EP 1 U.S. Interference; Nestle and More... I African News Review

Apologies for the technical hitches. We also decided to keep them in, to give the conversation context.

In this episode of African News Review, hosts Adesoji Iginla, Milton Allimadi, and Aya Fubara Eneli Esq. discuss current events affecting Africa, focusing on Nigeria's ongoing security crisis and the implications of celebrity involvement in political discourse. 

They analyse the framing of the crisis as a religious conflict and emphasise the need for accountability from the Nigerian government. 

The conversation also touches on Trump's boycott of the G20 summit in South Africa and the historical context of land ownership in the country, highlighting the disparities that persist post-apartheid. 

They delve into the economic disparities between European and black South Africans, the role of media in shaping narratives, the implications of US foreign policy on South Africa, the neocolonial dynamics in Mauritius, and the health risks posed by Nestlé's products in Africa. 

The speakers emphasise the need for historical context and collective action to address these issues.

Takeaways

• The focus should be on Nigeria's failure to protect its citizens.
• Nikki Minaj's involvement distracts from the real issues in Nigeria.
• The Nigerian government must be held accountable for its inaction.
• The framing of the crisis as a religious conflict is misleading.
• External assistance should be considered if Nigeria is open to it.
• The media often simplifies complex issues for public consumption.
• Historical context is crucial in understanding land ownership in South Africa.
• The disparity in land ownership remains a significant issue post-apartheid.
• Celebrities can amplify issues, but should not lead campaigns without expertise.
• The narrative around persecution in Nigeria needs to shift towards solutions. 
• European South Africans have a higher standard of living than European Americans.
• The black population in South Africa faces significant economic neglect.
• US foreign policy often overlooks the needs of African Americans.
• Lazy journalism fails to provide the necessary context in reporting.
• Neocolonialism continues to affect African nations like Mauritius.
• Diego Garcia is a strategic military hub for the US.
• The health risks of Nestlé's products are alarming for African children.
• Historical injustices must be acknowledged in contemporary discussions.
• Collective action is essential for addressing economic disparities.
• The need for African nations to reclaim their narratives and resources.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview of Current Events

09:04 Discussion on Nigeria's Security Crisis

24:11 Trump's Boycott of the G20 Summit and South Africa's Response

30:53 Economic Disparities in South Africa

33:59 The Role of Media and Journalism

36:08 US Foreign Policy and South Africa

40:05 Mauritius and Neocolonialism

51:46 Nestlé's Impact on African Health

Transcript

Adesoji Iginla (00:01.794)
Yes, greetings again. Welcome to another episode of African News Review. I'm your host, Adesuji Iginla. And with me at the moment is the good comrade, Alimadi, host, Blackstar News on WBAI, 99.5 FM New York, offer of manufacturing hate, how Africa was demonized in the West. An update is supposed to come out shortly, so.

We'll keep the good brother on his toes as to stand up to his promise. How are you, brother? There's a good sister. Thank you very much. Sister Aya will be joining us shortly. She is in transit and will join us as soon as she can. And so, yes, we've come to another week where we have conversations regarding Africa in the Western press. So.

Milton Allimadi (00:40.255)
Very good. Good to see you, huh? Right.

Adesoji Iginla (01:01.644)
As it's become customary, would ask you, what's the news from where you at?

Milton Allimadi (01:08.659)
Well, the latest development was, of course, Friday, when New York City mayor, Mamdani Zohran Mamdani, met with President Trump.

And of course, the MAGA anti-progressive reactionary folks were waiting for Trump to give them the signal to excorrogate him. But there was so much on the same page, I'm sure they were all disappointed, you know? You know, the guy is just too clever for them. In fact, when they posed for photo op,

and took some questions in the White House with Trump sitting down behind his desk, of course, and Mom Donnie standing next to him, almost like his grandson, actually. The contrast between youth and age. So one of the reporters said, well, you called him a fascist, this and that and that. Are you now ready to retract?

Adesoji Iginla (02:04.686)
Like being called into the principal's office.

Milton Allimadi (02:20.925)
you know, those words. And, you he was like about to start something, because he kept pivoting back to like, you know, we found out we share a lot of things in common that we want to implement. But this one, I don't think he thought he could pivot and use that same line again. So Trump, you saw that when Trump said, it's okay, you know, I've been called worst.

Adesoji Iginla (02:40.878)
Mm-mm.

Milton Allimadi (02:52.703)
You know, contrast that with the meeting with Zelensky when Trump actually pushed him a little bit on the shoulder. Remember that? That is what the MAGA media were expecting would happen. Think about that.

Adesoji Iginla (03:01.74)
Zelensky.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he was,

Adesoji Iginla (03:12.844)
I mean, Trump was almost in awe. He was almost in awe. You could see the way he was looking at him lovingly.

Milton Allimadi (03:21.951)
And you know why, because this is a person who is easily mesmerized and dazzled. And obviously, you know, this young man is photogenic, he's very intelligent, very quick on his feet, got a sharp sense of humor. So all of those, you know, came together when they met. And that completely disarmed Trump.

Adesoji Iginla (03:39.436)
Mm-hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (03:47.598)
Hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (03:52.728)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (03:53.245)
You know when he says,

or so and so is fat, so and so is ugly, so and That's how he starts off to build his anti-momenta. But he could not find any of these attributes with this individual, right?

Adesoji Iginla (04:01.582)
Yeah, correct.

Adesoji Iginla (04:08.206)
you

Milton Allimadi (04:12.03)
He was forced to listen to whatever he said. And I think he could not object to many of the things he said, particularly.

Adesoji Iginla (04:22.796)
when you talk about affordability.

Milton Allimadi (04:25.032)
Forget about that. The best thing was when he said, the way he put it, we found that the people who voted for you voted on these particular issues. You see? And then remember what Trump said? He you told me my voters voted for him.

