prologue:

it is easy to think we are the earth’s center of the gravity and everything is suspended in place relative to our position. when we move, they move, just like that. it is especially easy if you're an american because the world does in fact revolve around this country. we collectively suffer from main character syndrome, and just like the standard hollywood story everyone but the protagonist perishes in the end. for you to enjoy the drama-filled movie that is your american life, with its sharp pains, sudden twists, petty dramas, gutting tragedies and wild victories, a supporting cast of billions are dropping dead everyday like a john wick flick. this is a (not so) brief story of 1.2 billion nameless extras starring in the american story..

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chapter 1:

THE ALMIGHTY $$$

the dollar is the lynchpin of the global trade system. it is used in pricing commodities, assets, debts and settling payments for imports and exports. because imports and exports are crucial for the proper functioning of countries, accumulating dollars, otherwise called foreign reserves, is paramount. on the continent (of africa, duh), imports are necessary to procure critical goods like, food, fuel and medicine. these imports are paid for in DOLLARS acquired from the export of raw materials, such as crude oil. these raw materials, extracted by cheapened african labor, are purchased by capitalist corporations at bargain prices to produce finished goods (food, fuel, and medicine) which are then sold back to the continent, at steep prices.

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chapter 2:

GET POOR or DIE TRYIN’

this import reliant economic strategy creates trade deficits, a situation where expenditures on imports exceed revenues from exports. this means that consumption (of imported goods) must be financed by DEBT (borrowing in dollars). paying down this debt reduces monies available for critical domestic services like education, healthcare and infrastructure, creating budget deficits. so of course more borrowing becomes necessary to plug the deficit, which produces more budget shortfalls leading to more borrowing. the cycle is everlasting, but how did we get here? how sway?

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chapter 3:

LET’S GO BACK

relations between europe and africa began sometime in the 15th century.  what initially started as missionary contact turned into commercial relations that finally evolved into outright political and economic subjugation. this happened over a period of four centuries so that by the 19th and 20th centuries, much of africa was formally colonized. during the colonial period africa served three specific purposes: it was a site for cheap and forced labor; raw materials (which were extracted by cheap or forced labor); and a market for mass produced colonial products like fabric, and weapons, sold on the continent at the expense of domestic production. for example ogogoro, a traditional west african spirit was banned by british colonial authorities to protect their own alcohol imports. the late 1950’s and early 1960’s brought an end to colonial rule in most of the continent but things changed little. africa entered a NEOCOLONIAL period defined by nominal political independence and severely limited economic sovereignty.

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chapter 4:

WAR! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

by the end of the second world war, the former european imperialists were being replaced by the united states as the world power. in 1971, when the united states abandoned the gold standard for the dollar, u.s. HEGEMONY was complete and a new world order created. in this new paradigm, the world deferred to u.s military and economic policy. then in the late 1970s catastrophe struck. the united states fell into a severe recession, triggered in part by geopolitical conflict that was a response to u.s hegemony. the federal reserve reacted by dramatically raising interest rates (sound familiar?) to curb inflation, with serious consequences domestically. the working class and people of color suffered: there were huge job cuts and unemployment soared. but africa and the rest of the third world fared worst.

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chapter 5:

STAYING ALIVE

in the 1960s and 70s, post independence, many african nations were flush with cash from a raw material (commodity) boom. but they were also burdened with incredible underdevelopment, a legacy of colonialism. previous colonial administrations only invested in infrastructure that benefited the colonial countries. for example railroad networks were designed to service the transport of raw materials, not people. in a bid to catch up with the west, lest they be subjugated again, these new african nations borrowed heavily to finance infrastructure and social development. they expected commodity prices to remain robust to support their debt but when the u.s. raised interest rates in the late 1970s, african debt exploded, and commodity prices crashed. ironically they turned to the same consortium that did them in, the IMF and THE WORLD BANK, agencies of their former colonial masters and the current superpower. in the 1980s, the structural adjustment programme, or SAP was introduced to africa. SAP were a series of austerity policies mandated by the IMF in exchange for loans. these policies, promoting privatization and deregulation, purported to boost economic growth. instead they shifted wealth from the public sphere to private and foreign businesses. import dependence, currency volatility and ever expanding unemployment have been the status quo since.

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chapter 6:

WHAT’S BOOZE GOTTA DO WITH IT?

Since the Time of John the Baptist, or Since… for short, is an homage to ogogoro, that sad example of colonial exploitation. but present day ogogoro production suitably dramatizes the current global capitalist system. the ogogoro value chain, from sap to distillate, is dominated by crude, labor intensive processes and low wage labor. in nigeria, ogogoro is produced by micro distillers dotting the niger-delta creek system, where the sap producing palm trees are located. the niger delta area of nigeria also holds the majority of nigeria’s oil deposits. the heavy extraction of crude oil, which provides the bulk of nigeria’s valuable foreign exchange (dollars), has damaged the marine environment and the economic life of communities in the area. nigeria’s over reliance on crude exports, a more valuable commodity on the global market than non crude products, has created a mono economy with few formal employment opportunities for working folks. these set of circumstances has pushed more people into informal, low wage work like ogogoro production. it’s deja vu all over again as recent crises, like the pandemic, russia/ ukraine war and the financial crises, continues to cause commodity price volatility. you know the drill by now: lower revenues triggers expensive borrowing creating deficits ultimately plugged by more borrowing. this is what the experts call a DEBT TRAP, we call bullshit.

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chapter 7:

U NEED PEOPLE LIKE US

capitalism creates cyclical crises causing economic, social and political instability in places like nigeria, which are at the periphery of the global economic system. this peripheral position might suggest nigeria is excluded from the capitalist system but rather it is well integrated into the system but as a subordinate member. countries like nigeria are only excluded from enjoying the material rewards created. the ensuing underdevelopment of nigeria, and the rest of the continent, is neither a phase in our development trajectory rather it is the exact role designed for us to play in the global order. without africa’s raw materials, mined cheaply by impoverished labor; without debt servicing costs which accrue as profits to foreign banks and businesses, without the decimation of local industries to permit the influx of foreign imports, and of course without the corruption of local leadership which facilitates all of it, the united states (and europe, and japan) would not enjoy its flagrant material benefits. 

TONY MONTANA (exiled cuban dissident):
you need people like us so you can point your fingers and say that’s the bad guy.
so, what does that make you? good? you’re not good, you just know how to hide, how to lie.

Tony stumbles away drunk with his bodyguards. END SCENE

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chapter 8:

WHAT’S BOOZE GOTTA DO WITH IT? (part two)

Since… starts with rum as our tortured base spirit-- with its own colonial plantation history. to our base we add a mysterious blend of spices and condiments from the continent and beyond to craft a drink that’s spicy, bold, and assertive— with lingering floral and citrus notes. Since… leads with the slight dark chocolate funk of iru, a popular nigerian and west african condiment. playing gently in the background is a soft cinnamon sweetness, followed by a tingling warm finish from grains of paradise. our drink is a ONE-OF-ONE, confident enough to be sipped alone but not too shy to mix, it’s a delicious ambivert. it’s also an attempt to balance the scales ever so slightly.

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chapter 9:

PAY WHAT YOU OWE

since the u.s. and the rest, have extracted trillions from the continent; since nigeria’s external debt is 37,955,090,000 dollars; since there are 196,899,193 ppl in the U.S of drinking age. Since…costs $192.76 for a 375ml bottle ($37.9 billion / 196.8 million people). it’s reparative arithmetic for a delicious aperitif (mixer and digestif)

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chapter 10:

BUY A BOTTLE