The Rise of the Sahel Alliance: A New Era in African Independence

Welcome to Geopolitical Trends, where truth matters. Very excited to be with you. I know I usually do live streams on Monday, I just didn't get to it at that time, so it was a, was a lot of stuff I had to deal with. Anyway, very excited to be with you. I got an interesting topic for you today, something we don't hear much about in the news anymore, uh, and this one has to do with what's going on in Africa. I know some of you put a comment, Dr. O, can you talk about Africa? And I said I will in due time. So what the reason was, it was I needed to read up more, uh, on see where the new developments are so I can provide an update regarding, uh, those developments and also provide you my own analysis and assessments on all this. So this is what I'm going to be talking about, is about the Sahel region, mainly the three countries Niger, Burkina Faso, and, uh, what was the third one? Uh, there are three countries now. I draw, I draw a blank on the third one. Uh, and this is what I'm going to be addressing today, uh, highlighting how those three countries now came to be. Uh, uh, Mali, that's the one I forgot the name. It draw a blank on it. So, uh, this is what I'm going to be talking about today. But before I'll do this, like always, I would like to know who's joining me Uh, from Francis Tango, yes, good to see you. John Smithens, good to see you. Uh, Molly, you're absolutely correct. Yeah, I drew a blank on that one. So, uh, Sam Stone, good to see you. Hamed Sithi, good to see you. Willie Holman from West Memphis, good to see you. Alim, good to see you. Uh, Pariah India, good to see you as always. Uh, Phil, good to see you. Timeline Dunkley, good to see you from New York City. And Famida Parker, good to see you. Wow, guys, check out where Famida Parker joining us from— South Africa, Cape Town. Good to have you here, man. Markup, good to see you as always. And here is my man Osiris the Great. Osiris, he is the one who buys me coffee every day. Has been since I launched the platform. I like to give credit where credit is due, so I'm very grateful. And Osiris, please know I do not take it for granted. I am very grateful to you for your continued support, and to all of you guys, for those who, who are, uh, supporting the channel, uh, so I'm very, very grateful. Uh, Jorge again is from Italy. Good to see you as always. All right guys, let's get into, uh, uh, this topic today. As I said, today's topic is the Sahel countries— Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso. Uh, now they are having an alliance, and what's interesting about this, it's not just the alliance in itself. The alliance is and who's coming in it, and this is what I'm gonna be, uh, uh, sharing with you today. All this happen within the context of the US and collective West struggling for influence in Africa. Yeah, they are. So, and here are the questions that we need to think about, because this is something you can't just assume it's gonna be— you're gonna have to ask some really hard questions that, uh, matters, because the whole geopolitical landscape in Africa And I did an article, wrote an article way back, and I said, mark my word, that despite whatever else going on around the world, Africa is going to become the new ring where the competition between the major powers is going to be displayed. And here we are. So, so we ask the question, how significant is this announcement of the three countries, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, for Trapaitite Alliance? Now, there are three of them decide. And by the way, they dropped two other countries in the Sahel. Do you know which these two countries are? They dropped them. Can anybody type in, in the chat box, what are the two other countries? Remember, the keyword is they are also in the Sahel region. Yeah. So the second question is, who will fill the security vacuum? Because now they're going to be a security vacuum. Who's going to be filling that? And the third question is, what will the West do? What are the options for the West? So let me see first of all, um, the answer to— oh, you got it! Just made it! Is Chad. What is the other one? The other country? Nigeria. No, not Nigeria. Mauritania. You guys got it. Uh, Prada, you got it. Niger— Mauritania and Chad. And the reason being because France has already get to those countries, and I'm, I'm gonna explain all this to you as I move, uh, forward here. But before we do this, let's talk about some headlines around the world. And by the way, I've been keeping this for the last 2 or 3 days because that's when I was working on this stuff on Monday. That's why I didn't come in on the air on Monday, because I didn't have enough time. And I do not feel like just need to fill up the time. I don't do that. You all know this by now. If I don't have something of substance, I won't show up. So simple as that. So on. All right, here is the first, uh, uh, check out this picture here, guys. Oh, let me remove the— like this. Here we go. Uh, this one here, this is from the UK. Technical accidents and failures, yeah, put Britain nuclear deterrence at stake because that's British Navy That's Trident 2 ballistic missile carrier submarine. Yeah, well, this one sort of was like, what the heck is going on with Britain? That's why they can't— they can't fight. And, and despite what you hear, they, they're gonna fight the Russians. I know it's nothing but hypes. Actually, I saw the, uh, uh, not I saw, I'm sorry, I read the released report inside the Pentagon, which was back then— actually, it was supposed to be just for internal consumption, but it was released. I bet you, I bet you it was released by design. And in it was the high top brass here at the Pentagon saying that the UK military will be run over if they fight the Russians. And in one afternoon, just one afternoon, Britain will run out of the ammo. And that memo was to be for internal dynamic, for internal consumption, and it was released. So, but anyway, this is the, uh, uh, just to highlight to you this because you don't hear much about it. And again, I didn't get it here in, uh, in Western media. This was from overseas. I translated it. So them. So British government, clearly, while it is— you hear about this, uh, frantic enthusiasm, enthusiasm