AfroVerdict

'Western Nations Don't Build, They Destroy', Expert on UNGA Presidential Speeches Says

On September 19, the UN General Assembly commenced with the presidents of South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria giving their statements on that same day. Heads of states raised the issues of Africa's place in the global arena, the reform of the UN and reparations for the slave trade. Your host sits down with an expert to analyse their speeches.
Sputnik
During his speech, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, denounced the funds spent on the conflict, which contrasts with the lack of funding for the development of the most vulnerable countries. Funding war is "a very lucrative business", which is "one of the reasons" for Western nations "contributing to funding wars, rather than funding development", according to Koffi Kouakou, Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Africa-China Studies, University of Johannesburg.
"The evidence is there for all of us to see. The evidence is screaming that Western nations don't build, they destroy, be it in Syria, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, Libya. All of these are the evidence of the kind of destruction that they've created around the world," he says.
Reacting to Bola Tinubu's statement "Africa is nothing less than the key to the future of the world", Mr. Kouakou believes that "it will be difficult to make that ideal of Africa being a great world in the multipolar world", but "it's possible".
"I think, with the change in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and perhaps Gabon and other places, there is now a resurgence of looking at Africa as a place or at least a continent that matters, but also a continent that can play a role in the multi-polar world," the expert explains.
To hear what else the experts had to say, check out the entire episode of the AfroVerdict podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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