The following text is a written contribution by the Revolutionary Socialist Movement (the ISp affiliate in Nigeria) to the 3rd Internationalist Meeting, which took place in Paris, May 16-18.
The African continent, while abundant in resources, continues to suffer the consequences of colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism. Despite formal independence, most African states remain trapped in a structure of exploitation and dependency, with the ruling classes being tied to foreign interests in order to survive. Working people, on the other hand, see their lives being sacrificed for the profits of local and transnational elites.
At the same time, the contradictions of imperialism are increasingly evident in Africa’s social, political, and economic crises.
Poverty, Inequality, Environmental Degradation
Despite producing vast quantities of minerals, oil, and agricultural goods, over 60% of Africa’s population lives in poverty (World Bank, 2022), while unemployment, particularly among youth, exceeds 20% in many countries (ILO, 2023). Multinational corporations, backed by Western finance capital, extract billions in profits while paying starvation wages—take the Democratic Republic of Congo, where cobalt miners toil for less than $2 a day as foreign monopolies reap record profits. Environmental devastation follows capital’s ruthless logic: from oil spills in the Niger Delta to deforestation in the Congo Basin, the ecological crisis disproportionately burdens the poor. Racist oppression compounds class exploitation, as African migrants face brutal repression in Europe and xenophobic violence within the continent, engineered by bourgeois elites to divide the proletariat. Meanwhile, imperialist powers—through debt traps, IMF-imposed austerity, and military interventions—ensure Africa remains a semi-colony, its states subservient to foreign capital.
Africa’s external debt crisis has soared to over 1.1 trillion in 2024 (AfDB). Debt servicing drains 74 billion annually—more than healthcare & education budgets combined (UNECA). This systemic looting perpetuates underdevelopment, as 60% of African nations spend more on repayments than social services (Oxfam).
Africa is the world’s most exploited continent, suffering under the highest levels of inequality on the planet, a direct result of imperialist looting and capitalist underdevelopment. While the richest 10% of Africans capture over 50% of total income (World Inequality Lab, 2023), the poorest 50% survive on less than 2.15 a day (World Bank, 2024). Imperialist corporations like Total Energies and Glencore drain $200 billion annually in resource theft (Afrobarometer, 2023), leaving hospitals and schools in ruin. The continent, responsible for less than 4% of global emissions, suffers disproportionately climate catastrophes—from the Sahel’s droughts to Cyclone Freddy’s 1,500 deaths in Malawi (2023).
Geopolitical Shifts and the new Scramble for Africa
The global balance of power is shifting, and this is directly reflected in the continent. China and other emerging capitalist powers are challenging Western imperialism, not to liberate the continent but to secure markets and resources. Africa has become a battleground in the geopolitical competition between the US, EU, China, and Russia.
China has now become Africa’s largest trading partner, with over $200 billion in annual trade. Through the Belt and Road Initiative and FOCAC (Forum on China-Africa Cooperation), China has invested in infrastructure and energy, but at the cost of growing debt, environmental destruction, and labor exploitation. Russia, though a smaller player economically, is expanding its influence by arming regimes, offering military assistance, and filling the vacuum left by Western powers, particularly in West Africa.
Wagner Group, now reorganized under the Russian Ministry of Defense, continues to militarize African politics, prop up authoritarian regimes, and loot natural resources. France’s military withdrawals from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have created a power vacuum, which Russia has eagerly moved to fill. Russia has positioned itself as a friend, invoking in a distorted fashion the memory of Soviet-era support for anti-colonial movements. Russian officials—most notably Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov—have stepped up diplomatic engagement, cultivating relationships and expanding economic and security ties with African governments.
These powers are not real alternatives to Western imperialism—they are rivals within the same global capitalist system. African ruling classes increasingly align with the emerging bloc as the West is discredited in the eyes of the people of Africa as a plundering, imperialist force. At the same time, the new imperialist bloc offers a number of economic advantages to their collaborators which the Western rulers deny, accustomed to their old ruthless colonial mentality.