about military engagements in West Asia, and it's ready to fill the potential US vacuum in the region, it can't. It's useless. UK is good— use— when I say UK, I'm referring to the government here. So because the ability of Britain's defense system It's weak, so they can't do it. And this is why I found it nothing but hypes, no more, no less. So I wanted to share this with you, uh, as part of the headline. Second one, I'm gonna share this, which to me it's mind-boggling. And again, no offense to any religious people here. This is, uh, what you're looking at. You're looking at the largest mosque, a great mosque in, in the world, in the Muslim Arab world, in Algeria. Well, the next question is going to be, why the heck are you building the largest mosque that can hold, uh, about 120,000 worshippers? How about building some factories where people can increase their economic, uh, standard of living, sort of improve it? You know, worshiping and praying and all that is all good, but come on, let's get real here. So why is the government— and by the way, this is not about just Algeria, most of the Muslim world's doing this— they will go ahead and build a mosque while people are struggling economically. It just doesn't make any sense. I remember when I was in Yemen, uh, if you ever go to Sana'a, there is a big mosque there in the middle of Sana'a. That was named after the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Of course, because the mosques are named after the rulers, whatever. It just doesn't make sense. When I asked how much the cost was, it was about almost $850 million to build that thing. What for? And one afternoon I went in and it was just empty. So this is to me nothing but a waste. But again, it's their country, they can decide whatever. So president— Algerian president, uh, Magi Tebboune inaugurated the Algiers Mosque. So which is one of the largest mosques. To me it's useless, literally. But again, it's their country, they can decide whatever they want. So, uh, third one. Now this is a shocker. Can anybody tell me what this is? Which country, by the way, owns an aircraft carrier with this kind of, uh, uh, takeoff, uh, uh, or, or landing, uh, pad? There's only one country to my knowledge that has this one. Let me see in the chat box if you guys can guess which country is that. Oh, Taiwan Steel, good to see you. Uh, Russia to a degree. Yeah, uh, Oxer88, you got it. This one is for I'm sorry, that's— uh, Farhad, good to see you. Of course, uh, I wanted to put in, uh, the one that— yeah, right there, Oxer 88. It's China. That is correct. But that is not about that one. What's interesting about this, which by the way, China does things quietly. China does not brag about we are doing this, we are doing that. Is doing it quietly. Well, here is the shocker to the West. You know what's on that aircraft? Is the advanced stealth aircraft. That's like the next generation. China is already have that now operational. So, and this, by the way, The Telegraph, that's the one that was surprised in reporting about this sudden appearance of China's newest stealth fighter jets, which what you are looking at right there on the, uh, on the China aircraft carrier. So, and it was this month, by the way. And now some of already are thinking, some military strategists are thinking, is China about to deploy Shenyang J-35? Those are some sort of advanced systems that's moving forward. I don't know, I can't answer that one because I don't know. All I can say is that these stealth fighters, these are the next generation. So for us, we're still struggling with the hypersonic, by the way. We haven't developed that despite what you hear. Well, we have it, we just don't disclose it. No, we don't. Let's call a spade a spade. And, and, and those entities in Washington need to stop lying. Uh, this one here, I found it interesting. Denmark, another state that surrendered its sovereignty in addition to Sweden and Finland. Denmark now closes the investigation into Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was very sort of— here is what it says, and I, and I quote as is in the article, of course, after being translated some. And I quote: Based on the results of the investigation, the police stated that the authorities were able to conclude that the sabotage that affected the pipeline was deliberate. At the same time, they consider it that there was no necessary basis for continuing the criminal investigation in Denmark, end of quote. Well, what does it tell you right there? It tells you that the country has been pressured to drop it. How can you conclude an investigation without reaching the, the, uh, the conclusion of who the corporate or corporates are, is, or are? That just shows you the hypocrisy of the highest order, and this none other than Scandinavian countries. I remember I went to Denmark back in the '80s, wonderful place, and now I'm seeing them digging their own graveyard. That's what they're doing, both, or three, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. So that's what I found very, very, uh, interesting. All right, let's get into our topic, guys, and I am gonna be addressing those three countries: Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Some very, very, very interesting dynamics. So, well, as I said earlier, the US and the West— of course, you don't hear much about the US, but we are doing what we're doing behind the scenes too, uh, because we're struggling for influence. And the whole collective West— when I say collective, I am referring to the countries that have colonized and exploited Africa. I'll start with Belgium, I'll start with Germany, France, Portugal back then, just the recent one. The US, we were there just differently. Of course we had to manipulate, as we doing right now in none other than Kenya. We are maneuvering the government in Kenya to push the direction that we want to. So, but, uh, this is what I'm saying, the struggle for influence in West Africa. Well, because anytime you think about Africa, what do you think about? Natural resources and manpower. Africa has one of the youngest generations in the world as far as population. So when you think about those, uh, countries geographically, and of course I'll share with you I'm gonna get into, uh, the geography. How about if we do this first? Let's