From Bastille to Bamako: Echoes of Revolution – Africa at the Crossroads of History. By Joseph Imokhai Ogunu
From Bastille to Bamako: Echoes of Revolution – Africa at the Crossroads of History. By Joseph Imokhai Ogunu
Colonial resentment of British taxation and economic restrictions, and the enlightenment ideals of liberty and natural rights, became the springboard for the first successful anti-colonial revolution – (The American Revolution (1775–1783) – which combined the war of independence with the creation of a democratic republic, the independence of the 13 colonies, the birth of the United States of America and the spread of the ideals of constitutional democracy. This was followed by the French Revolution (1789–1799); spurred by conditions of social inequality, food crises, fiscal crisis from wars and the enlightenment thought. The aftermath was the overthrow of the monarchy, abolition of feudalism and the rise of Napoleon. The revolution left in its wake, radical social restructuring — equality before the law, secularism, and the spread of nationalism and republicanism across Europe.
In more recent history, the conditions for the Russian revolutions (1917), created principally by poverty, food shortages, discontent with Tsarist autocracy and the fall-out of the first world war, saw to the fall of the Tsar and the Bolshevik takeover; the emergence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR (1922) and a successful Marxist revolution leading to the creation of one-party socialist state. Its impact was the global communist movements and the cold war ideological split.
Whereas the Chinese Communist Revolution (1945–1949) precipitated by peasant poverty and the corruption of the Nationalist regime among other conditions, ended with the establishment of People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong, the massive, peasant-based communist revolution inspired revolutions in Asia, created the world’s most populous communist state and reshaped global balance of power.
A revolution is a fundamental and often disruptive transformation of a society’s political, socio-economic, or cultural structures – a structural reset. In the classic words of Mao Zedong: “A revolution is not a tea party”. It entails a sudden and accelerated change, often leading to a radical change in power and in political, economic, or ideological orientation. It creates a “new order” replacing the status quo and the “ancien regime’
In the Middle East, the most notable revolution has been the Iranian revolution (1978–1979). Creating a siesmic shift in geo-political alignments and regional dynamics, it was conditioned by economic inequality, poverty, religious dissent, authoritarian rule and opposition to westernization by the Shah regime. It was a first religious revolution, establishing a theocratic state, leading to the rise of political Islam and reshaping of politics of the Middle East.
History shows that when poverty, economic destitution and inequality, ineptitude and economic mis-management; political dominance and mass discontent intersect, societies often experience revolutionary moments.
Today, many African countries remain under conditions with historical parallels. Many states face challenges that have historically, preceded revolutions elsewhere. African states are reeling from severe economic hardship, high unemployment, rising food prices, inflation, energy crises, unsustainable debt burden and crushing poverty. These conditions are reminiscent of France before 1789 (with tax burdens and food shortages) and Russia in 1917 (with war & famine). Many African nations suffer from inequality and corruption, elite capture of resources and poor public services. Widespread corruption have become staples and dominant narratives in many poor and impoverished African countries; echoes of Latin America’s 19th century oligarchic systems.
While authoritarian rule and weak democracies (perpetuated by long-term, non-democratic rulers), electoral manipulation, suppression of dissent and opposition parties are pervasive in Africa, these conditions create inevitable grounds for revolutionary stirrings.
The Arab spring was a systemic challenge demanding regime change and an end to decades of authoritarian rule. It was an ideological shift that called for democracy, dignity, social justice, and an end to corruption. Just like in Europe’s revolutions of 1848, protests were rapid and contagious; spreading across multiple countries in months. Triggered by economic distress: high youth unemployment, rising food prices and authoritarian rule with limited freedoms and facilitated by technology and social media, it led to the overthrow of long-standing dictators and reshaped Middle East power balance with geo-political consequences.
The continent’s current crises mirror those that preceded historic revolutions, and it may well be at the cusp of its own transformative moment. If its leaders confront poverty, corruption, and mis-rule head-on, it could turn these revolutionary pressures into a renaissance of justice, democracy, and shared prosperity. History warns that when injustice festers, revolution becomes inevitable — The continent’s leaders must act to prevent turmoil and build a just new order.
(Joseph Imokhai-Ogunu is an attorney and a doctoral research scholar in international trade & economic law at a European
University. He can be reached at: greyhausconsult@gmail.com & www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-ogunu)
