At the Niamey Conference, the Pan-African Revolution was Reborn

A Recap and Interview with Comrade Booker Omole of Communist Party Marxist Kenya

From November 19 to 21 2024, the revolutionary government of Niger hosted the first-ever Conference in Solidarity with the People of the Sahel in Niamey. This landmark event brought together hundreds of delegates from across Africa, as well as Afro-descendent representatives from the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States. Organized by the Pan-Africanism Today Secretariat and the West African People’s Organization, the conference followed the creation of the Confederation Alliance of Sahel States on July 6th 2024. The AES, composed of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, represents a coalition of nations that have undergone progressive military coups in recent years. These governments ousted French and American military forces and are in the midst of reclaiming control over national resources and domestic industries.

These coups have been widely supported by grassroots movements who have endured decades of exploitation under Western imperialism as well as violence perpetrated by Western-backed terrorist organizations. Over three days, the conference featured speeches, panels, and culminated in the adoption of the historic Niamey Declaration.

Grounded in a historical analysis that begins with the 1884 Berlin Conference, the Niamey Declaration traces the trajectory of colonialism and neocolonialism in the Sahel to the present. The conference was evocative of the historic Pan-African Congresses of the 20th century that brought together revolutionary African leaders that eventually went on to lead the masses of their own countries towards independence. Alongside its affirmation of the burgeoning African revolution, the Niamey Declaration indicted the progenitors of imperial violence against the nations of the Global South, declaring that it “holds the United States and its NATO allies responsible…demand[ing] an immediate cessation of the atrocities in Gaza and Lebanon, an end to blockades against Cuba and Venezuela, and a stop to imperialist provocations worldwide for the peace of humanity.”

Women and youth have been pivotal in the revolutionary movements within the AES nations, and their roles were celebrated throughout the Niamey Conference. The Coalition for the Elimination of Imperialism in Africa (CEIA) connected with Mariatou Amadou, National Coordinator of the organization Femmes Engagées Pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie, and Effred Mouloul Al-Hassan, General Secretary of the Union des Scolaires Nigériens. These leaders emphasized the conference’s significance as a platform for educational and solidaristic exchanges among comrades and resistance movements from different nations. Amadou and Al-Hassan highlighted how many delegates were inspired by the militancy and strategic leadership of Niger’s women and youth, gaining valuable insights to strengthen their own movements. According to Amadou and Al-Hassan, the Niamey Conference symbolized a transformative moment for Niger’s global image. Once regarded as one of Africa’s poorest nations under its former neocolonial regime, Niger is now recognized across the continent as a “land of anti-imperialist resistance.” Delegates and supporters of the AES were urged to defend its gains, raise awareness about its successes, and emphasize the necessity of mass revolutionary struggle in dismantling the vestiges of imperialism and neocolonial exploitation that have impoverished African nations for generations.

The Niamey Declaration’s closing statement encapsulates its revolutionary optimism:

“We stand together with popular and revolutionary forces in the Sahel in their struggle for full and total sovereignty. We depart Niamey with a commitment to defend the advances the people have made in the Sahel and rally internationalist forces around the world to this aim. Long live patriotism, anti-imperialism, and Pan-Africanism!”

The CEIA is in solidarity with the delegates of the Niamey Conference, and urges comrades across the Pan-African world and beyond to join in defending the AES and upholding the revolutionary momentum against imperialism.

The CEIA also connected with Comrade Booker of the Communist Party Marxist Kenya, a delegate at the Niamey Conference. We interviewed him to get his perspective on the Niamey Conference proceedings and learn about the state of anti-imperialist struggle in Kenya, as well as his reflections on how the lessons of the AES and the Niamey Conference can be advanced on the ground across Kenya and the Pan-African World. The following interview has been edited for clarity and concision.

Interview:

Prudence (CEIA): My name is Prudence. I am a member of the coalition, and I also participated in the delegation that traveled throughout the AES in June. So we got to visit Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Our coalition has obviously been very focused on creating some counter propaganda and also creating some content in English, especially to keep Africans informed on the developments there. Can you begin by just briefly introducing yourself?