just get into the geography first, then we'll move into an analysis, because I always like to do this one first for you to see, to have an idea as to where, uh, where the locations we're looking at. And I'll share some pictures with you guys. All right, here is the screen. I'm gonna— let me remove this one here, and I'm gonna share it with you. Excuse me. So you can see, and by the way, I give credit to, uh, World Atlas for this one here. Let me make this bigger. There we go. Let me close this stuff here. So what you're looking at, you're looking at the Sahel region. Now the whole Sahel, when you look at it on the map from the west to the east You're looking at about— literally, it passes through 10 countries, 10, and it begins on the Atlantic coast of Senegal and Mauritania and passes east through the central parts of Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan into the northwestern Eritrea, yeah, and ending at Eritrea's Red Sea coast. Part of the Sahel also reaches into the extreme northern parts of Burkina Faso and Nigeria and the extreme south of Algeria. This is why— FYI, guys— this is why Algeria mentioned back then that they will be happy— not happy, I'm sorry, not happy— they will be ready to support Burkina Faso Niger and all that stuff. It's because the borders. So Nigeria is the most populous in the Sahelian countries with a population of more than 212 million, which also makes it the most populous country in all of Africa, though only a minority portion of that population lies in the Sahelian zone. In fact, most of the Sahel is sparsely populated. There are, however, few large cities that are situated in the Sahel, including Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott, the Nigerian capital, Niamey, the Chadian capital, Jamena, the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and the Eritrean capital, Asmara. This is what's interesting. And if you look at it, uh, for us, for our conversation, we're only going to be focusing on the three countries Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. So because as I mentioned earlier, and you guys were right in your answer, Mauritania and Chad, uh, are not included into all this. Now, understanding geography, of course you have to understand also the history of it. And I'm not going to dig too deep, too much. Let me share some pictures first because I need you to see some stuff here. It is like the open area in, uh, in, uh, in Africa. There's a saying that, guys, I, I don't know whether you believe it or not, whether life started in Africa. That is, that is the saying, uh, for all this one here. Those are the camels, uh, of course this is part of the Tuareg. Tuareg, if you all remember, they used to to be the, uh, all the tensions that took place in Africa, especially with the genocide back then in, uh, what country, back in 1991, the Hutu and Tutsi. And of course, most of the Western world were just watching in from the sideline because they didn't want to intervene. I remember at that time was President Clinton back then, so, so the US decided not not to do anything about it. All right, let me go back to the map here because I'm going to be talking about a little bit of history here just for you to understand. So the, the history of external colonization of Africa, this one can date back to ancient, literally from ancient, from ancient through medieval all the way to modern history, depending on how the term colonization is defined. Because that means you have to look at the ancient history, you have to look at the medieval history, and you have to look at the modern history. And colonization has been part of that history. If, if I am to go back to ancient history, I'm going to look at ancient Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Malays, all established colonies on the African continent, and some of which endured centuries In popular parlance, discussions of colonialism in Africa usually focuses on the European conquest of the neo-imperialism and the Scramble for Africa era. And this one, of course, this era was followed by the gradual decolonization after World War II. Now, the colonial experience, of course, as I said, it goes way back to 1400 when the Europeans arrived and set up trading posts in Africa. It reached a peak in the late 1800s and early 1900s when European powers dominated many parts of the continent. And, and, and this is why it is fair to say that, uh, uh, the, the colonialism in Africa created nations and shaped their political political, economic, and cultural development. And this is why when you think about, uh, the geography and you add the history to it, you're gonna notice something— that geographically close countries united by common challenges and linked by the bonds of religion, culture, and history, and of course ruled by military personnel who came to power through military coups. And this is where the whole era evolves as to where it is today. And this is why I believe, guys, it's very, very important to understand this link between the history and geography. And again, I'm just providing a basic here. I didn't delve deeper into this because we need more time for that one. One thing I need you to understand is that historically speaking especially with the European colonialism. And of course, when you look at— there are some disturbing images. I, I decided not to put them here because last time, by the way, YouTube decided— they sent me an email, well, Dr. Oualaalou, we're gonna demonetize this video because those— you can't put those images. Whatever. So I had to cut that out. And anyway, this has to go back to Belgium, has to go back to Germany, because remember Even Germany's history in, in Africa ain't pretty. Uh, you have to go to France, uh, the Dutch to a degree, Portugal, Spaniard weren't a lot to my knowledge. But, uh, this is part of where that importance of understanding why those countries in the region share their, their not only geography and culture and religion and history and so forth, but also the political setting for all this. And this is why you started to see the Europeans throughout the years and decades The Europeans cooperating with their puppets, if I may use the term, that they, they Europeans end up the one appointing those puppets to serve, uh, the Europeans. This is