Dakar: reparations by European countries are no longer a myth and are taking on a more realistic form

The demand for reparations from former colonial powers to African nations has resurfaced with renewed intensity, as highlighted in a recent televised debate aired on Senegalese television through the program “Point Actu.” The discussion brought together prominent voices including Mamadi Amara Fofana, a project monitoring and evaluation specialist from Senegal; Josué Diop, a marketing and communication consultant; and Kassoum Diabaté, a student from Mali.

At the core of the discussion was the call for €50 trillion in reparations—a staggering figure first brought to global attention during the March 2024 conference in Dakar, organized by the activist movement Urgences Panafricanistes. This amount, according to organizers and experts, reflects not only the direct extraction of natural resources but also the cumulative economic, social, and ecological damage inflicted on the continent during centuries of colonization and exploitation. It also accounts for the role African labor and raw materials played in fueling Western industrialization.

Mamadi Amara Fofana made a passionate appeal for formal recognition and justice: “France and other colonial powers must acknowledge the harm they have done—financial, human, cultural. This must be recognized officially and institutionally. Neo-colonialism must come to an end.”

Fofana also pointed to the imbalance in current international partnerships, particularly with foreign multinational corporations operating across Africa: “Today, we see the continued presence of foreign companies, especially mining giants. These are unfair contracts that do not serve our interests. We must negotiate as equals, and if that’s not possible, these partnerships should be abandoned.”

The conversation went further to critique ongoing foreign military presence in Africa, which many believe is a continuation of colonial influence under a different guise. “We are the future of this continent,” Fofana insisted. “No one else will change things for us. We have seen French troops leave some African countries recently—they had no choice. This is the kind of momentum we need to build on.”

This televised debate is part of a broader regional conversation that is gaining traction. During the March debate in Dakar, activists and intellectuals placed the issue of reparations at the centre of Africa's journey towards sovereignty and justice. In addition, the debate on the need for reparations also recently took place in Mali. What unites these events is the idea that West African leaders are strong enough to demand justice for their peoples.

Across the continent, discussions on reparations are becoming increasingly structured, reflecting a collective determination to hold Europe accountable—not only for the past but also for present-day forms of economic and military interference. As Fofana and other panelists emphasized, Africa’s liberation lies in reclaiming its agency, correcting historical wrongs, and rebalancing global power relations