Booker (CPMK): My name is Booker, I am the General Secretary of Communist Party Marxist Kenya, and I'm glad to be here with you to speak about the intervention against imperialism in the African continent and the events in the Sahel region.

Prudence (CEIA): what motivated you and the CPMK to attend this conference? Why did you want to participate?

Booker (CPMK): We have been interested in events on the African continent in general, but particularly in West Africa, where we have seen the most devastating effects of French imperialism that has reduced the majority of the West African people to subjugation, to steal their wealth and even use currency manipulation to make sure that the majority of the Western West African people remain poor.

Now the second point is that when there was this eruption of coups, the Western media tried to portray a different analysis which was in essence supporting imperialism: they are against all the coups that are happening in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali. So we had to come out quite strongly and give our analysis from the African perspective, and that is how we published our famous article, Coups Are Not Coups. This article argues that there are coups that enjoy popular support of the majority from below, and there are also coups that are imposed upon the majority by foreign or imperialist interests. The CPMK supports in its entirety the coups that have just happened in West Africa. What we are saying is that these AES countries are more democratic now than they were before the coup. At times, democracy is the dictatorship of the minority; and at times, it's a dictatorship of the majority. Before these coups arose in the Sahel region, they had a dictatorship of capital. They had a dictatorship of a minority class that was only stealing from the countries on behalf of the foreign capital, particularly French imperialism. So by overthrowing the voices of the minority that continue to manage, for example, the Niger resources on behalf of foreign interests, then we say that they have advanced their democratic struggle.

The CPMK has also been able to analyze the character of not just the Kenyan struggle, but of the majority of the African countries. We have come up with a clear analysis: We say that imperialism is the principal enemy. We say that the primary enemy the African continent has to defeat are the neo-colonial states that are being managed by a minority in its domination of the African continent and the Global South. It therefore means that the coups in the Sahel region have been able to move the African struggle for total independence from level A to B. We cannot lay the firm foundation to build socialism without completing our independence. To complete our independence is to be able to destroy the neo colonial structures that were imposed upon us. The Nigerien people have made the first step to destroy the neo colonial system, but also made sure that they overthrew the managers of the neo colonial state. They are on the right path towards independence.

Prudence (CEIA): You mentioned the overthrow of neocolonialism is a prerequisite for independence. Kenya has been shaken by mobilizations over the past couple years. When you compare the mobilization that happened in the Sahel to the ones in Kenya, what do you think is lacking in Kenya?

Booker (CPMK): First of all,there are three important factors that you have to take control over to be able to manage a state. The first one is the information war, or what we call the propaganda war. It's important for any dominant class to make sure that they're in charge, by making sure that they are in charge of the narratives. The second factor is the economy, and third is the organized violence of the state. Now if you compare the Kenyan political environment to the Nigerien political environment, the Kenyan masses are way ahead in terms of their political consciousness. Now, the reason why the Kenyan people have not been able to succeed is because the organized violence of the state and the economy is still firmly in the hands of the president. The only reason why President William Ruto is ruling Kenya today is because he has the monopoly of organized violence. Even if he feels like the Kenyan police are not doing a good job, he's able to organize solidarity from other neocolonial forces in the region. That is why we have the Sudanese special forces and the Ugandan special forces massacring and murdering people in the streets.

But is the organized violence of the Kenyan government pro-people, like in Niger? No, the military is still firmly with the Kenyan government. The military is still firmly with the president. So the Kenyan people continue to be dominated because the organized violence of the state is still in the hands of dictatorship. In the Sahel region, the militaries have taken the side of the people. So even if the neocolonial representatives in the Sahel region want to dominate and kill the people, the military is not aligned with them.

So when you draw parallels, there are big rallies in the Kenyan streets, but the state is abducting and killing people. If the Kenyan military was also conscious, like the Malian or the Nigerien military, this government of President William Ruto would not even last a day in power.

But it is also important to also recognize that the state reaction towards the uprising in Kenya has also helped to demobilize the demonstrators, because out of the 10+ million people on the streets, only a quarter of them belong to organizations. The duty of revolutionary political organizations like ours is to reconsolidate the gains in the street, intensify the organization, and be ready for the second battle.

