EP 1 Africa and Empires' Ghosts I African News Review

In this episode of African News Review, hosts Adesoji Iginla and Milton Allimadi discuss pressing issues affecting Africa, including Egypt's role in the Palestinian crisis, the need for solidarity among African nations, and the historical context of colonialism and its impact on contemporary issues. 

They also address Namibia's push for reparations from Germany, the rise of far-right politics, and the implications of British military presence in Kenya. 

The conversation underscores the importance of unity in Africa and commemorates significant historical figures and events, including Dr. Walter Rodney and the Soweto Uprising.

Takeaways

*Egypt's current political stance reflects the influence of neo-colonialism.
*The Palestinian crisis is a humanitarian issue that transcends religion.
*Solidarity among African nations is crucial for addressing global injustices.
*Namibia's genocide and reparations highlight the need for historical acknowledgement.
*Land ownership disparities in Africa are a form of contemporary genocide.
*Unity in Africa is essential for collective progress and advocacy.
*The rise of far-right politics is a global concern that affects Africa.
*Economic exploitation is often masked by narratives of racism and xenophobia.
*The British military presence in Kenya raises questions about sovereignty and justice.
*Commemorating historical figures like Dr. Walter Rodney is vital for understanding contemporary struggles.

Chapters

00:00 The Role of Egypt in the Gaza Conflict
04:45 Understanding the Palestinian Question
09:33 Media Narratives and Historical Context
14:08 Genocide and Reparations in Namibia
18:36 The Legacy of Colonialism and Land Ownership
23:06 The Rise of the Far Right and Its Implications
31:34 Economic Exploitation and Inequality
36:55 British Military Presence and Sovereignty Issues
43:58 Remembering Dr. Walter Rodney
51:18 Commemorating the Soweto Uprising

Transcript

Adesoji Iginla (00:03.136)
Yes, greetings, greetings and welcome to another news, African News Review. I am your host as usual, Desoji Igilla. And with me is a comrade in arms. He is a broadcaster, journalist and author of How Africa is Demonized in the Western Media and is the motivation for this program.

Welcome Brother Milton.

Milton Allimadi (00:34.702)
My son to Santa as always. Thank you brother.

Adesoji Iginla (00:38.208)
Yes, it's been a very interesting week, especially with regards to the ongoing atrocities in the Middle East. But one would ask how Africa comes into question. Egypt has been in the news, and I should bring up to speed with regards to Egypt's participation in the dehumanization of what's going on in Gaza. So

The first news comes from Radio France International and it's titled Egypt Detains Pro-Palestinians Activists Ahead of Gaza Solidarity Match. And the lead writes, Egyptian authorities have detained more than 200 pro-Palestinian activists who arrived in Cairo by plane as part of a solidarity march to Gaza to push for increased humanitarian aid and access to the enclave, a convoy left Tunisia for Gaza.

and is currently being blocked in Libya. Need I say more? What is your take on the ongoing in Egypt?

Milton Allimadi (01:47.913)
Well, I mean, to the credit of the rest of Africa, South Africa stood up for the Palestinians. So we should always be proud of that and always remember that. But apart from that, we have basically a unipolar world right now, where the United States, you know, with its resources, financial resources, is still able to

Adesoji Iginla (02:09.314)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (02:16.97)
are cajole and control countries that are important like Egypt. basically Egypt is the typical neo-colonial state right now. Remember two years ago, was it two, three years ago, all the news was about imminent economic collapse, unless there was intervention by the World Bank or IMF. So these institutions stepped in with billions of dollars.

Adesoji Iginla (02:39.384)
Correct.

Milton Allimadi (02:45.539)
and combine that with the billions that Egypt gets from the United States since signing the Camp David peace accord with Israel, then you understand that Egypt is essentially Israel version two. That's what you're house right now. So the Palestinian people basically have been left to people from other parts of the world that have stepped up even much more than

most of the traditional Arab countries that had supported the Palestinian cause. And of course, the biggest advocate in North Africa for the Palestinian cause had been Gaddafi, if you recall. In fact, he used to abuse the other leaders for their lack of support for the Palestinian cause. And that is why, when NATO wanted to invade

Adesoji Iginla (03:30.818)
Correct.

Adesoji Iginla (03:35.948)
You are the leaders.

Milton Allimadi (03:42.79)
and the African Union would not endorse the invasion. They went to the Arab League, and most of the members of the Arab League remembered how Gaddafi used to abuse them, was selling out the Palestinians. So they voted for that invasion. And of course, it ended up with Gaddafi being killed in 2011. So now you have, in fact, even France, even though France is acting very reactionary right now with respect to the

Adesoji Iginla (03:52.684)
Yeah.

is a good year.

Milton Allimadi (04:11.558)
Israel war on Iran. But even France recently had made very strong critical statements against Israel and its conduct with the... It didn't use the word genocide, of course, but we know it's a genocidal war. It condemned it and it said this war has to end. It condemned the use of hunger and starvation against the Palestinian people. And that is France. So France has made statements that are even stronger.

than Egypt in terms of supporting the Palestinian cause. So it's a very sad testament. This is definitely not the Egypt of Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Adesoji Iginla (04:50.744)
I was actually coming to that. I was coming to that. Go on, go on. Go on if you want. Go on.

