By Kester Kenn Klomegah
Russia not only supported African countries in liberating themselves from the yoke of colonialism and attaining political independence but also facilitated in the UN General Assembly adopting in 1960 the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. It’s a landmark document which states that all people have a right to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end.
Russia has now embarked on fighting “neo-colonialism” which it considers a fortified barrier on its way to regain Soviet-era multifaceted influence in Africa.
Obviously, Russia has taken the most difficult task, reminiscent of the Cold War in the 1980s and early 1990s when East-West confrontation was at its heights. On the other hand, many African leaders, the elite and even the youth from the Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone backgrounds are still loyal and inseparably linked by nostalgic post-colonial master relationship. It relates to furtherance of economic investment, education and training – all controlled by the former colonial powers.