My colleague from Mali, Alassane Souleymane Maïga, had the brilliant idea to call Macky Sall an African fireman in his paper « African fireman and Malian neighbor ». This idea of Macky Sall as an African firefighter reminded me a lot of « Fireman Sam », a children’s series that my young son loves. Like Sam the fireman, the president of the African Union is called from one corner to another to put out fires, as was the case in Mali (in crisis with the Ivory Coast) or to prevent the fire from starting again in South Sudan, Chad or in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter which has recently accused its neighbor Rwanda of destabilization attempts. 

« What is the phone number of Europe? » Henry Kissinger ironically asked in 1970, to show that Europe is a great commercial power but a geopolitical dwarf. The African Union seems to have the opposite strategy: a commercial dwarf because it is divided, but with a nascent geopolitical ambition because, unlike Europe, it at least has a telephone number: that of the president Macky Sall. The AU leader broke into world geopolitics with the crisis in Ukraine and seems to want to impose his continent in the « big leagues », with the demand for an African presence at the G20, because Africa together is the eighth largest economic power in the world.

The current international political context, marked by the end of Western hegemony in the world, is favorable to this African ambition. This end of Western dominance is marked by the rise of China and India, the Russian political proselytizing in Africa, which makes French President Macron call the Russians colonizers. Russian neo-colonialism is a neo-colonialism of proximity that saw military invasions in Ukraine, Georgia, and also the shadow-ruling of Belarus. It is sort of a Slavic version of the Monroe doctrine, whereas French colonialism is outside of Europe, and mainly in Africa. The Russian offensive in Africa is above all a strategy of influence to challenge France in Africa. The Soviet Union had a global vision, whereas Russia has never had such a vision until now. Putin wants to rebuild the empire of the Tsars, not to conquer the world like the USSR.

The battle between Russia and the West in Africa, combined with the rise of China and India mark the end of Western hegemony of the world. In other words, as de Gaulle said, « Daddy’s France is dead and those who don’t realize it will die with it. » I feel like adding, « Daddy’s Africa is dead and those who don’t realize it will die with it. » Macron, despite his speeches on the end of the France-Africa era, does not seem to have understood it by talking about hypocrisy of Africa on the war in Ukraine, because it did not align itself with the West. It is not because we do not share the same position, that I am a hypocrite. This reflects a state of mind that wants Africa to be a purveyor of guaranteed votes for Europe at the UN.

What is happening with the war in Ukraine is that the AU is becoming a geopolitical player after having always been a wall of African lamentations. To become a geopolitical player is to say that the West has its agenda, Russia has its own, but we also have ours. France’s agenda is to remain an African power to hold its status, while Russia’s is to disrupt France in Africa in order to position itself and negotiate in Europe. The AU’s agenda seems to be non-alignment, which I call critical dialogue, to defend its interests such as free trade in order to access grain. This is not hypocrisy, it is realpolitik, which is the basis of international relations. Wasn’t it de Gaulle who said that states don’t have friends but interests. France has always loved to remind its oldest friend and ally, the United States, of the formula « friends, allies, but not aligned ». This is exactly what Senegal is doing today with its old Western friends.

The French call it « friends, allies, but not aligned ». We call it critical dialogue, which also consists of seeking African solutions to African problems, thus ensuring that the continent does not become a playground for the geopolitical rivalry of foreign powers. It is obvious that in the case of the 49 Ivorian soldiers imprisoned in Bamako, a solution will be easier found through relations of brotherhood and good neighborliness than through geopolitics or international law. This is why the African fireman, as Alassane Souleymane calls him, is right to trust in African-style parlays to find a solution to this quarrel between neighbors.

By Yoro DIA / yoro.dia@lequotidien.sn