History is a great teacher, so too is time. Many Africans were enlisted to fight on the side their colonial masters in World War 11. Some died in foreign land. Some were maimed. Some were lucky to return home.
For today, I will point out what happened after the war ended, to those Africans who were lucky to survive and return. They were pronounced World War 11, Heroes Second Class and were given bicycles as rewards.
Meanwhile their white counterparts were declared World War 11, Heroes First Class and were given vast farms in Africa.
Today it might be a different story in terms of the colonial context, but the sad part of this story is that after almost three years of fighting with Russia, the European Union backed Ukraine is fighting hard to recruit Africans to fight on its side.
Despite massive military equipment, worth billions of dollars, Ukraine has been losing to Russia in the Eastern regions and has sought to enlist the services of African soldiers as mercenaries.
This is very bad as it could be the genesis of many mercenaries in Africa, who will, if not engaged in any war, destabilise the continent.
It is fact not fiction that many mercenaries are also experts in armed robberies and African cannot be a haven of trained armed robbers, after the Ukraine war. This has very dangerous consequences.
To sanitise its move Ukraine has been on a blitz to open embassies throughout \Africa. These embassies once opened then become conduits for recruitment.
When you hear Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling on "pro-democracy nations" to support his country, he is in effect finding a way to trick many youths, including Africa to join the war on his side.
This should never be allowed. Africa cannot be a seedbed for mercenaries.
According to Ryan Cummings, director of Signal Risk, a South African-based security risk management consultancy, Zelenskyy might want to capitalise on Africa's challenging socioeconomic conditions to lure African fighters to Ukraine.
"African nationals might see an economic opportunity from participating in this conflict," Cummings said recently.
He said the reward could potentially come from being granted Ukrainian citizenship or being provided some form of financial compensation for participating in the conflict on behalf of Ukrainian forces.
However, African countries have come out strongly to condemn Ukraine's call for African fighters to join the "international legion" against the Russian invasion.
Nigeria issued a warning on X, formerly Twitter, to its citizens that it would not tolerate any recruitment of mercenaries to fight alongside Ukrainian forces against Russian troops.
A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Francisca Omayuli, said Nigeria would not allow its nationals to volunteer as mercenaries.
Omayuli also said the Ukrainian Embassy in Nigeria had refuted local media reports that it was demanding money from Nigerian volunteers.
But according to the Nigerian daily, The Guardian, more than 100 young men recently registered their interest in fighting for Ukraine at the country's embassy in Abuja.
Senegal has also expressed its displeasure with Ukraine's government, saying that at least 36 people in Senegal were ready to confront Russian forces.
Senegal's Foreign Affairs Ministry said it was astonished to learn that the Ukrainian Embassy in Dakar had posted an appeal on its Facebook page for foreign citizens to come to Ukraine's military defence.
In a statement, the Senegalese government criticised the initiative and warned its citizens that recruiting volunteers, mercenaries or foreign fighters on Senegalese soil is illegal.
Senegal, which shares extensive political and military ties with Russia, was one of 17 African countries to abstain from voting on the March 2 UN resolution condemning Russia's aggression and calling for an end to the fighting.
Algeria, also called on Ukraine to desist from trying to enlist fighters from its country. Its government, too, has remained silent over Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
For security and risk analyst Cummings, African countries need to consider the implications of allowing their citizens to travel to Ukraine as hired guns.
"Russia has stated any country that is actively assisting Ukraine in this war, or as Russia calls it: 'a special military operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine,' will be considered at war with Russia."
He warned that the Kremlin could also retaliate by ending diplomatic relations with African countries that support Ukraine.
Over the past year, Ukraine has opened a number of embassies on the African continent. Several have already been opened, including the one in Nouakchott, and others are still in the pipeline. This unprecedented acceleration comes at a time when the country is in conflict with its Russian neighbour.
Three years after the conflict, some African countries have preferred to keep their distance from the situation and have continued to cooperate with Moscow.
On this occasion, Ukraine is seeking to strengthen its international diplomatic position to benefit from the support of the countries of the African continent in its efforts to put pressure on Russia.
Why has Ukraine, which established diplomatic relations with Mauritania in September 1992, just opened an embassy in Nouakchott 32 years later?
At the start of last year, French President Emmanuel Macron indicated his intention not to rule out sending soldiers on the ground to fight alongside Ukraine, a decision that other European partners deemed inappropriate and challenged the Elysée's violent stance.
As a result, the authorities in Kiev are turning to Africa for unconditional support. With this in mind, Alain Kone, an expert at the International Centre for Political Studies, said:
"The Ukrainian side is not in a position to ensure that the political dialogue is rich in content. The Ukrainians' promise to implement commercial and economic projects is based on nothing. Ukrainian operators have repeatedly proved to be unscrupulous partners."
Kiev's intention to open 20 embassies on the African continent, as reported by Yurii Pyvovarov, the country's ambassador in Dakar, who is acting as interim ambassador for the Abidjan representation, is a clear indication that the Ukrainian authorities want to confront Russia on other fronts, with Western support.
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It's not surprising that the countries in which the chancelleries are established are no coincidence -- they are countries under the influence of Françafrique, even though some of them are already advocating sovereignty.
This is one of the main reasons why Kiev chose the land of African elephants as a base from which to develop its presence, and Mauritania to prevent the country from allying itself with its neighbour Mali, which is considered by Paris to be an ally of Moscow.
The acceleration in the opening of these embassies on the continent is worrying experts in African politics.
Kone, for example, wonders what role these Ukrainian administrative buildings will play in Africa during this period of ongoing conflict: "It's worth remembering that the main role of an embassy is to facilitate administrative procedures for its residents in the host country and to issue visas, so who would be willing to go to Ukraine at this time?
"Tourism is virtually non-existent, and the Ukrainians themselves are leaving their country. Behind this initiative lie other ambitions.'
The authorities in African countries should be wary of this approach by Ukraine, lest their citizens be secretly recruited, as was the case with the Kiev embassy in Senegal.
Nathan Ebou is a political scientist from Senegal
