"From the time of independences until the end of the Cold War, in spite of the participation of a considerable number of African states in the non-aligned movement, everyone in fact chose to align with one or another of the two major blocks"

In this quote, Omar Bongo, the previous President of Gabon, reviews the geopolitical dynamics that specified Africa's position throughout the Cold War period. The duration in question periods from the wave of African independences in the late 1950s and 1960s to the conclusion of the Cold War in 1991.

Bongo highlights a substantial contradiction: regardless of lots of African countries officially associating themselves with the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), they typically discovered themselves siding with either the Western bloc led by the United States or the Eastern bloc spearheaded by the Soviet Union. The Non-Aligned Movement was established in 1961, mostly aiming to develop an independent path in worldwide affairs and avoid entanglement in the ideological and political conflicts of the Cold War superpowers.

However, the truth on the ground was complicated. Economics, military, and political impacts typically forced African countries to align with one of the 2 dominant blocs. For numerous African countries, recently emerged from colonial guideline, external alliances were necessary for development aid, military assistance, and political support. The Western bloc, embodying capitalist ideologies, and the Eastern bloc, representing communist ideologies, both actively looked for impact in Africa. This competitors frequently manifested in financing, military assistance, and ideological support from either side, promoting environments where internal conflicts might be exacerbated or scenarios might be manipulated to prefer one ideological side over the other.

Additionally, the internal politico-economic requirements of these emerging African states frequently determined their alignment. For instance, some leaders would line up with the Soviet Union to gain military aid or to counterbalance regional opposition that might be backed by Western countries, and vice versa. The superpowers discovered strategic worth in African alliances due to the continent's abundance of natural deposits and its geopolitical importance.

In essence, Bongo's statement encapsulates the paradox dealt with by African nations throughout the Cold War: the goal for non-alignment in international politics versus the practical needs that pressured them into the orbit of the Cold War's 2 major blocs.