what the ECOWAS— you remember the Economic Cooperation for Western Africa, whatever— that, that threatened to, to invade Niger and all that. It was nothing but hypes because the head of the ECOWAS was be— was acting on behalf of France. This is where the problem is. So now when you look at those three leaders here, now doesn't matter, it's your opinion whether you agree how they came to power or not, that's beside the point. I am not here to judge them. I am here to judge them based on what they're going to do for their nations. Now I already have a question, have a concern, and the concern I have is that Are those now that conducted the coup, are they going to stay in power forever till, till they die? Because if it is, then it's no different than what it was before. Or are they going to set a path, okay, then turn it over to people and people will decide to choose whomever they want? That's to me the way I see it. Because there was— if you look at history, I remember one day I worked with someone from Sudan And he told me about— he used to be a general, I forgot the name, I'm sorry, I wish I would have remembered. Back then he conducted a coup, okay, became the head of the country. And you know what he did? He turned over power. The reason he took the coup, he conducted the coup, is to settle the dust because the corrupted government. Once he became the ruler, he didn't want to stay. He turned it over. To people to decide for whomever they want. Now, will, will these three individuals do it? I don't know. I, I— it's too early for me to say anything about this right now. But that is one of the questions that came to mind, uh, because you're looking— by the way, from the right to the left, you're looking at, uh, Abdurrahman Tiani as the one on the right, Brahim Traoré in the middle, And the one on the left is Assimi Goita. So this is where I am saying how they're going to move. But for now, we're going to focus on the idea of what does it mean, what this alliance means. What it means a lot, because this new alliance which created again by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, which was created in September 2023. Now This one came, of course, in tensions with France. Because why? For example, Burkina Faso asked France to get out. And I did see, by the way, today— and I have a picture for you— today is the official— this is the handing over of the flag of Burkina Faso to its people. This is, uh, this is the the flag-lowering ceremony and evacuation of French troops from Burkina Faso. No. And the second picture I'm going to share with you is right here. Those are French troops, the last group of French soldiers to board a military plane to leave Niger forever. Yeah. That's what it is. This is why I'm saying we have to take this within the context of how this dynamics is going to be, because remember, France had a strong presence in the region after granting its independence to about 6 decades ago to some countries. This is why you're seeing now everybody said, we done with France, we don't want France anymore, especially when it comes down to those 3 countries: Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. But mainly Burkina Faso. Why is that? Because Burkina Faso has one particular natural resources. Can anybody type in what that natural resources is that France, by the way, depends greatly on? If anybody can type in what that natural resources is. Very, very, very crucial. Very crucial. And of course The, uh, Oranda, that's correct. Hamad City, Oranda, I forgot that one earlier. Uh, one particular, uh, you got, uh, uh, Ramplus01, you said gold, that is correct, gold, but there is none. Oh, John, John Smith from New Zealand, uranium, YT, uranium, you guys got it, you got it. Uh, gold, of course, you can't ignore gold, you know why? Because France is considered the first gold holder, the largest holder in the world, the fourth. Well, wait a minute, how did France— France doesn't have gold mines in France, so where did they get that from? Burkina Faso, of course. But I'm talking about uranium, because most of the power plant, nuclear power plants in France are operating based on uranium from, uh, Burkina Faso. And this is why Burkina Faso made the decision, no more shipments of uranium to France. Why? Because France was getting it and giving them pittance for it, selling it at about $120 a kilo when they're giving Burkina Faso about literally $10 or something like that, some of the numbers that I read earlier. So this is one of the key as to why it's gonna be now the dynamics changing. It's because those countries now They are almost— because they becoming independent. This is how you have to look at it. It's new independence. So of course many in the West will disagree as to how those individuals came to power, but on the other hand, you see, the counterargument to that is that the puppet governments that were there were serving the, the, the imperialists. Not the people. Because here is the logical question I'm going to ask you: how come Africa is so rich in natural resources and yet its people are poor? How come Latin America is so rich in, in, in natural resources also and its people are poor? How come in Southeast Asia they do have some natural resources there and the population is not well-to-do? Not, not everybody, of course, So these are legitimate questions to ask. So, and what I found, uh, very interesting is that, uh, the, uh, these military rulers— there's three, let me put the picture again right there— there's three here because they coordinated their policies. Now, now they intersect on the idea, they all now connected over one particular idea And that idea is of liberation, la libération, for those who speak French. So of course, liberation and disengagement from France. Well, France, because France has footprints in other colonials, but not as much, because you can't forget the Dutch, you can't forget the Germans, you can't forget what the Belgians did. So, okay. And those military rulers now decided on the need to write a new independence for their countries with— because they are noticing, are seeing their countries being colonized on, on, on different fronts: economically, linguistically, and culturally. So, so here is one thing I'm going to share with you, a quote from Ibrahim, or Ibrahim Traoré. During