0:00 CNN, BBC, France 24. I'm watching you all. I'm recording every lie. I'm archiving every distortion. I am Ibrahim Trare and today I'm pulling off your masks. Yes, you heard correctly. I, whom you call a young military hunter leader whom you brand as a dangerous radical whom you serve up as an anti-western dictator, am now telling you the truth. And this time you cannot turn off your microphones. This time you cannot turn away your cameras. This time your editors cannot cut this speech because the world you monopolized no longer exists. Because millions will hear these words now without passing through your filters, without being subjected to your distortions, without being muddied by your lies. I am 34 years old. Every day of my life, I grew up with your lies. As
0:47 a child, I would watch Africa on television. Always the same images. Children with flies, dry lands, weapons, death. This is Africa, they told us. This is what Africa is. And we believed it. We were ashamed of ourselves. We were ashamed of our own lands, of our own people. But then I grew up. I read. I researched. I questioned. And I understood that the Africa you showed us wasn't real. The story you told us was a lie. The fate you imposed on us was a script you had written for years. How have you portrayed Africa? How have you shown it? How have you sold it to your viewers? As if we were creatures who had no share of humanity. As if we were savages left outside of civilization. As if we were wretches waiting for you to save us. Every day, every hour, every minute, the same story plays on your screens. Hunger, war, disease,
1:34 corruption, terror, chaos. These are the words that come to mind when Africa is mentioned. In your Africa dictionary, there are no other words. No hope, no success, no development, no resistance, no honor, no pride, no victory. So I ask you, New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Leond, have you ever made Africa's successes your headlines? How many times have you written about Rwanda's technology miracle? How many times have you shown Ethiopia's reforestation project? How many times have you praised Batswana's democratic success? How many times have you described Kenya's entrepreneurial ecosystem? No, because these don't fit your scenario. Your Africa cannot be successful. It cannot because then how will you legitimize your exploitation? If it's not in need of help, how will you intervene? If it's not backward, how
2:20 will you look down on it? Have you ever asked yourselves? Has any editor sitting at their desk, any news director in a meeting, any columnist at their keyboard ever thought, "Why are the people of the world's richest lands poor?" Here are the numbers for you. Real numbers. Africa owns 70% of the world's cobalt reserves. Your cell phone, your computer, your electric car won't work without cobalt. This cobalt comes from Congo, but Congalles can't afford cell phones. Africa owns 90% of the world's platinum reserves. Catalytic converters, electronic devices, medical implants, they all need platinum. This platinum comes from South Africa. But South Africans are crushed by unemployment. Africa provides 30% of the world's gold production. Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania. Gold flows like rivers from our lands. But our people swim in
3:06 poverty. Africa supplies 65% of the world's diamond production. Batswana, Angola, Congo, Sierra Leone. Billions of dollars worth of diamonds are extracted. But our miners live on $1 a day. Africa owns 35% of the world's uranium reserves. Niger, Namibia, South Africa. Nuclear plants run on our uranium. Paris lights burn with our uranium. But our villages have no electricity. And you still ask, why is Africa poor? No. The right question is, how was Africa kept poor while being so rich? Here's your answer. Colonialism didn't end. It changed shape. You used to come and occupy our lands. Now you come and establish companies. You used to take by force. Now you make agreements. You used to rule with the whip. Now you rule with credit. Let me give you concrete examples with numbers, names, dates, but
3:53 you'll never write about these. Glenor, Swiss-based mining giant, extracting cobalt in Congo. 2022 revenue, $256 billion a tax paid to Congo, $500 million, that's 0.2%. Is this justice? Rio Tinto, British Australian mining giant, extracting boite in Guinea, 20 million tons annually. What's left for Guinea? Environmental pollution and cancer. Total now Total Energies French oil giant extracting oil in Angola, Nigeria, Congo 2022. Profit 36 billion investment in Africa. Dirty pipelines. Anglo-American. Founded in South Africa but now in London. Diamonds, platinum, iron, taking everything. What it left in South Africa. 6 million unemployed miners. And these are just the tip of
4:38 the iceberg. What about the invisible? The secret deals. The offshore accounts. The transfer pricing tricks. Every year, $88 billion in illegal money flows out of Africa. Who writes about this? Every year, $45 billion in aid comes to Africa. Everyone writes about this, but no one says Africa is not the continent receiving aid. It's the continent giving aid. While you zoom your cameras on swollen bellies, there is a huge system working silently in the background. Every day, tons of gold, diamonds, cobalt, uranium, oil leave our land. But how? Here is the system. Step one, create corruption. Bribe our leaders. Open offshore accounts. Promise them a life of luxury. Send their children to your schools. Step two, make deals. Get 50-year, 99-year concessions. Ask for