Nigeria: Giant on Fragile Feet
As Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria embodies the contradictions of African capitalism. Despite its oil wealth and young population, Nigeria faces chronic unemployment, corruption, insecurity, and crumbling infrastructure. It remains almost exclusively tied to oil exports and thus global market fluctuations. Successive governments, including the now serving Tinubu administration, have implemented neoliberal policies that deepen poverty and social inequality. The working class has responded with strikes and protests (the biggest ones being the #EndBadGovernance protests), yet the ruling elite remains entrenched, using force and repression to maintain control.
Nigeria’s role in ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and the African Union (AU) shows its regional importance, but also the limits of bourgeois leadership in resolving local crises like Boko Haram or the recent anti-Western regime changes in Sahel countries.
Tensions deepened recently when the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—having withdrawn from ECOWAS—introduced a 0.5% levy on all imported goods (excluding humanitarian aid) to finance their newly formed alliance. This move disrupts regional trade, particularly with Nigeria and Ghana, and signals a formal break with ECOWAS norms. Nigeria, although it threatened with military intervention to restore “order”, did not follow through showing its weakness.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), though presented as a step toward integration, remains firmly within the capitalist framework and will not deliver real progress for the masses. It is yet another initiative designed to facilitate capital accumulation, not development for the needs of society.
From Liberation Movements to Authoritarian Regimes
Many post-independence liberation movements have degenerated into ruling parties that betray their revolutionary origins. From ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front) in Zimbabwe to MPLA (People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola) in Angola, NRM (National Resistance Movement) in Uganda, and FLN (National Liberation Front) in Algeria, these former liberators have become the new oppressors. They cling to power through constitutional manipulation, electoral fraud, and repression. In Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki leads a militarized dictatorship. SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) in Namibia barely held onto power, while others have already lost popular support.
These regimes use the language of revolution to justify authoritarianism and neoliberalism. They suppress dissent, militarize society, and entrench elite rule. Their failures fuel mass disillusionment, especially among youth who see no future under the current system.
This legacy of authoritarian regimes and single-party states has discredited the ideas of socialism and has evolved into a major obstacle in taking consciousness forward. This contradiction has led to widespread disillusionment with leftist ideologies, as people increasingly view them as synonymous with political repression rather than liberation.
Our Slogan: Socialist Confederation of Africa
Many of Africa’s leftist movements, despite their historic role in anti-colonial struggles, have adopted a Stalinist approach and were marginalized after the restoration of capitalism in the Eastern Bloc.
Neoliberalism’s rise in the 1980s further weakened left organizations, disconnecting them from the working class as it changed its workplace structure. The impact of neoliberal policies over the past few decades has exacerbated material dispossession. The privatization of resources, along with the dismantling of state-owned enterprises, has further thrown back consciousness related to the ideas of collective ownership. These developments have made it difficult for the Left to mobilize support and build a solid, united base of resistance.
The current crises—militarization, corruption, economic stagnation, and ecological collapse—are symptoms of capitalism’s failure in Africa. Neither the West nor China + Russia offer a solution. African liberation depends on a revolutionary break from capitalism, and the construction of a socialist confederation based on democratic workers’ control. Left wing forces that align themselves with the Russia-China axis as being a “progressive” force cannot offer a real way forward for the liberation of the working class.
The vision of a revolutionary break with capitalist must be rooted in internationalism, recognizing that African socialism cannot exist in isolation. A continental cooperation and coordination of the working class, rural poor, women, and youth is essential. Only through class struggle, mass organization, and revolutionary leadership can Africa’s wealth be used to meet human needs instead of enriching imperialist corporations and local elites. In order for this road to be opened, revolutionary forces must join efforts on a continental level, through joint campaigns, solidarity networks and common initiatives.
The struggle is far from over. The African working class holds immense potential to lead the fight for liberation. The banner of socialism must be raised again—not as a nostalgic dream, but as a living, fighting movement for the emancipation of humanity across Africa.
