EP 6 African News Review I Adesoji Speaks Knowledge 🌍

In this week's conversation, Adesoji Iginla and Milton Allimadi discuss various news stories related to Africa. They covered topics such as Algeria's commemoration of victims of a French crackdown, France's recognition of Western Sahara's autonomy, and the situation in Burkina Faso. The conversation highlighted the importance of understanding the historical context and the role of Western powers in shaping these events.
They touched on Kenyan protests for accountability, the power of leaderless online movements, the potential for similar protests in other countries.
The involvement of the United Arab Emirates in the Sudan civil war, and the need to address anti-black racism in the conflict.
The so called discovery of Emirati passports in Sudan which suggested covert UAE involvement, and their denial were discussed. with grim understanding that the "discovery of the emirati documents could be in preparation for major revelations about mass graves
With Burkina Faso, the importance of national symbols and leaders in boosting morale and mobilizing support was brought into focus.
The episode closed with the history of conflict in Africa.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview
01:57 Algeria's Commemoration of Colonial Era Crackdown
11:57 Algeria's Criticism of France's Recognition of Western Sahara's Autonomy
20:36 Burkina Faso: Escalating Violence and Brutal Government Response
33:56 Protests in Kenya and the Power of Online Mobilization
50:50 The Involvement of the United Arab Emirates in the Sudan Civil War
57:45 The Need for Strong Leadership in African Countries
01:06:09 Western Countries and Their Role in African Conflicts
01:07:57 Confronting Anti-Black Racism and Promoting Unity in Africa

Transcript

Adesoji Iginla (00:03.058)
Yes, good day, good afternoon, good evening, good morning, wherever you are. And it's once again, welcome to African News Review and hosted on the Adesoggi Speaks YouTube channel. My name is Adesoggi Iginla. I'm the host. you know, this is our weekly conversation where we look at Africa and the Western media. And with me as always is

Comrade Milton Alimadi, hosts Black Star News and Explorer extraordinaire. Welcome, sir. Welcome, welcome.

Milton Allimadi (00:42.903)
Thank you. Thank you, thank you, Congress.

Adesoji Iginla (00:46.67)
yes. The week has been quite one, not the least the fact that the Olympics, four yearly events of the best of games has started in Paris and they made a matter of swimming in the, shall we not say, not so healthy River Seine. And the mayor is, what's for where as we hear.

And it's been, you know, the usual excellence on show, not least the fact that Simone Biles becomes the most decorated gymnast in the history of the Olympics, which is a joy to behold. And yes, the United States almost lost their crown to South Sudan. And again, that comes with its own

Milton Allimadi (01:33.356)
here.

Adesoji Iginla (01:46.592)
How shall I say it? Loose tongues, but that's not the matter for today. In fact, we're going, we're going to start the story today in Paris, but by way of Algeria. And the first story comes from Paris and it's

Adesoji Iginla (02:17.354)
So, and the first news comes from AP, the Associated Press, and it's titled, Algeria Honour Victims of Colonial Era French Crackdown at the Paris Olympic Ceremony. And the lead goes, Algeria reminded France of a particular dark chapter of its colonial past during its otherwise celebratory opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on Friday.

What happened? Algeria brought red roses on their boat as they paraded for the event and then tossed them into the river to honor victims of the infamous 1961 police crackdown on Algeria protesters in Paris. Some of the members chanted long live Algeria in Arabic after throwing the flowers. Historians say some 120 protesters died and 12 ,000 were arrested as they demonstrated on October 17.

1961 in support of the independence from France, then Algeria's colonial ruler. Some were thrown into the Seine River, which is where the opening ceremony took place. French authorities sought to cover up the 1961 massacre for decades. French President Emmanuel Macron recently acknowledged that crimes were committed that day inexcusable for the Republic.

It is on record that France won its independence in 1962 after 132 years under colonial rule. Your initial take.

Milton Allimadi (03:57.931)
Okay.

Well it speaks obviously. I mean at some point in the article there was the observation that some people were saying this is not the right moment for protest. I mean that's preposterous. When is the right moment to protest? You're supposed to protest at the most inconvenient moment for the authorities.

Adesoji Iginla (04:28.554)
The keyword is the protest.

Milton Allimadi (04:30.566)
Regardless, exactly what does a protest mean? If it has to be at a specified time and location, right? So obviously it speaks to an era that was...

Adesoji Iginla (04:40.382)
Yeah, then it's not a protest.

Milton Allimadi (04:48.926)
Well, you know, that's a hypocrisy of colonialism. You want to be portrayed as civilized people while you're committing acts of savagery, right? And that is why it is important for you to cover up your lies. So in other words, it is much more important to protect the false image and reputation of you as a civilized people who are not capable of committing barbaric acts, correct?

Adesoji Iginla (04:59.21)
Mm -hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (05:08.17)
the image.

Adesoji Iginla (05:18.474)
Correct, correct.

Milton Allimadi (05:19.773)
Forget about that massacre alone in Paris, but the war of liberation itself, the Algerian war of liberation, how brutal that was in terms of the French scorched earth genocidal approach to suppressing that war of national liberation. That was also covered up for many, many years. So it's not inconsistent.

Adesoji Iginla (05:39.658)
Yep.

Adesoji Iginla (05:46.176)
correct.

Milton Allimadi (05:48.584)
with the cover up of that massacre of 1961. And of course, the Algerians did the right thing. They didn't disrupt anything. They just made a very powerful and strong symbolic act without disrupting any of the festivities that accompany the opening ceremony of the Olympics. So it was very measured, relatively low key, but at the same time, just given the coverage that it's getting.

Adesoji Iginla (06:04.672)
Correct.

Milton Allimadi (06:17.94)
effective in what they wanted to say. They were not making any demands. They just wanted the memory of the victims to be

Adesoji Iginla (06:20.456)
Yes, of course, of course.

Yeah, I mean, speaking to the Algeria war of independence, over a million people died in the course of the Algeria liberation as led by the FLN and

Milton Allimadi (06:40.871)
Correct, and the Battle of Algiers, as you know, had been banned in France. That film is a dramatic reenactment, of course. It's not a documentary. Some young people sometimes confuse it. I think it's a documentary. It's a reenactment, but a very powerful one, the Battle of Algiers, by Ponte Colvo, the Italian filmmaker. That was banned. It could not be shown in France.

