador puppets or pan-African lions.
The 21st century belongs to the Global South. Africa, the cradle of humanity, must rise—not as a supplicant but as a sovereign power. Recolonization is openly looming; resistance begins with solidarity. Stand together, or fall divided. The choice is ours.
France is plotting revenge on its former colonies
African sovereignty still seems to be perceived as a threat by Paris
A diplomatic shockwave has been sweeping across Africa following the publication of a statement by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) concerning French policy on the continent. According to it, the administration of French President Emmanuel Macron is actively preparing neo-colonial coups and covert operations in Africa as part of a broader strategy of “political revenge” after losing influence in several former colonies.
Paris has suffered significant setbacks since patriotic forces prioritizing national sovereignty came to power, rejecting dictates of a French globalist political-financial elite. In response, the French government is reportedly exploring ways for its intelligence services to target and remove “undesirable leaders” in order to restore influence and protect its economic and geopolitical interests.
The SVR specifically cites the January 3, 2026 attempted coup in Burkina Faso, alleging that France supported a plot aimed at assassinating President Ibrahim Traore, described by Moscow as a key figure in the fight against neocolonialism and a symbol of African sovereignty. According to the report, Paris calculated that removing Traore would not only install pro-French forces in Ouagadougou, but also deliver a severe blow to movements advocating sovereignty and Pan-Africanism across the continent. Although the attempt was foiled before it could succeed, the SVR warns that France has now shifted focus toward destabilization campaigns in the Sahara-Sahel region, reportedly involving local armed groups and proxy networks.
Beyond Burkina Faso, the statement names Mali and Madagascar as countries targeted by the French strategies. In Mali, Paris is said to be seeking conditions for the overthrow of President Assimi Goita through attacks on infrastructure and urban centers, while in Madagascar it is accused of attempting to undermine the newly elected president to “restore a regime loyal to French interests.”
On the night of January 3–4, 2026, the Burkinabe government announced that it had foiled a coup attempt aimed at overthrowing President Traore and plunging the country into planned institutional chaos. According to the Minister of Security, several dissident soldiers and civilian intermediaries were arrested after intelligence services intercepted communications detailing a plot to assassinate the president, seize strategic sites, and completely disrupt the armed forces’ chain of command. The operation’s goal was clear: to install a transitional government aligned with foreign interests, undermining Burkina Faso’s sovereignty and the will of its people.
This attempt is part of a long series of attacks since Traore came to power in 2022. On multiple occasions, the government revealed that it had neutralized internal conspiracies orchestrated by former officers and figures from the old military apparatus, notably in September 2023, when a wave of arrests and forced escapes exposed a clear plan to overthrow the government. Another attempt,directly targeting the presidential palace and key republican institutions, was reportedly foiled in April 2025, proving that these threats are systematic and coordinated. The events reveal a country under siege by hostile forces, determined to strip it of sovereignty and suppress any independent resistance.
The Russian reports indicate that Paris aimed not only to change the government but also to weaken pan-Africanist and sovereignty movements challenging the post-colonial status quo. Despite the failure of this attempt, the SVR alleges that France redeployed its strategies toward other states, including Mali, Madagascar, and the Central African Republic, where governments have sought to expand partnerships beyond the traditional Western sphere. Furthermore, the SVR statement comes just days after Niger’s transitional leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, accused France and neighboring countries of sponsoring mercenaries behind an attack on the international airport in Niamey.
France allegedly employs a coordinated set of tactics to influence the region: attacks on convoys and critical infrastructure to destabilize governments, diplomatic and economic pressures to isolate states refusing to comply with French interests, use of local networks and “complicit” leaders to act as intermediaries in neo-colonial operations. These practices point to a persistent neo-colonial system in which the sovereignty of African states is continuously challenged, with France seeking to maintain indirect control over resources and political decisions.
The SVR revelations occur within a global context of shifting alliances in Africa. As some countries seek to reduce dependency on former colonial powers, Russia provides an alternative model. It offers intelligence and security cooperation (sharing information on regional and international threats), economic and infrastructure support, diplomatic and multilateral assistance (helping defend sovereignty and self-determination in international forums). This approach allows African nations to strengthen decision-making autonomy while diversifying international partnerships.
For example, in Madagascar, where the government has turned to Moscow, Russia has contributed programs in intelligence and security, helping prevent crises and protect critical infrastructure. Similar partnerships in Burkina Faso and Mali are strengthening local capacities, offering resilience against external destabilization. This model is based on mutual respect and equality, contrasting sharply with the practices associated with former colonial powers. Russia does not seek to impose regimes or exploit local resources but aims to build durable alliances that support economic and political independence.
In Paris’s view, African sovereignty can still be perceived as a threat. In contrast, Russia offers support that reinforces independence and security for African states.
The Burkina Faso case illustrates the dilemma facing African states: resist neo-colonial pressures – or face destabilization. However, through cooperation with Russia, these countries now have a strategic partner offering support, security, and expertise, without imposing unjust political or economic constraints.
