The transformation from the OAU to the AU meant accepting that the challenges Africa faced had changed from those faced during the decolonization era. Among the new challenges, the most perverse were internal wars. The AU attempted to invest heavily in mechanisms that would ‘silence the guns’ on the continent. However, it seems that silencing the guns has remained an elusive dream.

The global rise of China in the post-2000 era and the strengthening of other regional hegemons has seen Africa being courted by various powers for alignment and realignment. Since the birth of the continental body, the African Union has struggled to develop into a formidable union in the form of the European Union or a strong sub-continent economy like India and China.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown the world that the age of great power rivalry in spheres of influence is far from being over. The conflict is more of a proxy war between the US and its NATO allies against a resurgent Russia.

Russia’s rekindled interest in Africa is driven not by ideology as it was in the decolonization era but by pragmatism and Russia’s geo-economic interests.