Ouagadougou: Joseph Ki-Zerbo University in Ouagadougou hosted a high-level public conference on Saturday, organized by the association "Two Hours for Us, Two Hours for Kamita," in collaboration with African diaspora organizations. The central theme was: "The Contribution of Pan-Africanism to the Influence of the African and Senegalese Community." Participants advocated for the use of certain ancestral values, such as Sanankouya, or joking kinship, to strengthen African sovereignty.
According to Burkina Information Agency, this public conference, which mobilized students, researchers, civil society actors, and pan-African activists, served as a platform for several intellectuals from the Martinican, Haitian, and African diasporas to share their reflections on the geostrategic, historical, and cultural issues of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES). The meeting, placed under the main theme "Contribution of Pan-Africanism to the Influence of the AES," was structured around five sub-themes.
Speaking on the sub-theme "Pan-African Geostrategy in the light of the AES Federation," Martinican writer and specialist in pan-Africanism, Popo Klah, argued for a reappropriation of ancestral African concepts in the construction of contemporary alliances. According to him, the "Sanankouya," also known as joking kinship, constitutes a historical model of cohesion and solidarity that can inspire relations between the African continent and its diaspora. "Whenever we encounter a problem, we must return to the toolbox of our ancestors," he said, believing that African people would benefit from drawing on their collective memory to address current geopolitical challenges.
The Martinican intellectual also praised the political directions taken by the leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, which he considers to be initiatives in favor of the reconquest of African sovereignty, particularly through the promotion of African heroes, traditional knowledge, and ancestral medicine.
For her part, Haitian professor and voodoo activist Bayyinah Bello stressed the importance of historical consciousness in the liberation struggles of African peoples. Using the Haitian revolution as an example, she explained that Haiti's historical experiences can enable the AES to anticipate certain threats and strengthen its resistance mechanisms. "We have already beaten them, so you can beat them too," she told the participants, stressing that African people must remain in a permanent dynamic of self-defense and vigilance against new forms of domination. The Haitian academic also recalled the crucial role of women and families in the historical struggles for Haiti's independence, calling for total popular mobilization around sovereignty issues.
The national coordinator of the association "Two Hours for Us, Two Hours for Kamita," political analyst and consultant, Lianhoue Imothep Serges Bayala, indicated that this conference reflects the active solidarity of African diasporas towards the member countries of the AES. For him, the participants from the diaspora constitute "living libraries" who have come to share their experiences with Burkinabe youth. He explained that this initiative is part of a people's diplomacy dynamic aimed at building lasting bridges between Africa and its historical diasporas. Mr. Bayala also advocated for the eventual establishment of a direct air link between the AES and the Caribbean territories to strengthen human, cultural, and economic exchanges between African and Afro-descendant peoples.
The two other sub-themes, namely "Stress, colonial and energy trauma: what our genes keep in memory for the renaissance" and "Pharaonic Egypt and the peoples of the Sahel," were respectively developed by the Cameroonian historian and lecturer Dibombari Mbock, as well as by the consultant and lecturer Sonia Remus from Martinique. The speakers concluded by urging African youth to combat ignorance through education, historical awareness, and patriotic commitment to consolidate the sovereignist ambitions championed by the AES.