1. Sekou Toure
Imagine a tropical paradise stretching 95,000 miles along West Africa’s coast. This is Guinea, a land shimmering with diamonds, iron ore, and untold riches like uranium and bauxite. Yet, for its five million inhabitants, paradise seems a cruel joke. Their pockets jingle with a mere $140 a year, a pittance compared to the country’s gleaming potential. Life expectancy? A tragically short 41 years. Literacy? A meagre 10%. Guinea, a land of stark contrasts, where dazzling wealth rubs shoulders with desperate poverty, a place where dreams seem to curdle and die under the sun.
The 60-year-old Guinean revolutionary’s disenchantment with Soviet economic policies involving this mineral-rich country and his desire to promote economic development by attracting western capital after almost 25 years of failing socialist development theories.
Guinea’s foreign policy shift coincides with Toure’s emergence as a West African regional statesman. It is a role the formerly mercurial and iconoclastic leader could have hardly been expected to play in past years, when he regularly broadcast attacks on conservatives such as Ivory Coast leader Felix Houphouet-Boigny and former Senegalese president Leopold Senghor.
Toure signaled the beginning of the change in 1975 when for the first time in 13 years he traveled outside the country to serve as part of a special mediation commission on the Mali-Upper Volta border dispute. Also during this period Toure ended the Soviets’ basing here of reconnaissance aircraft, which were flying over the South Atlantic region. A senior western diplomat credits the change to Toure’s newfound security from external and internal efforts to overthrow him, thus lessening his dependence on the Soviets for support.
Relations between Guinea and the Soviet Union have become “acrid” over a series of differences, a western diplomatic source said. Among the disputes are what the Guineans believe is Soviet use of fine-weave nets to overfish Guinea’s territorial waters in violation of an agreement on fishing. They also are known to object to the Soviets demand for increasing amounts of Guinea’s scarce foreign currency to pay for the leftover fish they supply to Conakry and the Soviet practice of taking all the income from the Soviet-run bauxite mine at Kindia to pay Guinea’s half-billion dollar debt for military hardware.
Toure, upset by the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, is said to refer to the Soviets as “colonists” and “imperialists,” labels he once reserved for France and the United States.
Western observers here say they believe the Soviets have lost Guinean support in Africa-wide and nonaligned nations forums. Their credibility on being ready and able to help the development of such countries as Guinea, which the World Bank lists as one of the 28 poorest countries in the world, has been badly damaged, said a senior western diplomat.
A senior U.S. foreign policy official said the Soviets have recently been pushing the Guineans to allow a return of the airplane reconnaissance flights and the use of Conakry as a naval warship base but “have been turned down.”
The Guineans “feel victimized by the Soviets” in the two countries’ economic relations, another western source said.
In an hour-long interview, Toure did not respond to any of several foreign policy questions that had been submitted–as required–several days in advance. Soviet Embassy Press Attache Agzanov Akhat said, however, that “the relations between Guinea and the Soviet Union are very good and will continue to be good in the domains of economic, cultural and political relations.”
Despite the souring of relations with the Soviets and the more conciliatory policy toward the West, Toure has yet to fully warm up to the former colonial power, France.
Relations with the United States, however, have improved significantly since 1976 when it became clear that Toure “meant to follow real nonalignment” and drop his unqualified support of the Soviet Union, said a senior U.S. foreign policy official.
The change in foreign policy also is evident closer to home. After years of acrimonious name calling and mutual accusations of nefarious intentions over West Africa’s radio waves, Senegal’s Senghor, the Ivory Coast’s Houphouet-Boigny and Toure finally patched up their differences in 1978 under the peace-making auspices of the late Liberian president William Tolbert. Toure has maintained his close ties with Senghor’s successor, Abdou Diouf.
Review the speech below:
He confessed to having fathered 50 children.
https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/guinea-mining-and-minerals
2. Leopold Senghor
He was opposed to small, weak nations
By the mid-1950’s, the French Parliament had embarked on a policy aimed at giving a large measure of self-government to the African colonies. Mr. Senghor opposed the policy, believing that it would result in a proliferation of small, weak nations.
Instead, Mr. Senghor favored a federal unity between French Equatorial Africa and the French colonies of West Africa. Later, he successfully appealed to President Charles de Gaulle of France for independence, and Senegal became a republic in 1960. Mr. Senghor was elected its first president.
