Process
Status Items Highlights Done See section below Claims None Questions None Output None
Highlights
Time 0:05:54
Post-Colonial Ties and the English Language Test
- Ugochi Anyaka-Oluigbo discusses the lingering effects of colonialism, noting the financial burden imposed on Africans seeking access to education and travel in former colonial powers.
- She points out the irony of English language tests required for Africans from former British colonies, despite English being widely spoken due to British influence.
- The cost of these tests is exorbitant, exceeding double the Nigerian minimum wage, generating substantial revenue for the UK government.
- Even after passing, the test results expire after two years, requiring repeated testing, highlighting the subtle yet persistent power dynamics in the post-colonial world.
- Some English-speaking countries are exempt, but none of the 28 English-speaking African countries colonized by Britain are among them. Transcript: Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo I mean, in many ways, it seems like there are mighty fingers from outside whose support is needed before important decisions that affect my country can be taken. John Biewen So fingers belonging to people in Europe or the United States. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo That’s right. Sometimes those ties are obvious, like in the extraction of minerals to serve the needs of rich foreign countries, and the wars, destruction, and death that are scramble for these Resources, of course. But some others are quite subtle. A couple of real sore points for Africans. One is the amount of money we have to pay just to cross the borders of the EU, the UK and the US. In 2023 alone, the EU took in 130 million euros from rejected applications, not all applications, just applications, with people from Africa and Asia paying 90% of that amount. John Biewen Ouch. You’ve also talked about this thing where if you, as an African, from a former British colony, if you want to attend a university in the UK or some other English-speaking country, including The US, you have to take a test to prove you can speak English? Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo And the cost of taking that test is more than double the Nigerian minimum wage. The UK government took in almost 800 million US dollars from the language exam between 2016 and 2021. And even if you pass it, like myself, I have to take it again every two years to prove that I can still speak English. So
Time 0:06:27
Visa Costs for Africans
- Africans face high costs for visas to enter the EU, UK, and US.
- In 2023, the EU collected €130 million from rejected visa applications alone.
- Africans and Asians paid 90% of this amount.
- This financial burden adds to existing post-colonial tensions and barriers for Africans. Transcript: Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Couple of real sore points for Africans. One is the amount of money we have to pay just to cross the borders of the EU, the UK and the US. In 2023 alone, the EU took in 130 million euros from rejected applications, not all applications, just applications, with
Time 0:10:21
Tragic Journey of Fatih and Patu
- Fatih and Patu attempted a dangerous journey to Europe to secure a better future for their daughter, Marie.
- Despite multiple failed attempts, they decided to try again in 2023 to cross the Tunisian desert.
- Tragically, after being expelled by Tunisian authorities, the family faced dire conditions in the desert.
- Pato sacrificed himself, urging Fatih to take Marie to safety, but both Fatih and Marie ultimately perished from thirst.
- Pato survived and was rescued weeks later, only to mourn the loss of his family. Transcript: Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Mm-hmm. The same week that they set out, the Tunisian government signed an agreement with the European Union to stem what they call irregular migration and began violently expelling immigrants From African countries. When the family finally made it to the Tunisian city of Ben Gaden, police arrested them, then handed them over to border guards who took the family back into the desert with no water or Food in 100 degree heat. The father Pato who was very exhausted at this point thought he couldn’t go any further so he asked Fatih to push on with Marie to at least save their child. Sadly Pato would never meet his wife and daughter again alive or dead. Both Fatih and Maria died of thirst in the desert, Maria lying close to her dead mother. You know, as a mother, I just could not imagine the deep cry of a thirsty child and the pain of a mother who could do absolutely nothing for her dying child. Ellen McGirt What a terrible story of these pointless deaths. But Pato survived? Yes, yes. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo He was eventually rescued by two Sudanese men who gave him water. Three weeks after the death of his wife and daughter, he got the chance to see their final resting place, a cemetery in the west of Libya. But really, the question is, why do Fatih and Pato and so many others like them feel they have to flee their homes in search of a better life in countries that are, you know, not as rich in John Biewen Resources as their own? You went to Cote d’Ivoire, Ivory Coast, to a lot of us Yanks, to find answers. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Take it away, Ugochi. Fatih’s home country, Cote d’Ivoire, is the largest exporter of cocoa beans in the world. Globally, chocolate is a $140 billion industry. Most
Time 0:21:56
Hardships of Cocoa Farmers
- Ugochi Anyaka-Oluigbo met Yao Adelin, a 37-year-old cocoa farmer in West Africa, who works on a cacao farm with her 3-year-old daughter.