Adesoji Iginla (06:43.794)
Mm -hmm.

Milton Allimadi (07:09.871)
I think until late maybe in the 1970s or so. So it speaks toward that same period. You're ashamed and disgusted by your own barbaric deeds and yet you go out of your way to try to cover it

Adesoji Iginla (07:27.808)
I mean, again, just to buttress the point you were making, that war of independence soured the relationship between France and Algeria up to the point that it was only in 1976 that the French tricolor flag and the national anthem was played on the soil of Algiers, on Algeria, and that was at the visit of the then president, Gaston.

Other than that, France, Algeria wanted nothing to do with France. Nothing to do with Yeah,

Milton Allimadi (08:02.599)
And you will not be surprised. mean, they kind of at a very stage they committed in trying to hold on to people that wanted their own independence, just like in Vietnam. In Vietnam, of course, they were taught a lesson at the Great Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 when they were defeated. And you would think that they learned a lesson in Vietnam.

But no, they come back to Algeria and they still want to carry out the same colonial project which had collapsed in Vietnam.

Adesoji Iginla (08:41.012)
Well, it's the thing about their press is when they run these stories, they minimize the historical context. Everything is taken

Milton Allimadi (08:53.143)
Yes absolutely. I agree with you totally. And that is the tragedy of Africa and African nations and many of the less industrialized or non -industrialized rather countries. The tragedy of not having media

Adesoji Iginla (08:57.192)
Yeah, so when they're.

Milton Allimadi (09:20.438)
or media outlets or even wire services that have that kind of outreach and impact.

But at the same time, I do not blame anyone except for the African countries themselves. Do you expect imperialism to create that media outlet for you? You know, think about it. We have the resources to buy jet fighters, to buy tanks, armored personnel carriers. I don't know any African country that does not have an air force, even if it's a small one, and a

division in the armed forces and you're telling me that you cannot collectively have your own version as powerful as the BBC? That to me is just preposterous and don't blame anybody except yourselves, you

Adesoji Iginla (09:59.261)
Amen.

Adesoji Iginla (10:15.84)
Choo choo choo choo

Milton Allimadi (10:17.9)
The leadership, of course, I mean, the people, you know, the people don't have the kind of resources to do that. They're being overtaxed by the national governments as we're seeing the protests are now erupting. So I don't expect them at the same time to have the kind of resources to pool and to create international media outlets of that kind of scope. But hopefully, you know, these types of conversations will eventually attract

enough Africans that may have some resources, the ones that may work globally in other spaces, that also have, of course, the correct political orientation. We're not sitting here and saying that there are no wealthy Africans. Of course, there many wealthy Africans, some that have made their money correctly, some that have not made their money correctly, but there are.

Well, the Africans, it's one thing to have the wealth, and then it's the other thing to have the consciousness to realize how important it is to be able to tell the story from your own perspective, you know? And that is a challenge,

Adesoji Iginla (11:30.848)
And for those who want to read more on the Algeria War of Independence, I've drawn out Alistair Haunce, A Savage War of Peace, Algeria 1954 to 1962. It's a very old book. You should be able to get it, but it's the only one I know that is written in English, because majority of the other books are in French and Arabic.

Milton Allimadi (11:57.065)
Right.

Adesoji Iginla (11:59.04)
Again, the name of the book is Alistair Haunt's A Savage War of Peace, Algeria 1954 to 1962. So and on to our next story. Again, it's Algeria and France, but this time it's Algeria calling out France's duplicity. And what do I mean by that? Algeria has slammed France.

for recognising Western Sahara's autonomy within Moroccan sovereignty. This news comes from the Reuters. Algeria expressed great regret and strong denunciation on Thursday about the French government decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region within Moroccan sovereignty. Algeria's position on Western Sahara conflicts. is to implement a United Nations plan which includes a self -determination referendum. Algeria considers Moroccan presence in the Western Sahara an occupation. Morocco, on the other hand, considers Western Sahara its own but an Algerian -backed independent movement, the Polisario Front, demands a sovereign state. The background is Algeria took over most of Western Sahara in 1975 from colonial Spain

that started a guerrilla war with the Sahrawi people's Polisarro Front, which says the desert territory in the northwest of Africa belongs to it. The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991, sending a mission to help organize a referendum on the future of the territory, but the sides have been deadlocked since. What say you, sir?

Milton Allimadi (13:48.483)
Well, first of all, you know, the article is either totally ignorant or it's totally malicious, you know. Particularly, you know, it may be if listeners didn't hear, perhaps they should read the last sentence again.

Adesoji Iginla (14:06.176)
The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991 and sent in a mission to help organize a referendum on the future of the territory, but the sides have been deadlocked since.

Milton Allimadi (14:21.328)
All right, so that's like saying in what was occupied Southwest Africa, now Namibia, it's like saying the sides were deadlocked there. When, you know, Namibians wanted their independence and were fighting for their independence. And what happened was that the United Nations did the same thing. Hold an election. And of course, the occupiers of

was the apartheid European state run South Africa. Apartheid South Africa was not going to allow open democratic free elections to be held in Namibia, because of course they would have voted for independence. So now, to say that they were deadlocked, they were not deadlocked at all. South Africa was refusing. It was occupying

and would not allow the election to be held. How do you call that a deadlock? That's not a deadlock. A deadlock makes it appear as if there's an issue in dispute and that the two sides are not agreeing. One side will not agree to national independence. Morocco itself, one is national independence from France. It did not compromise. So now it was the Sahara -Oui people.

Adesoji Iginla (15:39.786)
Facts.

Milton Allimadi (15:49.882)
to compromise and to allow themselves to be absorbed, just like Morocco had been absorbed into colonial France. That's preposterous. So the article itself is preposterous to make it sound as if there's some sort of equal responsibility or liability. There's one occupying power, and there's the other people that want their national independence. And that is not reflected at all.

