EP 10 African News Review I Adesoji Speaks Knowledge 🌍

In this conversation, Adesoji Iginla and Milton Allimadi discuss various topics, including the significance of Juneteenth and the Soweto Massacre, the formation of a coalition government in South Africa, the barring of a female opposition candidate from running in Rwanda's election, and the visit of FBI Director Christopher Wray to Africa. 

They critique the Western media's portrayal of Africa and highlight the need for independent and critical analysis. they examined the deceptive nature of Western media.

The role of authoritarianism in African politics, and the challenges faced by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in responding to political crises.

They also touch on the controversial East African crude oil pipeline in Uganda and the crackdown on environmental activists. 

The conversation highlighted the need for critical thinking and media literacy to deconstruct Western propaganda and address the neocolonial challenges faced by African countries.

00:00 Introduction and Overview
02:21 Commemorating Juneteenth and the Soweto Massacre
05:23 The Formation of a Coalition Government in South Africa
16:21 Political Freedom and Democracy in Rwanda
31:30 Critiquing the Western Media's Portrayal of Africa
37:44 Deconstructing Western Media
38:35 Authoritarianism in African Politics
45:08 Challenges Faced by ECOWAS
55:22 The Controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline
56:23 Crackdown on Environmental Activists
01:08:48 Media Literacy and Critical Thinking

Transcript

Adesoji Iginla (00:01.231)
Good evening and welcome again to African News Review. And with me is my guest, a journalist, teaches African history at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a broadcaster with WBAI in New York. He holds degrees in journalism from Columbia University, economics from Syracuse University. His book, Manufacturing Hate, How Africa Was Demonized in Western Media.

is actually what inspired this particular program, African News Review. He's an explorer. He has discovered so many beautiful sites in Europe. He has even given a name to London's main river, River Gulu. And he's none other than comrade Milton Alimade. Welcome back, brother.

Milton Allimadi (00:44.11)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (00:48.462)
Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you, as always.

Adesoji Iginla (00:51.663)
Thank you. Yes, this week has been as usual, a news, a news filled week. First, we had obviously in the United States, you guys are marking Juneteenth. And for those who are not familiar with the idea of what Juneteenth is outside of the United States, do you mind just giving us a brief overview of what it entails?

Milton Allimadi (01:22.381)
Well, it's celebrated on June 19th. And, you know, historically, after slavery was abolished in the United States, there were parts of Texas that did not get the news until much later. So parts of Texas started commemorating that after those locations. Ultimately,

got the news that slavery had actually been abolished. We're talking 1865. So obviously we did not have the benefit of social media at that time. And obviously our people were not encouraged to be informed at that time. So this is rather a recent national holiday, but I'm glad that it's been adopted as a national holiday in the United States that commemorates.

Adesoji Iginla (02:09.647)
Mm. Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (02:14.671)
okay

Adesoji Iginla (02:19.631)
Okay.

Milton Allimadi (02:21.996)
enslavement, but of course with me, I don't think the commemoration of enslavement can be ever complete without combining it with reparations for enslavement. So that should be the ultimate goal of Juneteenth in my view.

Adesoji Iginla (02:37.711)
Mm -hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (02:43.407)
Okay. Yeah, thank you for that. And also another date that also went by in the same week was June 16, 1976, the Soweto Massacre. Some will call it the uprising, but it was actually the massacre that made it much more resonating the memories of Pan -Africanist and...

South Africans as well. And again, could you give us a brief overview of what June 16, 1976 is all about?

Milton Allimadi (03:21.707)
Well, absolutely. That is when the young, the youth of South Africa went to the streets and part of it was, of course, triggered by the apartheid racist regimes attempt to impose Afrikaner, the language of Afrikaner, Afrikaans of the Dutch settlers, the Dutch colonialists, as the language of instruction.

even in the schools. And obviously, the youth who were very conscious by that time and saw this was another form of cultural and linguistic imperialism, in addition to the oppression they were already enduring, so they went out to the streets. And the regime reacted brutally and committed the massacre. And actually, that was also the beginning of the end for the regime, because

It was already under tremendous pressure, and of course it dis -escalated the global condemnation and isolation of South Africa after that massacre. So yes, we remember all those young people who sacrificed their lives, and may they rest in peace with the ancestors.

Adesoji Iginla (04:42.031)
Yes, rest in peace. Yes. And which gives us a beautiful segue to the first story of the day, which is the...

story coming out of South Africa that a coalition government has been formed. And interesting, it says, the headline, we go to the Financial Times for the first story of the day, and it says, South Africa DA signs power sharing deal with the ANC. Not the other way around. Voluntary national, that's, I mean.

Milton Allimadi (05:17.8)
Yes, I'm glad you caught it quickly and I hope that our comrades who join us on a weekly basis also start catching something like that very quickly. And that really tells you the entire story right there.

Adesoji Iginla (05:23.151)
When I was reading it, that's the first thing that jumped out at me. Okay.

Adesoji Iginla (05:32.527)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (05:40.271)
Okay, so it gets interesting. It gets more interesting rather. So we've got the voluntary national unity government will allow Syria Ramaphosa to remain in power. Okay, the lead is South Africa's ruling National Congress has signed a landmark power sharing deal with the Democratic Alliance, paving the way for a new government to be formed under the leadership of ANC Syria Ramaphosa, who happens to be the president of South Africa.

Such a deal was vital to allowing the ANC, which lost its majority for the first time since the end of white minority rule 30 years ago in the May election, to remain in power with a working majority. And OK, the ninth page, there was a series of agreement, discussions and, you know, meetings.

which culminated in a nine page document which commits the party to cooperate through a voluntary government of national unity. Significantly, however, Julius Malewa's Economic Freedom Fighters and Jacob Zuma's Uncuonto Sigwe, both radical parties that promotes nationalization of banks and important industries are not part of the pact. It gets more interesting.

Signed by the ANC Secretary General Fikile Umbalula and DEA's Chairman Heli Zeo, the document lays out the mechanics for coalition rule from how cabinets will be constituted to guidelines for policy and dispute resolution. Zeo told the Financial Times that this was a significant development for the country. This gives, in quotes, South Africa a chance of creating a stable democracy and an inclusive economy.