- Adelin expresses the hardships of life as a cocoa farmer, lacking basic necessities like good roads, clean water, and quality education.
- She desires a better life for her daughter and doesn’t see a future for her children in cocoa farming, echoing the sentiments of other farmers in the region.
- This situation is common in West African cocoa-producing countries, where farmers struggle despite the industry’s multi-billion dollar value.
- Cocoa farmers receive only about 7% of global chocolate industry sales, often earning less than $1 a day, placing them below the World Bank’s extreme poverty threshold. Transcript: Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Works on this cacao farm, but says that life is hard here. Just like Fatih, she wants a better life for her daughter. She sees no future here. John Biewen If the children stay here, I don’t know what they will do. I would rather help them go to school quickly so that they can get a diploma and do something. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Standing here, I can clearly see why they wish for a better life for their children. The roads are bad. There is no potable water. The education here is poor and the farmers cannot meet their own needs. A similar situation exists for farmers in other cocoa producing countries in West Africa such as Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. If the cocoa business is a multi-billion dollar industry, where is all the money? According to the World Economic Forum in 2022, the retail and manufacturing sectors garnered almost 80% of the revenue which is telling. Retail and manufacturing of chocolate products happen largely outside of Africa in countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.
Time 0:23:24
Cocoa Farmer Poverty
- Cocoa farmers receive about 7% of global chocolate industry sales, often earning less than $1 per day.
- This contrasts sharply with the large profits made by major chocolate manufacturers and retailers.
- For example, in 2023, Lindt, Mondelez, and Nestle together made almost $4 billion in profits.
- Hershey’s profits reached 160 billion.
- Cocoa farmers lack the financial tools and negotiating power to protect themselves from market fluctuations and low prices. Transcript: Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Farmers, meanwhile, make about 7% of global chocolate industry sales and often are paid less than 1.90, cocoa farmers are some of the poorest of the poor. Loretta Williams Cocoa is a risky business, like most agro-commodities. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Bart Van Bessin is a policy advisor for Oxfam Belgium. In spring 2024, Oxfam published a report on the inequality in the cocoa supply chain. Prices can vary. Loretta Williams There can be diseases of the crop. It’s hard to predict how much there will be produced. And that’s why companies have all kinds of tools to protect against those risks. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Financial tools such as futures contracts allow big trading companies like Cargill to hedge against the swings in the cocoa harvest and sell at a profit. From there, companies like Hershey’s turn cocoa into chocolate. The Oxfam report says that in 2023 alone, Lint, Mondelez and Nestle together made nearly 2 billion last year, and the collective fortunes of the Ferrero and Mars families who own the two biggest private chocolate corporations grew To $160 billion during the same period.
Time 0:37:15
West African Revolts Rooted in Economic Oppression
- Recent revolts in West African countries like Niger, Mali, Chad, and Guinea stem from resentment towards former colonial powers, particularly France.
- These revolts aren’t solely against French influence but also against the imposed capitalist economic system.
- While the new leaders may still embrace capitalism, it will likely be redefined and implemented on their own terms.
- The younger generation is tired of the prevailing economic oppression.
