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The African ‘Che Guevara’.

Born in 1949 in a small village in the then Upper Volta to Mossi and Peul, Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara would later become the most outstanding face of the African Revolution. Most refer to him as the Upright man after renamed his country to 'Burkina Faso' translating to 'The land of the Upright man.' The young boy whose father wanted to become a priest would have destiny push him to become the country's savior at a time when it needed him the most. So outstanding and Unique he was that most of the leaders during that era became his natural enemies for the mere fact that they feared he would criticize their exploitations. Sankara’s progressive ideologies were built at the Military academy of Kadiogo in Ouagadougou. He met a civilian professor Adama Touré, a renowned progressive ideologist who instead remained unexpressed to the public's eyes. Sankara was among the best students in his class, making him one of the few chosen students. They would discuss politic...
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Weaponization of the Dollar

   



  It's the second week and counting as the Russian-Ukraine war still ravages on. Moscow has been condemned and isolated for what most nations especially the West perceive as a provocation and a violation of the fundamentals of the treaties put in place to avoid a full-blown third war. Well, Vladimir Putin and his counterparts have a different perspective, and it's only right if their cries were to be heard! As the war continues innocent lives are lost and we can only pray that someday peace will prevail in Kyiv. 

 For the better part of last week, we've witnessed a massive exodus of major companies cutting ties with Moscow in a bid to bring mother Russia to her knees, students of history will explain to you how difficult that might be. For the Russians learned from history that saw Nazi-Germany nearly wipe back then. Amid all these exoduses, comes cruel and rather shocking sanctions directly pointed at the Russian citizens rather than Putin's government. One would wonder if Russians' opinion was sought before the Russian tankers matched to Kyiv. Poor innocent Russians!

   One particular Sanction by Washington catches my attention tough, "Freezing of Russian National Bank Foreign Reserves".  I'm left tongue-tied considering the massive amount of $600 Billion accumulated for four decades to "safeguard the socialist state against sanctions". It's almost sounding ironical right? But hey, this is the way geopolitics play. Financial systems have been used as a primary system for bullying and forcing nations with contrary opinions as opposed to those of the west to bend to their will and worship them. The US, EU, and their allies know very well this is a toxicity that when applied effectively Kenyans would call it " Chapwa Character development". 



    With globalization and the intertwinement of technology comes another massive weapon that can be used as an iron first. As demonstrated by the US and her allies pulling the SWIFT banking system from Russia means Russians can no longer use any banking unless they develop their payment gateways. I'd guess this is to spur public outcry and civil unrest as the Russian economy is already down by a whopping 13% . They'll soon start feeling the heat of the cost of living as most of their companies and businesses are shut down globally.

  For the first time in history, we are witnessing such unprecedented sanctions imposed on a G20 member state alongside other states such as Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. The lesser nations have suffered the repercussions of being on the wrong side of the US and its allies, it's evident that they came up with smart ways of surviving such. The audacity to lock and completely write away a nation's national reserve is something that should be a concern for all nations. Does it mean these stockpiled dollars, euros, and pounds exist only on spreadsheets at the central banks' records? Are they only digital records but nothing tangible? It's shocking!!!

    What do such moves signify?

    As Adam Tooze says, " To freeze a fellow central bank involves the breaking of sovereign equality and the common interest upholding the property rights." I couldn't agree more, this move undermines the assumptions that have been held by nations that the global banking system is neutral and rule-based. Such actions make me question the nature of money especially when it's held by one major currency. Is it time for central banks, and investors to come to embrace decentralized digital assets that won't be easy to freeze?

   Inflicted with deep financial wounds Russia will have to look for their Eastern allies China, who for a long time have also wanted to change the status quo and displace the US as the superpower. These sanctions only mean Russia will look up to China in creating banking systems that don't rely on the dollar for its transactions and bypass the SWIFT systems. If China was to play their game right while still maintaining their relationship with the West while other like-minded nations and investors form a well-acceptable banking system. 

   What does this signify for the dollar? Will we witness a post-dollar era?  The sanction on Russia is a strong message to all nations that rely on piles of stocked dollar bills in their coffers. It's high time the banks rolled back to traditional assets such as Gold before the dollar reign. In my view on this ongoing financial warfare, all nations need to set cover and hold a financial system that can be counted upon rather than a centralized system controlled by only one individual who can decide to wipe out all your reserves with a click of a button.

    


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