Against this background, a group of well-intentioned French politicians and civil servants, in cooperation with a number of “enlightened” African leaders who were friendly toward France, such as Senghor and Houphouët-Boigny, conceived a plan to create a modern Africa within the colonial system. They envisaged decolonization taking place through integration of the colonies into some kind of federation with France, rather than through the granting of political independence.4
3. Mali Federation
The Mali Federation was a federation in West Africa linking the French colonies of Senegal and the Sudanese Republic (or French Sudan) for two months in 1960.[2] It was founded on 4 April 1959 as a territory with self-rule within the French Community and became independent after negotiations with France on 20 June 1960. Two months later, on 19 August 1960, the Sudanese Republic leaders in the Mali Federation mobilized the army, and Senegal leaders in the federation retaliated by mobilizing the gendarmerie; this resulted in a tense stand-off, and led to the withdrawal from the federation by Senegal the next day. The Sudanese Republic officials resisted this dissolution, cut off diplomatic relations with Senegal, and defiantly changed the name of their country to Mali. For the brief existence of the Mali Federation, the premier was Modibo Keïta, who would later become the first President of Mali, and its government was based in Dakar, the eventual capital of Senegal.
4. Menelik II
The nation was forged through violent conquest in the late 19th century by Emperor Menelik II – whose empire was based on the culture of the northern highlands – and resentments from that era still smoulder.
Menelik II, Ethiopia’s late 19th-century emperor, casts a long shadow across African history. He’s hailed as a modernizer, who dragged his ancient kingdom into the 20th century, fended off colonialism, and preserved Ethiopia’s independence. But Menelik’s reign was a double-edged sword. His legacy deserves a closer look, warts and all.
Modernizing Menelik: He craved a European-style Ethiopia, complete with a modern army, infrastructure, and education system. He built a sprawling empire, ruthlessly conquering neighbors and incorporating their lands and peoples. He dragged Ethiopia into the global economy, establishing trade with Europe and even minting his own currency. His capital, Addis Ababa, sprouted telegraph lines, newspapers, and even a rudimentary railway.
Concrete Steps, Concrete Results: Menelik’s modernization wasn’t just vanity projects. His army, equipped with modern rifles and cannons, decisively defeated Italian invaders at the Battle of Adwa in 1896, a rare African victory against a European power that sent shockwaves across the continent. His education reforms laid the groundwork for a future Ethiopian elite, and his infrastructure projects, like the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway, opened up trade and communication. He introduced compulsory education. He was a heavy investor in American railroads. Stock speculation in the Paris bourse. Had a fortune of 25 million dollars. He spoke French, English and Italian fluently. Had a library of 10k books.[1]
5. Emperor Haile Selassie
TO this day the Organization of African Unity, founded at that May ‐ meeting, has no treasury except the Emperor’s. He has footed the bill, not only for meetings but also for temporary staff of some 80 persons. He will continue to do so, at least until next May, when a permanent secretariat is to be set up and a permanent site chosen. No one thinks the site can be any other than Addis Ababa.
6. Modibo Keita
Occasionally, a poetic minder would precede him to a given destination proclaiming these words, “here comes our glorious chief, lion of the jungle and dispenser of wisdom.” While this remains unverifiable, it’s a fact that he ruled for eight years before suffering an inglorious exit in a coup organized by junior military officers.
7. Abdoulaye Wade
Senegal was France’s oldest colony in black Africa.
8. Hamani Diori
Over a seven-year period spanning from 1946 to 1958, he intermittently served as an overseas deputy in the French National Assembly, even rising to the post of vice president of the Assembly in 1957. His educational background included studies in both Dahomey (now Benin) and Senegal.
By 1974, there had been 43 military takeovers in Africa.
9. Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the “Père de la Nation”, wasn’t your typical African leader. Ditching fiery rhetoric for pragmatism, he steered Ivory Coast to independence and prosperity, crafting a unique “Ivorian miracle.” But was this miracle gilded or genuine?
He ruled for 33 years from 1960 – 1993.
He became a legend overnight by securing abolition of the most despised part of colonial rule: a law giving French planters free reign to recruit workers from any village.
The Ivory Coast’s close economic and cultural ties to France were evident in the dramatic rise of the French population, which ballooned from 10,000 in 1960 to 50,000 three decades later.
And while schools rose, ethnic tensions simmered, his Baoulé base favored over others.
Houphouët-Boigny’s story is a reminder that development is a tango, not a solo act. Economic booms without political inclusivity risk leaving many feet on the sidelines. The “Père de la Nation” may have led the dance, but the Ivorian people’s steps in the years since tell a different story – one of unfinished revolutions and the enduring quest for a truly transformative leader.
10. Habib Bourguiba
He was once asked whether Libya was part of the Maghreb. He replied, “ask them if they eat couscous, if so then they are Maghrebis without a doubt!”
11. David Dacko
Fate thrust presidency in Dacko’s hands after Barthélemy Boganda, his uncle and independence leader was killed in a plane crash in 1959.