Adesoji Iginla (04:34.796)
Yeah, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (04:42.529)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (04:46.174)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Milton Allimadi (04:51.709)
That was it, man.

Adesoji Iginla (04:52.972)
Yeah, yeah, I mean, it was it was it.

Milton Allimadi (04:55.998)
So he knows what lines to use, but obviously this is not to say that things are gonna be rosy going forward, because the old man tends to forget very quickly. He could go back to the reactionary maga approach again. So for as long as he can keep this relationship functional above, because obviously you don't want Washington to use its power to hurt New York City.

Adesoji Iginla (05:01.699)
Hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (05:12.398)
Hmm

Adesoji Iginla (05:25.614)
Correct.

Milton Allimadi (05:26.088)
So let's see how it unfolds. Obviously, the main issue of contention is going to be the ICE operations and ICE abducting people on the streets. Sooner or later, that's going to come to a major clash. This is just the first round.

Adesoji Iginla (05:37.294)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (05:41.964)
Yeah, yeah, come to loggerheads. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. OK, OK. Here, it's the rumors that there might be a leadership contest. Keisama is facing some infighting within his cabinet, which is likely to spill over into parliament. And once that happens, a leadership contest might be called.

Milton Allimadi (06:01.564)
Mm-hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (06:08.874)
So we might have a new prime minister in the new year, but it is what it is.

Milton Allimadi (06:13.852)
And that's, and you know, in these times, that probably means that that prime minister is probably likely to be even much more reactionary, you know.

Adesoji Iginla (06:22.57)
Yes, yes, yes, yes. And not least because he has gone back on some of his compiling pledges. I mean, he flips and flaps wherever it's convenient for him. people are correct.

Milton Allimadi (06:31.42)
Hmm?

Milton Allimadi (06:37.074)
Yep.

And if somebody's pushing him out, I doubt being pushed out that he's being too progressive.

Adesoji Iginla (06:46.718)
OK. Welcome, welcome. Yes?

Aya Fubara Eneli (06:48.329)
Okay, I'm trying to make sure my Bluetooth is connected, but I don't think it is.

Milton Allimadi (06:49.596)
Welcome, welcome.

Milton Allimadi (06:59.058)
Yeah, it's clearing up now. The focus is getting better too.

Adesoji Iginla (07:06.208)
I might have to mute you from time to time because of the echo.

Aya Fubara Eneli (07:07.849)
Yeah, but I'm trying to

Aya Fubara Eneli (07:21.169)
Anyway, we can go ahead. I'll mute when I'm not talking.

Adesoji Iginla (07:28.714)
Okay, so yeah, we've done our news bit where we asked, so what's the news where you're at?

Milton Allimadi (07:41.66)
Are there two devices open? Because it's really echoing. Everything you say is echoing again. It's like repeating.

Adesoji Iginla (07:47.89)
Yeah, it's because she joined late, I couldn't turn off her echo feed. So what I do is when she's talking, I'll mute the rest of us then she can speak. So if you go ahead, sister.

Milton Allimadi (08:14.014)
She may not have heard you.

Milton Allimadi (08:21.822)
I'll just show you, you're muted, I'll just show you.

Aya Fubara Eneli (08:23.849)
because it is loud around here.

Adesoji Iginla (08:30.316)
Okay go ahead sister go ahead.

Adesoji Iginla (08:43.774)
I was asking the news where you're at.

Milton Allimadi (08:54.718)
I don't think she can hear you. think there's some audio problems too.

Adesoji Iginla (08:58.208)
Okay, we'll go on while she, well, okay.

So can you hear me?

Milton Allimadi (09:08.476)
I can hear you.

Adesoji Iginla (09:09.418)
Okay, so, yes, as I was saying, that's the news where we're at. And so let's go into today's story. And hopefully she joins us once the technical issues clear up. So the first story today comes from the BBC. And it's no surprise, it's that...

The Barbie Army have just put in the... And it reads, Nikki Minaj supports contested Trump's claim, Christians being persecuted in Nigeria. It starts, award-winning rapper Nikki Minaj has publicly backed President Donald Trump's allegation that Christians face persecution in Nigeria. And the quote is...

In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted, Minhaj said on Tuesday. At an event organized by the US, Aden churches have been burned. Families have been turned apart simply because of how they pray. And it goes further. This week alone, people were killed in an attack on a church in Quara State.

while a group of 25 girls who the BBC have been told are Muslim were abducted from a school. The Nigerian government has pushed back on these claims describing them as a gross, misreputing station of reality and officials said terrorists attack all who reject their modest ideology, Muslim Christians and those of no faith alike. Organizations monitoring political violence in Nigeria say most victims of the jihadist groups are Muslims.

For the context, the country's 220 million people are roughly split, evenly split between followers of the two religions with Muslims in the majority in the north, while most jihadist attack take place. For months, right-wing campaigners and politicians in Washington have been alleging that Islamic militants were systematically targeting Christians. So your take, comrade.

Milton Allimadi (11:25.072)
Okay. So my take is that the story should not be about whether more Christians or more Muslims are being killed. The story should not be about Nikki Minaj. The story should be about Nigeria's failure to protect its citizens. And what can assistance, what type of assistance can be provided if there's some shortcomings?

Adesoji Iginla (11:34.606)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (11:40.129)
Okay.

Adesoji Iginla (11:45.87)
All right.

Milton Allimadi (11:53.991)
And if Nigeria is willing to accept that assistance, and where should it come from? And that should be the focus, pure and simple. Everything else is just a distraction. Because to frame a story and base it on, she's wrong, actually more Muslims are being killed, that turns the crisis upside down. That's not the issue. The victims don't want to hear that. The victims want to hear, how is it going to end? And that should be the focus of the discussion.

