The African continent has about 30% of the the world’s resources and is of great interest to the big multinationals and most states.
There is a heavy military presence in and around Africa, mainly from the US and France, but military advisers from China are seen. China is also building a blue military force – meaning ships. And Russia?
This is an economic battle: who will get hold of the resources? Will the Africans themselves – the people – be satisfied with the returns? The rewards should be ample: oil, mines, forests, crops.
So will we see preemptive wars US-style, and will the contestants be using stabilizing tools in the name of security policy?
African agriculture is also in demand, the big players are coming, renting land, growing their own food in Africa, Monsanto coming in. Food will be increasingly important.
Economic domination may be followed by cultural domination – e.g. films.
There is still a lot of poverty and people are leaving for Europe. But there are promising signs of progress as internal forces are building up. Urban living is increasing, peace initiatives are seen, regional cooperation is developing, continental power groups are being formed to work on African unity, peace and security.
So let us hope we can see an indigenous African culture – let there be no economic and cultural invasion from the so-called West.
