Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, have begun talks of creating their own federation. This comes weeks after leaving the economic community of west African states (ECOWAS). Their intention seems to be to unite west Africa, to share a single currency to strengthen their economies, and to fight against western meddling.
“Foreign ministers of the three nations backed the creation of a confederation as part of a long-term goal of uniting the West African neighbors within a federation, at a meeting in December in the Malian capital Bamako,” according to Barrons, a Dow Jones Company. Months ago, the three nations formed the “alliance of Sahel states.” Sahel is a region of Africa that spans from Senegal to Eritrea.
Imperial Grip
The last two centuries of African history have almost been entirely taken up by the fight against western imperialism. This alliance could indeed spark another wave of anti imperialism in the west African region. Mali, Niger, and Chad are geological roommates. They exist in what is essentially an African triangle. They collectively exist right in the heart of western Africa. This could be the start to a newer, greater economic and social union in western Africa.
The Sahel region has been facing hardship, as ISIS rebels and jihadist terror organizations destabilize the region. However, with community anything is possible. The possibility of all of western Africa sharing a single currency, while all of Africa currently has free trade is exciting. Greater economic integration while creating mutually beneficial trades can be exactly what Africa needs.
Gross Domestic Pain
Many of Africa’s problems stem from the fact that many African nations’ GDP aren’t that high. With exception to nations like Egypt and Nigeria, there are American corporations who make more than African nations. Of course, the reason why that is is because of imperialism, and slavery. However, that in and of itself is the point.
Africa has many riches, and many valuable materials that many African nations could easily make trillions in their GDP. If West Africa comes together, they could easily be a global juggernaut. With a large enough GDP, they would collectively be able to defend themselves against imperialism. A historical example of this was the United Soviet Socialist Republics.
Anti Imperialist African Unity
The USSR was one of the first and only examples of nations coming together against imperialism and for the collective ownership of resources. However, this sparked the cold war because the western world didn’t like that very much. They called the USSR’s leaders, dictators and said that their people starved. No matter how much either of these claims were proven wrong the imperialists repeated their lies.
The reason why is that the individualist America first understanding of geopolitics is counter intuitive. The greater collaboration that nations have with one another, and the more borderless nations there are the greater quality of life humanity will have. It is of the world’s great interest to see what happens next in western Africa, because the world may need to follow their example.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources
Barrons: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Discuss New Confederation
CIA Documents: CIA-RDP80-00810A006000360009-0
HRW: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Quit Regional Bloc by Ilaria Allegrozzi
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Martha de Jong-Lantink’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of Maryland National Guard’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