Adesoji Iginla (11:59.938)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (12:21.646)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (12:23.708)
So in fact, it should not be Nikki Minaj who's on trial. It should be the Nigerian government. Why have you failed to protect citizens of your country, whether they're Christians, whether they're Muslims?

Adesoji Iginla (12:31.095)
Okay.

Adesoji Iginla (12:38.368)
or no faith at all. OK, so would we say there is an element of, OK, let me just answer this question from the chat. Is there any further news about the 25 abducted? Yes. Unfortunately, two of the abductees, a teacher and a student, have lost their lives. 23 are yet unaccounted for.

Adesoji Iginla (13:12.684)
So you want to say something sister?

Milton Allimadi (13:16.559)
No, mean, I'm very disappointed.

Aya Fubara Eneli (13:20.861)
Now please go ahead.

Milton Allimadi (13:21.712)
at the angle that they're taking.

We should get back, we should ask a serious question to the Nigerian government. Do you need assistance? What type of assistance do you need? And which countries, if you can't handle that alone, would you welcome assistance from? That should be the focus right there. We can't be talking about, are there more Muslims being killed? Or are there more Christians being killed? What kind of nonsense is that? The victims don't care about that. They don't want to hear that. They want to hear the solutions.

Adesoji Iginla (13:43.319)
Hmm

Aya Fubara Eneli (13:51.905)
Okay.

Aya Fubara Eneli (13:58.633)
So I think on one hand, it's that this has been a crisis in Nigeria for over a decade and that it needs to be addressed in some way, shape or form sooner rather than later. We know that there over 2.7 million Nigerians who've been displaced within the country as a result of these killings. Not to talk about the trauma.

Adesoji Iginla (13:58.752)
okay sister

Aya Fubara Eneli (14:24.647)
We also know that there over 10 million young children right now in Nigeria who are not being educated because the parents are scared of sending these children to school because as you can see, particularly with these raids on young girls, it's happening at the institutions of learning. So we have some.

major issues that need to be addressed. Now, it's unfortunate that it's being framed as a genocide against Christians because we know Trump, anything he's saying, just assume that what he's saying is a lie, that it's actually the opposite of whatever he's saying. But I do understand the angst of people and even the desperation that will lead some people to want to embrace what they think is health from any

you know, any place that it's coming from, but we know that Trump means no good to Nigerians. If he cared that much, then he should grant all the Nigerian Christians refugee status, right? And they can flood into the United States of America, but he's not gonna do that. Now, in terms of Nicki Minaj's involvement, it is interesting to me to note that Nicki Minaj is not an American citizen yet.

So she does not have her citizenship. And Nicki Minaj is married to a convicted pedophile, sex offender. And her brother is going through some legal woes right now. So there are all kinds of reasons. Because so far with ICE raiding people, I haven't seen them raid any of the wealthy people that are here and are not citizens.

who may have traffic tickets or drug violations or whatever, and they are picking up poor people who are even following the rules in terms of their asylum and have not, quote unquote, committed any crimes. Although, of course, it's just really rich to me that a man who's been convicted of 34 felons, felonies, sorry, and has still not paid his dues, the fines that he was required to pay by law to,

Aya Fubara Eneli (16:40.421)
the woman he sexually assaulted dares to talk about getting rid of other criminals. So Nicki Minaj, you know, just because someone is a celebrity, has some fame or fortune or whatever, does not mean that they too have not been indoctrinated, does not mean that they too are not easily manipulated. And of course, on this channel, we have talked.

in the past about the use of musicians to further the goals of the United States of America. And I guess she would just be one more in a long line of musicians that have been manipulated in the past.

Aya Fubara Eneli (17:22.761)
I hope you guys could hear me okay. I'm gonna mute when I'm not talking.

Milton Allimadi (17:27.036)
Yeah, no, we could hear you. I would add to this that this is not to say that celebrities are not welcome in campaigns, but the campaigns should be led by people who know the issues. So for example, if we launch a campaign to expose the role of the United Arab Emirates in supporting the genocidal war in Sudan, organized where people actually know what's going on, and we invite their participation to help highlight it.

and get media attention, that's different from going and endorsing something said by somebody who knows nothing about what is going on, which is exactly the case in this situation.

Adesoji Iginla (18:04.27)
Okay, so let me one final question on the story. How far does the audience within the United States play into this story, the shaping of the story? We've seen the Christian element of it. We've seen the military angle of it. We can also put in the multinational element of it.

How does those three pivots help to shape this story and obviously the involvement of Nicki Minaj? Do you want to go first, brother?

Milton Allimadi (18:47.152)
No, that's a good question. This is the version of what the Democrats did with weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They sold that story, they demonized Iraq, and they built the public support for what turned out to be a false war. Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. So we discover that tens of thousands of lives lost.

In fact, if you combine with the starvation because of the sanctions, we're talking in excess of millions of people who died because a false war was so. So they're using the same strategy to try to sell a war against Nigeria by getting the Christian elements involved, building that, know, the Muslims are coming, the Muslims are coming. And just to demonize the situation, vilify the Nigerian government as being completely incapable, and then justify whatever military action.

than they may be contemplating.

Adesoji Iginla (19:50.99)
It's the time you want to go.

Aya Fubara Eneli (19:57.425)
Nothing to add on this one.

Adesoji Iginla (20:03.208)
I just want to say one final thing, which is Malcolm X did say in one of his interviews that ways that you get leaders who are entertainers, clowns, and what have you. You never find that. when it comes to issues involve the black demographics, then obviously the language of entertainment gestures, what is thrown at us.

We've seen this before and sister said spoke to it and we've spoken about people remember the documentary by Jim on press soundtrack to a cool data. This should not be another soundtrack. So we should try as much as possible to get all the facts correct. And we'll continue to do that in so far as the information comes to us. So yes.

Milton Allimadi (20:59.185)
I'm sorry to say, brother, the biggest story should be the Nigerian government's obligations and responsibility. We can't let them off the hook, you know? Unacceptable.