Milton Allimadi (04:51.813)
Mm.

Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (04:58.34)
No, really, this is the typical neocolonial state. We have several neocolonial states in Africa. Since all of them are pretty much dependent economically on either the West or on the World Bank and IMF, they're all essentially neocolonial in structure. But some of them are much more intensely neocolonial. And Egypt at this moment happens to be one of them.

Adesoji Iginla (05:29.176)
OK, let's widen the scope a bit. For those who are unaware of what the debacle is with regards to the Palestinian question, could you give them a short version of what, let's just say, a dummy guide to what is transparent with regards to the Palestinian question?

Milton Allimadi (05:55.717)
Well, they're essentially being starved to death. First of all, we saw the bombardment that lasted several months. And who knows how many people are killed. At some point, they were talking about 50,000. But the bombing continued, and they kept talking for 50,000, 50,000 for several weeks. So that cannot be possible. If at one point it was already 50,000, and if the bombing continued for several more weeks, then it's quite possible, then the numbers may even exceed 100,000 by now.

that have not yet been recovered, the bodies that are buried beneath the rubbles. And that's the part one. two, they are now using hunger, which of course is, know, the bombardment was a world crime. And now they're adding upon that a new form of world crime, which is the deliberate starvation of the Palestinian people by preventing humanitarian and food supplies to enter Gaza.

Adesoji Iginla (06:56.608)
OK. The reason I actually asked that question was prior to, in the course of this week, I've noticed there has been a common thread, and it goes back, obviously, weeks before this particular week, that when it comes to the African spaces, they don't see the settler colonial side of things. They frame it through the religious lens.

And I think that in itself is very dangerous, not least because there are Christian Palestinians. And if you lose sight of that, then you think it's Muslim debacle, wherein the story itself of the place goes back pre 1948. And we can actually go back as far as Basel.

in 1897 when the idea of Zionism itself was born. But then to bring the whole matter forward, books have been written about the subjects, about every aspect of it, the role of the media, using the Israeli archives, Ilan Papé did an excellent work with his book titled Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. And, you know, that's the book in question.

So for, and the reason I say that is we should come away from this notion that

What the media says is golden. And the reason I say that is there's a book out a couple of years ago and we did something similar that you did which regards to manufacturing hate. This Howard Fraule and Richard Falk went through the archives of the New York Times and did something similar titled

Adesoji Iginla (09:05.986)
the Israel-Palestine on record and goes to show how the movement or the memory of people are framed in a certain way. And that's just one. And then if on top of that, you mentioned the fact that the Arab countries are not as vocal as one would expect. For that, to get an understanding, you would have to go into

The Great War of Civilization, The Conquest of the Middle East, written by late Robert Fisk of the Independent. And this book is 1,100 pages. And every page in there is what the man lived for 35 years in Lebanon. So he knows what he's talking about as a journalist. And Alissa Ware also wrote her book. She framed.

her framework was the Israeli lobby. And it's titled Against Our Better Judgment. In fact, this book is so good that the better part of the last 50 pages of the book is based on just resources. Just resources. Resources. That's one. A more recent version of what Alice and Ware wrote.

is by John Mechmeyer and Stephen Walt, titled The Israeli Lobby and the US Foreign Policy.

And finally, the least, Elian Pappé gives us, and this one came out a couple of months ago, is titled Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic by Elian Pappé. Again, and the reason I bring up all these books is not just to show that one reads, but it's to show that there is documented evidence of this atrocity out there.

Adesoji Iginla (11:10.272)
And I specifically picked books that have been written by Israelis for a larger reason. And you know the reason why that is. Because if you were to pick a counter narrative, you'll be seen as being.

Milton Allimadi (11:26.016)
No, but that, you know, I think people need to become brave now. The Palestinians are being decimated. There's no issue that you should be fearing that somebody's going to denounce you as anti-Semitic. It means we are almost, we are also culpable in the genocide against the Palestinians. That's why I was very proud of South Africa for standing up at a very considerable risk.

Adesoji Iginla (11:38.05)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (11:54.644)
The African countries that stood up for the Palestinians did not have much resources in the 1960s and 1970s, but they had solidarity. They had brilliant minds, people like Julius Nyerere, and argued convincingly that we must always stand together. And they were successful. So it comes with leadership as well. I think, you know, any sensible human being does not need really

Adesoji Iginla (12:03.778)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (12:17.655)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (12:26.175)
rationalization to know that what is happening against the Palestinians is unacceptable. anybody that makes the argument that that is somehow justifiable, that the Israelis are defending themselves, is completely utterly nonsensical. And for a person that even entertains that thought, that person pretty much needs to really get their heads examined.

Adesoji Iginla (12:44.984)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (12:53.439)
So if you're a conscious person, you should be able to clearly articulate that you cannot tell me that. Yes, on October the 7th, a crime was committed against the Israelis. They could make that argument, right? But at the same time, nobody should accept that what has then transpired is justifiable because of what happened on October the 7th. That's unacceptable.

Adesoji Iginla (12:53.624)
You

Adesoji Iginla (13:09.324)
void of context.

Milton Allimadi (13:22.864)
And we should not be afraid to denounce them and stand up with the Palestinian people who deserve to have their own state and self-determination like any other people around the world. It means to some extent we have also internalized the demonization. As you mentioned earlier, the religious demonization, right? And then of course the ethnic brown skin.

Adesoji Iginla (13:26.712)
Call that into question.

Milton Allimadi (13:53.0)
demonization of the Palestinian people as well.

Adesoji Iginla (13:55.83)
which Edward Said talked about in his book, Orientalism.

Milton Allimadi (13:59.198)
Absolutely. Orientalism does a good job in articulating that. For example, so we know when we look back, say, okay, apartheid South Africa. The regime anchored, of course, principally on economic exploitation, but disguised as a racist hatred toward Africans in South Africa. We expected

Adesoji Iginla (14:01.368)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (14:27.122)
people around the world, even non-Africans, non-African descendants, to join in solidarity in fighting that and repudiating that, that that's unacceptable. So how is it that so many Africans or African countries are now standing on their sidelines and not being as vocal as South Africa was, you know? So we need to denounce them as well for not standing up. When in the past, many people from other parts of the world stood up to help fight apartheid in South Africa.

Adesoji Iginla (14:34.572)
Mm. Correct.

Adesoji Iginla (14:57.272)
One final note here. I've noticed that there's a schism between the government and the people. The people are actually well informed, but the government is just sort of throwing this line.

Milton Allimadi (15:07.857)
Thank you. Thank you for making that distinction. That is very important. That applies to many countries. So that's a very good distinction. Thank you for adding that.

Adesoji Iginla (15:19.658)
Okay, and from an ongoing genocide to a previous genocide, we go to Namibia. And this is commemorating. So the story comes from The Guardian, and it's titled, Namibia Pushes for German Reparations on First Genocide Remembrance Day. Events commemorating estimated 75,000 Herero and Nama people killed under German colonial rule.

Milton Allimadi (15:41.66)
Good.

Adesoji Iginla (15:49.09)
There's a bit of problematic. They weren't killed under the rule. They were basically exterminated even before the rule started. So, and there's there's mispresidents. Now, you are aware of the situation here. I mean, without even going in.

There was something that stood out to me with regards to this particular case. At the Nuremburg trial, when Gorin was being asked in the dock as to the possibility for the reason for the Second World War, he wanted to frame everything in context. And they stopped him. But in the end, he managed to get a message out. And he said this, and I quote, he said,

We only perfected what you started. So the problem here was, he was saying the powers also killed lots of people in Africa, but they didn't see a problem to it. It was only when it came to Europe, that's when it became an issue. And if you notice, they say history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes.

The same thing happens with the issue of what we're talking about in the previous segment.

Adesoji Iginla (17:20.546)
So what's your take?

Milton Allimadi (17:22.842)
Yes, I think there was an interruption. Somebody I think was trying to communicate with me. So it cut me off for a few seconds. I missed the tail end of the question.

Adesoji Iginla (17:28.312)
You

Adesoji Iginla (17:32.936)
So the telling of the question is, if indeed the Germans did agree that this happened, but it was only a manifestation or sorry, a perfection of what the British, the French and the Portuguese started in Africa. But the only reason why they were in the dock in the Second World War was because they brought the hatred of the

quote unquote, savages to Europe. Would you say you see parallels of that happening with regards to the story we talked about, with regards to the people in Palestine, the dehumanization of people, except when it's people that you actually see as looking like you?

Milton Allimadi (18:21.2)
Right. Yeah, I mean, I think there's actually probably a better explanation, which is very simple, not even that sophisticated. And that came by, from Robert McNamara, the former, you know, before he became president of the World Bank, he had been the Secretary of Defense of the United States. And he essentially said,

These things are matter of perspective. He said if the United States had launched the war, World War II, he and other senior US military officers, they would have been charged with war crimes and they might have been lined up against a wall, you know? So to me, that, to me, you can't get any better than that explanation. I mean, of course, in terms of...

I mean the crimes, mean look, the Belgian monarch, Leopold, know, exterminated, you know, 10 million so-called savages, right, in Africa. The British exterminated the Kenyans when they were stealing the land.

that they turned into so-called white highlands. They exterminated Africans in the multiple Ashanti wars, exterminated South Africans in the multiple wars. So yeah, absolutely, he's right. And I think actually, even way before him, it was Césaire that made that.

Adesoji Iginla (19:50.838)
Hi, what's your name?

Adesoji Iginla (20:00.394)
in Uganda as well.

Milton Allimadi (20:17.975)
that argument in his famous essay discourse on colonialism that what they repudiated the Nazis for was not so much the crime that they unleashed but that they dare bring that crime to Europe. are the kind, know, genocide and extermination, these are for

Adesoji Iginla (20:25.432)
journalism.

Milton Allimadi (20:47.222)
the so-called inferior races. And now you come and you practice it in Europe, you can't be doing that. You're revealing our secret that we are indeed the ones who are the savages, if we can do this to fellow Europeans. But I feel sorry for him. That argument did not work, obviously, for him.

Adesoji Iginla (20:50.306)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (20:54.018)
day.

Adesoji Iginla (21:06.296)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (21:12.222)
exactly. So if we bring it back to the headline, which is Namibia 6 reparations, obviously, the case has been made, although the Germans haven't quite acknowledged the fact that they're making reparations. They call it aid, 1.1 billion. The question is, and they only started returning the scores of, again, that's another barbaric trait.

where you not only exterminate the people but then you take their skulls, their bones away. I mean, and you refer to the people that you do that to as savages and yet you're the one holding on to skulls. You know, the French did it, the British did it, the Belgians did it. I mean,

Milton Allimadi (22:01.905)
Yeah. I want people to think beyond that though. I want us to become a little more sophisticated because sometimes we lose track of the fact that all these are just narratives, justifications and false stories that at the end of the day, and I prefer this way of analyzing these things, it is capital, it is profit.

and then they go to every and all extent to profit and they commit crimes in order to extract profit. And then they come up with their narratives of justification. So I want people not to ever forget, and I've said this on a number of occasions, the first people Europeans subjugated for their labor

Adesoji Iginla (22:35.693)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (22:48.117)
and

Milton Allimadi (22:59.558)
were fellow Europeans. You see?

So if they're capable of doing that to fellow Europeans.

Milton Allimadi (23:10.872)
when they talk about inferior races, all this nonsense, these are just narratives of justification. You know, and then they go ahead and disprove it. They prove that they don't even believe in those narratives themselves. Otherwise, why would there be so many, you know, black, white children all over the world?

So you believe the inferior and yet you are procreating and having children with them. We have to examine that. It helps us to understand the exploiters a lot better than saying, oh, these are a bunch of racists, these are a bunch of racists. No, these are a bunch of people who are willing to come up with any narrative to justify exploitation

Adesoji Iginla (23:41.292)
with them.

Milton Allimadi (24:07.725)
with the end result being prophets. So fellow Europeans were demonized as vagrants, as vagabonds, all these names in order to pick them from the streets in Europe and take them to work on the plantations in the Caribbean and in New England, right? And then ultimately in the South. And then...

Adesoji Iginla (24:23.512)
You

Milton Allimadi (24:36.109)
when they discovered that, wait, Africans are actually much more efficient, then they stopped calling them vagabonds. Now they came up with a new way to demonize Africans, know, savages, cannibals, the N-word and all that. All very systemic and methodical and so consistent. That's why you know it's so systemic and manufactured, you see, and that's why I use that.

title of manufacturing hate, you you're concocting it. So let's get into a habit of always remembering that, then we can better understand their mindset and what they did historically, really, you know.

Adesoji Iginla (25:20.876)
So as usual, one would say we provide solutions on this program. Now, one of the legacies of the massacre or the forgotten Holocaust as it's described in Casper's book and Olushka's is the land is now being held by just 5 % of the population.

Milton Allimadi (25:46.924)
Correct.

Correct, in fact, that to me is a bigger issue than even getting reparations. Of course, I'm not saying they should not get reparation, they should get reparation. But I'm saying a much more bigger issue is the land issue because that will be able to take care of the living, the people that are still alive. You see? How is it possible?

Adesoji Iginla (25:51.713)
Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (25:56.962)
Correct.

Milton Allimadi (26:16.398)
that you're so-called independent now. And of course, we're not talking only about Namibia. We're talking about the big fish, the whale, the elephant in the room. South Africa itself still has that contradiction, 8 % owning over 72 % of the land. So you can't be very vocal about reparations and not be as equally vocal

Adesoji Iginla (26:27.918)
certificate itself, Legacy.

Milton Allimadi (26:45.965)
Two are, this is a form of genocide as well, contemporary genocide, when 5 % of the people own all the land. And these are the descendants of the people that committed the physical original genocide. It's a contradiction. It also shows that one could question your true motive and your true seriousness if you're not pairing them together, you see?

Adesoji Iginla (27:18.488)
Thank you. Thank you. And we talking about.

Milton Allimadi (27:22.218)
And one final thought on this matter before we move forward, one final thought. This comes back to the same thing. 99 % of the things we discuss on this show comes back to the same thing. The weakness of Africa, because Africa is not united. We're not even united on issues. Forget the physical United States of Africa with our

United government for the entire continent. United armed forces for the entire continent. On issues like this, such as the genocide of the Nama people in Herero, Africa should speak with one voice. Why is it only Namibia that is speaking on this issue? When it comes to the land issue in South Africa, Africa should speak with one voice on that and just make it an African

principle that is enshrined within the African Union. So, for example, when it came to the fight against white minority rule in Southern Africa, including South Africa, Africa was on the same page.

through the OAU. They had the Liberation Committee and they had a sense of principles, right? So a country like Malawi and some other reactionary countries that got out of line, they were condemned by every African country and ostracized by every African country. So we need to have some things that are that important to us collectively. And that must include the reparation for the genocide.

Adesoji Iginla (28:54.092)
Zaya.

right.

Milton Allimadi (29:08.816)
in Namibia, as well as the land issue in both South Africa and Namibia. It is very cowardly for us to just stand back and allow them to deal with this issue alone. That Germany can just play them ping pong back and forth, back and forth.

There things we can do with a united voice even before we have a United States or Africa. And this is one of those things.