Adesoji Iginla (15:58.432)
Mm -hmm.

Milton Allimadi (16:18.553)
in this article. So it's very tragic.

Adesoji Iginla (16:22.66)
And would you want to speculate as to why France is toeing this line now? I mean, I have an idea, but I'm willing to listen to you first.

Milton Allimadi (16:37.616)
France has always had a very close working relationship with Morocco. mean, you know, Morocco was seen like as the puppet relative to Algeria, which was seen as militant, you know. Algeria, of course, supports the National Liberation Army for the Sahrawi people, Western Sahara, as it's sometimes called.

but they have a name for themselves. So it would be like calling Namibia, Southwest Africa. They call themselves the Sahara Democratic Republic and their national army liberation is Polisario, which has been at fighting, which fought for independence from Spain and then continued to fight when Morocco stepped in to try to occupy. And in

Adesoji Iginla (17:17.29)
public

Adesoji Iginla (17:27.69)
Mauritania and took on

Adesoji Iginla (17:34.164)
Mm -hmm.

Milton Allimadi (17:36.053)
Mauritania was also trying to bite off a chunk. But Mauritania woke up at some point and became a little more wise. And of course, it absorbed serious casualties from Polisario. So it renounced its claim. Morocco, instead of doing the right thing, doing the same thing, it continues to try to reinforce its own form of imperialism against the people of the Sahara democratic

Adesoji Iginla (17:37.942)
Yeah.

Mm -hmm.

Milton Allimadi (18:05.61)
public. The good thing of course is that it contradicts the position of the African Union, which of course is to recognize the independence of the Sahrawi people.

Adesoji Iginla (18:22.272)
So I was actually going to go out on a limb and to say because the United States has inadvertently recognized Morocco's claim to Western Sahara and the idea that there is phosphate and other vital mineral resources in there.

Britain is already in there, you know, exploring possibilities and France does not want to be left out on the lurch. So have now decided they want to be part of it. But that situation is for the conflict is for the, you know, contradicted in the sense that the United Nations International Criminal Court recently just called the occupation of West Bank as illegal.

Now in the same breath, you, a member of the Security Council of the United Nations, is now backing the similar type claim somewhere else. I mean, is that not hypocrisy?

Milton Allimadi (19:37.747)
Yeah, but it's not surprising. Look at what they're doing vis -a -vis Israel. They're basically allowing Israel to ignore the ICJ. They're allowing Israel to ignore the United Nations Security Council. And as you know, Israel also has a very close working relationship with Morocco. In fact, Israel helped them build that wall that separates them,

Adesoji Iginla (20:04.735)
The

Milton Allimadi (20:07.22)
from what they call the liberated territory, which is adjacent to Algeria. And in addition to the minerals that you mentioned, the billions of dollars in very rich fishing lanes, the coastline, that contain some of the most valuable quantities of fish, which is, of course, also being exploited.

by all those countries, including

Milton Allimadi (20:40.592)
Yeah, and that is why by doing that, you're just giving them more incentive to continue their war of national liberation.

Adesoji Iginla (20:53.032)
Well, speaking of West Africa, we stay in West Africa for now and we'll go to Bokina Faso, which is this news. Next one comes from your favorite news organization.

Milton Allimadi (20:57.681)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (21:10.278)
Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (21:13.78)
The New York Times. So the lead says, military leader to his people, fight or you disappear. I've highlighted some key aspects and you will see why. The West African nation of Burkina Faso was once known for its lively art scene. Now is a country torn apart by Islamic extremists and the government's brutal effort to drive them out.

The report is by Elan Petier and photographed by Jacob

Teenagers toy with guns at the museum exhibit. Young men posed in front of posters of a country military leader. Over dinner in restaurants, family watch, TV monitors showing footage of drone strikes. The event was billed as a national cultural festival in the West African nation of Burkina Faso. But it also resembles a mobilization campaign in an all out war against the Islamic terrorists.

who have gradually occupied the countries in recent years. The motherland or death, Alela Iboa, a spoken artist, shouted on stage to the cheers of crowd at the festival held in May in Bobo de Leazo, the country's second largest city. Bokina Faso has long been known for its international film festival and art scene, but as extremists affiliated with Islamic states and al -Qaeda have turned,

swirled of West Africa into the world's epicenter of terrorism. Burkina Hafazor has been the hardest hit. Okay. Now, a recent trip across the country and interviews with civilians and analysts revealed a nation torn apart by escalating violence perpetrated by both Islamic fighters and the military in its brutal effort to defeat them. Where's the last part? Yeah, the country is now led by the

Adesoji Iginla (23:15.808)
youngest state leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, a 36 -year -old autocrat who seized power in a coup in 2022. has enlisted Russian military advisors and drafted about 50 ,000 civilians to fight with his army, leading to a surge of human rights abuses against local populations. Nevertheless, the United Nations has provided more than half of the country's humanitarian aid this year, 150 million US dollars.

Captain Traore has silenced activists, lawyers, journalists, through forced conscription, imprisonment and disappearances. Either you fight or you disappear, he said in a speech in May to draftees. So far, he's losing the battle against the extremists who freely roam the countryside and lay siege to thousands, to dozens of towns and cities. In June, more than 100 soldiers were killed in an

and a military base in Masila in eastern Burkina Faso. The Islamists claim responsibilities.

Yes, sir.

Milton Allimadi (24:49.927)
Well, tragically, Burkina Faso is indeed under tremendous, tremendous pressure. And that is clearly also manifest in the article, although the problem, of course, is that the article leaves out significant causes, and it's a bit disingenuous to sort of blame the present

Adesoji Iginla (24:57.856)
pressure.

Milton Allimadi (25:20.157)
on Traurig, right? Makes it appear it's because he's an autocrat, because he sees power. And then as a result, the Islamist uprising keeps expanding, and they have been committing crimes against civilians, and the armed forces has been doing the same. All right, so here are the missing elements.

because the missing elements always shows their own culpability. And of course, as you know, the reason why Okinawa fossil is no longer seen as this beacon of art, and also it's very disingenuous, when it was seen as the beacon of art and culture, that was at the same time when it was also seen as a

of revolutionary fervor, correct? And that Tomas Sankara. So even though they mentioned him, they mentioned him tangentially without acknowledging that it was of course because of his revolutionary drive and fervor that the arts, culture, music, cinema also flourished because he saw these as inseparable. They went hand in

Adesoji Iginla (26:22.132)
Yes, correct? Correct.