- This is causing protests and military coups in some countries. Transcript: Loretta Williams You’re talking about Niger, Mali, Chad, I mean Guinea, then you’re talking about France because France was a colonial overlord and they showed their distaste and their disdain for The way the French treated them. And that’s why you see this kind of a revolt. It’s also not just a revolt against France, but it’s a revolt against the economic system that France imposed upon them, which news of military takeovers and protests in a number of West African countries. Is capitalism. Now, that is not to tell you that even the new people that are there are not going to practice capitalism. But even if it’s going to be capitalism, it is going to be capitalism on their own terms and under their own definition of what they think that capitalism should be. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Global organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, say they exist to promote the health of the world economy. Yet, many believe they are harming the development of the countries where they operate. Chenobar is an investigative journalist at the African East Express and historian based at Brown University in the US. He traced the economic corruption amidst management of wealth in the West African countries of Sierra Lone, Guinea, Liberia and Kosovo. His work shows how African countries through the IMF and World Bank are saddled with debt. Then the solutions to their economic problems are taken out of their hands and given away to foreign companies. The
Time 0:43:49
Decolonizing Chocolate
- Ghana’s president expressed his intent to move beyond exporting raw cocoa beans and develop Ghana’s own chocolate-making industry.
- This signifies a push towards greater economic independence and value creation within the country, rather than relying on Western nations for processing.
- Ghanaian chocolate maker Michael Marmon-Harm, in partnership with a German company Fair Afrique, is trying to decolonize the chocolate industry. Transcript: Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Indeed. The president did not miss words when he mentioned that as a country our intent is to stop sending raw cocoa beans Europe and America for value creation. It is his dream and it is also the dream of the many, many cocoa farmers who live in Ghana to have these beans transformed into at least, if nothing at all, semi-finished products before Exports. Ghanaian chocolate maker Michael Marmonharm has teamed up with a German chocolate maker in an effort to break the monopoly and to make the system more equitable. Their company is called Fair Afrik. They say their goal is to decolonize chocolate. It won’t be done overnight. It will take some time before there can be full implementation of this. But at least the president has been clear that as a country, this is our intention and this is the direction we want to go. For now, the world is aware that the two families who own the biggest chocolate companies are richer than the two biggest cocoa-producing nations, Ghana and Kodovua.
Time 0:48:47
CFA Franc’s Colonial Legacy
- Several West and Central African countries use the CFA franc, a currency tied to the euro and controlled by France.
- This limits their economic independence and is seen as a lingering symbol of colonialism.
- Critics argue this system hinders economic growth and perpetuates poverty, as these countries lack control over monetary policy.
- The CFA franc’s origins are linked to compensating French slave traders after abolition, further highlighting its problematic history.
- Some African leaders are debating decoupling from the CFA franc to gain economic sovereignty. Transcript: Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and a dozen other countries in Western Central Africa are in what’s called the franc zone. The currency called the CFA franc is controlled by France and tied to the euro. Some economists say that this is why countries in that zone can’t advance economically. In a fiery interview on Jeanne Afrique, French economist and author Thomas Piketty really reminded the audience that the currency was created after slavery was abolished to compensate French slave traders for their losses. He also described the continued use of the name and currency in 2021 as an anomaly. And for a few years now, some leaders in these countries have been debating whether and how they can decouple the CFA. As you’re right, it’s seen as a symbol of colonialism. The history and the arguments are quite complex. But the main criticism is that these African countries don’t have the monetary and physical independence to run their own economies. And the fact that most of them are so poor and still falling further behind is evidence that a CFA franc is probably not serving them well. Ellen McGirt A couple of episodes ago, we heard Esteban Kelly here in the U.S. Talking about the IMF and the World Bank and the role they’ve played in the Global South since were founded at the end of World War II. Ostensibly, from the perspective of the rich Global North, led by the United States, those organizations were created to help with the development of poorer countries. But as many critics have argued and shown, the policies these lenders insisted on have brought poorer countries into the global economy in ways that really helped to facilitate more Extraction from those countries by the very nations that once colonized them.
Time 0:51:06
Nigeria’s Oil Wealth Paradox
- Nigeria is Africa’s top white producing country.
- However, this has not translated to wealth for most Nigerians, particularly those in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, who live in extreme poverty.
