President Isaias Afwerki’s Foresight: Eritrea’s Stand Against Global Hegemony and the Hidden War on Africa

In a world increasingly polarized by geopolitical interests and proxy conflicts, the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, has remained one of the few world leaders unafraid to speak the truth behind the fog of war. In a powerful statement, he declared that the ongoing war in Ukraine is not simply a conflict between Ukraine and Russia, but a deeper and more dangerous standoff between NATO and Russia—a war in which the United States stands to gain while the rest of the world, particularly the Global South, pays the price.

This isn't a new perspective for Eritrea. The East African nation has long maintained an independent and non-aligned stance, refusing to become a pawn in Western geopolitical games. But this principled position has come at a cost: unfair sanctions, international isolation, and proxy warfare—all of which stem from the refusal of Eritrea to bend to neocolonial agendas.

Eritrea has been sanctioned by Western institutions based on claims that have repeatedly lacked verifiable evidence, while the same institutions have turned a blind eye to massive human rights abuses committed by their allies. This glaring double standard reveals that the real issue is not human rights—but power. Eritrea’s insistence on African sovereignty and multipolarity threatens the established global order where a few powerful nations, especially the United States, dictate the terms of international relations.

These conflicts didn’t begin in the 21st century. The roots go back over a century, where Ethiopia—Eritrea’s larger southern neighbor—has consistently played a role in advancing Western interests in the Horn of Africa. Since the 1880s, successive Ethiopian leaders have aligned themselves with Western powers at the expense of regional stability and Pan-African unity.

Haile Selassie, often mythologized in Western narratives, was in fact a strategic choice of the West to suppress the growing momentum of the Casablanca Group—an alliance of African leaders committed to total independence from colonial influence. This group, which included visionaries like Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba, sought a united Africa, governed by Africans, for Africans. But mysteriously, every major leader of the Casablanca Group was assassinated or deposed—except Haile Selassie. His survival and elevation weren’t coincidence; they were calculated. Selassie was used as a symbolic “African leader” who would promote integration into Western institutions, not liberation from them.

The pattern continues today. Ethiopia, under various administrations, has served as the West’s proxy to counter Eritrea’s independent path. Whether through direct military confrontation or disinformation campaigns, Ethiopia has been weaponized to destabilize Eritrea and the broader Horn of Africa. The TPLF (Tigray People's Liberation Front), heavily supported by U.S. interests during its decades in power, is only one example of how foreign influence has driven conflict in the region.

President Isaias Afwerki’s clarity on the Ukraine-Russia conflict mirrors the wisdom with which Eritrea has navigated decades of pressure from imperialist systems. His understanding that global dynamics are shifting, and that the unipolar world dominated by the United States is crumbling, places him at the forefront of a rising global consciousness. More leaders from the Global South are beginning to see that these wars—whether in Ukraine, Palestine, or the Horn of Africa—are symptoms of a decaying world order desperate to maintain control.

Eritrea’s struggle is not just its own—it is Africa’s. It is the story of a people who have resisted colonization, manipulation, and warfare to assert their right to self-determination. It is a warning to the continent: those who align blindly with Western powers may find themselves on the wrong side of history. And it is a call to action for all Africans to revisit the vision of the Casablanca Group—a vision that Eritrea continues to uphold in the face of global adversity.