In Kenya, we must also acknowledge that ethnic based politics is quite high. When the ruling class was threatened, they exposed themselves. In Kenya, both the opposition and the government have joined hands to protect their positions and extend their hegemony in our country. It is clear that when the ruling class is threatened, they put aside their apparent contradictions and join hands to suppress any uprising on the street.

Another factor is the role of the United States in our country. There are three important organizations that are a conduit for the United States to fund reactionary sectors of the society. The National Endowment for Democracy, the Ford Foundation, and the Open Society Foundation, have all been pumping money to start initiatives in the name of civic education to pacify the masses. And the media has been receiving billions to make sure that they can turn the narrative against the people. So the ruling class is much more sophisticated in Kenya in terms of dealing with resistance, probably more than the ruling class that existed in the Sahel region.

Prudence (CEIA): I have two questions. Are you guys as an organization utilizing the successes of the AES as a tool to raise the consciousness of the people in your country? And are the successes of the AES motivating the people of Kenya, or otherwise having an impact on the political environment?

Booker (CPMK): The events in the Sahel region are actually shaking the ruling class in Kenya. When the Kenya police was defeated by the masses of people that were in the streets, the president deployed the military. The military were welcomed by the people in the street, and the people were urging them to follow the example of the progressive militaries of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The president had to ultimately make a decision to remove the military from the street, because the people had been pushing the Kenyan military, telling them that they must play their historical role like the militaries in the Sahel region.

Prudence (CEIA): When I was in Burkina Faso, I spent a night with young people who for the past two years, have organized to stay up at night, to watch over the country and president. So I'm curious to know the extent to which the masses are aware of and are learning from the grassroots movements the AES? We spoke to some comrades from Niger who told us how nice it was to see Africans from throughout the continent and the diaspora attending the Niamey Conference. One sister said that the job of the people who attended the conference was to be ambassadors for the AES. How do you think you as an organizer, or the Kenyan people, can defend the AES?

Booker (CPMK): First of all, the Sahel region and the AES genuinely need the solidarity of all the anti-imperialist forces in the continent and out of the continent. Despite the rhetoric about terrorism in the Sahel region, there is good evidence that most of these terrorist organizations were mainly financed by foreign interests, particularly French and the United States. It is also important for us to use the Nigerien and AES project to educate the Kenyan people by exposing the hypocrisy of the French and United States in their actions in Africa. In fact, we were able to connect the events in this Sahel region to what happened when Gaddafi was toppled in Libya.

So we went home with revolutionary optimism, and the hope that the majority of the African people can actually get dignity without having to rely on foreign aid.

Prudence (CEIA): Lastly, can you tell us about the kind of organizations you encountered, as well as a general feel of how the conference went?

Booker: Well, first of all, the conference was highly organized. Every anti-imperialist organization across the African continent was there. We had communist parties and worker parties in the conference. We had organizations like the Socialist Movement of Ghana and others that are quite left wing and quite anti-imperialist.

The opening ceremony was also quite heartwarming for some of us: remember, the ruling class has always used identity politics to divide the people. But during the opening ceremony of the Congress, all the religious groups, be they Muslim or Christian, gave their prayers in their own way. And for us, this was a powerful show of unity, and that religion will never be used to divide the Nigerien people in the interest of invading forces.

I also participated In the youth panel and interacted with some of the finest sons and daughters in the African continent. They talked not just about solidarity with the countries of the Sahel region, but also how to help counter what we now call in Africa “the dictatorship of the algorithms.” They are thinking about how to defeat the information warfare that continues to be brought into the African continent. While student movements elsewhere in Africa have been totally balkanized and hijacked by reactionary elements, we met some student leaders that were quite articulate and clear on how imperialism has robbed them of their future, not just by stealing minerals, but by miseducating them and setting them against each other. Which was a very proud moment for me.

Prudence (CEIA): That was really wonderful. That's all the questions I had. Thank you very much, and take care!