Adesoji Iginla (26:29.664)
Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (26:41.77)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (26:48.398)
the national liberation struggle, national consciousness uplifting, economic independence, self -determination, it went hand in hand with art and culture. So they want to just allude to one thing without showing that it was because of a revolutionary leader. So that then allows them to skip the part about France's role.

in eliminating this revolutionary leader. Right? And then of course, they never mentioned the word Qadhafi. It was because of Francis' role in the murder of Qadhafi and the proliferation of all those weapons that became available in North Africa and Central Africa and West Africa, which of course is also not by coincidence, but it was because of that, that the armed conflict

Adesoji Iginla (27:22.622)
Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (27:33.664)
Mm -hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (27:41.279)
Yep.

Adesoji Iginla (27:46.366)
You

Milton Allimadi (27:48.119)
by the Islamist groups also escalated. when you leave it out like that, it just... And of course, they're trying to give a particular impression, which is also part of what you read out, which is that he kicked out the West, he kicked out France, he kicked out the US, and now he's embraced Putin and Russia. And that is why the situation is getting worse and worse.

Adesoji Iginla (27:52.266)
Choo choo

Adesoji Iginla (28:19.136)
And he also mentioned...

Milton Allimadi (28:19.372)
completely disingenuous, but if you don't have sufficient background, of course you're going to fall for this particular narrative. It's not such much outright lie, but it's lying by omitting a lot of relevant information and facts.

Adesoji Iginla (28:27.594)
Shoo!

Adesoji Iginla (28:36.8)
And then goes on to say that despite all of this, him being 36 years old, seizing power in a coup, enlisting Russian military advisers, and drafted 50 ,000 civilians to fight with his army, the United States has still provided more than half of the country's humanitarian aid. Again?

Milton Allimadi (29:00.534)
And what was it? What was it, like a hundred and what, $50 million?

Adesoji Iginla (29:04.224)
$150 million?

Milton Allimadi (29:06.037)
What is that? What is that? What is $150 million? You know, that's preposterous. That's peanuts. That's chicken feed. and you even mention that as if it's something significant. It's just amazing. Africans are supposed to be, a whole country, are supposed to be appreciative of $150 million. First of all, if these countries

Adesoji Iginla (29:10.804)
That is the United States being... being...

Adesoji Iginla (29:33.983)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (29:36.244)
the revenue that they deserve for the resources that they deserve, they would not need that chicken feed, $150 million. $150 million is the kind of money that some athletes blow in one weekend when they take friends to the casinos, right? Amazing. But Africans are supposed to bow and say, your gracious highness, thank you for your 150 miserable dollars. This is amazing.

Adesoji Iginla (29:54.442)
Correct? Correct.

Milton Allimadi (30:08.508)
You know.

Adesoji Iginla (30:09.33)
And that chant there where it says, model and on death, is actually the chant that was started by Tomo Sankara when he said,

Milton Allimadi (30:19.067)
Absolutely. And of course, he was giving them, he was giving them a very broad perspective, you know, against the counter revolutionaries that wanted to kill him, against those who was resisting the revolution, against those who wanted to reinvade the country, against those that thought it's impossible for the Bukinabe to overcome the economic conditions, you know. So it was a broad

Adesoji Iginla (30:25.48)
as a Clarion core.

Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (30:32.98)
Yep.

Adesoji Iginla (30:47.754)
Yep.

Milton Allimadi (30:48.947)
very broad and broad. You know, it wasn't as if very specific, you know, the way he's giving it. He's giving the impression that, if you don't volunteer to fight against the Islamists, you're going to be killed.

Adesoji Iginla (31:00.522)
This is exactly it's model I know death.

Milton Allimadi (31:02.675)
Very disingenuous, you know. I'm telling my sisters and brothers, you need a dictionary to read Western media. You really do. And we hope to be your dictionary. But we cannot critique and analyze every article. We just hope that you pick up enough skills that you're able to become your own dictionary and to also educate others how

Adesoji Iginla (31:19.263)
Mm.

Milton Allimadi (31:31.507)
to become their own dictionary. Read the words, but the words are beyond the words. You have to be able to analyze what they really mean and why they write what they write.

Adesoji Iginla (31:42.676)
Hmm. And also do bring others here, help subscribe to the channel so that more gets the skill and are able to then transmit it by word of mouth, you know, to others to be able to show them how to descend when they see stories like this, that is rather insulting, you know, to our collective intelligence. Because when you write a story like

and immediately want us to lap it up on the basis that, I mean, anyone will readily run with this and say, wow, this is the reason why Africans cannot, you know, rule themselves because they clearly cannot manage their own affairs. Not knowing that there is, has been events prior to this that has set this sort of situation in motion. You destroy a country to the north.

Milton Allimadi (32:21.808)
Right.

Milton Allimadi (32:27.545)
Absolutely.

Adesoji Iginla (32:42.076)
you upstage everything there and then the trickle effect or the wave that followed thereafter people outside of that influence have to now bear the brunt of it and you're blaming them for not being able to cope

Milton Allimadi (32:57.487)
absolutely.

Yep, absolutely. No context at

Adesoji Iginla (33:03.176)
I mean, at all, at all, at all. And it's, it's mind boggling. It's mind... gone.

Milton Allimadi (33:06.863)
No complex.

I mean, obviously, I appreciate and read all these media because they sometimes, you know, even though they have the twist in propaganda, since I know the twist in propaganda, I read the information that is available there to analyze what is really going on in the ground. So in that sense, you have to read them because they have the resources to deploy

Adesoji Iginla (33:32.49)
Yep, yep, yep.