Adesoji Iginla (29:40.216)
And so for those whom I want to read more on the Holocaust in Namibia, you've got the Kaiser's Holocaust, a book written by Caspar Ericsson and David Olusoga. So it's the Kaiser's Holocaust. And so for our next story, we go to stuff that we've been seeing falling out in the United States.

The question is being asked in the Financial Times. It says how South Africa has become a roadmap for the far right. So essentially, the nucleus is the mixing, the idea it could be reversed was ridiculous, is coming back, which is, what is it called? Segregation, and in the case of South Africa, apartheid.

the case of the West miscegenation being made a crime, whatever was to become life, this wasn't an option. What future government would try would. But 30 years later, the rise of the far right in Europe and America is in astonishment. If it is one stone cold corpse from my country's past that has risen from the dead, whenever I open the newspapers or turn off the TV,

deja vu is on cannon. And then he goes on to explain how the rise of the right has been made easier by politicians, in your case, your president, saying there are fine people on both sides. And the rights of Elon Musk, who said on his infamous platform that there is a commonsive war in the United Kingdom because of quote unquote,

the number of black and brown people that are in the UK. The Italians of Prime Minister Maloney has also used that as a climb up, becoming the Prime Minister of Italy. And the same thing is the case in Hungary with Viktor Orban. So I suppose the question is, are we seeing the return of the right or is it?

Adesoji Iginla (32:09.624)
Is there something we can do?

Milton Allimadi (32:13.336)
Okay, so once again, I disagree with the premise of this writer. Not that anything he's saying is incorrect, but he's only focusing on the superficial elements. And it goes back to the explanation I just offered a few minutes ago. So to say that there's a resurgence in the right or something like that, that is of course...

not true. In other words, is he suggesting that at some point they had disappeared and now they're emerging for some reason? know, doesn't, logically, that doesn't make any sense at all. I mean, the narrative of demonization of non-Europeans by Europeans to justify economic exploitation has been going on for centuries. So was there a period

where they put it on pause and now suddenly, lo and behold, they're emerging and he's reading about them now every day in the papers? No, of course not. It is that they're getting much more publicity at a time when the leading advocates, apologists of using, quote unquote, racism to disguise accumulation.

of capital. You know, so that's why now we are reading more about it. The media covering more about it because when the President of the United States says something, you know, it cannot be ignored by media. somebody who has net worth more than $400 billion, like Musk says something, it cannot be ignored by media. But in his essay, he

Only toward the end, after 95 % of his essay, does he start hinting at economic issues. Of course it's economics. It's absolutely economic issues. And everything else is just fluff and narrative to disguise the economic exploitation and marginalization of, in this case, non-Europeans.

Milton Allimadi (34:42.626)
You divert attention. Oh, the savages are coming. The savages are coming. But look at income inequality and wealth inequality in England. Is it a coincidence that it's become so tremendously wide? Is it a coincidence that wealth inequality in the United States is at its highest level today? Is it a coincidence that in South Africa, perhaps the most wide indices of wealth inequality?

Adesoji Iginla (34:51.512)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (35:12.098)
is in South Africa. So for him to say that, fact, in South Africa, this type of contradiction has declined and decreased, and it's increasing in the United States and in Europe, it's absolutely nonsense. It doesn't make sense. In South Africa, and the explanation they use in South Africa is that, now we can't go back to...

a whites only location to live, blacks only location. the only difference is now that Africans, black people who have wealth are now given the honorary status of white people, you see? And now they can live in those neighborhoods. But are you suggesting to me,

Adesoji Iginla (36:00.856)
Capital.

Adesoji Iginla (36:05.592)
You

Milton Allimadi (36:11.317)
that a working class person somehow can move and live in that community as well, you see? And that's sadly the kind of narrative and analysis that we learn, you know? So that's why I'm beginning to get very tired of reading these so-called liberal analysts, know, condemning, you know, racism in,

in the United States and in Europe. I'm appalled by the racism and all that. And then you are not explaining the economic factors behind it. To me, that kind of analysis is essentially, it's useless. You see? It's useless, many of us embrace it because now we find, this writer is criticizing racism. this is...

a European criticizing racism, you know, but not talking about what Steve Biko said. Biko said, unless we redress the economic inequities and the structure of the economy and wealth redistribution in South Africa, then tomorrow will be the same as yesterday, as if apartheid never ended.

Adesoji Iginla (37:15.352)
the obvious.

Milton Allimadi (37:37.544)
And he made this statement in 1977. Anybody can go on YouTube and put Steve Biko interview and the interview will come out and you will read it. And that's what we have. We have a small minority of black elite, including the president himself, Rama Fossa, who have been given membership into the club that wants to be exclusively European. You see? And we have the same type of

Adesoji Iginla (37:56.482)
Soon enough, is it? Yep.

Milton Allimadi (38:07.771)
income and wealth inequality that is causing so much discourse as people keep making demands to change this level of exploitation. And the people that control the media say, the salvagers are coming, the salvagers are coming, you know? And there's one final point on this.

in the US, where you have the 1 % essentially controlling all the wealth, right? And that's not seen as the existential problem. The problem are people coming from across the borders to work in kitchens and restaurants and to clean toilets and to work in the farms. These are the people that are the crisis, you see? But it appeals to the emotion, just like racism.

