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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
Africa and the Western lust for power and control
Neocolonialism still ravages the African continent with war and debt. Niger and other nations are right to refuse it, says CLAUDIA WEBBE MP
DEFIANT: Nigeriens at a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger

THE humanitarian disaster of wars which have destroyed Yemen, destroyed Libya and ravaged huge parts of west Africa are not a phenomenon intrinsic to Africa, but one that has been inflicted on it by centuries of colonial greed and control — and continues to be perpetuated by the neocolonial ambitions of so-called “developed” nations now.

It is a phenomenon fuelled by the greed of corporations for mineral wealth and enabled by governments beholden to their donations and corrupted by the revolving door between government and big business. And it is one that cannot be allowed to continue.

It’s not hard to see why Western powers want to control access to Africa’s mineral resources — the stakes are huge.

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