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Why are Africans and African Countries Sympathetic To Putin?
Some questions are worth asking…
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a pariah.
With the notable exception of Belarus in Europe, you would be hard pressed to find any devoted fan of the murderous Russian leader on the continent which has seen some of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of humankind.
China is a closet supporter of Russia. But the people’s republic under the leadership of Xi Jingping has been quite careful not to come out publicly to countenance the misdeeds of the Russian bear, for fear of alienating the rest of the world.
Africa, the one continent (with 54 countries), which has borne the scars of colonialism and imperialism more than most, is acting in the strangest way imaginable: By affirming its support for Putin.
Why is this the case and how can this be?
We have the years of French, British, Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian and American colonialism to thank (or blame) for this.
It was bad enough that we had the transatlantic slave trade, in which millions of Africans were taken to the new world, imperialism and colonialism ensured that the diamond, gold, oil, copper, uranium and petroleum products, which were (still are) buried deep in the African soil, were carted away…