I start this column with a dare say, without Africa’s riches, the global economy would be non-existent. My name is Juanita Sallah, and I am beginning a journey with you in this 10th day of January 2024.
This journey would take us across the continent of Africa. We will assess how our natural resources are managed, rediscover our people’s capabilities, re-establish why we are referenced as the foundation of all economies and what that implies for our future, as we examine patterns of movement pertaining to people, products, and services as part of this expedition.
We will also look at the goals of our allies and economic associates as well as the aspirations of our visitors, both new and current.
Africa has long been acknowledged as the second most populous and largest continent in the world, behind Asia. Nonetheless, there have been disagreements recently about the continent’s size. In 2022, some researchers started widely disseminating a long-held assertion that, the largest untruth ever claimed about Africa is that the continent is the second largest in the world.
Let me explain why mentioning this claim is relevant to my introductory article. The theories put out by these scholars appear to have gained traction among millennials and Generation Zees across the continent. A realisation that, for a while, we might have been living in denial of our own selves and harbouring a backward view of our influence on the world.
As we debate this claim which is garnering a lot of attention and passion both locally and online, we see a conscious state of mind and a thirst for knowledge suddenly starting to emerge among a wider group of young people who wouldn’t be bothered having discussions over how the continent is perceived but for their interest in the outcome of cartography.
The simple statement of contention, “Africa is bigger than how it is currently represented on the world map,” is inspired by research reported in academic publications such as Thomas J. Basset’s Indigenous Mapmaking in Intertropical Africa, where he discusses how European cartographers have largely ignored indigenous African cartography in favour of maps that show specific regions of the continent.
Some discussants of this subject matter attribute the distortion we are now debating, to the work of European cartographer Geert de Kremer, also known as Mercator, whose map projection from the 16th century, which is still used as a standard template for modern world maps, is said to have twisted the proportions of the nations.
So, this awareness of Africa’s image, along with other realisations to be covered in future sections, will direct how we take in and process information shared through these articles, as we travel this road and examine the oil fields that comprise the assets, opportunities, and people of Africa.
Alkebulan
Beyond the land size, the argument over what the continent used to be called has remained a viable source of debate over the years. The name Alkebulan, is said to predate all colonisations and foreign influences. A section of historical records purport that, the earliest Nubian and Kinetic literatures, refer to Africa by what is said to be its original name, as noted above.
According to these records of history, the name simply means “the Cradle/Mother of Mankind” or “the Garden of Eden,” and it is the oldest name of indigenous origin.
A different group of historians also argue that Alkebu-lan is of Arabic origin and it means “The Land of the Blacks.”
However, should the continent lose all control over its resources and was unable to seize and manage opportunities to achieve actual wealth, then none of these disputes—discussions over land size and indigenous names—would matter.
This column is named ‘Oil Fields of Alkebulan’, to give it a context that encompasses both the historical and present realities of the continent.
Africa, has been and still is the central economic market in the broader global context, with opportunities so vast in profitability.
Why is Africa such a crucial oil field?
We are witnessing a time in which the world’s superpowers are struggling with each other over the African continent for its people and resources. The United States of America and China are in a frontline open battle over Africa.
Who will control and influence African leaders in their policy formulation efforts? Who will be able to make the most investments, establish the most businesses, and oversee the many asset classes that Western countries are able to dominate across the continent?
Picture this, over the past year, the US has negotiated hundreds of agreements totalling $14.2 billion with African countries in an effort to counter China’s increasing influence in the region.
The coordinator of the Prosper Africa trade and business initiative, set up to link American and African companies, British Robinson, shared this information, during a virtual media briefing held to mark the first anniversary of the U.S.- Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington on December 12, 2023.
According to her, 547 new trade and investment agreements have been signed and these mark a 67% increase from 2022 in the number and value of concluded deals.
In that press briefing, I found Ms. Robinson’s honesty in admitting that America’s prosperity is “tied to” Africa, alluring.
In her words “the U.S. business and investment community are increasingly recognizing Africa’s extraordinary market potential and dynamism. The continent is home to the world’s youngest population, an asset that creates significant opportunities for viable business deals that create jobs and foster shared prosperity”.
“Africa is one of the most important and growing sources of new and innovative solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. Africa is the front line for protecting the world’s biodiversity wealth. America’s prosperity is tied to Africa’s growth. From strengthening U.S. supply chains to ensuring the long-term security of pension funds and insurance facilities for everyday Americans through higher-yielding investments”, Ms Robinson acknowledged.