Adesoji Iginla (21:05.942)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The fact that the BBC is actually, no, the fact that the BBC is the one.

Aya Fubara Eneli (21:09.449)
And I think we can add to that, that it's also the Nigerian government's complicity. Because if you look at Tinibu's condemnation of Jonathan Goodluck when he was president, and basically his assertion that if Jonathan was being the president he should be, that he should have been able to address the issues of insecurity in the country. And then you turn around and you look at the fact that the vice president,

is accused, think, credibly of having housed one of the main leaders of Boko Haram. And it just seems to me incredulous that Nigeria can lead military...

escargents into other, and peacekeeping escargents into other countries, but suddenly is not able to utilize its own military to bring about some kind of security within its own borders. I think that there is some complicity about government here. Can't prove it exactly. There people who are a lot more, have more expertise than I do, who've been able to connect some of the dots. And we need to hold our leaders accountable as well.

But this is what I said in a chat that I was on WhatsApp where people were basically talking about the insecurity and the need for external assistance. And I said, listen, I raised chickens. they come to mind a lot.

We had a rat that came into our chicken coop. And the chicken took care of that rat. When I checked in the morning, that rat...

Aya Fubara Eneli (22:58.397)
was a dead rat, okay? Now if the chickens had opened their coop, not that they're capable of it, but if they had opened their coop to invite the foxes in my community, in the area that I live, to come in and help them take care of the rats, what makes them think or feel that when the fox is done with the rats, the fox isn't going to attack them or actually abandon the rat and just attack them? And so any,

Any African who will willingly invite these imperialists into their own country to say come and save us is not paying attention.

Adesoji Iginla (23:41.9)
Yeah, sister, you raise a very good point. The point was actually, Nigeria helped bring peace back to Liberia and Syria alone. So if you can do it there, why can't you do it at home? So and and the fact that in Liberia, the Americans actually balked at the idea of coming in. So Nigeria had to step in, did what they had to do. And Liberia is the better for it now.

Same thing happened in Syria alone. But we watch and see. So we go to the next story, which again involves our dear leader, Donald Trump. And it's the fact that it comes from The Guardian. And it reads, Trump says US will boycott, or he has boycotted anyway. It says, will boycott G20 summit in South Africa, citing treatment of white.

farmers. Administration has long accused South Africans of allowing white Africana farmers to be persecuted and attacked. Donald Trump said Friday that no government, US government official would be attending the group of 20 summit this year in South Africa, citing the country's treatment of white farmers. And it goes on that Mr. Vance has pulled out. But there is a part here that it's funny.

The Trump administration has long accused the South African government of allowing minority white farmers to be persecuted and attacked as it restricted the number of refugees admitted annually to US to 7,500.

Aya Fubara Eneli (25:18.249)
I think your screen is blank. I think your screen is blank. I don't think they can see the article unless it's just on my end.

Adesoji Iginla (25:25.507)
Sorry?

Adesoji Iginla (25:31.118)
I think it's yours. It must be. Can you see it?

Adesoji Iginla (25:38.68)
Comrade, can you see it?

Adesoji Iginla (25:42.678)
Okay, I think it's your sister. So the Trump administration has long accused the South African government of allowing minority white African farmers to be persecuted and attacked as it restricted the number of refugees admitted annually to the US to 7,500. The administration indicated that most will be white South Africans who will will claim faced discrimination and violence at home.

But the government of South Africa said it's surprised by the accusation of discrimination because white people in the country generally have a much higher standard of living than its black residents, more than three decades after the end of the apartheid system of white rule. Using that as an entry point, comrade, could you shed more light on that angle and then take it from there?

Adesoji Iginla (26:35.148)
You're mute.

Milton Allimadi (26:38.877)
Can you hear me?

Can you hear me now?

Adesoji Iginla (26:43.502)
It's still on mute.

Milton Allimadi (26:45.189)
No, I'm not unmuted.

Milton Allimadi (26:53.639)
Can you hear me? No?

Milton Allimadi (27:00.785)
This is crazy, man.

Adesoji Iginla (27:06.99)
Probably you want to try sign language now.

Milton Allimadi (27:11.421)
I'm not muted. I'm not muted.

Adesoji Iginla (27:21.952)
Okay, let's see. Try it again on mute.

Adesoji Iginla (27:37.676)
Okay, what I'll do is, let's see, can you try going out and coming back in again? Try going back, try going out then. Okay, yes, so I would read the headline before the good comrade comes in and hopefully we should have things sorted.

Milton Allimadi (27:44.946)
Okay.

Adesoji Iginla (28:02.732)
And so let me share my screen. And again, it's the story about Trump boycotting. So it reads, the government of South Africa says it's surprised by the accusation of discrimination because white people in the country generally have a much higher standard of living than his black residents more than three decades after the end of the apartheid system of white rule. So before the comrade comes in,

Anybody who is familiar with the history of South Africa would know that during apartheid, most of the lands were appropriated and given to white farmers. As a result, OK, are you backing?

Yes, we can hear you now. Loud and clear, loud and clear. No, no worries. Go on. So you.

Milton Allimadi (28:51.488)
Can you hear me now? All right, sorry about that. I don't know what happened.

Milton Allimadi (28:59.382)
All right, so I think they should have gone further, the South Africans, in terms of their reaction, right? So they pointed out that the European South Africans have a much higher standard of living. But this is an opportunity where you start dropping stats and figures, you know? And, you know, because media are lazy, they're not going to go and do that research. So you have powerful handouts that you...

Adesoji Iginla (29:06.175)
Okay.

Milton Allimadi (29:29.036)
You know, you disseminate, whether at press conferences you are handing it out, whether you are emailing it to them. So for example, you should be, a story like this, you should always mention the fact that 30 plus years after apartheid, the 8 % still own 72 % of the land. You have to mention that all the time. So where is this land confiscation coming from? You know, where? And.