Milton Allimadi (33:40.536)
writers all over the world. But you don't want to close yourself off and say, these guys are biased. I'm going to read them. Because then you would not be able to get the factual information. So stick with the factual information and then try to come up with your own analysis and interpretation rather than their spin and propaganda. So they're how people deploy it all over Europe, all over Africa.

Adesoji Iginla (33:53.546)
Correct.

Adesoji Iginla (34:04.564)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (34:09.388)
all over Asia, all over Caribbean, all over South America. So you cannot afford to just boycott to know, I'm not going to read it. That's not the right approach. The best approach is just know how to read, analyze and understand what they're saying. Because then if you don't do that, it's one reason you should do it for even a much more important reason, which is to understand what they're planning for

Adesoji Iginla (34:18.578)
Yeah, true, true.

Adesoji Iginla (34:39.082)
You

Milton Allimadi (34:39.661)
or to do to you. And therefore, you're able to also take preventive or preemptive measures.

Adesoji Iginla (34:42.228)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (34:50.336)
Speaking of preventive measures, Ruto might have set the ball rolling for the kind of protest that we'll see across the continent. In our next story coming from the Financial Times, it says how a bunch of nobodies left Kenya's political class running scared.

And the story is submitted by Roulev -Kalev, editor of the FT, who selects her favorite stories in this news in this weekly newsletter. Facing a sudden outbreak of protest in Kenya a month ago, President William Ruto offered the angry young demonstrators a major concession. He withdrew a tax bill that aimed to raise over 2 .3 billion US dollars.

Almost six weeks into the leaderless online organized mass movement, Kenyan Somalian activist, 28 -year -old Hanifa Haddad said, everyone is just asking for accountability from their leaders. A bunch of nobodies giving them a run and then not finding anyone they could put their hands on is what drives them crazy. It must be said that more than 50 people have died.

and scores have been arrested after the initial peaceful protest took a darker turn when demonstrators stumped the parliament on June 25 and police began firing tear gas and live rounds. In another concession, Ruto, on Wednesday, obviously listening to this program, has nominated four opposition figures to a broad -based cabinet that did not certify

Zakhair has appointed corrupt people to fight corruption, wrote activist Boniface Wangi on X referring to the biblical tax collector, Zakhair, whose Swahili name has become the protesters preferred nickname for Ruto. In Kenya, political dynasties have long played the ethnic card which has often led to deadly violence and roped in the opposition into their governments when things turned

Adesoji Iginla (37:13.792)
difficult. The old template used by former president Dania Moi, Moai Kibaki and Uhuru Keata must be shredded and forgotten. Read a star newspaper editorial. Zoomers have demonstrated that business as usual will not wash. Umagimena, a Nairobi -based 28 -year -old political commentator said, we have been very awake. We have a very awake and

educated young population, which have come to terms with the fact that the political elite has always divided Kenyans along tribal lines and resource sharing.

Adesoji Iginla (37:56.446)
Your take, sir.

Milton Allimadi (37:58.778)
Okay, very good. Yes, I think we discussed this previously, how unique this form of protest is. In the past, you would get press releases from organizations that are planning the protest, the demonstration, or the march, and it would be easy to swoop

and apprehend these organizers or planners. And then it's dead, it's gone. And sometimes there's a reluctance to join protest that is associated with a particular individual or organization, you see? So that obstacle is now eliminated. It's a protest.

Adesoji Iginla (38:29.588)
Hmm. True.

Adesoji Iginla (38:43.722)
Yep. Yep.

Milton Allimadi (38:51.975)
that belongs to everyone. Everyone is an organizer. Everyone is a leader in some capacity. Obviously some are better in mobilizing and have larger social media following, but they may not even be necessarily involved in the conceptualizing process. They may just say

Adesoji Iginla (38:53.994)
to the people.

Milton Allimadi (39:20.714)
I like what people are talking about and I will promote it on my personal space because I have this large following. So everyone is contributing in their own way. Whether you have a large social media following, whether you have a small one, you identify with the cause because the cause affects everybody in terms of the potential for the price.

the cost of essential goods and commodities to escalate, had that tax bill gone forward and had it become the law of the land and had it been implemented. So you can see why something like this can be so attractive. All of us identify with the cause. If we are sitting there in Kenya

Adesoji Iginla (39:59.124)
Gone true.

Milton Allimadi (40:17.728)
It's not associated with Mr. A or Mr. B or Mr. or whatever part of the country he comes from, ethnic part of the country comes from, religious part or political party. And that is why this is really tremendously powerful. And I don't think its potential has been fully

is going to now significantly play a role in African elections as well going forward and the aftermath of elections going forward. Now people know they can mobilize. They know that if somebody steals an election, and of course in countries like Uganda, you can see how significant this is going to be as the country heads into elections two years from

Adesoji Iginla (40:52.423)
okay.

Milton Allimadi (41:14.271)
which, you the guys succeeded in stealing the last six elections. Now, let's say the aftermath of another stolen election, everybody has a stake in that. It doesn't mean that the party that was the second biggest party or the biggest party that actually won and was deprived by the incumbent just refusing to yield power. All the entities that participated

in the election process can now join together in collective protest and collective outrage, you see? So I think the potential power of this type of organizing has yet to be realized. We are only skimming the tip of the iceberg right now.

Adesoji Iginla (42:06.261)
I think you might be onto something. And the reason I say that is, at the tail end it says, the unrest appears to be spreading to other countries. This week, young protesters were arrested in Uganda for defying agent president Yoeri Museveni in an anti -corruption rally in Nigeria. Social media calls have motioned for protest against president Bola Tenubu next week, which is this

fueled by discontent with poor governance and high living cost. So you might be onto

Milton Allimadi (42:41.723)
Absolutely. What was not mentioned that in fact, many of the people who were arrested, you know, some of them were tortured and some were also raped, including the men and women students. And that is widely being reported in Uganda media. And it's a shame that many of the international media is not touching on that story.