She said, the document stipulates while the president retains the power to appoint his cabinet, this should be done in consultation with the leaders of the respective parties. Now there is another part here. Okay. Yeah. The leader of the DA, John Stihosen told reporters the deal was a historical movement for the country, which will allow his party to now co -govern. He said, and I quote, the

Adesoji Iginla (07:57.231)
EFF and the MK do not share the constitutional principles that will ensure the country progressed. He said if the ANC had chosen to go into partnership with those two, the DA would not have joined the government.

Yes, a lot to...

Milton Allimadi (08:18.851)
Yeah, I mean, this is a, it's, you know, it speaks to where Africa is today since Ghana won its independence in 1957. It is a sad testament to how we have retrogressed and gone backward. This is of course a backward march, even though the Financial Times refers to the

Adesoji Iginla (08:26.703)
Mm.

Milton Allimadi (08:47.138)
Democratic Alliance, the DA, as quote unquote, liberal. That of course is nonsense. This is the most radical of all the parties. Why is it radical? Because it basically, it's preaching the Bible of apartheid. It opposes any land reform in a country where 80%, the blank majority, own 4%.

In a country where the Europeans who make up 7 .3 % of the population own 72%, in a country where unemployment of black people is 37%, while that of European South Africans is only 7 .4%. And they are saying this is what represents, quote, stability,

and democracy. In fact, it represents the opposite, because this is what apartheid was all about, to exclude the majority population, not only from political power, but from the benefits of the economic prosperity from the wealth of South Africa. So we have an alliance now between the party that led the struggle for national liberation, the African National Congress, going back in bed.

Adesoji Iginla (10:12.207)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (10:15.808)
with the party of apartheid. And of course, it's historic. It's historic in the sense that South Africa, at least for the time being, has surrendered the march toward independence and decolonization and has taken several steps backward. And also, it is significant that the other minor party that is included in this alliance, the Inkata.

Freedom Party was once also in bed with the apartheid regime. As you remember, the late Gatsha Boutelizi, who was the leader of that party for a long time, often betrayed the national liberation struggle and worked in cahoots with the apartheid regime. After Mandela was released in 1990, up to 1994,

Adesoji Iginla (10:46.383)
for them party. Yep.

Milton Allimadi (11:14.752)
Who was instigating the instability in South Africa? To discourage the elections in 1994, that was to include and eventually included all the ethnic groups in South Africa and nationalities. It was the National Party of apartheid in cahoots with Inkata. They were instigating violence between supporters of the African National Congress and Inkata Party.

Adesoji Iginla (11:18.959)
It was him.

Milton Allimadi (11:43.423)
to give the impression to the global community that Africans will not be able to run the state. So now you look, they're all on the same side now. The ANC, the DA, which of course is just a new form of the National Party and the Inkata Freedom Party. So I submit that this is not stable at all. In fact, it's a very dangerous government because it means that they want to...

Adesoji Iginla (11:48.175)
cannot govern themselves. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (12:11.295)
exclude the conversation of how to redistribute the national wealth and to really bring some of the prosperity to the underserved and exploited, economically exploited majority population of Africans in South Africa. And of course, it should not be surprising that the Financial Times would celebrate this, just like the Economist magazine was celebrating this and the New York Times also celebrating this. So it's not a surprise there.

Adesoji Iginla (12:40.079)
Can I just also add this last part? The investors said they preferred a deal between the ANC and the pro market DA, believing it will ensure stable policy and potentially accelerate the economic growth. The round which had weakened to touch round 19 round to the dollar in recent days amid fears of a coalition.

Milton Allimadi (12:42.59)
Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (13:08.687)
between the ANC and leftist EFF, strengthening after the news of a deal with the DA to around 18 .33.

Milton Allimadi (13:18.429)
Okay, so here's the irony of all of this. Number one, what was colonialism all about? It was about you not being in control of your production and your sovereignty and your government. So the Financial Times is telling us that it is investors and how the comfort level of investors that should determine the government of South Africa. Number one. Number two,

Here's the biggest irony of all that is not mentioned in this article. The irony is that in these Western countries, right, in the United States, in Britain, other parts of Western Europe, there is tremendous pressure against the state. In fact, most of these countries have a leftward leaning push, particularly by the younger generation, right? So,

Adesoji Iginla (13:57.935)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (14:17.98)
In your own country, you're dealing with the pressure that's been created by the accumulation of wealth within a small percentage of the very rich elite in these countries. You're dealing with that pressure. And yet, you're celebrating that this pressure should, of accumulation, just within a small minority, should continue in other parts of the world, including South Africa. It's utter nonsense, of course.

Adesoji Iginla (14:24.271)
Yep.

of the popular.

Adesoji Iginla (14:47.407)
So finally, what in terms of, because I noticed you wrote an op -ed on your Facebook wall with regards to the situation. What would be your overriding takeaway from the entire coalition government arrangement?

Milton Allimadi (15:09.756)
My takeaway is that this is a transition, a transitory measure. It will not survive. I will not be surprised if it collapses much sooner than many people anticipate.

Adesoji Iginla (15:14.831)
Okay.

Adesoji Iginla (15:23.311)
No care.

Milton Allimadi (15:23.932)
The pressures are tremendous. You cannot have 37 % black unemployment. You cannot have 80 % of the population in control of 4 % of the land. It's preposterous. And that's part of the irony. You would hope that the European South African population would have much more enlightened leadership who come up and say, we've had a very good long run.

of centuries, we cannot continue to subjugate the majority of population economically. They did not, as Cabral said, Amilcar Cabral, that people support the national liberation struggle, not for some ideological issues. They want better standard of living for themselves and their family. If it applied in Guinea Bissau, it applies in South Africa.

Adesoji Iginla (16:21.807)
Thank you very much. Thank you. Speaking of application all over the world, you know, basic values, basic tenants, we're talking leadership now. I will go to Rwanda. Rwanda is due to have its election the end of July. And a female opposition presidential candidate has been barred from running. And which makes a mockery of the entire situation.

Milton Allimadi (16:51.45)
Right.