People, when they hear, okay, they own 72%. So things are bad for black people in South Africa. They own 28%, which is terrible because they make up 80 % of population. Well, guess what? They do not own 28%. They own 4 % because the other land is to...

South Africans of Indian ancestry, or what they call the so-called colored, people of mixed race. So 80 % of the population, black, own 4 % of the land. 8 % of the population European own 72 % of land. That needs to appear in every story related to issues like this. And then the other thing that you'll see is that,

The European South Africans who are complaining and supposedly seeking asylum in the US, you need to examine their head because European South Africans have a higher standard of living than European Americans. The per capita income of European Americans is about 50,000. South African, European South African is 60 plus. And these are all statistics, probably more like 70,000 now.

Aya Fubara Eneli (31:09.376)
South West, gonna give you a carousel one. Carousel one, South West.

Milton Allimadi (31:22.058)
And then the final thing that was pointed out was the neglect of the black population in South Africa and in the US. So whereas the European population in South Africa, the per capita income, as I said, all statistics was in the 60s, now could be in the 70,000s. The black population, the per capita income is 7,000. So in other words, European income is 10 times more.

Adesoji Iginla (31:35.544)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (31:51.616)
That's just income per capita, right? We're not talking about accumulated wealth through the centuries of apartheid. And then finally, they should have asked the question, what are you doing for your own African-American population? 162 years after the Emancipation Declaration, right? In this country, the European per capita income is 50,000 plus.

Adesoji Iginla (32:08.054)
Hmm

Milton Allimadi (32:19.094)
for the black population is 30,000. That's what I should have said if I were in South Africa's position.

Adesoji Iginla (32:28.192)
And sister?

Aya Fubara Eneli (32:31.775)
Good job.

Aya Fubara Eneli (32:37.119)
Thank you.

Milton Allimadi (32:37.536)
I don't think she heard you. she's having technical problems. And one other thing I might add, the US decided to send a charge d'affaires from the embassy to attend the meeting and it was denied entry because the foreign ministers of South Africa said, no, this is a gathering of heads of state. Yep, the US didn't like that either.

Adesoji Iginla (32:40.6)
Yeah, yeah, she's having technical issues.

Adesoji Iginla (32:56.878)
exactly. that is what should be, that should be the standard treatment going forward. It's like you can't be so, I mean, the idea that you will come into a gathering like that, it's called the G20 for a reason. And, you know, it goes to show that sometimes because we don't connect the history with contemporary times.

people were able to get away with this kind of lazy journalism as it were. OK, fine, you've written both sides. You as the journalist should give some background and context to the angles being taken by both parties. But you've decided, you know what, let them talk it out. Sister, you want to contribute?

Adesoji Iginla (33:54.124)
I think she's still...

Adesoji Iginla (33:58.336)
Okay, we move on to.

Milton Allimadi (33:59.123)
Yeah, sorry, I think she has delay in getting your feed. now we can...

Aya Fubara Eneli (34:01.275)
Can you hear me?

Adesoji Iginla (34:02.816)
Now we can hear you.

Aya Fubara Eneli (34:04.913)
But I can't hear you all for some reason. So I don't want to repeat anything that Brother has said.

Adesoji Iginla (34:15.518)
gone, it will be contributed and it won't be repeated.

Milton Allimadi (34:21.227)
but she couldn't hear you even what you just said right now. Maybe you should text her.

Adesoji Iginla (34:24.82)
OK.

Milton Allimadi (34:27.741)
or call her with the questions. Call her on her phone and ask her the question on the phone. No, I think it'll still be worth it. Try that.

Adesoji Iginla (34:34.338)
Okay.

Adesoji Iginla (34:37.966)
OK, let's see. OK, let's see that. Let's see.

Aya Fubara Eneli (34:49.319)
Okay, so what I've decided to do is to listen to what you're saying on my phone on YouTube and then unmute and answer. Just trying to make this work.

Adesoji Iginla (34:58.058)
Yeah, yeah, OK. OK, so we're talking about South Africa and the fact that the Trump administration is not attending the G20 using the excuse that white farmers were being persecuted. As a result,

Aya Fubara Eneli (35:15.111)
I can hear you on YouTube if you can hear me.

Adesoji Iginla (35:19.022)
I can hear you. So that's the angle where the good comrade just explained that what would have helped here is if the South Africans have used this window to provide them with statistics, numbers, inferences, historical understanding in order for them to counter. And sometimes it's also a way of framing the story.

So that going forward, people have that as an anchor point to start extrapolating, as it were. So the take is, what would you like to add to that?

Adesoji Iginla (36:08.141)
Can you hear me? Okay, so would you like to add to that?

Milton Allimadi (36:14.761)
No, I don't think she hurt you.

Adesoji Iginla (36:16.226)
You're gonna mute, you're muted, so.

Milton Allimadi (36:20.095)
But she's not speaking. Did you physically call her on her phone?

Adesoji Iginla (36:24.574)
And no, she said she can hear on YouTube. And she would answer based on what she gains on YouTube. So the question is,

Milton Allimadi (36:28.348)
I see.

Milton Allimadi (36:36.131)
I don't think she heard you. think a phone call direct would probably be better.

Adesoji Iginla (36:40.424)
Okay, the thing is if I use my phone yes

Aya Fubara Eneli (36:43.573)
Can you hear me?

Don't really have much to add to what brother said. The statistics are clear. When you look at who owns the wealth in South Africa, it's overwhelmingly white South Africans. If we go to what the definition of persecution is, if that's what he's saying, there is a very specific definition of what it means to persecute. And that is definitely nothing that we are seeing in what is happening in South Africa at this time. In fact,

If you look at the murder rates, you are like five times more likely to be murdered if you are a black person than if you're a white South African. So when we look at the murder rates, South Africans, they say make up about 9 % of the population.

but they under-represent in terms of murder victims at just a little under 2%. So how do you turn around then and credibly make that argument that they are being persecuted? So again, we understand that he is pandering to his base, whether it's with Nigerian, you know, the dog call, a whistle, whatever, dog whistle of.

Christians or with South Africa this notion of white people being persecuted, but it's this idea of white poor people. We are persecuting you in America, but we are going to tell you to ignore what you're experiencing and to look over here and feel that your whiteness is going to save you and we are working for you, which they are not.

Milton Allimadi (38:16.844)
And also just one final thing I would like to add. This is so, you know, the reason why it's so repulsive is because if the situation were reversed, if Africans had gone to England in the 16th century and massacred and taken over European land and then apartheid ends at some point in England, do you think Africans in England would still be owning 72 % of the land today?

Adesoji Iginla (38:19.575)
Okay.

Adesoji Iginla (38:44.654)
Mm. Mm.

Milton Allimadi (38:45.127)
if they made up 8 % of the population. So the level of ungratefulness is so astonishing and mind-boggling that the South Africans who number 80 % have tolerated this injustice that included the massacre of their ancestors. Be grateful.

Adesoji Iginla (39:07.55)
okay. History lives on. What else do we say? It's an indictment on leadership in South Africa that three decades after apartheid had fallen, you still cannot talk about the land question without being called some sort of divisive element. But hopefully history writes itself. It will at some point.

And so, yes, we've come to the mid-end of the podcast. And this is part where we say we're aiming to get to 2,000 subscribers by the end of December. And we need your help in gathering that 2,000. We're somewhere there, 1,515 odd.

And so every thumb counts. So do like, share, subscribe. And again, if you get value from this, I'm sure you will invite other people to come in and join the conversation, which is important. You know, it's not just reading newspapers, it's understanding contemporary context and also an historical context to said program. So speaking of historical, we go to

our next story from the Daily Telegraph and it's on Mauritius. Again, the US is involved. Why? But hey, we learn. And the story reads, Mauritius government in crisis over Chagua's deal. Mauritian politicians threaten collapse of coalition as Rao escalates over excessive concession to the UK in controversial treaty.

The Mauritian government has engulfed by a rar about the excessive concessions being made to the UK on Keis Tamas Chagwa's deal. The Telegraph understands that Paul Beringer, the Deputy Prime Minister, raised objections to street conservation belts that surround Diego Garcia, which has been used as a joint UK-US military base since the 1970s. The belt will restrict access of Mauritian

Adesoji Iginla (41:33.166)
citizens to the base is also expressed concern to Navi Ragola, the Prime Minister about the surveillance of maritime routes surrounding the island. There's a key part here and it reads the Chaguans were removed from Diego Garcia and the other islands between 1968 and 1973 and relocated to Britain. That is a bit of a stretch. However, many do not want the archipelago to be returned

Mauritius. That is an internal angle to the story but let me get your take on it first brother.

Milton Allimadi (42:13.459)
Well, I mean, the only aspect of it, of course, that interests me and is completely outrageous is the neocolonialism, you see? the... It's not that 60 years after so-called independence, you know? We still have to deal with these issues. And I always like to project, you know, reverse cases because that allows people to get a better.

Context, you know?

Adesoji Iginla (42:43.606)
Understand it. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (42:47.563)
Can you imagine Africans discussing whether they should be holding to territory close to the United Kingdom or close to continental Europe or close to continental United States of America? It's so preposterous. So me, the big picture is even much more disgusting than the details. And then the same thing, of course.

Adesoji Iginla (42:52.302)
to return to Puerto Rico.

Milton Allimadi (43:17.437)
is they need the money. They need the money because they become dependent on that money which is paid for the base. Which goes back to what we discussed the other day about foreign aid. To have become dependent on foreign aid when you know it's not aid. That was the original sin by the African leaders. And now you're in a position where the US can blackmail you by cutting off money that you are now.

Adesoji Iginla (43:19.448)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (43:47.263)
budgeting to fight HIV AIDS as in South Africa and other health issues. So I like to see it in a broader perspective like that. That's the part that interests me. The detail of whether the British is not giving them enough money and all that stuff. That's just the details of neocolonialism.

Adesoji Iginla (44:11.148)
Sister?

Aya Fubara Eneli (44:12.751)
So I think it's important for us to note why Diego Garcia is so important to these people. So Diego Garcia, and here comes the airport people with their announcements, so hopefully you can still hear me. But Diego Garcia sits almost exactly between Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. It gives them unmatched access to the Persian Gulf,

Adesoji Iginla (44:29.186)
Yeah, loud and clear.

Aya Fubara Eneli (44:41.797)
the Horn of Africa, the South China Sea, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Malacca Strait, all in one place, right? So it's a central hub for military power projection across half the globe, that one area, right? Now imagine this, it's the only major, at this point, U.S. base in the entire Indian Ocean.

So 70 % of global oil shipments pass through it. brother, a brother comrade, sorry, I'm saying comrade at the same time. Brother Milton, so when we talk about how much money and the dependence on aid, even if they weren't getting money,

from leasing this space, just strategically where it's located and in terms of trade, they could set up a system to make even more money than that. Because these people are making more money than the 30 billion they want to pay over 100 years, okay?

Adesoji Iginla (45:39.502)
correct.

Aya Fubara Eneli (45:46.855)
In terms of trade, again, 80 % of global trade routes cross it. So how can Mauritia be begging for money? 80 % of all global trade routes. So now what it does is whoever has control over it, it gives them the ability to monitor, secure, or intervene in the shipping lanes, especially against China, Iran,

Milton Allimadi (46:03.989)
our people.

Adesoji Iginla (46:15.874)
Yes. Yes. Yes.