Adesoji Iginla (42:55.168)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (43:10.878)
the guy is really diabolical. But even then, these protesters still organize additional protests after that and plan to continue doing so. So if he's trying to use that as a weapon of intimidation, I see it actually backfiring and galvanizing more people to want to come over and denounce these types of

Adesoji Iginla (43:38.976)
We continue to monitor the situation and hopefully the people, I mean, the concept behind government by the people, for the people, of the people is that the people's needs are met by the government. And one form

Milton Allimadi (43:57.071)
Absolutely. mean, and what I like is the potential of collaboration here. I joined a discussion on X space, formerly Twitter of Kenyans yesterday. And I made my contribution by obviously texting in my comments and suggestions. And I like the fact that even the host

I was responding to my comments as their conversation was going. at one point there were about maybe 120 people. These are all smart people contributing their ideas and their critiques and the kind of Kenya that they want. And of course, I was also emphasizing that they should collaborate with young people in Uganda and in other African countries, because it's not so much the Kenya that you

It's the kind of Africa that we all deserve. Why should we have all the natural resources and admire countries that emerged in more recent years? Countries like Singapore, South Korea, all those countries. Of course, they're beneficiaries of significant U .S. capital for propaganda purposes.

Adesoji Iginla (44:59.97)
Yeah. True.

Milton Allimadi (45:25.67)
But we can also develop using the resources that we have. But we have to have leaders that are nationalistic, love their people, not just their family and their own bank account, but are nationalistic, the kind of nationalism that Dinkumas had, that Julius Nyerere had, know? Determined to develop their people and their country. And the young people of today,

they now see an opportunity that they can actually become a part of governing. And that was part of the conversation in the Kenyan space. Some of the older contributors were suggesting that. They were saying, you should start looking beyond these leaderless protests that you're organizing. You should organize these leaderless protests

Adesoji Iginla (46:19.402)
colonial borders.

Mm -hmm.

Milton Allimadi (46:25.751)
in order for you to become the leaders of the country. And I like that, you

Adesoji Iginla (46:31.306)
Wow.

Adesoji Iginla (46:36.766)
I mean, we now have international platforms like this, the X -Spaces, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook, Zoom. I mean, it's an organic thing. The fact that conversations are being had across borders, you don't have to be physically... One of the positive things that came out of the pandemic was the fact

most of these conversations now are happening all over the internet and it can be policed which is

Milton Allimadi (47:10.019)
Absolutely. Absolutely. All you have to do is see the topic of some space conversation going on and join. I saw the Kenyan one and I joined. If I see one on Nigeria discussing the proposed protests for next week, of course I'm going to join and listen in and contribute also by texting in. We live in very exciting times, really.

Adesoji Iginla (47:17.544)
and just join, yeah?

Adesoji Iginla (47:33.78)
Yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. mean, one of the things that was left out of the bag was the social media since 2005. And it's just taking on its own life like wildfire. And the normal traditional way of policing things is completely lost. It's lost. And

It's now time that the people actually give their voice power because all of these conversations. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (48:11.714)
Right. Right. And the other point is this, comrade. Any new leader now realizes how vulnerable they are. Correct? Meaning they have more incentive to pay attention to the aspirations and the demands of their people. Otherwise, the people will mobilize and organize effectively.

Adesoji Iginla (48:20.18)
Mm

Adesoji Iginla (48:25.834)
Correct?

Adesoji Iginla (48:33.449)
of the people.

Adesoji Iginla (48:41.563)
Mm. Mm.

Milton Allimadi (48:41.568)
against them. In the past they did not mind. I can ignore you because you cannot mobilize effectively against me. I will bring out the police forces, but they can stay one step ahead of you by saying this is where we're going to congregate, not where the police are going to be. And you cannot preempt something like that. You see, when everybody becomes an organizer, it's almost

Adesoji Iginla (49:07.347)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (49:10.393)
Remember what the Algerians had during the war of national liberation? You know, that was a bit crude compared to what we now have, the possibilities. But they had a system where only they organized in groups of three. So as a member of the FNLA, I could recruit two more members. So I would know myself and two more members. And those two members that I recruited,

Adesoji Iginla (49:14.005)
Mm -hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (49:36.316)
more members and not more than

Milton Allimadi (49:39.608)
Each one of them will recruit two more. So you have a built -in network, but assuming I am arrested, first I'm not supposed to, no matter what kind of torture I endure, at least hold on for 24 hours. And then, no matter how much they torture me, I can only betray two people maximum, you see? Because that's all I know, you see? And they kept it deliberate like that.

Adesoji Iginla (49:40.232)
Well, yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (50:03.831)
yeah.

Milton Allimadi (50:09.334)
They can torture me till kingdom come. I cannot give them a hundred names because I don't know a hundred people. I only know the two whom I recruited. You see? Now we have that reversed, right? Now the network is, you know, boom. I don't have to know them. I declare my presence on some space and then people are congregating toward the idea that is being shared, you know?

Adesoji Iginla (50:11.922)
But only there's only two.

Adesoji Iginla (50:28.757)
Exponential.

Adesoji Iginla (50:41.329)
They did mention it was the Twitter space of ideas, wasn't it? And so people are now congregating around said ideas. Speaking of congregation, apparently the Rwandan soldiers are now congregated in Eastern Congo. I didn't know. So the story, the next story comes from, well, Eastern Congo.

and it's from another of your favorite publications, The Economist. Rwanda's will just...

Milton Allimadi (51:12.469)
Right. Right, but I like it. I like it. So go ahead, read a bit and then I'll tell you why I like

Adesoji Iginla (51:20.895)
Okay so Rwanda soldiers may outnumber M23 rebels in Congo. The prospect of dislodging the rebels is becoming dimmer. In January at least 1 ,000 Rwandan soldiers crossed into eastern Congo prompting a huge expansion of the territory under the control of the M23 rebel group. Rwanda's support for the Tutsi -led militia in the three -year conflict has never

much in doubt. Drone images have long shown its soldiers infiltrating the border and suspiciously advanced weapons have turned up on the battlefield. Rwanda's government, which previously denied supporting M23 now, neither confirms nor denies the presence of its troops in Congo, but a new report by UN experts circulated this month suggested the scale of the Rwandans' intervention is far larger than previously acknowledged. You were going to

Milton Allimadi (52:19.387)
Okay, so what I like is that the columnist used to be an outright Rwanda slash Kagame apologist. So now for the columnist to state as explicitly as the columnist can do based on their pattern and style, that this whole thing of M23 is just fiction, right? Basically, this is Rwanda, which has invaded Congo.

if you read through the lines, that's what they're saying in the strongest term that they've ever said, right? When they start saying that it's never been endowed, right, that Ronda is playing that role. The economists in the past never published those kind of statements, right, or quotes. So that shows that. And of course, the economist, as you know, is the Bible of capital, one of the Bibles of capital.