Adesoji Iginla (16:51.663)
in the sense that we're being told that Rwanda is... So this story comes from The Guardian, the UK Guardian, and it's titled Rwanda Opposition Leader Barred from Standing Against President. The lead is Diana Rigaawara.

named missing from list of candidates to challenge Paul Kagame in July 15 July vote. According to the Guardian, a prominent opponent of the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame has been barred from standing in next month's election to challenge his three decade rule. Dana Riguara, the leader of the People's Salvation Movement, who has been barred, who was also barred in 2017, laughed

launched her election bid in May and submitted her candidacy last week. Her name was missing from the provisional list of candidates announced by the Electoral Commission on Thursday. After all the time, the work and effort I put in, I am very disappointed to hear I'm not on the list of presidential candidates. Reguara had said on X, Paul Kagame, why won't you let me run, she asked. The election commission said she failed to provide a criminal record statement as required.

and that she had not met the threshold of 600 supporting signatures from citizens. Ruguara was also barred from the 2017 race over accusations she had forged supporters' signatures for application. She was arrested and charged with forgery and inciting insurrection and held behind bars for more than a year. Ruguara is the daughter of Asinama Paul Ruguara, an industrialist and former

significant donor to Kagame's ruling Rwanda patriotic front party before he fell out with the leader. Do you see a pattern?

Milton Allimadi (18:54.807)
Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (18:58.447)
So what do you make of it?

Milton Allimadi (18:59.575)
Well, I thought you were going to read a little more. There's a part that just shows you how preposterous this article is.

Adesoji Iginla (19:03.791)
yeah, yeah, yeah. I know the party. I know the party you're waiting for. I know the party you're waiting for. In the run up to the vote, Rwandan courts have also rejected appeals from prominent opposition vigor, Bernard, Intanga, Victoria, Ingabiri to remove the previous conditions in effect, barring them from standing. There was a part here. Yeah. Kagame is de facto ruler since 1994 genocide and presidency is 2000.

He has won three elections with more than 90 % of the vote and is widely expected to be victorious again in July. He has been praised for putting the country on the path of economic transformation after the genocide, but he faces frequent criticism over rights abuses and intolerance of the opposition.

Milton Allimadi (19:39.287)
All right, so.

Milton Allimadi (19:52.247)
Right. So here's the saddest part. If you, if listeners have good memories and they just listen to what you just read right now, they will realize that they heard this exact verbatim. And that is the corruption in corporate Western media. And I want listeners who are listening now to try to, you know,

Adesoji Iginla (20:17.007)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (20:22.006)
draw their memory and say to themselves, where did they read this before? Could you read it one more time for the listeners, starting about when he won the election or something, that nonsense, that part.

Adesoji Iginla (20:36.111)
when he, okay. Wait a second. Let's go back there. Okay, so Kagame's de facto ruler since 1994 genocide and president since 2000, he has won three elections with more than 90 % of the vote and is widely expected to be victorious again in July.

Milton Allimadi (20:54.711)
Okay, stop at that point. So listeners, I'm going to give you an exercise. Please highlight what Brother Desogedie just read right now, or write it down again, and then go to the URL and put it on your URL, and then put the New York Times. And you will discover this exact same quote, word for word. It's really disgusting.

how they keep lifting this from one article to the next and keep spreading the same nonsensical propaganda. Where in the world does anybody win elections by 90 plus percent? Obviously it happened in the former Soviet Union with Brezhnev, Andropov, and all those guys, because they rigged those elections, absolutely. So now you, the guardian,

Adesoji Iginla (21:47.791)
And that was a one -party state.

Milton Allimadi (21:54.485)
of all the publications, The Guardian is one that we have semi -respect for. You're going to just print that without saying that this is inconceivable. You're not even mentioning the word rigging. I'm very disappointed on this occasion with The Guardian. And I might actually follow up with a tweet.

Absolutely. We don't expect this from the Guardian because if we can't rely on the Guardian, Al Jazeera, and a few other outlets, then who do you rely on?

Milton Allimadi (22:36.724)
So even much more than Kagame, forget Kagame. Obviously, we know he's going to rig the vote. I think the most interesting thing in this article was the surrender by the Guardian itself. And I can understand perhaps why. Of course, I don't accept it. I reject it. They remember how Kagame retaliated against the BBC.

when the BBC produced that documentary, Rwanda's Untold Story, which people can watch on Venmo. And the BBC was banned from covering Rwanda for a couple of years. So perhaps the Guardian is afraid of a similar retaliation. And so that's why they're basically printing a press release. That's a press release, you know?

Adesoji Iginla (23:07.471)
Yeah. All right, yeah.

Milton Allimadi (23:34.097)
It's a big shame. You know? Yeah, you know, you may as well call it the Kagame Guardian, you know?

Adesoji Iginla (23:35.215)
so you take exception.

Adesoji Iginla (23:49.935)
Well, that's the interesting thing about studying the Western media. And if you're getting value from watching this, please subscribe. Gone.

Milton Allimadi (23:57.938)
I'll tell you even a funnier story. In Uganda, the correspondent or the stringer, the freelancer—I don't know if he's on staff—for Reuters news agency, he comes, I think, from the same part of the country where Dictator General Yovanovitch Moussarovitch comes from.

So I was reading a couple of his articles carefully. And there are parts that he lifts verbatim from one article to the other. So in a span of a couple of months, he may have five or six articles, and he keeps lifting that passage, right? And that passage is very similar to the one about the guardian that

Adesoji Iginla (24:27.567)
Okay.

Adesoji Iginla (24:47.311)
Mm -hmm.

Okay.

Milton Allimadi (24:56.72)
is speaking about Kagame right now. They say, you know, he's won, you know, five elections, and he's credited with restoring peace and stability to Uganda. And that he's, and for that reason, he's popular. You know, it's kind of nonsense, of course, because the opposite is true. Bobby Wine,

Adesoji Iginla (24:57.583)
then yeah the 90 %

Milton Allimadi (25:25.071)
is 10 times more popular than Gerald Yowet Museveni. So, but here's the best thing about this, Royda's writer in Uganda. There were typos, right? He misspelled in his praise of Museveni, the part that he misspelled a couple of words. So you can go through the five, six, seven or eight different articles and that same misspelling is still there.

Adesoji Iginla (25:51.567)
you say n -

Milton Allimadi (25:54.959)
So that was 100 % proof that he was just copying and pasting and migrating it to his next article. Copying and pasting, migrating it to the next article. So I took a screenshot of three different dates, maybe even years of his article, and I tweeted it. And I said, I caught you. You just copy and paste. Basically, you're not a reporter, you're a liar. And I copied his managing editor as well.

So the message is people, we can fight back. We can fight back against these corporate media liars.

