Len Blavatnik and Lucian Grainge are directly in control of which artists will become global. If your music goes against US foreign policy you will never have a hit record. His partners aren’t pictured, the Bolloré family that obtained their wealth during French colonization owns a 31% controlling stake in UMG. A family that got rich off of rubber, cocoa, and palm oil plantations is directly involved in what music you are listening to.
But everyday people will tell you “it’s not that deep” or “did CIA force them”. At your next “afrobeats” event sponsored by the US Embassy will be many covert agents picking your brains to figure out what interventions the continent needs next.
Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala: Winnie Mandela Should Have Been South Africa’s First Black President
South African politician Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala believes that Nelson Mandela should not have emerged as the ANC's candidate in the 1994 elections that marked the end of apartheid in South Africa. According to her, Mandela's selection ahead of his more radical ex-wife Winnie Mandela, was a decision made by the Anglo-American monopoly capital interests that actually run South Africa, and it was a counterrevolutionary move that delayed rather than advanced the cause of economic and political sovereignty for the country's majority Black population.
A New Nigeria Across Borders: My Visit to Italy
As part of my ongoing visits to several countries in continuation of my consultations, meetings, and constructive exchanges of ideas on national rebirth, I arrived in Italy this morning.
I had the privilege of engaging with key stakeholders and leaders. We held fruitful discussions on economic collaboration, institutional development, and matters critical to Nigeria’s progress, with a particular focus on the immense potential of our vast youthful population.
During these various meetings, I reiterated our core conviction to move Nigeria from consumption to production through sustained investments in education, healthcare, and enterprise development. We must build a functional society where young people are given genuine opportunities to prosper. A nation that values its talent must reward competence, character, and integrity over criminality, connections, and nepotism.
Though our national obstacles are immense, the collective capacity and resilience of our people are infinitely greater.
Leaving Italy tonight, I remain encouraged by the ideas shared and the collective determination of both the international community and our citizens everywhere to see Nigeria work for everyone.
A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO
Simon Njami: Haiti Is The World's Only Genuine Pan-African Country
In this video, Cameroonian-born writer and art curator Simon Njami recounts a travel experience he had involving Haiti, which left an indelible impression on him.
Have you been to Haiti before? Do you agree with his assessment of the country as the world's only true Pan-Africanist state? Do you think your African country can learn from Haiti's example? Let us know in the comments.
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Understanding how come French working class men can sing the revolutionary anthem of the French Revolution while murdering Palestinians for Israel is the key to understanding where you actually stand in the world as an African.
There is no "global proletariat". Just people who actively want you dead and others who don't mind you existing.
Today in London, I continued consultations centered on Nigeria's future with some shareholders.
Our conversations centered on economic partnerships, strengthening institutional frameworks, and unlocking potential locked within Nigeria's vibrant youth demographic.
A recurring theme in all my discussions was the urgent necessity of transforming Nigeria from a consumer economy into a productive economy. This structural shift relies entirely on intentional investments in human capital—specifically health, education, and enterprise. We must forge a society where merit, integrity, and competence are celebrated and rewarded, leaving behind the era of nepotism and compromise.
While our current challenges are profound, they pale in comparison to the boundless resilience and determination of our people.
A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO
Let's begin to give dignity to human lives in our land.
The death of 37 persons in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State, is a deeply troubling tragedy that demands urgent answers. These were persons who had been arrested as suspects. Whatever offence they were suspected of committing, they were still human beings, and the responsibility of the State was to keep them alive, safe, and treated humanely while due process took its course.
It is particularly disturbing that so many people could die within a place of detention in such a short period. While investigations are ongoing into the actual cause of these deaths, including reports concerning disease, overcrowding, and inadequate ventilation, Nigerians deserve a transparent, independent, and credible investigation that establishes exactly what happened.
This tragedy also reminds us that security is not merely about arresting people. Security is about protecting lives, upholding the dignity of every citizen, and ensuring that the institutions entrusted with our safety operate within the law.
A nation cannot claim to value human life when people can enter government custody alive and emerge dead without immediate, transparent, and credible accountability.
I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and urge the authorities to ensure that justice is done. Nigeria must become a country where the rule of law protects every citizen, not only those who are free but also those who are in custody.
