The Myth of Africans Flooding Japan
I woke up to messages asking if Japan has shut the door to Africans or if Africans are about to flood Japan. Both claims are false. What is true is simpler and more revealing. A small cultural program became a lightning rod for fear, and that fear exposed old prejudices that many would rather ignore. Three Japanese cities sit at...
Africa’s Human Resource is the World’s Greatest Resource
In the corridors of power across the globe, a silent revolution is brewing—one that is reshaping the very fabric of societies. The West, Japan, and China find themselves at the precipice of a population crisis, a demographic dilemma that threatens to erode the foundations of their economies and societies. This crisis, characterized by declining birth rates and an aging...
Ibrahim Traoré – The Soldier Who Fought Using His Mind
April 30 2011. The lyrics of Tiken Jah Fakoly’s reggae song ‘Quitte le pouvoir’ reverberated through Ibrahim Traoré, each word a sharp reminder of the mounting tension in his country. He was only 23, his military boots still fresh from the dust of training, with just two years of service under his belt. But, like every Burkinabè, he could...
Traoré’s Introduction to Marxist Ideology
While at university, Traoré became active in student politics, aligning with the Marxist Association Nationale des Étudiants du Burkina (ANEB), a group deeply committed to defending the rights of students and, by extension, the nation’s oppressed masses. His introduction to Marxist ideology during this period profoundly shaped his worldview. He embraced Marxism’s critique of class struggle and inequality, recognizing the...
How the UN’s Blue Helmet Impacted Ibrahim Traoré
On 23rd August 2015, when Traoré was 27 years old, jihadists struck Burkina Faso, marking a turning point for the young soldier. He was still a junior ranking officer and hadn’t yet been deployed to the international front lines. But the attack brought the jihadist threat directly to his doorstep. The insurgency was growing, and Traoré, stationed in northern...
A Priceless Lesson from Congo’s Failed Coup
On Sunday, May 19, 2024, in the early hours, a group of armed men led by Congolese politician Christian Malanga made three Facebook Live videos (only one remains on his page) from inside the Palais de la Nation (President's office) In the first video, Malanga expressed that he and other soldiers are disillusioned with the current state of affairs, citing...
Traoré’s Blue Helmets Experience
The following year, 2018, proved to be a pivotal year for Traore. He was promoted to Captain and thrust into a complex and volatile situation when he joined the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (French: Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali, MINUSMA) This deployment marked a crucial chapter in his military career,...
How Lab-Grown Stones Are Rewriting the Rules
They told us diamonds are forever, but the story is changing fast. The sparkle that once came only from deep African mines is now being born in humming laboratories. This is not just a shift in fashion. It is a tectonic change in power. Whoever controls the diamonds, controls the narrative. And right now, Africa is standing at a...
The power of ‘leaderless’ movements
Bobi Wine! Julius Malema! Inspirational figures, no doubt. But here's a crazy thought: what if they rendered themselves irrelevant by mentoring and elevating multiple leaders in their movements? This would ensure that they stop being the singular figureheads and sole leaders of those movements. Hear me out. Enduring, impactful movements must transcend individual personas. Such an approach to governance...
Why the British Built the Kenya Uganda Railway
I can still hear the echo of the hammer on steel, the hiss of steam engines cutting through the tropical silence, the ghosts of a railway that changed East Africa forever. The Uganda Railway was not just a transport project. It was Britain’s iron artery, laid across East Africa to pump wealth out of the land and feed the...