his speech marking the independence anniversary. He said, and I quote, it is, it is not time to celebrate. Our independence is not complete because our territory is occupied and our economy is faltering. End of quote. Yeah, that's spot on, because to me It highlights the idea of they wanted to move on, get rid of France. France to get out. But here is the key that I found very interesting. The one that I found very interesting is that no word is— no, no word is mentioned about the United States. Why is that? Even though we do have drone base in that part of the world. Actually, he was in Niger. I used to travel to Djibouti. I was in Ivory Coast. I'm very familiar with our presence there. So how come those leaders are not saying a word? And the question, because could it be that they made a deal with the United States, or the United States threw France under the bus? Because what just happened last week, there were some attacks inside Burkina Faso. Makes you wonder who activated those entities inside Burkina Faso, because that was the whole reason for why that presence of France and the United States— to fight terrorism. See what I'm getting at? This is what you need to understand as to why is it important that those individuals are issuing, uh, these military rulers are issuing the statements in this manner with the kind of wording. So the same thing applied to Mali. So the idea of the revolutionary coups originated because that's where it started, uh, to begin with, you know, declared that the new constitution will be crucial to the country's reestablishment of, uh, uh, uh, reestablishment and independence. And one thing now, one thing they are doing culturally is that now the countries where, uh, uh, uh, la langue française, the French language, is spoken, they are getting rid of it. In the case of Mali, they are now passing in their constitution that French was no longer the official language of the country. The same thing Algeria is doing, the same thing Morocco is moving into now by including English instead of French language. So, and this is where you see where the country is, because it happened when three of them, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger signed the pact to create collective framework for cooperation And guess what, guys? Mutual defense. I found this very interesting. Why? If defense is included, that means what? Someone will have to provide them with two things: weapons and training. Well, of course they are not going to allow the United States to do that, because if you do that, then what's the point? So becomes, who's the key player that's gonna now fill in the vacuum? Which country do you think? If you can type in that in chat box, guys, because to me, the moment you enter into the military defense alliance, there's a lot involved into that. But if you are fighting and pushing the Western to be out, who's going to be your source for both weapons and training? Let me see what you guys put in. What country did you guys put in? Oh, T, I want to say thank you so much for your Super Sticker. It's Niger, not Burkina Faso. Thank you so much, appreciate it. By the way, guys, I know sometimes when I do interviews, some of you put Super Stickers. It just— it's very hard to, uh, uh, uh, sort of interrupt the guest. That's why I wait till the end. I don't mean to ignore it, it's just that's protocol. You know how it is when I do, when I do live by myself. Yeah, I can, when I see a Super Sticker like this, I'm gonna give a shout out to, uh, whomever, uh, decided to put the Super Sticker. So thank you so much, Tarika, really appreciate it. All right, let me see which country did you guys put in. Oh, Jane. Oh, Jane Wong, you got that right. You, Alam, you got that right. Uh, uh, Bola, you got that right. And that is correct, guys, because that becomes the question is why. It's very important to understand this one. It's because if you are to think about the presence of the Wagner Group What it was, the Wagner Group that has helped some of those countries to really fight back. Because remember, certain entities in Africa are managed by Western governments, the same thing we're doing in some other parts of the world. So, and this is where you're gonna be— I saw this one here, I found this one, by the way. I didn't create this one, so I don't take credit for something that I didn't It was on YouTube here, and I, I found it very interesting, the dynamics of— very, very, very interesting dynamics for this. Pictures is worth a thousand words. So, so, so you're absolutely correct, it is Russia, but Russia from the military aspect, China from the economic aspect. And this is why it is my belief that when ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, was threatening invasions and all that stuff, they weren't going to do it because the Russians were supposed to help behind closed doors, or behind the scenes, that is, to help those countries. This is the reason why. As a matter of fact, I just find out that now, uh, Russia is gonna give grain to some African countries for about 3 months for free. And Russia already forgave about $20 billion in debt to some African countries. So, and this is why, uh, because when ECOWAS was, uh, talking or, or, or shouting so loud, it was nothing but on behalf of the European colonialism. You know, shame on them that the head of the ECOWAS was from Nigeria. Come on, man, you know, you are pushing your people under the bus for— in order to, to serve your master. That's, uh— I'm sorry, I can't take this call. Somebody will have to wait. Uh, and this is where I see, uh, the, the idea of why, uh, the absence now of France is creating a problem. Well, it is creating, creating a problem because France now is saying Well, wait a minute, we can come in with a new approach to that. No, it's because the vacuum is already there. And many— and I agree with those observers of African affairs— is that Russia now is going to fill. It's not seeking. Some articles are— I read some that is saying, oh, Russia is seeking to— Russia is not seeking. Uh, where is my picture? Okay, uh, you guys can hear me, but let me put the picture back here. There's one thing about— here we go. You know, when I get a call, sometimes interfere with this. So this is when the, the article saying, oh, Russia is