- Major oil companies operating in the Delta, including Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron, have caused severe pollution, devastating the local fishing-based economy and way of life that existed for centuries. Transcript: Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo We’re the top oil producing country in Africa. But has that made Nigerians rich? Not at all. Most of the people who live in the oil rich region, the Niger Delta, live in extreme poverty. And meanwhile, the main oil companies operating there, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Eni, Chevron, Wando, and others, have left the Delta one of the most polluted places on the planet. This is where people had an economy and a way of life based
Time 0:52:02
Modern Wealth Extraction
- Experts debate how to measure the current wealth extraction from the global south by the global north.
- One study by Jason Hickel and colleagues estimates $10.8 trillion annually.
- This extraction occurs through mechanisms like using land in the global south for production consumed in the north, rather than for local needs. Transcript: John Biewen In our time, experts debate how to measure the amount of wealth extraction still going on between the rich global north and the south one estimate comes from the scholar jason hickle Who we have heard in this series along with several colleagues he did a study on the question they did an analysis of global trade and they estimate that every year the global north drains $10.8 trillion from the global south. How? Ellen McGirt Good lord, John. How indeed? So I get it. This doesn’t go down the way it did a couple hundred years ago through military conquests, right? But it happens through the kind of exchange we just heard about from Ogochi in the form of chocolate. That’s right. John Biewen They found, for example, that about two billion acres of land in the global south is used in service of corporations
Time 0:52:11
Wealth Extraction Today
- Experts estimate that the global north drains approximately $10.8 trillion from the global south each year.
- This extraction isn’t through military conquests as in the past, but through economic exchanges and trade practices.
- The cocoa trade serves as a contemporary example of how wealth continues to flow from poorer nations to richer ones. Transcript: John Biewen Estimate comes from the scholar jason hickle who we have heard in this series along with several colleagues he did a study on the question they did an analysis of global trade and they Estimate that every year the global north drains $10.8 trillion from the global south. How?
Time 0:52:52
Global North’s Consumption Footprint
- The global north utilizes a significant amount of resources from the global south, impacting land use and resource allocation.
- Roughly 2 billion acres of land in the global south, twice the size of India, are used to produce goods for consumption in the global north.
- This land, if used for domestic food production, could feed up to 6 billion people.
- The production includes commodities like sugar for Coca-Cola and beef for McDonald’s, highlighting the scale of resource appropriation.
- This pattern extends to natural resources, oil, minerals, and labor, where large quantities from the global south fuel production for the north. Transcript: John Biewen Right. They found, for example, that about two billion acres of land in the global south is used in service of corporations in the global north to grow stuff for us. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo Now, to put that in perspective, that is twice the size of India. So that amount of land could be used to provide nutritious food for up to 6 billion people if it was mobilized domestically around provisioning food for local populations, but instead Speaker 5 Is mobilized to produce things like sugar for Coca-Cola and beef for McDonald’s in global supply chains with consumption occurring in the global north. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo So it’s like a huge appropriation of southern land for consumption in the global north. John Biewen The same thing goes for natural resources, oil and minerals and on and on, and labor, vast quantities of all of those things in the global south being devoted to producing stuff for those Of us here in the rich north to
Time 0:53:04
1min Snip Transcript: Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo To put that in perspective, that is twice the size of India. So that amount of land could be used to provide nutritious food for up to 6 billion people if it was mobilized domestically around provisioning food for local populations, but instead Speaker 5 Is mobilized to produce things like sugar for Coca-Cola and beef for McDonald’s in global supply chains with consumption occurring in the global north. Ugochi Anyaka Oluigbo So it’s like a huge appropriation of southern land for consumption in the global north. John Biewen The same thing goes for natural resources, oil and minerals and on and on, and labor, vast quantities of all of those things in the global south being devoted to producing stuff for those Of us here in the rich north to take just one more example look at the mining of cobalt for mobile phone and electric car batteries in the democratic republic of congo and the death and Ellen McGirt Destruction that labor leads to and we don’t see it as colonialism or imperialism because this is just business, right? People buying and selling stuff and shipping it across the sea or investing in production overseas, employing people in other countries to make stuff for you. But