Adesoji Iginla (26:28.271)
Mm, mm, mm.

And speaking of fighting back, this is why we have the African News Review. And so if you find value, please subscribe, share, and like, you know, because like I said earlier in my introduction, the reason why we actually started this program was because of the good comrades book, How Africa is Demonized in the Western Media. And...

Please get this book, Manufacturing Hate, How Africa Was Demonizing Western Media. It gives you...

Milton Allimadi (27:07.981)
And if there's a UK or European publisher that is listening, please get in touch with me via mallimadi .gmail .com. That's -a -l -l -i -a -d -i at gmail .com because my own publisher is suppressing my book in the United States. So if I get an international publisher, I will buy back my copyright so I can make this book.

Adesoji Iginla (27:20.879)
Mm -hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (27:30.991)
I can't imagine that.

Milton Allimadi (27:37.324)
We cannot allow this type of censorship. How can your own publisher? It reminds me of, remember where the great artist Prince was once fighting with his own record label? And at that time I didn't understand that well. But now, obviously I'm not comparing myself to Prince, but I'm saying the principle whereby your own publisher does not want to sell your books,

Adesoji Iginla (27:50.607)
Yeah. Yeah. You have Sony music. Yeah. We're so new. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (28:06.795)
Can you believe that? Here's the deal. When I had an earlier version of the book, you know, the hearts of darkness, this version is much better, better edited, more chapters and more information, right? But when I have the earlier version, which was self -published, I would go to speak at locations with a hundred copies. I would come out with zero copies. If I went with 50, I would come out with zero copies.

I would go to places where people would complain that I did not bring enough books. So in the beginning, when the book was published, my publisher, as I said before, is giving me a decent royalty check, so I know he's doing well. So I sent him a proposal. I said, listen, let's go to leading black organizations and let them host book signings and bring 100 or 200 copies of the book. Any copy.

Adesoji Iginla (28:40.207)
enough copies.

Milton Allimadi (29:05.578)
that is not sold, not only will I say wait for my royalty check and take it cut, I said no. I would buy it on the spot. I would buy it from my own collection. You know? My publisher did not even respond to that proposal. Just think about that.

Ha ha ha!

Adesoji Iginla (29:24.399)
There must be something in that same book that it's unpalatable for.

Milton Allimadi (29:26.248)
Yes. Yes, I think somebody, I'm just speculating about somebody might have pointed out that, do you know what this book is talking about?

Adesoji Iginla (29:36.399)
Well, I mean, the fact that the book focuses on one major news organization. And I won't spoil it for the viewers. I will enjoy it to get the book first. Yeah, yeah. So I will let you get the book first and then you make. And speaking of uncomfortable truths, apparently the FBI director, Christopher Wray, has been in Africa.

Milton Allimadi (29:40.167)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (29:45.959)
Yeah, I think that is precisely the reason, right?

Milton Allimadi (30:04.583)
Right.

Adesoji Iginla (30:04.879)
and has been spreading the gospel as they speak. Okay, so the story goes that I'll share. It's FBI and this comes from the New York Times. So FBI director makes a rare visit to Africa as terrorism threat grows. The Islamic State and Al Qaeda considers Africa a very fertile ground says Christopher A. Ray.

Milton Allimadi (30:19.495)
Right.

Adesoji Iginla (30:33.199)
who is meeting with officials in Nigeria and Kenya. the story goes. He met with officials in Kenya and Nigeria, repeated his warning that the United States and its allies worldwide are operating in a heightened threat environment that has been energized by the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The main reason for my visit to both countries was to raise awareness about the threat on the continent.

that has serious implications for the United States homeland, but that does not get the attention they deserve, Mr. Ray says in a telephone interview from Nigeria on Friday. For several years now, a group like ISIS, like IKIDA has considered Africa a very fertile ground. And then he goes into whatever. Somalia has, I'm not even gonna read that. At the same time, groups in West Africa has declared allegiance to...

Al -Qaeda and the Islamic states are on the march. Military coups. And this is the key part. Military coups have toppled civilian -led governments in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Niger. The new leaders have ordered US and French troops to leave, and in some cases invited Russian mercenaries to take their place.

We'll see you.

Milton Allimadi (31:54.589)
Okay, okay, so that article, obviously it's a complete, you know, nonsense because first of all, it's very sad. And, but I hope that in the course of our analysis and critique, our viewers become better at understanding what is being said in corporate media. And of course, the biggest lesson is that,

Adesoji Iginla (32:04.491)
You

Adesoji Iginla (32:12.303)
Mm.

Milton Allimadi (32:24.164)
What is being written is not what is actually the story, right? Often it is a mask for the story. So I believe there's a part toward the end referring to the reason as to why some of these groups, armed groups, are attracting supporters.

Adesoji Iginla (32:30.927)
Correct, correct, correct.

Adesoji Iginla (32:47.439)
Okay.

Adesoji Iginla (32:52.623)
Mm -hmm.

Milton Allimadi (32:54.948)
right?

Adesoji Iginla (32:55.183)
Okay, so you yes, yes. So this is the part here. At the same time groups have declared a support obviously as a result. Where is it? Yes, yes. The discussion in Kenya and Nigeria between US and African officials Mr. Ray centered on overlapping interests and ways to fight the common threats. Countering threats posed by groups like Al -Shabaab is certainly more than one agency or one government can tackle.

the first by an FBI agent reflects the White House determination to deepen relations with East African nations, even as other countries, including Russia and China, are racing to do the same. That's the party you want.

Milton Allimadi (33:36.356)
Okay, now there's another part that refers to social issues, and that is the reason why they're being attracted to these organizations.

Adesoji Iginla (33:49.231)
yeah, yeah, yeah. When you look at the region, the West African region more broadly will remain concerned about instability and how they could have an impact on terrorist groups' ability to exploit that situation, said Mr. Ray.

Milton Allimadi (34:05.188)
precisely. And I think further down, even in that same section, it refers to social issues.

Adesoji Iginla (34:15.215)
Beyond the threat to Westerners and other interests in Africa, we are vigilant to the possibility that plans and intentions can shift at any point. So while, yes, there are foreign threats, people in the United States shouldn't think of them as an issue that are walled away.

Milton Allimadi (34:33.217)
Right. So basically, what the article does is burying the lead, right? And the story should have been, but then it would defeat the whole purpose of the visit of the FBI director. Because the story is actually the...