5:23 tax exemptions. Be exempt from environmental rules. Ignore labor rights. Step three, control the infrastructure. Take over ports, airports, railways, but only from the mine to the harbor. Don't build roads to the villages. Don't bring electricity to schools. Step four, provide security. Set up private security companies. Arm them. declare protesting. Step five, silence the media, buy local journalists, suppress opposing voices, serve internal unrest news to international media. And this is how the system works. It's been working like this for 100 years. And you don't see this system. You don't want to see it because you're part of the system, too. Who are the biggest advertisers of New York Times, CNN, BBC, oil companies, mining companies, arms companies, pharmaceutical cartels, the companies
6:10 that exploit Africa. You live on their money. You defend their interests. And what I'm about to tell you might cost me my life, but it's no longer time to be silent. France's system in Africa is the CFA Franc. 14 African countries still use French colonial currency. 50% of these countries central bank reserves sit in the French treasury. France applies negative interest to this money. So, we pay France to use our own money. Through this system, France transfers $500 billion worth of resources from Africa every year. Does anyone write about this? No, but when France gives Africa€ 10 billion euros in aid, it makes headlines. Britain's system is more sophisticated. London is the world's money laundering center. City of London, offshore paradise. Every penny stolen from Africa passes through London. Jersey, Gernzi, Cayman Islands,
6:57 Virgin Islands, all under British control. Africa's wealth hides there. America's system is Africa Command. 46 military bases on the continent. Official purpose, security. real purpose resource control. Drones in our airspace every day. Listening devices everywhere. They say fighting terrorism, but it's not terrorists. It's people's leaders who are targeted. China is the new player, says win-win. Builds infrastructure gives credit, but in exchange for what? 99-year port concessions, mining rights, agricultural lands, debt trap diplomacy. Ask Sri Lanka. Ask Zambia. And you write about none of this. Why? Because you're not free press. You're corporate press. Your bosses are billionaires. Jeff Bezos bought Washington Post. Why? For love of journalism. Rupert Murdoch's Media
7:42 Empire. Fox News, Wall Street Journal, The Sun, The Times. All from the same hand, all giving the same message. West is good, others are bad. Carlos Slim is the largest shareholder of New York Times. Mexican billionaire. Where's his wealth from? Monopolized telecommunications. Got rich off Latin America's back. Now controls America's most respected newspaper. And you claim to do independent journalism. Who are your editors? Which schools did they graduate from? Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge? Always the same elite schools? Always the same worldview? Always the same prejudices. How are your reporter selected? How many languages does your Africa correspondent speak? French, English, that's all. Swahili, Housea, Yoruba, Amharic. They don't know. They can't talk to the people. Your sources are always the same. Western diplomats, NOS's, experts, and
8:28 then you come and lecture us. They killed Patrice Lumumba. January 12th, 1961. CIA agent Larry Develin confessed. Belgian mercenaries executed. They dissolved his body in acid, took his teeth as souvenirs. In 2022, that tooth was returned from Belgium to his family after 61 years. And what did you say then? Chaos in Congo. You didn't ask about the killers. You didn't investigate CIA documents. You didn't write about Belgium's crime. They killed Thomas Sankura. October 15th, 1987. My hero, Africa's hope. vaccinated 2.5 million children against measles and menitis, planted 10 million trees, raised literacy rate from 13% to 73%, gave equal rights to women, banned FGM, ended corruption, sold Mercedes cars,
9:13 used Renault 5, rejected IMF and World Bank. And most importantly, he said, "We will not pay Africa's debts. We didn't make those debts. The puppets before us made them. Made them on behalf of colonizers." That's when he had to be killed. And they killed him. Who killed him? his best friend Bla Compare with whose support? France. Want proof? Look at the fuckart archives. Jacqu Fukar, France's Africa affairs adviser. Everything is written there. And what did you say? Military coup in Burkina Faso. You didn't write about Sankara's dreams. You didn't tell about his projects. You didn't show his successes. You just said another dictator died. Muhammad Gaddafi. Yes, he was a dictator. Yes, he was ruthless. But what had he done in Libya? Per capita income
9:58 $12,000. Africa's highest. Literacy rate from 25% to 87%. Life expectancy from 51 to74. Free healthcare, free education, $50,000 for newlyweds. Interest free loans for home buyers, $5,000 for new births. Gasoline, 14 cents per liter. Great man-made river. Irrigation project to green the desert and Gaddafi's real crime. Dream of United States of Africa. African Central Bank project. African investment bank. African monetary fund and most dangerous gold dinar refusing to sell oil for dollars. October 20th, 2011. Lynched in Certe, Hillary Clinton laughed. We came, we saw, he died. Now look at Libya. Three different governments, endless civil war, ISIS, al-Qaeda running wild slave markets exist. Even CNN showed in 2017 oil being