Adesoji Iginla (52:55.113)
Yep. Yep.

Adesoji Iginla (53:10.176)
position.

Milton Allimadi (53:20.014)
in addition to Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and so forth, right? It's one of the important Bibles of capital. So it means that capital really has decided to put pressure on Rwanda and to expose Rwanda, although they're still hinting at, you know, negotiations. How do you negotiate with somebody who has violated your sovereignty and invaded your country?

Adesoji Iginla (53:26.347)
Yep.

Adesoji Iginla (53:48.466)
I know. I don't know.

Milton Allimadi (53:50.0)
Would you advocate that for Britain if France was doing the same thing? You know, underguys that these are just dissatisfied British rebels who don't like the British government. And then you admit also that, by the way, there are actually thousands of French troops that actually exceed the number of the British rebels, right? And then, you know, you would hint at negotiation. That's nonsense,

Adesoji Iginla (53:56.117)
Sacrebleu!

Milton Allimadi (54:20.641)
you would say that they deserve to be pushed out so that Congo can enjoy its sovereignty. So they're hinting very strongly by putting that kind of expose on Rwanda, that Rwanda cannot get away with it, even though they're also reporting that they've made significant advances militarily, correct? But I think we also had a similar conversation some weeks ago when the economist

Adesoji Iginla (54:44.49)
Correct.

Milton Allimadi (54:50.558)
I don't know whether that was the Economist or Financial Times, but the publication we read was still playing that, see no evil, hear no evil, and still focusing primarily on M23. When it's been known—sorry? Okay, very good. So now you see how it's changed its own language, correct? Meaning it's privy to conversations that is occurring at the high

Adesoji Iginla (55:03.242)
That was The Economist.

That was The Economist.

Adesoji Iginla (55:12.361)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (55:19.296)
of Western political corridors and the corridors of capital at the same time. Congo has too many of the most critical minerals that they need. And I don't think they're going to allow Kagame to mess things up. It's not so much caring about Kagame or caring about the Congolese, but it's to have access to those resources that they

So that is the difference between the previous coverage and what I detect in this particular one. Much more explicit in terms of calling out Rwanda.

Adesoji Iginla (56:01.896)
And they might also be on to what you are saying because there's a part here which says, yes, few outside forces have the appetite to fight the rebels. For one thing, it would mean going up against Rwanda's army, which is generally seen as one of Africa's most capable. UN peacekeepers in North Kivu tend not to engage Rwandan regulars. Moreover,

Rwanda is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions worldwide, complicating the politics of confronting its soldiers in Congo, a brief Kenya -led deployment by the East African community. We drew in failure late last year after Mr. Tisikedi got fed up with his reluctance to

Milton Allimadi (56:51.538)
So what is actually missing in Congo is Chakady himself. And I'll tell you what I Who is the president of Ukraine?

Adesoji Iginla (57:04.928)
Zelensky.

Milton Allimadi (57:06.784)
What was

What was he known as before he became president? What was his main profession or reputation?

Adesoji Iginla (57:16.734)
It was a comedian.

Milton Allimadi (57:18.294)
with a comedian. So you have a comedian who is seen as the symbol of national resistance. And whether you agree with the dynamics of the war or not, and of course, I don't agree with the dynamics. I think the West are primarily responsible. That is not to say that Russia has not committed atrocities with the invasion and all that. But I'm saying it did not occur just in a vacuum. The West are provoking Russia.

Adesoji Iginla (57:29.781)
Mm -hmm.

Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (57:37.119)
Mm -hmm.

YouTube?

Milton Allimadi (57:48.329)
by trying to expand NATO into the borders. It would be like back in the day when you had the Warsaw Pact of what was then the Soviet Union and its satellite states, and you were trying to expand the Warsaw Pact to Cuba. You think the United States would just stand idly by? know, Cuba would be quickly occupied, right?

Adesoji Iginla (57:48.66)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (57:55.703)
Yep, Ooh.

Adesoji Iginla (58:08.03)
Well, the moral doctrine will not allow that.

True.

Milton Allimadi (58:15.378)
You know, we can't pretend that, you know, that's not the dynamics that's ongoing. But nevertheless, this comedian has emerged as the symbol of national resistance. Correct? Sometimes dressed in military fatigue, addressing the troops going toward the front lines, being in cities that have sometimes been bombed. Right? He's not seen as a comedian anymore.

Adesoji Iginla (58:29.258)
Correct, correct. Look in the part.

Adesoji Iginla (58:41.684)
Mm -hmm.

Milton Allimadi (58:44.958)
Many people probably have forgotten even that he was actually a comedian. Do you see Shekere conducting himself in a similar way? The answer is absolutely no, zero. That would have tremendous boost for the national morale of the people of the Congo. And it would actually make it much easier for him to get outside support that he may need.

Adesoji Iginla (58:53.873)
No.

Milton Allimadi (59:14.589)
to deal with the Rwanda invasion menace once and for all. He was seen just even symbolically going in fatigues and to the danger zones on a regular basis, right? But then of course it involved danger, you see? But being a national leader, you can't pick and choose and say, I only want the good part,

Adesoji Iginla (59:35.4)
Yep, yep,

Milton Allimadi (59:43.686)
where I'm being blotted as the national president and enjoying the comforts of the presidency. No, all of it comes together with the territory. You should be there mobilizing on the front line, rallying support. Send these images globally. You would get more support from your own citizens, number one, and then from outsiders. And then you can stop that periodic invasion, every other month invasion, once and for

So part of it, of course, I blame the national president as well. know, take a lesson from Zelensky, whether you agree with the, as I said, the politics, right? Whether you agree with the politics or the history of that conflict or not, but you cannot deny that he's now being identified as a symbol of national resistance. And these symbols are very important in terms of boosting the national morale, you

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:21.076)
Zelensky.

put on some military fatigues.

Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:37.063)
resistance.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:43.582)
Hmm. Yes. It is clearly missing. mean, the country has been at loggerheads since the mid 60s now. It's truly appalling.

Milton Allimadi (01:00:46.002)
That is missing Congo.

Milton Allimadi (01:00:59.814)
Yes, it's not been able to produce another Patrith Lumumba for very long time. And of course, people like that come once a lifetime. you have Patrith Lumumba who come. You have Tomasankara who come. You have Kwame Nkrumah who come. have Julius Nyerere. You have Steve Pico. You have Sir Martin Marshall. They're there. They'll come. You have Nelson Mandela. You have Winnie Mandela. You know, we produce them. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:07.848)
I'll see you in while.

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:19.572)
my god, there's no legends.

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:27.28)
Those are legends. Those are legends. The spites, the spites. And speaking of smoking guns, we'll go to Sudan for our final story. And it's one that comes from The Guardian. And apparently, it's now official that the smoking gun ever...

Well, the lead says the smoking gun evidence points to United Arab Emirates involvement in the Sudan civil war. Exclusive, says discovery of Emirati passports in record suggests covert boots on the ground despite Gulf states denial. Passports recovered from battlefield in Sudan suggest the United Arab Emirates is covertly putting boots on the ground in the country's devastating civil war according to leaked documents.

A 41 -page document sent to the United Nations Security Council and seen by the Guardian contains images of Emirati passports allegedly found in Sudan and leaked to the soldiers of the Rapid Support Force, the nation's notorious paramilitary. The passports are claimed to have been recovered from Odoman, the city across the Nile from the capital Khartoum, in an area that was held by the

but recently reclaimed by the Sudanese army. Analysts described the discovery as a smoking gun that challenged UAE's denial and raised questions over what the UAS and the UK know about the level of the Gulf states' involvement in Sudan, whether the West has done enough to rein in the backing of a militia accused of genocide. The former Sudanese advisor to the US government, Cameron Hudson, said

the West would be obliged to act. This will force Washington to acknowledge what it knows about this and will force them to respond, he said. That is a very interesting scenario considering this war has now been going on for 15 months. To suddenly then realize the fact that external players are involved after the evacuation of Western expatriates and diplomatic

Adesoji Iginla (01:03:49.64)
missions. does what has changed. What do you think has changed

Milton Allimadi (01:03:59.585)
Wrong, first of all.

I mean, it's very disgusting that we're presumed to be such fools that it would take images from some passports, right? To convince when we live in an era where some intelligence officers can be sitting in Washington, DC and can zoom an aerial

and see the nationality of all the people who are involved in the fighting in Sudan. So just think about how preposterous this whole article is, you know. You know, it's amazing that in the 21st century, we still talk about 19th century identification markers, you know. You know, is this the guardian of, you

Adesoji Iginla (01:04:51.572)
Yeah, difficult to cause it.

Milton Allimadi (01:05:02.912)
1925 that you know we found some 1940 we found some suspicious Nazi passports you

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:04.884)
Mm -hmm

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:14.181)
With swastikas.

Milton Allimadi (01:05:15.71)
with swastikas, know, so therefore we see some Nazi link involved. It's just amazing, right? I mean, come on, come up with something better. Come up with something better. But it could be that the scale of the killing, the scale of the killing is just so tremendous. And I wouldn't be surprised.

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:24.512)
You

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:32.308)
If

Milton Allimadi (01:05:44.808)
Of course, they already know because they have the satellite capabilities. So maybe a story is about to come about just recently discovered mass graves. That could

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:48.682)
True.

Milton Allimadi (01:06:13.785)
Yes. So could be some news that is horrific that is already known that is about to leak out or be reported. So they're now openly putting pressure on UAE when they start talking about not having a choice but to take action. You know, it means the conversations have already been, already happened, you see? And they've already

Adesoji Iginla (01:06:39.732)
The facts, facts.

Milton Allimadi (01:06:42.482)
that they can't just stand idly by. It could be the body count. You ask a very compelling and interesting question. This has been going on, as you said, for 15 months. People have been killed, so what is now new? What is now new? Maybe some of these agencies are preparing a major press conference to reveal more scenes from these mass graves.

Adesoji Iginla (01:07:11.572)
Yeah,

Milton Allimadi (01:07:12.693)
something is about to give ground. But also, before we sign off on this particular conflict, I have to really go back to this whole anti -black, anti -African racism component involved in this conflict, know, particularly from the Rapid Support Force, the

when you know historically had been linked to the so -called Janjawed back in the day and associated with the Daphu massacres or genocide targeting particularly richly melanated Sudanese and Africans. That to me is just we need a whole conversation on that. One day we should plan.

Adesoji Iginla (01:07:52.819)
full.

Milton Allimadi (01:08:12.991)
conversation but not today but I just wanted to mention that

Adesoji Iginla (01:08:17.61)
Yeah. I mean, we might even bring in someone from Sudan to, you know, help us. Yeah. I mean, it's the difficult part of Africa's history as being the issue of bodies of people being set against each other in order to allow for access to either resources or to control a certain area. And

Milton Allimadi (01:08:21.795)
Yes, definitely.

Milton Allimadi (01:08:36.536)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (01:08:42.007)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (01:08:47.9)
It's the same old playbook, just like the story we did earlier on Kenya. There's a template, and that template is

Milton Allimadi (01:08:53.196)
All right. I see a warning. I think my juice is running out. My device may die suddenly, so I just wanted to give you a heads

Adesoji Iginla (01:09:00.445)
OK.

Adesoji Iginla (01:09:05.05)
Okay, okay. So I think we've come to the end of today's episode and thank you for coming. And again, do join us next week. And as we bring you more stories to deconstruct in the Western media, I am with Comrade Milton Alimadi. My name is Adesuji Ginla and thank you for joining us this week.

and speak to you next week. Thank