Adesoji Iginla (34:40.879)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (34:48.399)
of the visits. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, yeah.

this is what we want you to do.

Milton Allimadi (34:58.305)
the collapse of their economies, right? The collapse of the economies, the neglect by the governments because they're not able to provide. And that is the reason why young people are joining these armed groups. But then, if that is the case, then an alert reader would say, wait. So if that is a problem, is that something that,

Adesoji Iginla (35:00.591)
Mm. Yep.

Milton Allimadi (35:27.265)
the FBI director can address? Or is that an issue better discussed with the president of the World Bank and the managing director of the IMF and the executive director of the World Trade Organization? Shouldn't that, it should not be the discussion. So instead of doing that story, we go around about,

Adesoji Iginla (35:32.975)
This is not s -

Milton Allimadi (35:57.12)
to justify hundreds of words about the visit by the FBI guy. When we know that the visit is to co -opt the intelligence services in Nigeria and in Kenya and to work closely with the FBI. But you cannot write it that way, because the citizens in Kenya and in Nigeria would be outraged. They would say, wait a minute.

Adesoji Iginla (36:01.263)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (36:14.319)
and Kenya.

Milton Allimadi (36:26.912)
This is colonialism. Why are you doing this? Why are you basically setting us up as branches of the FBI? In fact, they tell you explicitly. They tell you explicitly. They say in Kenya they set up a similar type of task force. It's in the article. But the way it's written, you might miss it. But they're telling you very carefully.

Adesoji Iginla (36:31.279)
Mm -hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (36:38.607)
Neocolonial states. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (36:54.255)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (36:56.191)
They're telling you that we're coming here. This is why the director is coming here. They told you that the Kenyan president was recently at the White House for a state dinner. And so you can translate the article very, very, very easily. The Kenyan president, Ruto, came to the White House. He was feted by President Biden. He was given a state dinner. And after that, he agreed.

to basically allow Kenya's intelligence services to become a branch of the FBI and so on and so forth. I'm not so familiar with how it occurred in the case of Nigeria, but it would translate to the same thing I just said about Kenya. But obviously, you cannot write an article like that because it would generate a lot of outrage.

Adesoji Iginla (37:44.815)
Mm. Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (37:52.783)
Hmm. Hmm.

And yes, the fallout of his visit is still reverberating across the...

Milton Allimadi (38:01.95)
And then there's another part that you read. And please, listeners, always, when you're reading these Western media, when you're listening, whether it's on a podcast, whether it's on BBC radio, whether it's on TV, listen very carefully so that you are not deceived. So we are told that military coups led to toppling

civilian -led governments.

Adesoji Iginla (38:35.503)
governments. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (38:37.019)
Instead of what? Instead of democratic governance. Because now the real line is that way. You know, it's really hard to sell that lie just because they were civilian or dressed in suits. It did not mean they were democratic at all. So if they're not democratic, what really is the difference between them and the military? As Walter Rodney once said,

Adesoji Iginla (38:41.775)
The Karate Governance. Yeah. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (38:55.119)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (39:05.115)
We tend to tolerate authoritarianism in our African countries and politics. Authoritarianism by civilians. But when it comes to authoritarianism, who is better at it? Is it not the military?

Adesoji Iginla (39:24.911)
Yeah, because of a direct chain of command. Yep.

Milton Allimadi (39:26.939)
Right? Yeah. Right? So obviously, they write civilian -led governments to deceive you into translating that into democratic governments. But they're not really deceiving you. They're deceiving you by omission. They're allowing you to deceive yourself. You see? So listen. OK. Why did they not say democratic? Because they know.

Adesoji Iginla (39:55.183)
Critique.

Milton Allimadi (39:56.568)
Many of those governments may wear the leadership could wear suits and ties, but they are also Italian.

Adesoji Iginla (40:04.175)
I mean, we've just talked about one, Kagame. Is a civilian, is he democratic?

Milton Allimadi (40:07.799)
Absolutely. You see?

Milton Allimadi (40:14.583)
Right, he's a civilian technically, but in essence he's a military general.

Adesoji Iginla (40:21.359)
You already miss Evanny? Is he democratic? So, you know, that is...

Milton Allimadi (40:23.255)
same thing.

Absolutely. So yeah, it's very easy. Once you've deconstructed about 10 of their corporate media spins, then it becomes a template to deconstruct everything. And I wish we had a class in deconstructing Western propaganda in all of our schools in Africa, because we would end up producing better citizens.

Adesoji Iginla (40:41.423)
ARIF

Milton Allimadi (40:54.423)
and better leaders because the leadership comes from the citizens.

Adesoji Iginla (40:54.767)
Hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (40:58.287)
much more informed much more informed citizenry. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And speaking of leadership and neocolonial pushes, the foreign minister for Benet Republic has recently come out to say the the charter creating the echo should be looked at in order to avoid interference of

Milton Allimadi (40:59.831)
Much more informed. Exactly.

Adesoji Iginla (41:28.015)
in internal politics, following on from what transpired late last year with Niger Republic. And so I would go to his take. Yes, again, it comes from the money paper. And there's a reason why I actually pick it. But I'll allow you state your point first, and I'll tell you why I actually picked this story from the Financial Times. It says, keep ECOWAS out of internal regional politics.

Benenois Minister says, West African bloc urged to focus on economy and avoid meddling in Western states domestic affairs. The lead says, West Africa's main economic club should focus on economic integration and the fight against poverty and terrorism and steer clear of interfering in internal politics of member states.

Benes Foreign Minister has said. Shegmu Ajadi Bakary told the Financial Times that the economic community of West African states should be reformed that reaching agreement on how to respond to political crisis was paramount. Nobody can say we can keep ECOWAS as it is, said Bakary, a former Societeo General Executive who was appointed Foreign Minister last year.

