United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan - fresh from the triumph of brokering the Iraqi deal, and cruising through his African tour with the air of a savior come to rescue his beloved continent from the folly of its ruler - suddenly faces the cruel prospect of being cut down to size.
When Alex Haley asserted in his 1976 novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, that its main character Kunte Kinte was a Muslim, he was dismissed by many American historians.
The US has stepped up efforts to increase its influence in Africa, dubbed the ‘last frontier.’ Jesse Jackson, perhaps the best-known African-American today, embarked on a mission to two countries in Africa on December 1 to drum up support for political and trade links.
Sources: Elizabeth Donnan, 4 vols. Documents Illustrative of the History of the Slave Trade to America, Washington D.C. 1930-1935 Carnage Institute of Technology, Pittusburgh, Pennsylvania.
President Nelson Mandela has hailed the prominent role played by Islam in the liberation and construction of Africa describing the world’s most frequently demonised faith as the continent’s principal religion and as an agent of tolerance and goodwill.
With the Middle East now firmly in America’s grip, Uncle Sam has turned his attention to the plunder of Africa, which it calls the last frontier. Wherever the greedy uncle sets foot, trouble follows.
People in Africa have good reason to be wary of the new, USS 25 billion initiative launched by the United Nations on March 15 to help the impoverished continent. Called the ‘System-wide Special Initiative on Africa,’ the programme will be phased over a 10 year-period.