seeking— no, no, no, Russia is already there. China is already there. Even for us, when Secretary of State went over there, Secretary of Treasury went over there, That airport she landed, or he landed on, who built that? That highway they drove on, who built that? So the same thing, Russia is already there. What Russia is going to do now is expand its presence with those countries and provide training and weapons. Even North Korea, I found out they might even be interested in supporting those three countries. Militarily. And we all know what North Korea has. So, so when they say, well, the Russia is seeking to fill a vacuum— no, it is already there. Or of course, the vacuum is being created by the, the France's departure, but they don't want France anymore. So that leaves the door open for the two other major powers, which are— what are they? The other two? Let me see what you guys type in, because you got to keep up with those. This is what the, uh, the geopolitical chess board— that's how it works. That is how it works. What are the two other countries, the major one? No, no, no, beside Russia. Lie and shit. Beside, beside Russia, guys. Beside Russia. Beside Russia. You guys get Francis Tango, you only get one right. The two major, major powers in the world. Yes, John Smithens, New Zealand. US and China. This is why the rivalry in Africa. That's what I talked about few years ago, about Africa is going to become the new ring where the geopolitical ring— that is where the competition is going to be fierce between the three major countries— Russia, China, and the United States— but mainly now between China and the US, because Russia is already filling the vacuum from a security aspect. This is why it's very, very important to understand that. Uh, let me say thank you to Caramel Crush. Good to see you, by the way, and thank you so much for your Super Sticker. You wrote, ECOWAS acted shamefully Uh, covertly, but this situation shined light on them all. You are absolutely correct. It's because who is in the right mind will be thinking that an ECOWAS that's supposed to work on behalf of Africa is working against Africans? Yeah, shame on them. I— the moment I heard that, I knew. Actually, I knew about ECOWAS, why it was created to begin with. Not to serve Africans but to serve the masters. So thank you so much for your super sticker, truly appreciate it. And this is where it becomes the idea of how both the United States and China is going to now be competing in Africa. Of course, Russia, as I mentioned, it's, it's affaire accomplie for Russia, but for the US and China's presence now is going to become very, very tense behind the scenes, geopolitically speaking here, especially because remember the US has a base in Niger, and not a small one by the way, a large base. And this takes me back to my point earlier, uh, let me share the picture of the map because you need to see where that is. It's very important to, uh, always, guys, when it comes down to geopolitics, uh, the geography of it plays a role into all this. Because without that, not things will not make sense to you, but it will be like missing, missing that elements of understanding. Oh, is this why? Yeah, when you look at here, and I'm pointing at Microsoft to the left, to one particular country there, which is Mauritania. Okay, that is the key for that. So, so now what you have is, as an analyst, I will be thinking about it in terms of, uh, uh, those countries will be thinking, okay, do we join Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger? Or we stay out. Well, of course they don't have a choice because first of all, the three other countries— Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger— will not trust Mauritania and Chad. Why? Because France influence is very deep in those two countries. So this is why some analyst, and I concur with them, uh, and, and I'm one of those that I said I don't see both countries Mauritania and Chad joining this alliance. Yeah, I just don't see that, that because France will be, uh, uh, pressing those countries very, very hard. Because remember, the head of Mauritania, President Mohamed Ould Ghazoumi, or Ghazoumi, uh, he's kind of was got in power because of France. Yeah, and he's the one who's been stressing to the media that, well, we need to strengthen our relations with France. So why will the three countries— Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger— join forces with him? No, you, you can't trust the guy. No. So, and this is what I said earlier, that now for those countries, they're gonna have to think in terms of, uh, what is going to be now. Well, what France is going to be doing France is already now, as I mentioned, facing this growing wave. Yeah, I'll use the term growing wave of rejection. Why? Because they've been exploiting Africa to the max. All the nuclear power plants— and I have family in France, and I used to go a lot to France, every— almost every 8 months or whatever, if I'm traveling through, especially when I was in Washington. I used to fly through Europe and I'll have a layover and just go visit the family quickly and keep going. Uh, most of the nuclear power plants in France, all that uranium is coming from Africa, majority of it. So this is why now all the countries where French language is spoken, they are rejecting— they don't want France anymore. So, and, and the problem for, for France now is going to have to adapt to this new reality of being rejected. This is why I believe the United States stayed quiet, pushing France under the bus or throwing France under the bus, and we, for us, maintain our presence in Niger, which to me is problematic for the Niger leadership. If they are to say Western colonialism, how come you are allowing the US? You could have asked the US to say, hey, pack your stuff please and leave. But we already seen what's going on in Burkina Faso now, that there are terrorism, uh, attacks there and so forth by groups. And how those groups came to be, I'll let you think. So, and this is where that idea of, uh, uh, French now— because it was an article 3 days ago and I found the link, by the way, and I'll share it with you guys. Uh, there is a newspaper in France called La Libération, Liberation, La Libération. Uh, they started their article by arguing that the France, especially