Adesoji Iginla (38:41.516)
Yeah. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (38:49.694)
on farms.

Milton Allimadi (38:58.662)
You know, look at what the blacks are doing. look at what the Mexicans are doing. the Haitians are going to eat your pets, you know, your cats and your dogs. You know, and this works. It works. We need as human beings to be better in resisting and that type of nonsense and go back and say, wait, but how come somebody has all the money? You know?

Yeah. yeah, listen to them when they talk about racism not not not not and when they're done they say but how come one percent has all the money Let's discuss that and let's discuss how to resolve that You know and let's make people Angry not because somebody's just using the n-word, right? And then they get what up? Let's get people as worked up by the fact that one percent Can live like kings

Adesoji Iginla (39:37.592)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (39:57.093)
while the people sleeping on the street not knowing where the next meal is coming from. You see? So let's not let media, you know, fool us into not thinking about the right issues that we need to think about.

Adesoji Iginla (40:12.504)
OK, so yeah.

Milton Allimadi (40:13.446)
Yes, sir.

Adesoji Iginla (40:17.874)
to follow that. Our next story comes from The Times and it reads

Milton Allimadi (40:19.196)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (40:28.6)
I mean, we've had a similar type story before, which makes this very painful. A British soldier in Kenya arrested on rape allegation. Police have questioned a serving soldier over the incident last month. He has been based at the barracks linked to 2012 murder of local mother, Agnes Wajiru. And then in

Milton Allimadi (40:31.472)
Yes, yes, yes.

Milton Allimadi (40:52.186)
Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (40:53.556)
It goes in, a British soldier based at the army barracks in Kenya has been accused of raping a woman close to where a local mother was murdered, allegedly by a soldier seconded to the country. The British army has an agreement with Kenya to allow its infantry battalion. By year, around 6,000 personnel to conduct eight weeks exercising in the African nation's remote countryside. I mean, again.

We're talking about sovereignty here.

Milton Allimadi (41:23.917)
Right, yes, I have major issues with this story, believe me. Okay, first of all, I have a question for our Kenyan sisters and brothers, the young activists, know, the Gen Z who took the struggle over the tax issue to the streets. Why are we not seeing similar outrage over this matter?

Adesoji Iginla (41:26.712)
Yeah, go on, go on, go

Adesoji Iginla (41:42.786)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (41:52.598)
It pains me really because it suggests to me that they also do not take the value of the lives of the Kenyan sisters that seriously.

they should be so outraged that they should even end up not having a British military base in Kenya. First of all, why do you have a British military base in Kenya if you're supposed to be independent? And Odinga Oginga wrote that famous book, Not Yet Uhuru. Uhuru, of course, is the Kiswahili word for independence.

and he wrote that book in the early 60s. And that book could not even be more true today than it was when he wrote that book. Why? Why are you having 6,000 British soldiers coming to train for two months in Kenya? Do you have a reciprocal arrangement where you say you send 6,000 Kenyan African soldiers to trade somewhere in England and they're raping

and even murdering British local people in England, in the United Kingdom? Would there still be a Kenyan base there? Would in fact even ordinary Kenyans living in the UK, would they be safe and unharassed and unmolested?

Adesoji Iginla (43:09.218)
local, local, local.

Milton Allimadi (43:35.713)
We are so mentally damaged, you see, that we accept things that if the table was turned, if the shoes were changed, it would be utterly unacceptable. We have a Kenyan murdered in 2012. Now we learn that issue has not yet been resolved. Up to date, think about that. And the alleged murderer, the British soldier is known.

Adesoji Iginla (43:44.248)
They're telling you.

Milton Allimadi (44:04.375)
and he's living somewhere there in the United Kingdom. Nothing is being done. Nothing is being done. And yet at the same time, you still have British troop presence in Kenya. You know, I have some serious issues with Kenyan sister and brother on this matter. You cannot say,

Adesoji Iginla (44:21.708)
And the circle repeats itself.

Milton Allimadi (44:32.185)
We're going to be very critical and come out and denounce and protest against Ruto. At the same time, we're going to give accommodation to British imperialism and abuse of our women and not stand up for it. This is completely unacceptable. I saw a recent protest just a short while ago on the streets when a Kenyan blogger

was apparently murdered, it seems, by the police. They detained them and ended up dead. They claim it was self-inflicted death. Autopsy shows otherwise. Yes, I commend the activists who came out to fight against that and denounce it. But where is the outrage over this issue?

Adesoji Iginla (45:01.15)
Yeah. police call is the, yeah, police person. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (45:26.572)
So.

Milton Allimadi (45:26.743)
No, they need to answer that question, my brother. They need to.

Is everybody so compromised that they think this is actually kind of acceptable to have British troops based there and to have them constantly get away with abusing Kenyan women?

Adesoji Iginla (45:47.81)
with murder literally, not even metaphorically. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (45:49.709)
think about it. And this obviously then leads me to the next question, which is disturbing if the answer is true.

What if these soldiers had raped Kenyan men?

