Gaddafi: Africa's Fallen Saviour

 by Deborah Tesfamichael

Muammar Gaddafi is the famous Libyan revolutionist and politician, well known for ruling Libya from 1969 to 2011. Killed at the battle of Sirte, the most known reason for his death was for humanitarian purposes such as being a dictator.

However I’m going to explain to you a different side of the story which is not shown on TV: Gaddafi was killed for oil, power and money.

Gaddafi had an idea for a gold backed currency called the Gold Dinar, which all African and Muslim nations would adopt and rival the Dollar and Euro. This monetary system would force nations like the EU and USA to purchase goods in the gold backed currency. Why is this so problematic? It would have reduced neocolonialism, specifically of the US and France. The objective of the new currency was to divert oil revenues towards state controlled funds rather than American banks, which to put it simply means to stop using the Dollar for oil transactions in Africa. As the world relies on the US dollar, it gives America unparalleled economic dominance. The extent of this power can be sent with 90% of all international currency transactions in dollars. France would have also lost their grip on Françafrique (the “French Africa”),  forcing themselves to deliver mutual benefits to maintain their sphere of influence and its status as a major trade and investment partner.

Gaddafi's introduction of the currency to the African Union met strong resistance from the USA. Many countries like Egypt and Tunisia were ready to change their currency as soon as the Gold Dinar launched, however in March 2011 NATO began military action in Libya in the name of humanitarian freedom.

In 2011, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy reported the Libyan leader as a threat to the financial security of the world, later 3000 emails were released from Hillary Clinton’s private email server. In one of the emails, it stated that Gaddafi’s government holds 143 tonnes of gold and similar amounts of silver. The allegedly leaked email of Hilary Clinton had far reaching implantations, such as the fluid state of post-colonial relations with the West.

Therefore one can suggest that NATO’s military action and Hillary’s leaked emails was the West derailing Africa's plan to build an independent economic structure, in order to retain primacy in world affairs.

Just to further prove that Gaddafi's death wasn’t because of humanitarian breeches, I’ll list his accomplishments. Despite being a dictator, Gaddafi created a “green revolution”, installed an underground irrigation system that was the envy and admiration of all third-world countries in the world, and turned the desert into a garden. At the time of his ruling, Libya had the highest per capita income of all Africa, the highest  percentage of literacy, and the highest level of education in the world. Even owning a home was considered a right, newlyweds were given money from the government to build their new apartments. The reason for being a dictator is also understandable, Africa is not like the other civilised countries you see in the West. With tribal and religious battles as well as common assassination attempts and coups, only brute strength and ruling with an iron fist is respected. I truly believe that the West succeeded in pushing their propaganda by labelling Gaddafi as an enemy.

Overall Gaddafi’s death could be seen as the end of an African dream but also a sigh of relief for Western countries. His death prevented the gold backed currency from competing with the West, which would have propelled Africa’s economy and development. This side of the argument, which is not commonly seen on TV shows a very different reason for Gaddafi’s death, not one of greed and power but one of economic development and independence.