10:46 looted, weapons depots emptied, spread across the hell. Do you call this democracy? Do you call this freedom? Do you call this success? And whose turn is it now? The Sahel. Mali Niger Burkina Faso you want to make us Libya too you want to make us Syria you want to make us Iraq but not this time because we've awakened because we've learned. Because we've united Operation Barcane Francis Sahel Adventure 2013 2022 official purpose fighting terrorism real purpose resource control 5 through 100 French soldiers 1 billion euro annual budget. What's the result? 2013 500 terrorists in Mali 2022 5,000 plus terrorists in Sahel 10-fold increase. What kind of success is this? But what were French soldiers doing? Protecting Niger's uranium mines for Arva, Orano, securing oil pipelines for total controlling
11:32 ports and railways for Boler and fighting terrorism. No, the opposite. Terrorists couldn't come within 50 kilometers of French soldiers. But they could easily burn our villages. Why? Because chaos served their purposes. If there's chaos, they could stay for security reasons. Minusma, UN peacekeeping force in Mali. 15,000 soldiers. 1.2 billion annual budget 10 years result 300 plus UN soldiers died thousands of civilians died terror didn't decrease it increased and now you say Wagner is dangerous Russians are taking over Africa Vagnner came 1,000 soldiers what happened in 6 months terrorists fled villages are safe mines are working people are at peace what's the difference is an ally we invited France is an occupier who came by force
12:19 Vagner follows the agreement France blackmails Wagner brings results France produces excuses but you don't write the truth. You say Russian mercenaries. Well, what is French Leon Raner? Aren't they mercenaries? What is American Blackwater Academy? What is British G4S? What is Israeli Black Cube? They are security companies. Wagner is a threat. Why? Because Wagner isn't yours. And the terrorism issue. Who created this terror? Who founded al-Qaeda? 1980s Afghanistan, CIA, Pakistan ISI, Saudi money against Soviets. Bin Laden was CIA's man. You called them freedom fighters. Who supported Taliban? Again, you heroic mujahedin against Soviet occupation. You gave weapons, gave money, gave training, then you lost control. How was ISIS born? 2003, Iraq
13:06 invasion. You toppled Saddam. You disbanded the army. You banned Bath party. You tortured in Abu Grae and those people became ISIS. Then Syria. You said Assad must go. You said moderate rebels. You gave weapons. Those weapons went to ISIS, went to al-Nusra. You destroyed Libya. Who looted Gaddafi's weapon depots? Where did those weapons go? To Mali, to Niger, to Bkina Faso, to Nigeria, to Chad. Who strengthened Boo Haram? In 2009, Nigerian police killed their leader, Muhammad Ysef. Extrajudicial execution. What did you say? Nothing. Where were your human rights organizations? Silent. Then revenge started. Boo Haram radicalized. But where did they find weapons? From Libya. From Libya. that you destroyed. And now you come to
13:53 lecture us about fighting terrorism. You're helping us clean up the monsters you created. No, we've seen the game. Now terror is your Trojan horse. You come with the excuse of terror. You stay. You exploit. But it's over now. We'll provide our own security. We'll fight with our own methods and we'll win. Because we are the children of this land. We know this land. We know these people. We can distinguish terrorist from villager. We don't fight from drones, from satellites from 10,000 km away like you. And we're winning. In Mali, in Niger, in Burkina Faso, terror is ending. Villages are safe. People are hopeful. Because now our own army, our own police are fighting not for foreigners, but for the people. But you can't digest this. You say democratic backsliding. You say human rights violations, which democracy, which human rights. How many people are detained
14:38 without trial in Guantanamo? What happened in Abu Grae? Who did you kill in Bram? Who did you torture in CIA's black sites? Why is Julian Assange in prison for exposing your war crimes? Why did Chelsea Manning spend years in prison for leaking the truth? Why is Edward Snowden a fugitive for revealing you spy on everyone? And you lecture us about human rights. How many civilians died in your drone strikes? You say collateral damage and move on. How many weddings did you strike in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia? How many schools did you bomb? How many hospitals did you burn? And you teach us the laws of war. Look, I come from war. I know the front. I've seen death. I've carried wounded soldiers. I've consoled mothers of martyrs. And I tell you, a real soldier protects his people. A real soldier doesn't harm civilians. A real soldier
15:24 fights with honor. Your mercenaries, your drone pilots, your special forces, they're not soldiers, they're killers. They kill people by pressing buttons from 10,000 kilometers away. Then go home and play with their children. We don't fight like that. We look our enemy in the face. We protect civilians. We fight with our honor. We die with our honor. And we'll win because the righteous win. Because those who fight with their people win. Because those who fight for their land win. Let's return to your media. I know how you work. I have friends who work within the system. There are journalists with conscience, but they stay silent. Why? Because the system silences them. Those who write the truth get fired. Investigative journalists are laid off due to budget cuts. Dissenting columnists are shown the door because reader interest has declined. And what replaces them?