Adesoji Iginla (46:09.592)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (46:10.484)
and soldiers raped men. Had they raped Kenyan men, would the establishment and would the activists be much more outraged and demand justice and demand the closing of these bases and removal of British soldiers from the soil? I hate to think the answer might be yes, which then goes back to confirm what I was suggesting.

Adesoji Iginla (46:13.304)
True, true, true.

Adesoji Iginla (46:30.114)
That is.

Yeah, that's what I wanted to say.

Milton Allimadi (46:38.828)
that it seems they are not willing to step up for the sisters as they should. You see? Very disturbing.

Adesoji Iginla (46:46.136)
is a troubling indictment of the society itself if the answer were indeed yes. I mean, the fact that you have a, maybe not by the same person, but a repeated offense, same pattern, and for some reason it's a loud slide. What do you mean questioned? That person should be held to a trial.

Milton Allimadi (47:03.786)
the right.

Right.

Milton Allimadi (47:10.058)
Right.

I don't know. I don't think this would be tolerated in Nigeria. I don't think it would. You see? I don't think it would be tolerated even in Ghana, perhaps, you know. So, our Kenyans and brothers, I'm sorry. We need to see something from you. We commend you. We supported you when you came out against Ruto's government on the tax issue. They wanted to tax you when you're already suffering.

Adesoji Iginla (47:17.844)
No, no, no, no, no, no, no,

Adesoji Iginla (47:40.184)
Yeah, the finance bill. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (47:43.05)
so they could play pay the World Bank and IMF or what have you. And you said, no, enough is enough. And we commended you. We discussed it. We applauded you. So we need to see you do the same in the defense of the dignity of Kenyan women and the sovereignty of Kenya itself.

Adesoji Iginla (48:01.858)
Women,

Adesoji Iginla (48:07.448)
Yes. Okay. That was our last story. But I want to use this opportunity to ask your thoughts on the 45th anniversary of the unfortunate murder of Dr. Walter Rodney, which was Friday the 13th, 6th, 1980. It would have been 45 years. I mean,

Milton Allimadi (48:28.371)
Yes.

Right.

Right.

Adesoji Iginla (48:36.856)
Could you just give us a few words about the genius that was Dr. Watt Rodney?

Milton Allimadi (48:40.297)
Right. Walter, right, Rodney was one of the greatest Pan-Africans, one of the greatest African scholars that lived, born in Guyana, of course. So he was an African via Guyana, you know. And I like his outlook because he knew, as all of us need to know, that we are all African people who were separated.

Many were forcefully taken and dispersed around the world. But in many locations, they were able to remain essentially African and not allow the sense of Africaness to be destroyed, know, spiritually and culturally. And Walter Rodney was one of the best representatives of this. He wrote a book that proved how African he really was, how Europe underdeveloped Africa.

which, thank you, I'm going to get that because I don't have that cover. I have two different covers, but I wasn't aware there was a different third cover. I'm going to get that one just to have a different cover. So any African who has not yet read this book, please, I highly recommend this book. If you don't have time, somebody has actually produced an audio version.

Adesoji Iginla (49:40.066)
That's it.

Adesoji Iginla (49:45.42)
you

Adesoji Iginla (49:51.288)
you

Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (50:08.411)
of the entire text, which is available on YouTube. go and listen to the, know, whenever you can listen bit by bit if you don't have time to read the book itself. That book really shows how the growth and development of the European economy, of course, was in proportion to the destruction

Adesoji Iginla (50:35.936)
under development.

Milton Allimadi (50:37.316)
and demonetization of the African economy. But it doesn't talk about the African economy only. It talks about African culture, African tradition, African forms of government, the role of women in African society, where they say, in Africa, know, so misogynistic. They're talking about contemporary Africa, without realizing that a lot of the misogynism that we see

actually legacies of the colonial rule. Prior to that, in many locations, were part of governing and governed, you know? And he recalls all that history, the destruction of African traditional medicines, right? Where there was sort of an apprenticeship where young people were trained on the curative powers of all these vegetations, right? The roots, you know.

the trees, the leaves, they were trained and this tradition was carried on from one generation to the other. see? All of this demonized by Europeans in the interest of so-called modernism, right? And then it turns out that even the contemporary pharmaceuticals that they manufacture, they go and they get the ingredients from Africa. So this book is very good and important. It allows us to

recover much of our knowledge that we need to know. So Rodney, to me, I see him as an intellectual mentor, personally. A lot of my thoughts, ideas are shaped because of reading Rodney's books, including Groundings with My Brothers, you know, which is a short book, and his many lectures on YouTube.

Adesoji Iginla (52:27.5)
Not madness. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (52:34.416)
So I strongly recommend if you want to start off with something that is not too long, does not take too much time, go to YouTube and just put Walter Rodney and listen to a couple of his lectures, including Race and Class in Guyanese Politics. And then the other one is Crisis in the Periphery, Africa and the Caribbean. So I recommend those two to start with. And there are a couple of others.

Adesoji Iginla (52:56.821)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (53:04.537)
And then of course, there's a bunch of many other videos of people that are critiquing and analyzing his work and lecturing about his books. So yes, Rodney was a profound contribution to advancing African knowledge and African history. And sadly, he was murdered by the Forbes Burnham regime.

in Guyana because one of the key things that he was doing, which of course I identify with, was saying the ruling elite in Guyana had inherited the exact system that the British had used, which was manufactured racism to keep the working classes divided. So under European colonial rule in Guyana, the British

Adesoji Iginla (53:34.68)
Yeah, I know.

