Is it the 2nd Cold War or World War III starting to unfold from Africa?

For starters, in 1917, some Russians calling themselves Bolsheviks, drunk with Carl Marx’s Communist philosophy of Socialism led by Lenin, overthrew the ruling Tsah Nicolas II and undertook a revolution that gave birth to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR).

That overthrow was done by workers calling themselves Bolsheviks. Communism is a Marxist ideology that everything belongs to everyone, and forbids private ownership of property, making everything a property of the state as opposed to Capitalism where everyone is free to own property, leads a lissezfair economics. All private property in Russia and USSR generally was nationalised.

That Communist revolution threatened the existence of capitalism on which the rest of the countries in the world run their economics.

The Bolsheviks had the best agenda of exporting the communist revolution all over the world by instigating and aiding the workers and peasants upraise, but they could not pursue it then because the world was engulfed with the World War I in which they switched from the Allies to the Central powers led by Germany.

Still, their bid to extend the communist revolution was interrupted by the occurrence of the 2nd World War in which Adolf Hitler’s Germany invaded their country in 1941.

So after World War 2, the Soviet Union led by Joseph Stalin embarked on sovietisation of Eastern Europe and spreading communist internationally through sponsoring civil wars, anti- colonial struggles, military coups all of which was part of the Soviet Union’s policy of Communist International (Comintern). This policy war responded to by resistance from the leading capitalist powers led by the USA, including Britain and France. They countered USSR’s effort by equally sponsoring governments and populations that were resisting the spread of communism to their countries. That divided the world into the Eastern Bloc led by USSR, and Western blocs led by USA.

Proxy wars were fought between the two sides in Asia and Africa. In some countries in Africa, the two blocs sponsored opposite liberation groups like in Angola, where USA supported UNITA led by Jonas Savimbi and the USSR supported MPLA, all against Portuguese colonial rule.

In countries like South Africa where the liberation struggle was led by communists, the West supported the status quo. This was the Cold War. In some areas, the two super powers almost directly fought like in the Korean War 1952, in the Vietnam war etc.

Now that conflict has resumed. The world is being divided into two antagonistic blocs. One led by the USA and the other led by USSR.

This has stemmed from Russia President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in what he luxuriously called a special military operation.

The USA and it’s allies have opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the extent of arming Ukraine to defend herself. Ukraine, by aid of the arms and other forms of support from US and it’s allies in Nato, has so far successfully defended herself. It has so far not fallen to Putin’s Russia.

US and it’s allies’ relations with Africa has been characterised by pressuring African governments to uphold respect of their people’s human rights.

Most African rulers obtained their power through violation of people’s human rights and they keep that power by those means.

They have been hesitantly submitting to US’ demands of respecting human rights. However, when Putin invaded Ukraine, and the US and its allies chose not to directly intervene like they did when Saddam Hussein and his Iraq invaded Kuwait, coupled with the West’s choice of not directly supporting the Syrian upraising in which Putin’s Russia is directly defending ...... not to be overthrown, African dictators interpreted it as a sign that the deteriorated ability of the US and it’s allies and many have as such chosen to support Russia, which they think wont interfere in their abuses of human rights and misrule.

Now a military coup has taken place in Niger.

A regional trade group in West Africa known as Ecowas condemned the coup and has been organising to reverse it by any means, including militarily.

The pro- Russia military juntas leading the neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali have vowed to defend the Niger junta and arming every separatist group in Nigeria to fight to secede. Russia’s foreign ministry has warned Ecowas not to dare military intervention.

French special forces attacked and rescued seven of its agents that the junta in Niger had detained.

The Niger junta, according to their statement, refer to the rescued French agents as terrorists.

As heavy Nigerian troop movements is reported towards its borders with Niger, Putin’s mercenaries in Mali and Central African Republic are being reinforced by flying in more Wagner Private Military Company’s troops. Russia says the more than 1,000 Wagner troops flew into Central African Republic are meant to secure a national referendum in which the citizens are to determine whether the pro-Russia sitting president there stands for a third term.

Do ordinary Africans’ ignorance and guilibility have a bearing on their rulers’ moves  that are driving us into this mess?                                                                  

Jemba Eirsa,  Free thinker