The Importance of Africa to The World System After 9/11 Attacks: War on Terrorism or Integration for Sustainable Development

Chapter Five

5. Conclusion:

Whatever reasons it is that brought the external to influence the internal and the internal connecting to the external, the study of the security of Africa gulf of guinea shows that it has done more harm than good, as it has lead to a resource war between the external powers and their multinationals, each fighting to build a zone of influence and hegemony on what history reveals use to be a protectorate reserve of Britain and France, this has lead to furious contestations and influence of the politics and economics of the countries in this region which in themselves have engage in resource war to gain hegemony of neighbouring territory. The engaging behaviour of the great powers over Africa Gulf of Guinea’s oil, natural gas, uranium, forestry, and other energy resources makes the danger of war ever present, whereby as Michael Klare has argued, the use of arms deliveries as an inducement to the oil producing countries in order to win major contracts, create a zone of influence or military base in the gulf of guinea, as a consequence will lead to the ever growing danger and fear that the activities of the major consuming nations will provoke regional arms races, get drawn into local resource dispute, increasing the risk of great power conflict while transforming the region into an unstable oil producing region. This is the case of the Nigeria and Cameroon border conflict over Bakassi and the entrance of Equatorial Guinea in favour of Nigeria to gain possession for her interests. The conflict between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon over the island of anabon for control because of resources, Chad and Sudan over Darfur leading to the dead of hundreds. if this has had far reaching consequences between countries, it is non the less even worst internally within countries, such as is the situation in the delta state in Nigeria. In Equatorial Guinea it lead to a coup to topple the government, in Tchad it brought civil war, in Congo Brazzaville it lead to the removal of the democratically elected president Pascal Lusuba to a dictator Sassou Nguesso. The situation of Angola has for over two decades speaks for itself as it has been the subject matter of news headlines of conflict between l’UNITA of Savimbi Jonas supported by the multinational trade cartel of the dalmant oil company against NPFLA of Dos santos supported by the oil cartels. In Cameroon oil and its resources is a matter of a few heads. According to heresy, the one time director of the national hydrocarbon once said ‘’je ne aucun conte a rendre a person sauf le president de la republique’’.

The regain of importance of Africa Gulf of Guinea to the world system viewed through the security lens, reveals critical engagements of US, EU, China and the entire Africa in policy relevant areas of security, economic development, and democratization as the framework foundation for development cooperation. Through the mechanisms of inter states agency coordination, public and private partnerships, and multilateral cooperation. Between Africa Gulf of Guinea and the industrialize countries of the north and their multinationals for a long term impact in a win-win situation. The long term security interests of the US of overcoming the challenges in the Gulf of Guinea and build a safe heaven for multinational oil companies, will be of no substance and effects if looking at the realities of on the ground and learning from past experiences in other energy rich regions of the world such as the Caspian region, the South China sea, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Alaska backwaters. Fails to line up the security interests alongside the coordinated efforts of the local security realities to increase state legitimacy, democracy and good governance in development, support programs of local population and economic development, sustainable ecological environment, mass education of the population for a political culture, enhance human and individual civic and property rights and opportunity for cultural and religious communities to develop their own ways of life. A region with a complex history of external and internal factors making life a matter of existence and survival to a considerable ratio of declining standard of living of the majority. Encouraging the multinational companies to engage in indiscriminate extraction through guarantee security without a corresponding sustainable level in socio economic and political improvement, will lead to short comings and is only fanning the flame of violence in the region. Therefore it is wisdom for the US, EU, China and their multinationals to promote transparency, human rights, the rule of law, and integrative sustainable development as the basis for both policy makers and the multinational corporations to avoid the warnings of Forest and Sousa ‘’if we fail to learn from the past, we are destined to repeat our mistakes in the future’’⁶⁵. And it is the truth for those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable. This done, the international influencing the local and the local interacting with the international thereby connecting Africa to the world system.