The bloc's members should sit down together to find a new consensus when it comes to internal politics, although Bene believes it should not interfere. ECOWAS has responded haphazardly to the takeovers which began when soldiers ousted elected Malian leader Ibrahim Babukar Keita in August 2020. The country experienced a second coup nine months later. Guinea's push came in September 21, while Burkina Faso

experienced two coups in 2022. But following international criticism that it's been too lenient, the bloc imposed sweeping sanctions on Niger after the head of the country's presidential guard deposed and detained President Mohammed Bazum last July, threatening to invade if he was not released. The threat was not realized and the ruling junta remains in power while Bazum remains in detention. Although Bakary

Adesoji Iginla (43:53.071)
said work was ongoing to secure his freedom. The minister, Eko, was near to change his approach given its lack of success in restoring democracy in the cool, heat country. The junta in Burkina Faso recently extended its term by another five years. But there is a part here, yes. OK. In Mali, we set a transitional table. Four years later, is that a solution? No. In Guinea and Burkina Faso, we did the same thing and no solution.

Bakary said, with Niger, we decided to put sanctions in place. We received a very big backlash and there was no result. We've had to ask ourselves at some point if our methodology is the right one. Where is it? There's something here with regards to money. Yes. Yeah, this is it. Bene and Niger are now embroiled in a spurt over the latter's refusal to open its side of the share border despite the end of the sanctions, with Niami citing security concerns.

The impasse is hampering Niger's own exports of his oil through a new 2 ,000 kilometer pipeline from the landlocked countries to the post of Semé in Bene Republic.

Yes, what's your assessment? Before I say why I picked the story.

Milton Allimadi (45:05.262)
Okay.

Milton Allimadi (45:08.846)
Okay, so, you know, there are many elements in this article. And of course, as a Pan -African, I disagree with the foreign minister in the sense that I actually support interference, because we are celebrating artificial sovereignty that were created as a result of European imperialism and colonialism.

Adesoji Iginla (45:14.511)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (45:25.007)
Okay.

Milton Allimadi (45:36.846)
They drew these artificial boundaries that have separated us and held back our vitality and our ability to actually grow politically and economically. And I think, as I said in our previous discussion, we are in a position that China was in in the earlier parts of the 20th century, right? When China was still basically

Adesoji Iginla (46:03.055)
Mm -hmm.

Milton Allimadi (46:06.188)
a collection of warlords in different parts of the country. Even after Chiang Kai -shek came into power, China was still beholden to the West. It was only after the Chinese Revolution. So we need to have a United States of Africa. Really, that's the only way we can survive. And if it involves interference,

Adesoji Iginla (46:24.974)
Ciao mamma.

Milton Allimadi (46:34.923)
in the so -called internal affairs of these artificial countries, so be it. I like what is going on in the sense that Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in the last several months have made many joint declarations and taken many joint positions. And that is the reason why ECOWAS was not able to invade Niger, to reverse the coup.

Because whether it was realistic or not, Burkina Faso, together with Mali, declared that they had a joint pact, and any invasion of any one of those countries would be seen as an invasion of all those three countries. And of course, that made a difference. And that was the reason why they did not invade. And then, of course, they saw the level of popular support from the ground.

the ECOWAS other member country leaders, including that of Nigeria, saw the popular support that the regime, the military regime had on the ground, mass support. And that also deterred them. Of course, they failed to reverse the coup. And they don't want Mali, Burkina, and Niger to leave ECOWAS, as it is a process.

They've declared that they want to leave. I think once you make the declaration, it goes through a 12 -month period. So the rest of ECOWAS is determined that in the next, before the expiration of that 12 -month period, they will convince these three countries not to leave. And then, of course, he has a very self -centered interest.

Adesoji Iginla (48:21.071)
Tuesday.

Mm.

Milton Allimadi (48:30.441)
for his own country. And when you mentioned that part about the oil pipeline, because if Nijah is not exporting its oil, it means that Benin would not be making the revenues as well. So those are the interesting parts of this element. But then, of course, there's also a very glaring omission. And I hope that viewers and listeners caught that. The article talked about

about a series of coups, and the coups are projected in a negative way, right? There are bad things, these coups, Mali and then Burkina and then you have Niger. I hope that the perceptive listeners were able to see that two coups were not mentioned, and that was the one in Chad, which of course was supported and endorsed and engineered by France, and the one in Gabon.

Adesoji Iginla (49:26.351)
and Gabon.

Milton Allimadi (49:28.169)
as well.

See our people, please don't be deceived. You know, everything they said was truthful. Yes, it's a fact. There was a coup in Mali, there was a coup in Burkina, there was a coup in Niger. So if you're just too relaxed and you're not listening carefully, you would forget that they did not mention Chad and Gavon. Because those are the coups that they help engineer and they support.

Adesoji Iginla (49:54.959)
Ha ha.

Adesoji Iginla (50:00.111)
Mm.

Milton Allimadi (50:01.061)
because it maintained essentially rulership from the same family that they want to continue to maintain in power. Do not be deceived. Please read carefully.

Adesoji Iginla (50:09.551)
You

Adesoji Iginla (50:14.095)
Okay, so you caught one. The other one was the fact that here was a guy who was previously a chief executive with a bank talking to the Financial Times about money opportunities. Exactly about money opportunities that he's been taking off the table. I was like...

Milton Allimadi (50:25.509)
Yes, yes, yes, of course. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes. He's one of them. He's one of them.

Milton Allimadi (50:43.269)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (50:43.855)
Talk about having a conversation in public.

was I was like was it do yeah

Milton Allimadi (50:48.709)
He's their man. You know, as the financial times would say, investors would be happy.

Adesoji Iginla (50:58.127)
We'll be happy. So when he said, when you know, when I was reading, I was like, okay, okay. Yeah, I was okay. Why are you talking to the Financial Times though? You're the foreign minister. Why are you talking to the Financial Times?

Milton Allimadi (51:01.317)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (51:06.885)
You read the guy's resume and you say,

Milton Allimadi (51:16.699)
And, no, that's exactly how they love it. They want the person who, like in Cote d 'Ivoire, right? What do they have in Cote d 'Ivoire? In Cote d 'Ivoire, every cause. They said Gabbabo was a dictator who tried to extend his term illegally and did not even win the election, right?

Adesoji Iginla (51:23.055)
Hahaha!

Adesoji Iginla (51:28.719)
Mm -hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (51:46.031)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (51:46.851)
So they helped install Qatar with a military intervention by the French. Right. And they took Gbagbo to the International Criminal Court. He served some time. Later on, the conviction, of course, was vacated and he was released. Right. So what does Qatar do? His two terms expires and he extends his term and he's not condemned. There's no military intervention by the French.

Adesoji Iginla (51:52.015)
Alan Wattah, Alan Wattah.