the unions, because France is in a bad shape right now economically speaking, the whole Europe for that matter. You all see what's going on with the farmers So, so what they are doing is that they are pressuring Emmanuel Macron, French president, to sort of do something about having access to African raw material. So what the French president end up doing, Emmanuel Macron, he announced that he wanted to sort of reorganize or restart the relationship, uh, uh, with African countries given the turmoil. And once he also wanted to take into account this— and I put this in quote— profound transformation that's taking place, because as I said earlier, France is facing massive rejection throughout the continent, okay? And all this, if you know anything about, uh, Operation Barkhane, you know, Operation Barkhane, in which France were involved, uh, pertaining to the war on terror and so forth, those groups are the one being established by the Western governments. Let's just say it straightforward. What France end up doing right now is also taking advantage of international law. This is what's, what's, what's disturbing. So during a speech by the French president Emmanuel Macron, what did he say? He, he sought now to promote what is called a new model. Listen carefully, guys, I put this in quote: new model of military partnership that could transform our security presence into partnership. Well, wait a minute, to me that's hypocrisy at the highest order. You've been exploiting Africa, taking its resources, giving them a pittance for what they, what they rightly own, and now you want to go into partnership? That just doesn't make sense. And what Macron is saying is that, and I quote here, saying that tomorrow our presence will be within bases, schools, and academias that will be jointly managed at lower levels with African personnel who are also able to engage other partners if they wish and on their terms. And of quote. There is a lot to unpack there. So basically what President Macron is saying is, please guys, don't kick me out. I still want to have access to your natural resources. I still want to have access to your gold, to your uranium, to your oil, to use in our French currency, because you have to pay taxes to the French authorities in at the BNP, La Banque Nationale de Paris. That's basically what Emmanuel Macron is saying, just in a subtle way. Which all this, by the way, all this, because there is no other way of saying it, all this, by the way, it's an exploitation of international law. So how can you say you stand for international law, you stand for the rule of law, and yet you are doing the opposite. But again, the big picture you have to think about it is in terms of why no word is mentioned about the US, which you and I know our hands in everywhere. I mean, I look at it now, even in Panama. I'm gonna be doing a video for you. I'm gonna dig into some information regarding why all of a sudden the United States is is zooming now at what China is doing regarding the Panama Canal. Because we sold, uh, we sold the canal back to Panama, right? Well, now there's a conversation in Washington, especially with the, uh, the candidate Trump, that if he wins the election, he's gonna challenge China about Panama. Well, hold on a second, man. You know, you, you, you are the one depending on China, not the other way around. Yeah, China has access to American market. China will not ignore the American market because it's big. But at the same time, China can shut the door and it'll be over for us. So that's the same argument I'm making. France now is saying, well, we can change the wording. No, because you can't be trusted. The collective West cannot be trusted anymore. No more credibility, no more trust you can enter into a business transaction with, unless you know, unless on an individual basis. But governments, no. But again, as a geopolitical analyst, the key that I focus on is why the United States is not mentioned in all this. And that, to me, as one who works in DC, I'm familiar with how our government operates. There are only two options: either a deal was made between those entities and the US government, or those governments decided to leave the US alone. It can do whatever, even though in their territories, but on a limited basis, which I don't go more— I, I, I don't go with the, the, the latter. I go with the former. So this is where I see those dynamics. Moving forward when it comes down to why, why all of a sudden we are looking at France wanted to sort of change, uh, yeah, as, as they say, uh, you can't change horses in the middle of the race. Yeah, and that just doesn't work that way. It won't work. France and Western Colonialism era in Africa is over. So Africa now, it has to sort of embark on its journey, a new one, that is. That's what they're going to be— that's what they're going to have to do. So because Africa is an economic zone, so I look at it just with the example, and I remember this one when I was in college way back I remember one professor was mentioning that you have to think always in— and he was right— you always have to think about Africa in terms of opportunities, economics, but opportunities not just for you but for the locals as well. And the example was that if you, let's say hypothetically, you are in the business of shoes, for example, and you go to Africa and you say to yourself, because in Africa they wear special type shoes and there's no— who cares for that, right? To you, you might say, wow, there is no opportunity here for the shoe business. Okay, someone else will say, oh my gosh, there is a huge opportunity here when it comes down to shoe business. That's my— it's just an example. So because Africa is an economic zone, very rich in natural resources, vibrant population, youth that is. Of course, it is marred by corruption, and this is once again is going to take me to my original point. Will those three individuals that now taking the lead, will they remain in power till the rest of their lives, or will they set their country on a right path and turn it over to people to decide whatever they want. And I can't answer this at this point. So, all right guys, uh, let me see if you have any questions. Once again, I wanted to highlight to you, for those who wants to support the channel, I am very