May God grant the families the strength to bear this painful loss. -PO
In this @Spearhead_Af special report, Senior Reporter @Big_Mck dives into the messy world of industry plants and celebrity astroturfing across Africa and the Global South, and their surprisingly long and sinister history with the US secret intelligence organisations.
Afrobeats And Its Links To US Secret Intelligence
Have you ever found yourself wondering why Afrobeats - the joyful soundtrack to the "Africa Rising" era from the late 2000s through the early 2010s - seems to have lost much of its energy and lustre of recent? Does it seem to you like the music no longer belongs to the fans and has become a distant, expensive product that nobody can relate with anymore?
You are not imagining it - in fact the reality of what has happened to Afrobeats is a lot darker than you would possibly imagine. Far from just a fresh music genre that embodied the sounds and aspirations of a new generation across the continent, it has been coopted into the arsenal of the US government's extensive foreign influence and interference tools. In fact, your favourite Afrobeats artist, as incredible as it sounds, most likely now has a handler permanently assigned to them by the US State Department.
In this special report, The Spearhead Senior Reporter Mckay Chukwu examines a story that has been hiding in plain sight for years, detailing the State Department's well-funded cultural interference infrastructure which has been deployed all over the Global South to bend entire populations and their governments toward the foreign policy goals of the US government.
Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala: Ibrahim Traoré Practises Democratic Centralism, Not Dictatorship
According to South African politician and ex military officer Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala, the system of government practised in Burkina Faso is not in fact "military dictatorship", but a cosultative form of centralised government which she terms 'Democratic Centralism'.
Do you agree with her? Do you think that perhaps it does not matter what terminology describes an African governance system as long is it works and delivers tangible material benefits to the people it governs? Let us know in the comments.
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If the purpose of this tweet was to make our that US Republicans and Democrats somehow have a difference on this issue, I'll just remind everyone that Riley Moore and Ted Cruz who were the driving forces behind the proposed critical minerals deal are both Republicans.
The empire has no internal ideological differences - just factions that disagree on how to implement the same things. Let's be guided pls.
Burkina Faso Unveils Latest Line Of Locally-Made Military Vehicles
4 years after severing political and military ties with its former colonizer France, Burkina Faso is forging ahead on its quest to build its own, sovereign military industrial capacities. On September 13, the Burkinabé government unveiled the latest line of the country’s locally-manufactured military vehicles, even as it continues to celebrate improving security.
Is the rest of Africa paying attention?
*Smartest anti-pan-Africanists on Twitter*:
"African unity in the face of increased convergence everywhere else is a not a good idea. The continent is instead better off and has greater leverage and bargaining power with 54 Gambias, Togos, Eswantinis and Malawis." 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
TBH I'm not especially fond of how a bunch of western celebrities have become the story here. Neither Macklemore nor Ed Sheeran actually control anything in the larger scheme of things.
The real issue is the empire and its genocides, and somehow we're discussing Macklemore🫤
Well, it's not an "ideological civil war"
It a programmed not farm controlled by the THIEVES (COLONISERS) attacking the owners of the house (Pan-Africans) trying to protect what belongs to them.
Nothing ideological about their attack. I call them Imperial minions.
Colin Powell’s former chief of staff: ‘We lied about Vietnam. We lied about Iraq. We lied about Afghanistan. We lied about Somalia. We lied about Libya’
French-Isr*eli Soldiers Sing France’s “Revolutionary” National Anthem While Perpetrating G*nocide In G*za
In October 2023, at the height of the latest escalation of Isr*el’s decades-long g*nocide against the P*lestinian people, a video surfaced of a group of French-Isr*eli soldiers singing the French national anthem, while helping Isr*el perpetrate its g*nocide.
Given the history of this national anthem, there is something very ironic about the above picture.
But given the history of France, there is nothing surprising about it.
Ghana Armed Forces Hand Over Accra-Kumasi Expressway Right-of-Way Ahead of Schedule
The Ghana Armed Forces' 48 Engineer Regiment has successfully handed over the cleared 175.6-kilometer right-of-way for the new Accra-Kumasi Expressway to President John Mahama one week ahead of schedule.
Completed in just 19 weeks as part of the "Big Push" infrastructure programme, this milestone paves the way for a six-lane highway funded by taxpayer-generated funds, which is expected to reduce travel time between Ghana's two largest cities from five to six hours down to roughly two.