12. Agostinho Neto
As a freedom fighter, Neto’s charisma was an AK-47. His verses, whispered in trenches, became grenades against Portuguese colonialism.
He gave Angola its voice, but couldn’t quite ensure it could sing in perfect harmony.
Freedom’s torch, once ignited, can illuminate, but also burn. The path to progress, paved with good intentions, can twist into a labyrinth of unintended consequences. Neto’s legacy, etched on Angola’s soul, whispers this truth: liberation is just the first verse. The rest of the song, with its harmonies and discords, is yet to be fully sung.
13. Hassan Gouled Aptidon
Under his 22-year rule (1977-1999), skillful political maneuvering transformed Djibouti from a nascent nation to a regional linchpin. But without France’s military presence and political support, its unlikely that he would have remained in power. This fit a pattern of French military support of its former colonies. In the case of Djibouti, that support is anchored in the French Naval Base. Because Djibouti can potentially crumble without this French support, Aptidon failed.
Aptidon’s story is not one of black and white, but of shades and contradictions. He was a man who both liberated his people and limited them, who built a nation and built walls around it. His legacy, like Djibouti itself, stands at a crossroads – a testament to both the audacity of ambition and the pitfalls of unchecked power. It’s a story that demands not just applause, but a critical eye, for it is in understanding the complexities of such leaders that we truly learn the teachings of nation-building.
14. Gnassingbé Eyadéma
In 1976 Togo’s long time dictator, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, commissioned and published a fantastical comic/memoire celebrating his heroism and leadership. There is a whole genre of these comics across Africa. I find them so fascinating. I learned about this from
15. References:
https://www.adst.org/Readers/Mali.pdf
https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/people-global-african-history/sam-nujoma-1929/
Colin Chasi, Ubuntu for Warriors. Africa World Press. 2021.
Zambia and the Liberation of South Africa. Kenneth Good The Journal of Modern African Studies. Vol. 25, No. 3 (Sep., 1987), pp. 505-540 (36 pages). Published By: Cambridge University Press
Anglin, D. G. (1975). Zambia and Southern African ‘Détente’ on JSTOR. International Journal, 471. https://doi.org/40201256. Vol. 30, No. 3, Africa (Summer, 1975), pp. 471-503 (33 pages)
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS?locations=ZM
Mushingeh, C. UNREPRESENTATIVE ‘DEMOCRACY’: ONE-PARTY RULE IN ZAMBIA, 1973-1990 on JSTOR. Transafrican Journal of History, 117. https://doi.org/24520273
Floyd Shivambu. The Coming Revolution Julius Malema and the Fight for Economic Freedom (Floyd Shivambu) (Z-Library) (Kindle Locations 136-138). Kindle Edition.
https://ieakenya.or.ke/blog/the-reality-and-consequences-of-kenyas-public-debt-burden/
Histoire secrète de la chute de Bouteflika, Brahimi el mili Naoufel, 2020
France and Senegal Tony Chafer. SAIS Review (1989-2003). Vol. 23, No. 2 (Summer–Fall 2003), pp. 155-167 (13 pages). Published By: The Johns Hopkins University Press
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/94934/analysis-senegal-under-president-wade
Anticolonial Nationalism in French West Africa: What Made Guinea Unique? Elizabeth Schmidt. African Studies Review. Vol. 52, No. 2, Guinea-Bissau Today (Sep., 2009), pp. 1-34 (34 pages). Published By: Cambridge University Press
Moulton, Jeanne Marie, “Animation Rurale: Education for Rural Development” (1977). Non-Formal Education. 7.
Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cie_nonformaleducation/7
https://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/cotedivoire0803/14.htm
ONE-PARTY GOVERNMENT IN THE IVORY COAST BY ARISTIDE R. ZOLBERG. 1969
Seychelles Global Citizen: The Autobiography of the Founding President. Paragon House. James Mancham
Economic and Political Change in Tunisia From Bourguiba to Ben Ali. Emma C. Murphy
Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia. The Tragedy of Longevity. Derek Hopwood
Peanuts and Colonialism: Consequences of the Commercialization of Peanuts in West Africa, 1830-70 George E. Brooks The Journal of African History
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/01/14/89908772.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/851957-your-network-is-your-net-worth
https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/POL100011979ENGLISH.pdf
Houbert, J. (1981). Mauritius: Independence and Dependence on JSTOR. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 75. https://doi.org/160607
SPIRITS, POWER AND THE POLITICAL IMAGINATION IN LATE-COLONIAL GABON John M. Cinnamon
Djibouti: A Political History. Samson Abebe Bezabeh.
[1] https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1909/11/07/106778456.html?pageNumber=22