Aya Fubara Eneli (46:16.871)
the Somalians, the dressing instability in the Middle East. It was a launch pad for Operation Desert Storm in 1991. It was a launch pad for the Afghanistan War 2001 through 2021. It was a launch pad for the Iraq War.

Adesoji Iginla (46:27.096)
Correct?

Adesoji Iginla (46:34.03)
Mm-hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (46:36.677)
The B-52s, the B-1s, the B-2 bombers, as well as the large naval ships, all operated out of this area. It is also a major intelligence and surveillance hub. That's where the US space tracking systems are, NSA surveillance infrastructure.

Adesoji Iginla (46:48.685)
listening.

Aya Fubara Eneli (46:54.039)
undersea cable connections, it's remote location reduces interference and makes it ideal for signals, intelligence, and global communications monitoring. And then of course, it's safe and isolated. And they want to keep it that way and keep it controlled because it provides more like...

a whole different level of security if they're able to.

if they're able to colonize the whole area, which is why they're so concerned about this part, this strip that the Mauritian government is saying, no, we're gonna keep that, even though they're saying we're gonna keep the civilians away from it. But then here's the issue. Again, we're talking about dependence. We have all this land that we are going to say, and access to water that we're going to say that the civilians do not get to benefit from.

Adesoji Iginla (47:34.85)
wants to, yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (47:52.635)
because we're protecting this high security area for colonizers, then let's add to the fact that we're not even talking about reparations. The land is not yours. You, as recently as the 70s, displaced a whole group of people and just decide, we want your land, we get to take it, we get to keep it on our terms. You know what? Blow up the entire deal. Blow up the entire deal. I hope that

leaders. I mean if we just think about the power that we have, if we will just come together and utilize it. Blow up the whole thing. Listen, you don't leave because this is what they do, right? When they leave they destroy everything that of value that they have on there. Destroy, hopefully don't pollute our water and our land. Take your stuff with you actually and give us back our land and leave us the hell alone. So

We'll see what happens, but this is a very strategic area that should belong to us. And 30 billion over 99 years is a freaking joke. Actually, don't sell it for any amount. And bring the original owners of that land back while you're at it. I'll stop there.

Milton Allimadi (49:05.204)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (49:14.382)
Okay, so I would love to put the people's angle into it. It says 68 to 1970. The land was ceded as part of Crown land. It was signed over to the United States. But guess who? Queen Elizabeth II, 1972. The people who were on there were

declared stateless. They were exactly put on boats, taken over to Mauritius, and they were never allowed to return. The ones that came to Britain only came to Britain in the 80s. So which means between 1968 to 1980, they lived a life of destitution. And majority of the people who were expelled from the Chaguan Islands

are still living in destitution in Mauritius. The land does not belong to Mauritius. Again, it goes back to this idea of taking something and giving it back to people you think will be able to allow you get access to it, ala the artifacts. we're giving it back to a government. You've taken it from a place, you're not giving it back to the people you've taken it from, but you're taking it back to people who will acquiesce to whatever it is you want to do to it thereafter.

So this deal is an example of neocolonialism continue. So again, the people saying, don't give it back to Mauritius, are right.

Milton Allimadi (50:49.544)
Yeah, but brother, brother, let's be frank. It's not only the Europeans who do that. Look at the people in Kenya.

Adesoji Iginla (50:56.078)
Mm.

Milton Allimadi (50:59.582)
The Kenya Land and Freedom Army fought in the forest. They kicked out the British. They went to fight because they wanted their land back. Europeans came, they took two million acres, gave it a thousand European families. They demonized them as maumau, but in the end, the freedom fighters won. They killed Dedan Kemati, executed him, the leader of the resistance, and then they gave the package to Yomo Kenyatta.

And Kenyatta said, Europeans, keep the land. I'll take half of it for myself and my family.

Adesoji Iginla (51:34.476)
Okay.

Milton Allimadi (51:38.93)
And today, the Kenyatta family is the biggest landowners in Kenya. You know?

So we have major challenges, really. So that's why we need to lift the consciousness. Nkrumah offered the only viable solution. Individually, you will not be able to sustain it. If they took it before independence, so-called independence, why should they stop after independence? If you don't change your power by coming together. And that's what they're doing. You know, that's what they're doing.

In fact, what they're saying is, what can you do about it? And to be honest, right now the answer is nothing unless we follow Krumah's advice.

Adesoji Iginla (52:23.022)
It's nothing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hmm. Well, sister, you have any other thing to say? Okay, we'll go to the final story and it comes from The Guardian. And here, now they're even attacking your babies. So The Guardian reads, Nestle accused of risking health of babies for profit over added sugar and cereals sold in Africa.

Campaigners said the company is contributing to rising rates of childhood obesity, while the firm said it's helping to combat malnutrition. Nestle is still adding sugar to most baby cereals sold across Africa, according to an investigation by the campaigners who accused the company of putting the health of African babies at risk for profit. But the part I want us to focus on is here.

Public eye researchers worked with activists in more than 20 countries to buy 94 samples of CERULA products marketed for babies aged six months and above, which was sent to a laboratory for analysis. The laboratory found added sugar in more than 90 % of baby cereals with an average of six kilograms, six grams, or one and a half teaspoons per serving. Most products without the added sugar were imported.

they said, and had originally been intended for sale in Europe, apart from two variants recently launched in South Africa. The amount of added sugar identified ranged from about five grams a serving of product found in Egypt, Madagascar, South Africa, Malawi, and Nigeria, to 7.5 kilograms in a product sold in Kenya. An investigation published in 2024 found Nesu was adding sugar and honey

Adesoji Iginla (54:20.728)
to infant milk and cereal products sold in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where equivalent products in rich countries have no added sugar.

Adesoji Iginla (54:34.966)
What else is there? Let's go to the system first. This is...

Adesoji Iginla (54:43.18)
Yes. Yes.