16:11 Experts from think tanks, nos, universities, all saying the same thing, all defending the same thesis. West is good, Africa is bad. So who are these experts? Where do they get their funding? National Endowment for Democracy, NE, American Democracy Exporter, CIA's legal arm, has fingers everywhere, funds opposition, directs media, creates civil society, open society foundations. George Soros's organization says open society but open for whom? Open to what? Open to exploitation, open to intervention, open to manipulation. Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, all in Africa doing aid. But what do they get in return? Control, data, influence, and your media is their trumpet. You headline Gates is
16:57 saving Africa. But you don't say how many African children were paralyzed by Gates's vaccine trials. How many farmers committed suicide because of Monsanto seeds? You're masters at storytelling, but always the same story. White Savior. Remember Live Aid 1985. We are the world. Charity concert for Africa. Millions raised. What came to Africa? Corruption increased. Dependency increased. But it was a great story for you. Bob Gelof became a hero. Musicians looked conscientious. Viewers felt good about themselves. Africa remained hungry. Remember Coney 2012 viral video. Stop Joseph Coney. 100 million views. Result: Coney is still free, but the video maker got rich. Invisible Children organization collected millions. What came to Uganda? American soldiers. And you present these as success stories. Angelina Jolie, Madonna, Bono, all Africa volunteers. They come, take
17:44 photos, adopt children, leave. And you say interest in Africa increased. What interest? Whose interest? Interest for what? Madonna adopted from Malawi. You made headlines. But 100 children die from malaria every day in Malawi. You didn't write that because that news doesn't sell. Bono became Africa's spokesperson. raised billions with YouTube concerts but moved his company to Netherlands to avoid taxes. Money stolen from Africa also passes through Netherlands. Did you write about this? George Clooney campaigned for Darur said save Darur. Result: Sudan split. Oil remained in South Sudan. South Sudan is now in civil war. Who's getting the oil? Take a guess. And you always present these as humanitarian aid. But these are imperialism's soft face. These are exploitations PR. Let me give you real
18:29 numbers. Every year 134 billion in aid and investment comes to Africa. Every year 192 billion in resources leave Africa. Net loss $ 58 billion every year. But you only write about the incoming $134 billion. You don't write about the outgoing $192 billion. Why? Because then people will ask, "Why does Africa need aid?" illicit financial flows. 88.6 billionyear multinational corporations profit transfers. 48.2 2 billionyear debt interest 17 billionyear brain drain cost 13.8 billionyear climate change cost 10.6 6 billionyear illegal logging, 17 billionyear illegal fishing, 1.3 billion year total, 192 plus billion every year. This much
19:15 resource leaves Africa every year. But what are your headlines? EU announces 20 billion euro aid package for Africa. China gives Africa $60 billion in credit. America grants Africa $8 billion. People read these and think how generous they are, how charitable, how ungrateful Africa is. But the truth is the opposite. Africa is financing your standard of living. Africa is subsidizing your prosperity. Africa is making your technology possible. The cobalt in your iPhone from Congo, the lithium in your Tesla from Zimbabwe, the tantelum in your computer. From Rwanda, your jewelry from Batswana your chocolate from Ivory Coast. Your coffee from Ethiopia your oil. From Nigeria, your uranium from Niger. And what do we
20:00 get in return? Debt, poverty, humiliation. But enough. This game will end now because we've awakened. Our youth are sharing the truth on social media. Bar France out. Hashtag used 100 million times. Africa is bleeding 50 million on stop exploiting Africa 75 million. And what are you doing? You say Russian bots. You say Chinese propaganda. You say disinformation. No. These are real voices of real Africans. This is real anger. This is real awakening. There are millions of youth on Tik Tok. Videos celebrating French soldiers leaving. Images applauding Vagner's arrival. Content explaining the truth on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. The same voice everywhere. Enough. And you're panicking because you're losing control. You're losing the narrative.