Should we read the above statements carefully while looking closely, we will have a better understanding of a truth we have always been exposed to; Alkebulan, – ‘the mother of mankind’, offers a solution to the economic concerns of the leader of the free world.
This has been the continent’s reality. Africa, has been the answer for all the nations of the world for many ages past and many ages to come.
The continent is however stuck in this cycle. The West has been using Africa’s resources to advance their economies for so long they have become institutionalized as gatekeepers of assets wilfully handed over to them by the continent’s leaders, some clueless, others greedy and sell-outs.
In examining the U.S intentions as development partners, let’s take a quick look at China, a nation that has made the most significant in-roads into Africa’s markets over recent years.
China in its quest for absolute world dominance and seeing the huge opportunities on the continent is beginning to mortgage these same resources and assets to secure absolute economic power. Power they will not hesitate to use in controlling the nations of the world, when fully attained.
For the past 20 years, China managed to forge deep economic ties with countries in sub-Saharan Africa and has become the region’s largest trading partner for the past 14 years, threatening the future of the U.S. – Africa trade and investment gains.
During the October 2023 report on Chinese investment in Africa, Wang Dong, the deputy head of China’s Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Western Asia and African Affairs, revealed that the country had made over $1.8 billion in direct investments in the continent in the first half of the year, an increase of 4.4 percent year over year.
The report shared that Chinese businesses had completed infrastructure projects in Africa totalling more than $400 billion and businesses have also increased their investments in the continent by moving from more established areas like manufacturing, mining, and construction to more recent ones like digital economy, logistics, clean energy, health, green development, and finance.
These are the oil fields we are failing to manage ourselves. These are the oil fields we are handing over to the highest bidder.
As a result, America is becoming more charged and assertive in order to ensure that China does not achieve their objectives on the continent. With this resolve, at the December 15, 2022, African Leaders Summit, President Biden promised to “go all in” on the continent.
What these superpowers need is in Africa. Alkebulan is the superpower of all superpowers. This continent is the oil field of opportunities they must explore for wealth. The world economy will collapse in Africa’s absence. However, we, the African people are yet to fully grasp the intensity of this reality. We, the African people are still blinded, hidden, bound by lies, and subjugated by a barbaric past of brainwashing.
President Biden announced in May 2023 his $600 billion Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) project, with Africa serving as the project “premier economic corridor”. The PGII has disclosed that over the past year, US investments in the Lobito Corridor for transportation, internet connectivity, agriculture, and sustainable energy-related infrastructure projects have totalled over $1.5 billion. As part of this, $1.2 billion in transactions to assist PGII have also been approved by EXIM. These permits support US shipments of commercial aircraft to Ethiopia, as well as solar energy projects and the construction of bridges in Angola. The amount of EXIM that is exposed to Sub-Saharan Africa has reached an unprecedented $8 billion.
This open show of muscle and the mastery of courtship or as others will put it, the scramble for Africa by these two nations may have begun over 14 years ago but became more visible since the COVID 19 pandemic year of 2020.
You may see representations of the truth and lies that both China and the United States are using to seize these chances in the African space by reading through their reports and press briefings on the continent of Africa.
Wu Peng, the chief of China’s Foreign Ministry’s Department of African Affairs, in that October briefing stated that China has been collaborating with the continent on investment projects in order to support Africa’s industrialization. He makes no reference to shared prosperity as Ms. Robinson puts it and yet, we are aware China in 2022 raked $282 billion, in bilateral trade and saw a year-on-year increase of about 11 percent.
Wu stated that China supports Africa in grabbing opportunities in the technological revolution and boosting its smart and green growth and added that, China’s funding has helped Africa enhance its ability to pursue ‘autonomous’ development.
What does this mean specifically? How could this be explained to a seven-year-old? – China may essentially be saying, unlike America, which would want to control your life because they invest in you and pay for your expenses, the Asian country does not care how you live. China is telling you that they will pay for your costs, keep your resources for themselves, and then leave you to continue living a life devoid of meaning and dependent on others for what you already have, should you so wish.
In either of these cases, if we do not take the initiative to diligently and honourably handle and safeguard everything that is rightfully ours, Africa will ultimately be severely used to endow the wealth of other nations at the cost of natives.