Adesoji Iginla (52:08.847)
Quotara.

Adesoji Iginla (52:17.487)
No.

Milton Allimadi (52:17.507)
and is endorsed, we must be wary of these double standards in the interest of Western imperialism. We must always be able to connect the dots. Don't see any African country in isolation. Look at how other countries are covered as well and connect the dots. That is part of our process of seeing all these African countries as one.

Adesoji Iginla (52:22.895)
Yes. Yes.

Hmm. And one of the key.

Adesoji Iginla (52:39.279)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (52:46.671)
And one of the key tools is the use of media because if they can get the news article in front of you.

Milton Allimadi (52:50.083)
Correct.

Milton Allimadi (52:54.464)
Of course, it's always been the use of media. I told you about the editorial in the New York Times in 1876, which made the argument that Africans were being tortured because they had some human sensibility, right? But they were affiliated with the ancient crocodile and hippopotamus. I don't know what that means.

Adesoji Iginla (53:15.471)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

Milton Allimadi (53:24.287)
But on the other hand, they had some human tendencies as well. So that's why they're very tortured, right? So Britain should go and colonize. So the newspaper, the media rather, has always historically been used to justify our exploitation. And then of course, after colonialism, look, they cannot run these modern states. We need to intervene and go back. So.

Adesoji Iginla (53:30.447)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (53:42.767)
Mmm. Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (53:53.055)
It justified, first of all, it justified slavery, right? Where Africans were projected as basically animals. So it sanitized, they're being confined to plantation. It sanitized, they're being shipped like rats on those boats, with millions dying along the way. And Europeans not being appalled and saying, why are you doing this to fellow human beings? Because the media had been effective.

Adesoji Iginla (54:13.423)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (54:23.423)
in conditioning the European mind that these were not really human beings like us. So it was used during slavery, during colonialism, and in our contemporary era, the era of neocolonialism. It's not as outright, brutal as it was. It's become much more refined. And that is why we have to really pay attention when we listen and read very carefully.

Adesoji Iginla (54:29.487)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (54:48.367)
In between the lines, yes. Read in between the lines. Read in between the lines. And speaking of lines, the Ugandan oil pipeline again is in the news. And this time is due to the attack on the leader of an NGO who was beaten, abducted, and taken far away from his place, dumped. And let's just.

Milton Allimadi (54:49.567)
Absolutely.

Adesoji Iginla (55:16.911)
go ahead and share the story and it's...

It goes thus, and it comes from The Guardian. It's a Ugandan oil pipeline protestor beaten as part of alarming crackdown. Stephen Kizikiriza is one of the 11 campaigners against E -Corp, targeted by authorities in the past two weeks, rights group says. A man campaigning against the controversial five billion or four billion pounds East African crude oil pipeline.

Commonly known as ECOP, is recovering in a hospital after an alleged beating by the Ugandan Armed Forces in the latest incident in what has been called an alarming crackdown on the country's environmentalists. Steven Kirikisa, who works for Ugandan Environmental Governance Institute, EGI, a non -profit organization, was abducted in Kampala on 4th of June, according to his employer. He was beaten, questioned, and then abandoned hundreds of miles from the capital on Sunday evening.

The Ugandan people defense force denied it was responsible and accused Kirikiza of faking his abduction. The military deputy spokesman said it has been established that the said person is totally deceiving. All the facts has been established. We're in touch with the police and his organization to know his intention for telling such lies. End quote. According to the International Federation for Human Rights,

Kirikizu is one of 11 campaigners against oil projects which has been targeted by Ugandan police, military and government officials in the past two weeks. The ECOP plans backed by French oil company Total and the state -owned China National Offshore Corporation with the Uganda and Tanzanian government is holding minority stakes have attracted widespread criticisms from environmentalists since it was first mooted in 2013.

Adesoji Iginla (57:20.463)
They claim the route endangered several national parks and it would displace tens of thousands of people from their homes. Kirikisa has been reporting on the alleged human rights abuses around the Kingfisher oilfields on the shore of Lake Albert. Oil from there will be transported along the 870 mile E -Corp which will run between Uganda and the Tanzania coast. Over to you, sir.

Milton Allimadi (57:47.896)
Okay, very good. All right, so first, I mean, I have a direct message, of course, to the CEO of Total Energies, Mr. Pouyan. I don't know if I'm pronouncing it correctly, but it's spelled, I believe, P -O -U -Y -A -N -N -E. So, CIO of CEO of Total, this oil pipeline, and to export the oil through Uganda to Tanzania and then ship it

to the international community, it's not going to work, it's not going to succeed. Look at the experience of what happened in the Delta in Nigeria. Look at the Ogoni region. Look what has happened. You know, you are supporting a regime that is illegitimate and unpopular. And the oil pipeline runs in significant parts.

Adesoji Iginla (58:19.951)
Mm -hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (58:28.687)
Milton Allimadi (58:46.647)
of areas of Uganda where the dictator, General Mutusogun, is very unpopular. Are you going to be able to militarily deploy to guard a pipeline hundreds of miles long? Of course it won't happen. People will sabotage the pipeline because they don't like the regime. So it means they won't like any entity that is supporting the regime. So that's a direct message I'm telling you. And then in terms...

Adesoji Iginla (58:59.055)
870 miles yeah

Milton Allimadi (59:16.631)
of how people are being brutalized. It's very unfortunate, this incident of torture. And you see, now the government is denying it, because obviously they know it's going to be big international news. So the question is, OK, so this guy basically tortured and self -inflicted these wounds on him. That has required his hospitalization. But look at the other things that have been going on.

Ordinary peasant farmers are being kicked off their land and given offers they cannot refuse. Some of them being given $20 for their land. You cannot even buy an Angus steak burger with $20 here in New York City. Somebody who's using his land to feed himself and his family and have a little money to maybe even have school fees by selling the produce from his land and you are

Adesoji Iginla (59:50.159)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (01:00:14.87)
giving him $20 basically at the end of the battle of a gun, you know, take it, or you're not gonna get anywhere, and we're still gonna kick you out anyway. And then they're producing documents that they allege were signed by people who in his right mind would sell land for $20. On the other hand, anybody with a gun pointing at his head would sign any document just to protect their lives.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:26.159)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:35.119)
for $20.