20:46 You're losing the monopoly. You established fact-checking organizations. Africa check. AFP fact check. Who funds these? Facebook, Google, Bill Gates. The same system again. What are you checking? Whose facts are you defending? We say France exploits $500 billion a year. You say false. Only $440 billion. As if that changes the situation. As if 440 billion is little. We say Wagner has been successful. You say Wagner violates human rights. Well, what were French soldiers doing? Bombing fani villages, arming Doan militias, accidentally striking weddings. Your hypocrisy is so obvious that no one believes you anymore. Remember what Anderson Cooper said on CNN? Democracy is declining in Africa. Which democracy, Anderson? Your democracy? America's democracy? Your capital riot January 6th, 2021. You said
21:34 attack on democracy. Five people died. Our Sankara assassination, October 15th, 1987. You said internal matter. One person died, but that person was the hope of 20 million people. In your elections, corporations fund candidates. Lobbyists write laws. You call our elections rigged. In your country, police kill blacks. George Floyd, Bana Taylor, Ahmad Arbory. You lecture us about police violence on BBC. Kazya Madera presents Africa news. Polish origin. How many years has she lived in Africa? How many African languages does she speak? But every day she speaks as an Africa expert. Africa is like this. Africa is like that. On France 24, cameramen, editors, producers, most are French. Even Africa correspondents are mostly French and they do objective
22:20 journalism. Even Al Jazera Qatar funds it. What business does Qatar have in Sahel? But every day they report Sahel crisis. Whose crisis are they telling? Deutschevel, Voice of America, RFI, all state media, all propaganda tools, but they play the role of independent media. And our local media, most are sold out, most are cowards, most are dependent. Lee's newspaper in Burkina Faso. Who's the editor? Where did he get his education? Where does he get his funding? Who are his advertisers? We know the answers. All tied to the same system, all serving the same master. But a new generation is coming. Bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, they have no masters. They have no fears. Gems Coco, Natalie Yam, Kimmy Seba, they have millions of followers. They tell the truth. They expose the system. And you
23:07 label them as extremists. You try to shut down their Twitter. You restrict their YouTube, but in vain. Truth cannot be stopped. You close one channel, 10 open. You silence one voice, a thousand rise. Here's my final message to you. Your lies are ending. Your empire is collapsing. Your monopoly is breaking. And what's replacing it? Truth, justice, freedom. Africa is no longer your story. Africa is writing its own story. Filming with its own camera, telling in its own language. And in this story, you're not heroes, not saviors, not benefactors. In this story, you're the guilty ones, colonizers, liars, thieves. But you still have a chance. You can still change. You can still stand on the right side. There are journalists with conscience among you. I know. I recognize them. We talk. I call out to them. Gather your courage. Write the truth. Rebel against the system. You
23:52 might get fired. You might become unemployed. You might be threatened. But you'll be on the right side of history. You'll look at your children's faces without shame. Your conscience will sleep peacefully. And Africa won't forget you. Africa remembers its friends and its enemies. Be like Edward Snowden. Be like Julian Assange. Be like Daniel Ellburg. Stand with the truth or continue with your lies. Continue with your blindness. Continue with your complicity. But know that your end is coming. Your viewers are decreasing. Your credibility is eroding. Your power is depleting. The new generation doesn't believe you. The new generation doesn't listen to you. The new generation rejects you. And that new generation in Africa is 600 million people. 60% under 25 years old, educated, connected, angry. They are my army. They are my weapon. They are my victory. And with them, we're building a new world. A world without lies, without
24:37 exploitation, without humiliation. In this world, Africa will be free. Africa will be strong. Africa will be a leader. And you you'll remain just as a bad memory, a shameful footnote, a cautionary example. Future generations will read in history books. At the beginning of the 21st century, there were some media organizations. They lied. They served exploitation. Then Africa awakened and they disappeared. That's your end. Inevitable, unchangeable, certain. I am Ibrahim Trareore. Not Burkina Faso's leader, but its servant. Not Africa's dictator, but its child. And not your nightmare, but your mirror. Look well at this mirror. See yourself. see your lies, your hypocrisy, your crimes. And prepare because judgment day is coming. Africa is awakening. The world is changing. Justice is manifesting. And you, you'll just watch. You won't be able to do
25:23 anything else. Because history is on the side of the people. Truth is on the side of the oppressed. God is on the side of those who persevere. And we persevered. We persevered for 500 years. Now it's time for victory. Your lies are finished. Your masks have fallen. Your game has ended. Africa is free. Africa is strong.
