Operation Uprooting the Seeds of Discord in Africa by Africans

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

Africa, the cradle of civilization, blessed with an abundance of natural resources, vibrant cultures and a resilient people, remains shackled by the chains of artificial borders, ethnic rivalries, neocolonial puppetry and corruption. These chains are not natural to the continent, they were sown and watered by centuries of colonial conquest and sustained by post-independence complicity. It is time for a radical, pan-African operation; Operation Uprooting the Seeds of Discord in Africa by Africans to reclaim our dignity, sovereignty and future.

Historical Seeds of Division: Colonial Cartography as a Weapon
The so-called Scramble for Africa, formalized in the 1884 –1885 Berlin Conference, was nothing less than a calculated mutilation of African identity. European powers without African representation carved up the continent along arbitrary lines, dividing ethnic groups and lumping incompatible communities together. The Igbo of Nigeria, the Ashanti of Ghana, the Tutsi and Hutu of Rwanda, the Zulu and Xhosa of South Africa, all were manipulated into manufactured rivalries and fragile national structures.

As Professor PLO Lumumba rightly asserts, “Africa is the only continent where borders were drawn in foreign capitals. And we wonder why we don’t have unity.” The colonizers sowed discord to divide and conquer and even after independence, many African leaders maintained the colonial architecture for their personal gain.

Modern-Day Betrayals: African Elites and the Puppet Strings of the West
Post-independence Africa saw a new breed of leaders, many of them more loyal to their former colonial masters than to their own people. Through neo-colonial tactics such as foreign debt, military aid tied to political allegiance and control of extractive industries, Western powers have continued to manipulate African governments.

Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso, a rising voice of African resistance, recently declared: “We must stop begging the West for help. Our salvation lies in African solidarity, not in foreign charity.” His bold stance echoes the legacy of Thomas Sankara, who called the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank instruments of economic warfare. It is this courageous defiance of foreign control that must form the nucleus of Operation Uprooting.

Internal Division: The Ethnic and Political Time Bomb

Nowhere are the seeds of discord more dangerous than in the toxic brew of ethnicity and politics. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, stands as a tragic case study. Instead of building a national identity, the ruling elite continues to exploit tribal sentiments to win elections, appoint cronies and suppress dissent. This ethnicization of governance is not unique to Nigeria, it plagues Kenya, South Sudan, Cameroon, Ethiopia and beyond.

Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, once declared: “We cannot continue to blame colonialism for everything. We must take responsibility for our own divisions.” Rwanda, which suffered the 1994 genocide, a horror catalyzed by colonial ethnic labeling is now a model of unity through deliberate nation-building. Under Kagame, ethnic identity cards were abolished and national unity became policy. The lesson: ethnic discord can be uprooted, but only through bold, honest leadership.

Neocolonial Economics: Resources Without Power
Africa possesses 30% of the world’s mineral resources, 60% of arable land and a demographic boom of young minds. Yet it remains home to 33 of the world’s 46 least developed countries, according to the UN. Why? Because Africa exports raw materials and imports finished goods, perpetuating dependency. French control over West African currency through the CFA Franc is a colonial relic that still drains African economies.

As President Patrice Talon of Benin noted: “It is time we took back control of our own monetary policies. France cannot dictate our economic future.” Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have taken steps to kick out French troops and review foreign mining contracts. These are not acts of rebellion, they are acts of liberation.

Media and Education: Minds as Battlegrounds
One of the most insidious forms of colonial legacy is control over education and media. African students still learn more about Shakespeare than Chinua Achebe, more about Napoleon than Shaka Zulu. African children grow up admiring Western heroes and demonizing African resistance fighters.

As Lumumba states, “Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” The battle must be waged in classrooms and newsrooms. Operation Uprooting demands a complete overhaul of education systems to center African history, philosophy and innovation. Our languages, our heroes and our truths must be taught with pride.

Military Sovereignty: Ending Dependency on Foreign Guns
The African Union’s standby military force is a noble idea sabotaged by a lack of funding and willpower. When conflicts erupt; whether in Mozambique, the Sahel, or Congo, African governments still run to France, the U.S., or the UN. This is unacceptable. We need robust, African-led security coalitions that respond to African crises with African solutions.

Kagame again emphasizes this necessity: “No one will fight for you. If you are not ready to defend your sovereignty, you do not deserve it.” Rwanda’s disciplined and professional military has proven its capacity in peacekeeping missions across the continent. We must replicate this model.

Reclaiming Pan-Africanism: Unity Is the Antidote
The dream of Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Sekou Touré and Gaddafi was a united Africa; economically, militarily and diplomatically. That dream has been buried under selfish leadership and artificial divisions. But it can be resurrected.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a step in the right direction, potentially creating a $3.4 trillion market. However, free trade means little without political will, infrastructure and mutual trust.

We need a new African political class, a generation not bought with Western scholarships or IMF packages but trained in the spirit of Sankara, Nkrumah and Biko. As Lumumba puts it: “Africa must think, speak and act for herself.”

Concrete Steps Forward: What Operation Uprooting Must Achieve
Abolish colonial-era borders: Encourage regional integration and gradual dismantling of artificial lines.

Pan-African military collaboration: Fund and operationalize the African Standby Force.

End French economic control: Dismantle the CFA franc and create a continental monetary policy.

Rewrite education: Center African voices, histories and inventions in all curricula.

Control resources: Audit and renegotiate all foreign mining and oil contracts.

Media reform: Fund African-centered media to counter Eurocentric propaganda.

Leadership renewal: Enforce term limits, reject sit-tight dictatorships and encourage diaspora participation in governance.

Furtherance: Africa Must Choose Its Destiny
Africa has a choice: continue as a fractured continent manipulated by foreign interests, or rise as a united, sovereign powerhouse. Operation Uprooting the Seeds of Discord is not just a slogan: it is an ideological war against dependency, division and delusion.

The time for rhetoric is over.
The time for action is now.

Let me end with the words of Thomas Sankara: “We must dare to invent the future.” Africa must dare to imagine a future free from the ghosts of colonialism, the chains of corruption and the lies of inferiority. That future must be shaped by Africans, for Africans, and with Africans united, unapologetic and unbreakable.