Milton Allimadi (01:00:43.222)
So this is what's going on and I'm glad that the oil pipeline is not proceeding as the government had hoped because many international banks, many international insurance companies have abandoned the project. So the dictatorship needs at least $2 billion and is running around the world looking for $2 billion. I mean, I know Museveni is corrupt, but I don't think he can easily hold that.

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:03.279)
Hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:10.286)
He's got to be.

Milton Allimadi (01:01:12.276)
from whatever he's hiding his money. And why would he put down his own ill -gotten money, even if he had $2 billion somewhere to this pipeline? So he wants others to put their money. So he's been trying lately to get the money from China. But the Chinese are not incompetent. They have representation in Uganda. They're looking at the tea leaves. They're monitoring the politics very carefully.

And they're probably saying to themselves, why don't we wait it out and negotiate with Bobby Wine once he's sworn in as a president? That would be the wise thing to do. And I'm not saying that automatically, Bobby Wine and his party, the National Unity Platform, would endorse the pipeline. To be honest, I don't know his position on the pipeline, given the environmental damage that's been reported, right? Is there a way that they could still accommodate it?

Adesoji Iginla (01:02:02.671)
impact. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (01:02:10.131)
with some measures being taken to ameliorate some of the negative impact? I don't know. Personally, my own position, and this is of course my own personal position, is that at a stage where environmental disruption is already causing these significant damages to the ecosystem in many African countries, do we really need to be expanding the level of fossil fuels in the world? I don't know.

Adesoji Iginla (01:02:32.687)
Another pipeline.

I mean, it's one for contemplation. I know of the issues in Ogoling land where most of the vegetation has died off. Water is hard to come by. Even the people are fishermen by trade.

they now have to go further into the oceans to get fishes because the local rivers are, they're devoid of fishes. So again, that puts, yeah, that puts more, much more economic impact on the local body. Some of them have had to upstakes and move. So imagine now you, yeah.

Milton Allimadi (01:03:15.217)
Think about that.

Milton Allimadi (01:03:27.697)
right. And the other question, of course, what about the vegetation? What about the soil that you use to grow your food? What about the water that you drink? Think about that, you know?

Adesoji Iginla (01:03:38.127)
Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. What about the rain? Even the rain, the rain coming down. Yeah, the rain coming down is affected. So acid rain. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, it's, it's, it's a technology that needs to be let go. It's a technology that needs to be let go.

Milton Allimadi (01:03:43.409)
Think about that, even the rain is affected, correct? Yes, you have your version of acid rain, right?

Milton Allimadi (01:04:00.241)
Yeah, yeah. And the thing is, we have these desperate economies with desperate leaders, and that is why they push for it at every measure. So rather than saying, let me go on a charm campaign, this is a country of young people. I'm 80 years old next year, the dictator, he turns 80 next year. Let me go on a charm campaign. What is the possible way that I can actually

get the international community to finance this project. Maybe I should take example from South Africa.

In the case of South Africa, of course, I oppose it because they're going in bed with imperialism. But in the case of Uganda, why not go with the youth that actually won the last election? Ease myself out. Form a government of national unity. And ease myself out and say, next year I'm going to step down before the election schedule for two years from now. You see? Instead,

Adesoji Iginla (01:04:55.695)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (01:05:07.023)
You are practicing the same kind of extortion and brutality that you've been practicing for the last 38 years in power. Torturing a prominent person from an environmental organization and then having your police spokesperson saying, no, he's lying. He made up the wounds on his body. The police, I mean, the hospital is treating fictitious wounds. It's just amazing, you know?

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:12.239)
Hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:29.199)
He beat himself up.

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:37.999)
Again, yes, thank you. We have come to the end of another fantastic week of news review. As usual, Brother Milton has not held back. And...

Milton Allimadi (01:05:53.263)
Thank you, comrade. No, thank you. We really need to. I hope that, as I said, that people use this template that we now have to produce similar lessons in every African country. Every African country, they have media outlets, right? They have podcasts. They have, but many of them are emulating

Adesoji Iginla (01:06:10.575)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (01:06:22.252)
the kind of news shows that they see in Europe or in the United States, right? The void of domestic relevance, right? Absolutely. Each one of them, all those outlets that now exist, whether it's radio, whether it's TV, whether it's print, have a critique.

Adesoji Iginla (01:06:31.087)
devoid of critical thinking.

Milton Allimadi (01:06:50.219)
that you bring your domestic talking heads once a week, whether it's Friday, whether it's Monday, and you deconstruct all these articles, all these podcasts, all these broadcasts, the way we are doing right now.

Adesoji Iginla (01:07:02.799)
Hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, if when we do grow this thing more, we can even offer that as a course and get people to come in and, you know, pay as you pay as you will, you know, that kind of thing. So it's like I give back to the community because I think sometimes you are in conversation. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (01:07:13.643)
Absolutely.

Milton Allimadi (01:07:24.843)
And listen, you struck something. When you have time, you should look up some of the prominent programs in these countries, whether it's Ghana, Nigeria, whether it's South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and let's get it on. Let's do one test session with them and they will see the relevance. And hopefully we can spread the template.

Adesoji Iginla (01:07:48.399)
Mm.

Yes, yes.

Because I think the thing about the media is it's as powerful and insidious at the same time to the point where in the hands of the wrong person it is a terrible weapon. It's a terrible weapon because they know force alone cannot help them. So what they do is they go for the mines. And like the great Ngugiwatengu says,

Milton Allimadi (01:08:02.443)
Absolutely.

Milton Allimadi (01:08:18.217)
Absolutely. They go for their minds.

Adesoji Iginla (01:08:24.495)
You know, you have to decolonize the mind, you know, we just have to, we have to. And so any famous last words and don't tell me the me, the struggle continues.

Milton Allimadi (01:08:36.265)
resta continua, as comrade Samora used to say, rest in peace with the ancestors. But also, also, as the late fella used to say, the struggle must end.

Adesoji Iginla (01:08:43.823)
Yes, yes, yes, yes. And good.

No, no, no.

Adesoji Iginla (01:08:54.031)
Yes, I'll go with Fela's last take, which is yes, the struggle must end and victory is assured. Victory is assured. And thank you everybody for joining us. And until next week, it's a good night from me. Good night. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (01:08:56.617)
Thanks for watching!

Milton Allimadi (01:09:02.153)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (01:09:09.481)
Thank you, comrade.