F. Andrew Wolf, Jr.
Once upon a time, the world looked to the West for truth, knowledge and democracy. The world listened. Today, things are different – particularly in Africa. Western narratives are no longer going unchallenged. The recently formed Alliance of Sahel States (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) is indicative of this transformation. It also signified the final withdrawal from the Western-backed regional economic organization ECOWAS.
A specifically African consciousness is burgeoning: one that questions Western edicts and seeks to reclaim the continent’s voice. The West fears an Africa that no longer is compliant with Western dictates. The West sees a multipolar world on the rise; African nations are no longer bound by Western-controlled narratives. They are, rather, pursuing relationships with alternative global powers such as China, India, and Russia.
What is at stake is not just voice. It is about power, influence and resources.
Since the Second World War, Western media has dictated Africa’s story, portraying the continent as disease, corrupt, and in need of continuous Western intervention. Western outlets like BBC, CNN, and AP, functioned as gatekeepers of African truth. They determined right and wrong; they chose who were liberation fighters and who were insurrectionists. As Africa’s states increasingly engage with alternative media, the West sees a trend developing: its hold on Africa’s narrative is weakening.
Seeing that it is losing ground and credibility, the West unleashes a time-tested tactic designed to destabilize a region – fear-mongering.
It uses its Western media to warn that Russia is using state-sponsored media such as RT and Sputnik to manipulate African minds. It suggests that Africans are passive consumers of information, incapable of discerning thought and thus vulnerable to “Russian propaganda.” The message is condescending.
Yet, Africa does not need RT or Sputnik to tell them of the West's self-serving history in Africa. Africans have seen it for themselves – they were present. The West precipitated Libya’s destruction in 2011, rendering one of Africa’s most prosperous states to that of a failed state – where it is today. The West backed Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire, assassinated Patrice Lumumba, it orchestrated a series of coups to install leaders amenable to its interests.
There is no justification for the West lecturing African states about foreign intervention – that is pure hypocrisy.
The real concern of the West is that Africa is thinking for itself – beginning to make its own decisions about its future. It isn't so much that African nations are trading with China, strengthening ties with BRICS, or engaging in military cooperation with Russia. The fear of the West is the very idea of African nations making independent choices.
But of course, any African state which reaches beyond the limits of Western interests is assumed to be a victim of foreign manipulation and propaganda.
Yet, Africa has, of course, truly been manipulated: The West has repeatedly installed puppet governments, imposed structural financial adjustment programs through the Western-directed IMF, and extracted African natural resources via multinational corporations.
Africa is no longer chained to the West without recourse. China’s ascendency, Russia’s resurgence and the mounting global significance of India and Brazil means Africa now has options. Africa is no longer inextricably bound to the West’s financial institutions, military alliances, or media networks. The West fears this because it means their leverage over African countries is waning.
The West often accuses Russia of “elite capture,” implying that African leaders are being manipulated under pro-Russian influence. But history tells a different story – a different narrative. The United States, France, and Britain have spent decades overthrowing, assassinating, or financially choking African leaders who defy their interests. Kwame Nkrumah was deposed with Western backing when he advocated for African socialism and unity. Thomas Sankara was assassinated when he tried to break Burkina Faso free from neocolonial control. Gaddafi was targeted by NATO when he proposed a gold-based African currency.
For too long, Western media behemoths like the BBC, The Guardian, and the Washington Post have been the accepted, unofficial narrators of Africa’s history and politics. These media sources have crafted the perception of Africa globally, ensuring that Africa’s story is told through a Western lens. Today, alternative media sources preclude that Western monopoly.
With the advent of the Soviet era, Russia played a pivotal role in assisting African liberation movements to challenge Western imperialist initiatives. Soviet radio programs and educational programs provided African freedom fighters with an ideological framework that countered Western capitalist propaganda. Today, Russia, China, and other emerging powers have their political agendas, but they offer Africa something the West never did: choice – assistance without “strings attached.”
The West is afraid of what is happening around them. The Global South is growing in influence, and Africa is at its centre. The West no longer dictates who Africa trades with or whose media it reads or listens to. The West’s accusations of Russian disinformation are merely a desperate attempt to reassert dominance over the African people. But nothing will be the same again.
Today, BRICS+ includes 10 formal members, 9 partner nations and over 30 countries waiting to join. It constitutes roughly half of the world's population and 41% of its GDP (PPP). It’s an economic powerhouse, with top producers of key commodities like oil, gas, grains, meat, and minerals.
Multipolarity is here to stay. And the West does not know what to do about it. One thing is certain – “the cat is out of the bag.”
* F. Andrew Wolf, Jr is director of The Fulcrum Institute, an organization of current and former scholars, which engages in research and commentary, focusing on political and cultural issues on both sides of the Atlantic.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.