Aya Fubara Eneli (54:43.399)
my goodness. The more things change, the more they stay the same. So I don't know if anyone on here is old enough, anyone watching is old enough to remember the Nestle boycott in the late 1970s, early eighties and 1980s. Anyone remember that? And that's actually what led to the World Health Organization coming up with guidelines for...

Milton Allimadi (54:55.145)
Right.

Adesoji Iginla (54:59.424)
It is, yep. Yep. Yep.

Adesoji Iginla (55:09.112)
Sugar content.

Aya Fubara Eneli (55:09.211)
what could be in children's milk and cereals and all of that, and marketing as well. And so these people just never, listen, in the United States we're about to celebrate Thanksgiving. And I feel like it's really important to highlight this. The Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Haudenosaunee, I hope I'm saying it right.

Adesoji Iginla (55:15.007)
Mm. Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (55:38.085)
They had a concept that appears in the Great Law of Peace. And the Great Law of Peace would basically be like their constitution, their guidelines, their protocols for how they handle, work with each other. And one of the things that they said in there is that the seven generations rule must govern all their decisions. In other words, every decision must benefit those born long after the decision makers are gone.

Leaders must think in terms of long-term stewardship, not short-term gain. When it comes to community, land, resources, and relationships, you should look at what impact could this have for seven generations to come? And what these people are doing in Africa, exterminate all brutes. What we are going to do is attack you all in so many different ways.

We demonize in the late 70s, they demonized women breastfeeding their children.

had all these commercials with people in white coats and know, mostly white people are looking a certain way and if you were civilized, you gave your child a bottle with these formulas. So let's create a market and a dependence on our products. Now let's take it a little further because beyond when they're babies, we wanna make sure that we've so curated these children's palates that they are forever seeking sweetened and processed foods.

Adesoji Iginla (57:03.66)
All right, yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (57:08.901)
which we will continue to export to you. and then while we're at it, when your obesity levels and your health issues arise to the level of the Westerners, that just gives us another.

Adesoji Iginla (57:25.944)
No, you've

Aya Fubara Eneli (57:27.107)
and hard congestive products and all of those things that we can market to you. We are creating a market. But in the meantime, if we kill as many of you as we can, either through Bill Gates' goals with, what is it, breath control and so on and so forth,

Adesoji Iginla (57:41.122)
GMO.

genetically modified.

Aya Fubara Eneli (57:47.749)
We're bringing some militants and armed them with weapons to kill off some others of you. If we pollute enough of your waters, if we send enough of our garbage over to your land and pollute your land, and then while we're at it, we're gonna just keep polluting your bodies as well. Because ultimately, we want your resources. We don't need your bodies anymore. We're building robots. We just need you Africans out of the way. And African people need to be paying attention. Now, where they get away with this is, even though

World Health Organization has set some guidelines. It's not just whether you have guidelines or laws, it's whether you have the infrastructure to monitor and then hold people accountable. Well, if we're still busy trying to figure out how to put food on our tables, where are the laboratories in Africa that are testing these products?

Because if we have them to test the product we might as well make the products ourselves. So for any African who's listening to me wherever you live in the world Can we go back to feeding our children the way we did before they started putting their food in cans? Because we can and this so-called convenience is not convenient at all. It's a convenience to die quicker Convenience to be sicker while you're alive But we need to go back to what worked for us for centuries instead of continuing this dependency on people who do

I not want to see you live. I'll stop.

Adesoji Iginla (59:13.548)
Hmm. Brother?

Milton Allimadi (59:15.722)
Yeah. All right, so that was an excellent summation. The only thing I can add is that this paves the way for them to become consumers for, you've noticed now the proliferation of McDonald's, of Pizza Hut, Domino's throughout African countries, KFC, you know. They're being prepared for that. So it's very well integrated.

You

Adesoji Iginla (59:48.918)
Yes, I mean, someone dropped in the chat earlier, who feeds you controls you. Yeah, that's a popular quote from Thomas Sankara when he said,

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:00:00.369)
And let me tell you, more than cocaine or the drugs or whatever, sugar is so addictive. And so can you guys imagine, just, I think that we can talk about these things in theory, but just think about taking a six month old child and every time you feed them, pouring a teaspoon and a half of sugar into their mouth. Every feeding, it's per serving.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:04.75)
Mm.

Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:22.092)
You win them on sugar. Yeah, sugar.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:00:29.691)
This is not for the whole day. Per serving. So if that child, say, eats four times a day, you at each, so each time you feed them, you just open their mouth, you just pour sugar into their mouth. Can you imagine? And they know it's not good for their children here in the West, but Africa, who the hell cares? We're just happy to get their products and to show how civilized we are.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:38.284)
That's full.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:43.438)
sugar.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:00:58.971)
while they're killing us.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:59.31)
Yes, thank you very much, both of you. And again, we've come to the end of another episode of African News Review. We'll continue this conversation next week because, as they assault us with their viewpoints and narratives, we try as much as possible to debunk them here.

We thank Sister Aya for joining us from the business lounge wherever she is. And Johnny Macy's.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:01:39.975)
You must not know me. I don't go to business lounges. I sit with the masses. I like to talk to my people. like to, yes. I don't go to, do not, no seriously, I do not go to the business lounges. Not that there are not people there, and I get it for those of you who go, know, no judgment, but me, I like to hang out with the regular folk. So yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (01:02:04.138)
Okay. And the good comrade who is sitting in class. Obviously, there is a class about to take place where he is. Also, yeah, thank you very much for joining us. And to the audience, yeah, and to the audience, I truly appreciate you coming through. Again, do like, share, subscribe. We're hoping to go to 2000. Until next week, it's good night and God bless. Good night.

Milton Allimadi (01:02:13.672)
Yes, so I have to run.

Milton Allimadi (01:02:19.432)
I'm 10 and a half.

Milton Allimadi (01:02:31.69)
Thank you.