Milton Allimadi (54:03.288)
pitted African Guyanese against Indian Guyanese. They were calling each other racist names, racist barbs, instead of uniting and advancing their cause collectively against exploitation from the European ruling planter class. And his essay, his lecture, Race and Class in Guyanese Politics, explains this very well. Now I bring this up because what he was doing

Adesoji Iginla (54:06.954)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (54:33.995)
was through the Working People's Alliance, which was the party that he was a part of founding in Guyana. They were inviting solidarity from all the ethnic groups. Whereas Fort Banham was still making the argument that, I'm the party for Africans. I'm going to help defend our interests.

against Indian Guyanese. And Rodney said that's not what we need in our politics. We need to get rid of distortion of so-called race and focus on the fact that Guyana, very similar to African economies, being exploited for its resources, right? Not being allowed to industrialize, to use its resources.

Adesoji Iginla (55:09.837)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (55:31.671)
to industrialize, which would of course create skilled jobs and higher paying jobs and economic development. And that's what he was making. So his arguments resonate and are very applicable to every African country as well.

Adesoji Iginla (55:46.072)
Even up to today.

Milton Allimadi (55:49.643)
Yes, sir.

Adesoji Iginla (55:51.736)
Yes, yes. I mean, that's one anniversary. If you have a couple of minutes, you could talk about tomorrow being the 16th of June. Again, this is the 49th anniversary of the Soweto uprising, 16th of June, 1976.

Milton Allimadi (56:12.064)
Right. And it's sad because of course they sacrificed not, as Steve Biko put it, not to get rid of European rule only and replace it with African rule that is perpetuating the same system. No. So it's a mockery to their sacrifice for us to allow that to continue. So we condemn

Adesoji Iginla (56:26.164)
It's to replace them with...

Adesoji Iginla (56:40.184)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (56:43.02)
the kind of system that they have in South Africa today, which is, as T. Biko said, allowing a few Africans to come through the gate. So please, people, if you want to really commemorate this horrific massacre of 1976 of young Africans who are protesting against the imposition of the...

colonial Afrikaans language as the language of instruction in their schools and the young students said no Enough is enough You know and they were massacred on the streets, you know by the security forces If you want to Commemorate this go and listen to Steve because analysis, you know just put in the you in the on YouTube

Adesoji Iginla (57:09.432)
for time.

Adesoji Iginla (57:35.447)
YouTube.

Milton Allimadi (57:36.743)
search under Steve Biko interview. It's about 27 minutes long and it discusses all these issues including the massacre as well and how it actually radicalized young people and of course you know the rest is history. They became much more radicalized. 1980s the struggle intensified leading up to the formal end of formal apartheid with the release of Mandela in 1990 you know.

It was a very short timeframe. If you look at it from the historical perspective, that the Europeans had actually been exploiting for three centuries. know, people forget, people just focus on apartheid, which was from 1948 to 1990. No, the Europeans began to occupy and dominate the economy from the 16th century, right? You know, from the 17th century rather.

came in the early 1600s, right? So to think that all this was unraveled beginning from 1976 with Soretto uprising to 1990, that is only 14 years, you see? So of course it contributed to the end of apartheid.

Adesoji Iginla (58:38.421)
Yeah, 1652.

Adesoji Iginla (58:47.873)
rising.

Adesoji Iginla (58:58.412)
Yes, thank you very much for that history walkthrough. Again, we've come to the end of another episode of African News Review. And as usual, I am greatly indebted to the good comrade. And any final words?

Milton Allimadi (59:03.409)
Thank you.

Milton Allimadi (59:16.569)
Aluta continua. I'm always very positive because I know a couple of things. Number one, we as African people are survivors. Really, we are seeing the worst and here we are. Think about it. Even the ones that survive in the diaspora, still standing, still strong, right? And I keep reminding people, historically, human beings originated in Africa.

Adesoji Iginla (59:38.392)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (59:45.209)
went around the world and through adaptation to their climate, environment, and new locations, took on different features. Otherwise, all of us are essentially Africans, including Europeans, including Asians, all other so-called races. That's why race is so superficial. But then also most importantly, we have all the resources that is still enriching the rest of the world.

Therefore, we need a United States of Africa so we can have the power to use the resources to develop Africa's economies and increase our standard of living. But you can't go it alone. Sankara tried, dead, Lumumba tried, dead, Nkrumah tried, overthrow. You see?

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:20.12)
You

Milton Allimadi (01:00:41.893)
United States of Africa, so we can use our resources. 1960, Ghana's per capita income was double that of China. Today, China is a superpower, done within a lifetime. In fact, many economists believe that if Africa starts using its own resources to industrialize, within 15 years, things will change dramatically. Just think about that, 15 years. So therefore, United States of Africa. So that's my final message for today.

Thank you.

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:13.624)
Thank you very much. yes, to our listeners and viewers, do like, share, subscribe. yes, until next week, it's good night for now. Good night.

Milton Allimadi (01:01:26.436)
Thank you.