On the morning of December 7, elements of Benin's military took to the airwaves to announce the overthrow of Western-backed President Patrice Talon. Calling themselves the "Military Committee for Refoundation," they condemned Talon for imprisoning his opponents and allowing the elite to control "all vital sectors of the economy." The coup leaders also criticised the deteriorating security situation in northern Benin, which has become a base for Al Qaeda-affiliated insurgents attacking neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.
Much like their neighbours in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), the people of Benin spontaneously took to the streets in celebration. However, their joy was short-lived. Within hours, Nigeria — Benin's much larger eastern neighbour — began launching airstrikes on the capital, Cotonou, in explicit coordination with France, Benin's former coloniser. The rest of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) quickly rallied behind the Talon regime. This emerging anti-imperialist rebellion was swiftly crushed, and Cotonou remains under indefinite foreign occupation.
In an interview, Nigerian journalist and founder of West Africa Weekly, David Hundeyin, spoke with Ahmed Kaballo of Sovereign Media about these shocking developments. Hundeyin drew a stark contrast between ECOWAS' indifferent response to the self-coup by Western-backed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló in Guinea-Bissau less than two weeks earlier. He noted that a successful anti-imperialist uprising in Benin would have provided the landlocked AES with a crucial connection to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lastly, Hundeyin reflected on the serious implications of these events for Nigeria's domestic politics and international standing. He pointed out that the intervention was blatantly illegal under Nigeria's own constitution and exposed the government's hypocritical posturing in response to Donald Trump's threats. He concluded by discussing the unofficial rivalry between France and the United States for hegemony in the region, highlighting how Nigerian President Bola Tinubu positions himself as a compliant ally to both imperial powers.
Commiejones - 1day
Hundeyin is pretty good. He did a really good breakdown of the events in Benin on Jamarl Thomas
He has a really well established understanding of how neocolonialism works in West Africa especially the manipulation of the media and intellectual space and how Africans have been propagandized into internalized white supremacy.
He talks in another interview about how Africans under french colonialism are told they are french and when someone shows potential for colonialism they are taken to france and given a taste of western life (like a year or two of university or a military program) and told that if they are good frenchmen they might get to live that way. And then they go back and treat their countrymen the way the french treat colonial subjects.
7
La Dame d'Azur - 1day
Damn that's some "kill the indian, save the man" stuff right there.
Imperialism really does look the same no matter whose doing it.
6
TankieReplyBot - 1day
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
rainpizza in africa
David Hundeyin, Nigerian journalist and founder of West Africa Weekly, Slams French-Nigerian Attack on Benin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHc2xajAerUOn the morning of December 7, elements of Benin's military took to the airwaves to announce the overthrow of Western-backed President Patrice Talon. Calling themselves the "Military Committee for Refoundation," they condemned Talon for imprisoning his opponents and allowing the elite to control "all vital sectors of the economy." The coup leaders also criticised the deteriorating security situation in northern Benin, which has become a base for Al Qaeda-affiliated insurgents attacking neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.
Much like their neighbours in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), the people of Benin spontaneously took to the streets in celebration. However, their joy was short-lived. Within hours, Nigeria — Benin's much larger eastern neighbour — began launching airstrikes on the capital, Cotonou, in explicit coordination with France, Benin's former coloniser. The rest of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) quickly rallied behind the Talon regime. This emerging anti-imperialist rebellion was swiftly crushed, and Cotonou remains under indefinite foreign occupation.
In an interview, Nigerian journalist and founder of West Africa Weekly, David Hundeyin, spoke with Ahmed Kaballo of Sovereign Media about these shocking developments. Hundeyin drew a stark contrast between ECOWAS' indifferent response to the self-coup by Western-backed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló in Guinea-Bissau less than two weeks earlier. He noted that a successful anti-imperialist uprising in Benin would have provided the landlocked AES with a crucial connection to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lastly, Hundeyin reflected on the serious implications of these events for Nigeria's domestic politics and international standing. He pointed out that the intervention was blatantly illegal under Nigeria's own constitution and exposed the government's hypocritical posturing in response to Donald Trump's threats. He concluded by discussing the unofficial rivalry between France and the United States for hegemony in the region, highlighting how Nigerian President Bola Tinubu positions himself as a compliant ally to both imperial powers.
Hundeyin is pretty good. He did a really good breakdown of the events in Benin on Jamarl Thomas
He has a really well established understanding of how neocolonialism works in West Africa especially the manipulation of the media and intellectual space and how Africans have been propagandized into internalized white supremacy.
He talks in another interview about how Africans under french colonialism are told they are french and when someone shows potential for colonialism they are taken to france and given a taste of western life (like a year or two of university or a military program) and told that if they are good frenchmen they might get to live that way. And then they go back and treat their countrymen the way the french treat colonial subjects.
Damn that's some "kill the indian, save the man" stuff right there.
Imperialism really does look the same no matter whose doing it.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
That's the whole point, and the point of the USA doing a "deal making" blitz in the region, earlier this year.
I found a YouTube link in your post. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: