Dear Kenyan Friends!
I am taking the opportunity of this traditional piece on the occasion of Russia’s National Day, to reflect on the speed with which the modern world changes.
Only a few years ago, everyone around the Globe was absolutely convinced that wealth, power, progress and development were concentrated in the West, and the rest of the world had to accept it hoping to find a little safe place in a system of universal western hegemony that would allow them to get some pittance charity or catch some crumbs from the table of the rich and powerful (and incredibly greedy).
The behemoth western propaganda machine vilified, ostracised and reduced to a state of pariahs the few revolutionaries who dared to stand up to the diktat to intimidate the rest of humanity and make them submit to the exploitation and looting.
Some “philosophers” even seriously talked about the “end of history” in order to brainwash billions of people to make them believe that the existing order of things was there forever without any hope to ever change it.
Who could ever think that the time would come when the Global South, or rather the Global Majority, would become the world’s largest producers of wealth overtaking the West in terms of productivity, competitiveness and innovation?
But what is happening is just that! The combined GDP (PPP) of BRICS has already exceeded that of the “G7”, and the foresight and forecasts clearly indicate that the trend will not only continue but accelerate. History never ends.
In Africa, whole countries rise to kick out their oppressors and exploiters and reclaim the right to use their natural riches for the good of their own nations. In the Pacific, proud islanders insurrect to fight for their emancipation from centuries-long colonial and neocolonial yoke. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the freedom drive gathers strength. And the process is gaining momentum.
On this Russia Day, I am proud to bring to your attention the fact that, according to the latest World Bank data, the Russian Federation has become the world’s fourth-largest economy by GDP size (PPP).
It is a very positive development not only for Russia but for the entire developing world, because it demonstrates the historic change in the global balance of economic power ushering in a fairer multipolar world that would be better fit for the poor and destitute to redress historical grievances and injustices.
For Africa, it means that the countries of the continent will have more opportunity to choose their cooperation partners in accordance with their own national interests and development strategies.
The old colonial powers still have enough strength and wickedness left to cling to their decrepit and obsolescent hegemony to trick some countries of the Global South into their schemes, but time is definitely not on their side. Their decline will continue, and the future is not theirs.
So, dear African friends, let us be optimistic and work together to build a better, fairer, safer and more equitable world to realise the immense potential of the Global Majority.
Throughout its history, Russia has proven that it is open to such equal and mutually beneficial cooperation for the common good.
The future is ours!