grateful to you, uh, regarding the, uh, here's the link to both channel, the channel, uh, the, the top link is if you want to support the channel. The second one is for my Asia trip. Uh, you know, I so far I think we are about $1,600. Uh, I looked at the cost for it's about $8,000. Uh, I'm not saying I would not make it because if I don't, I will let you know ahead of time. Then we'll decide I'll be happy to send this money back, whatever. So you guys, we'll, we'll talk about all this as we move. I am in the process now for reaching out to some countries regarding their requirements, their visa stuff. There's a process into all this. We'll see how it is. But as far as supporting the channel, if you want to support the channel, I'm very grateful to you for that. Remember, the type of information that I bring to you, the content, it's not something I just talk on the top of my head. Uh, like for example, one time someone put a comment, uh, someone put a comment saying, uh, oh, this is a free university, free tuition, and all that stuff. And I didn't like it, I'll be honest, I didn't, because I had to answer the guy back politely and say, what, this free university and this free tuition? Someone else is supporting the channel. What are you doing? And he went ahead and answered back. And I did say in my comment to him or her, and I said, well, at least give, give, give thanks to the people at least who are supporting the channel. And he did write, and I'm gonna share this with you because I need you to see it with your own eyes. Uh, I'm sure he meant well, but for me it didn't settle well. And I kind of like, no, no, no, no, no, it doesn't work that way. Let me share the screen with you here if I can get to it. I don't know where it is. Okay, geopolitical. All right, well, you guys won't be able to see it. Yeah, because it's in my— in Stop sharing here. Let me see if I can get to it again. Inbox, inbox, inbox. Right there. Yeah, yeah, I'm able to share it with you guys. It's right there, and I'm going to read it to you. You might not be able to see that clear. Uh, it says, and I quote here, uh, so true, sir. My thanks and appreciation go up to every one of those who support this channel. Guys, I am living in a country, Liberia, Upper Namibia, uh, County, where we don't have access to ATM and many electronic payment systems. Few in Monrovia, the capital. So, so I can understand. I just needed to respond to the guy that There are those who are supporting the channel, uh, on a regular basis, and I am very grateful to you guys for, for all that. So, uh, also there is, uh, beside this one, I also have PayPal. And, uh, I need to give thanks to someone who just, uh, sent, uh, by the name Jean Deer. Thank you so much for your, uh, PayPal support, which was greatly appreciate it. So I'm very, very grateful to Jean there. Also, I thank all the other individuals who bought me coffee and those who bought me tea. The tea one is in support of, of, uh, of the Asia trip. So I'm very, very grateful to you guys. All right, let me answer. By the way, I did look at the, uh, uh, the question that I asked you, uh, for the community regarding where do you— when do you want to do the community conversation on Friday or Saturday. Majority of you, uh, wanted it on Saturday, uh, at, uh, probably around, uh, 12, uh, uh, Eastern Standard Time. So I'm gonna change the date from Friday. Uh, Friday I'm gonna keep it for interviews, and when we do the community, which we do once— yeah, 52% saying Saturday, 48% saying on Friday. So I'm gonna wait till tomorrow and make a decision on this, but I just wanted to let you know. All right, let me see if there's any question here. I'll answer one or two, and, uh, of course I will answer your questions during the community, but not geopolitics. So this is what we're gonna do. All right, let me scroll all the way up and, and go down. Just put Q if, uh, Uh, so I know it's a question. So, uh, Joseph Ray— good, Roy, good to see you here, man. Truly appreciate you being here. Francis Tango, as always. Ma Julie, good to see you as always. All right, let me see, uh, if there is a question here. And, uh, computer sometimes slow— slows down. I don't know why, but okay. France, Franny, good to see you as always. Okay, let me see. David King, good to see you. Uh, Blu-ray, good to see you as always. Ah, no, no. No, I can't. That's the problem with this. Anytime this goes through, it interferes with the— okay, let me get it back here, guys. There we go. Uh, Aziz, good to see you as always. Maria, and good afternoon to you as well. All right guys, I don't see any questions, guys. So maybe it's, uh, maybe I missed some, whatever, but I'm scrolling all the way down here, uh, uh Okay, well, anyway, we can do it next time. Oh, uh, Joseph Roy, thank you so much for your super sticker, man. Truly, truly appreciate it. You wrote, thanks for the truth. You're most welcome. It matters. It really matters. I mean, to me, you guys know this by now, I am not here to just fill in time here. I, I, I, I have a lot of stuff I can do. But I found, I found a calling to this because it becomes a responsibility. So, so you're most welcome, and, and I'm very grateful to you. Appreciate it, Joseph. All right, question. My— I take one question here because that's the only show up here. Question: is US building military bases in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana? I heard this, this from someone. Not to my knowledge. The last time I was in Ghana, it was in Ivory Coast. I'm sorry, not Ghana. Ivory Coast, and of course in Djibouti. Uh, I am not aware of those, uh, but if it is, it will be just a forward base known as FOB. It will be on a small level, but the one in Niger is, is a little bit on a larger scale. So this is why I'm again wondering why there is no word being mentioned about the US, and that is by design. So anyway, guys, I hope, uh, you find this very informative. And I look forward to seeing you either on Friday or on Saturday for a live, uh, uh, uh, free, free conversation. That's just community conversation. I'll be happy to answer some questions but not pertaining to geopolitics, and we just, uh, we just go from there. As always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life in more ways than one. Thank you guys, see you, bye-bye.