by Hilary Afeseh Ngwa
Sons and daughters of mother Africa have for a long while caressed the dream of a united Africa, a dream engendered many years ago in the womb of oppression, yet far from the attainment of the full gestation. Marcus Garvey, W.E.B DuBois, Kwame Nkrumah, Obafemi Awolowo, Jomo Kenyatta, Haile Selassie, Bob Marley, amongst others dreamed of a united Africa, tall and strong, stepping out and standing out, and with common goals and common motives. The nexus of this idea was to overcome common obstacles that confronted the continent, in order to forge ahead.
I am almost certain that our forefathers, well-meaning architects of this great dream shrink and recoil in their graves as they confront the reality of an Africa which stands in sharp contrast to their noble dream. Why wouldn’t they? Africa is more divided than ever before, ridden with disease, riddled with wars, menaced by famine, fuelled by hatred for fellow man, perpetrated by repressive and dictatorial regimes kept in power by docile people and western nations incapable of losing their grip on the continent, continually being milked to satisfy republican interests. Those noble ideals have been put on the shelves to gather dust or, at best, have remained paper tigers., translated from OAU (Organization of African Unity) to AU (African Unity), changing in name and philosophy, but unchanging in practice and, more apt than ever before, a veritable toothless bull dog.
Marcus Mosiah Garvey once said “All of us may not live to see the higher accomplishment of an African Empire-so strong and powerful, as to compel the respect of mankind, but we in our life-time can so work and act as to make the dream a possibility within another generation”. Wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Uganda, Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, including the activities of dictatorial and repressive regimes have dealt lethal blows to the prestige and good name of Africa.
It would only be slightly hyperbolic to say that in Africa, there are tribes and languages almost as many as there are an African people and this does not lend any help to its unity. Can the African speak one language, given the many different African dialects?
Emperor Haile Selassie (how I hate to address him so, because it makes him imperial) also once said:
“…But we also know that unity can be and has been attained among men of the most disparate origins, that difference of race, of religion, of culture, of tradition, are no insuperable obstacles to the coming together of peoples… Unless the political liberty for which Africans have for long struggled is complemented and bolstered by a corresponding economic and social growth, the breath of live which sustains our freedom may flicker out”.
How true! We also do learn from history that, generally, the African never learns from history except perhaps how to foster all the negatives which any people can live with – a power drunkenness which appears incurably addictive, corruption, and you name it.
DuBois, ailing and ageing at 91years of age, also once said through the voice of his wife that:
“If Africa unites, it will be because each part, each nation, each tribe gives up a part of the heritage for the good of the whole. That is what union means; that is what Pan Africa- means: When the child is born into the tribe the price of his growing up is giving a part of his freedom to the tribe. This he soon learns or dies. When the tribe becomes a union of tribes, the individual tribe surrenders some part of its freedom to the paramount tribe.”
It is love for one another which will make the dictator and corrupt see that his/her destiny is intrinsically tied to a one collective destiny, it is love for one another which will make the dictator see that true security is not found in arms but in citizens who can fend for themselves, feed themselves, cater for their families, get a fair chance to bring out the best of themselves, afford basic necessities of food, energy, health care, shelter, potable water, education, and proudly earn a livelihood.
Yes, until the African can truly unite as families, families unite as tribes, tribes unite as nations, and nations unite as one big continent the goal of a United States of Africa will remain elusive; it is only when the African can melt with love the boundaries which keep him/her out with a unity which flows from a personal unity with oneself, overcoming common problems and obstacles together, trading self interest for common weal, dedicated and committed to community without losing individuality, shall this mighty dream of a united Africa cease to shift afar as a concrete illusion. Let man not drink up the pond in which he lives. The United States of America is a veritable showcase and blueprint of what African unity we can achieve – they have surmounted the difficulties of diversity and embraced its richness and beauty to foster a unity of states which stands tall and proud and almost every man’s dream land in the world. Africa needs this unity, Africa can have this unity.
The billion dollar question, however, is: where is this Africa many years after the initial conception of this dream? Is African unity a pipe dream or a concrete reality?
Let's be real guys, a United States of Africa is simply IMPOSSIBLE!
ReplyDeleteImpossible they say, says I'm possible...
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion for unity in Africa is for us to start with the regional blocs such as ECOWAS and SADC. The reason why African countries cannot come together as one country is because most leaders are not ready to forfeit their fiefdoms. I mean it will just not happen. Eyadema is not going to give up Togo and neither will Biya. A more realistic option will be to start with regional integration and then intra-regional trade or something in for the form of the Ghana-Guinea-Mali Union , the EAC or the Mano River Union. The EU not NATO for instance represents the best model. Those calling for a united Africa under one president are just engaging in what some have called "political masturbation" .
ReplyDelete..regional integration defeats the original purpose of African unity pioneered by Nkrumah, Garvey, etc which is to form one indomitable political and economic bloc that can effectively advance our common cause.
ReplyDeleteEven in ECOWAS, the Francophone countries have a separate sub-group; the West African Economic Community or CEAO-as it's called in French. Mauritania left ECOWAS about five years ago because they claimed the body didn't foster their interests so they joined the Arab Maghreb Union. Regional integration won't work.
France and Belgium interfere so much in the affairs of their former colonies, it's just disgusting. This whole CEAO nonsense and their so-called CFA francs currency has "France" written all over it. The handiwork of an "evil genius" seeking to divide and conquer. I can spot it from a mile away.
We (as Africans) need to realize that western interference (or rather our failure to prevent it) is/has always been disastrous. We need to come together as one bloc and find out what it is that unites us as a people, our common destiny and use those to leverage this process.
When the first 13 colonies became the United States in 1776, the British tried to divide them as well, but they forged ahead in unity. Even though the U.S. was lucky to have a fairly homogeneous population at the time, during the westward expansion, it faced many obstacles with blending the various cultures, but it worked out in the end.
We can achieve it as well. Kwame Nkrumah, had a brilliant idea of making Swahili the official language of a united Africa. I think it's still feasible. We just need to realize our common destiny and be ready to forfeit a few sovereign liberties to achieve a far greater union with far greater benefits for all Africans. United we stand.
DK, obviously you're way more optimistic than i am. Unfortunately African leaders don't have half that passion and foresight. I hope we're able to achieve a united Africa in the way that you conceive it or that Nkrumah and his colleagues propagated in the early post colonial era.
ReplyDeleteAll that i'm saying is that instead of leap froging, we can do this both incrementally and strategically. To that end, regional integration shouldn't be an end but only a means to one.
Of course having a common language will be a good place to start but even countries which are linguistically homogeneous haven’t been immune from civil strife. The real question here is this: we may speak the same language but does that mean we understand each other?
See, I’m all for African Unity. I’m all for a United States of Africa. I hope I live to see the day when Africans can move from one country to the other without visas.
But to ignore some of the most underlying issues in the hope of fulfilling a “common destiny” without realistically addressing these hot button currents will only make this an exercise in futility. Yes unity will be achieved but how sustainable will it be? As for the colonizers and the imperialist forces, they will always be there. They cannot erase their historical role in the evolution of the African project but neither can we control their future actions. So I say, without ignoring it, let’s move past that.
First let me congratulate Hilary for such a thought-provoking piece. The comments triggered by this piece have also been quite interesting, no less the ones shared by Eche and DK. This is what i think:
ReplyDeleteThe concept of a United State of Africa, in my view, is a romanticized one, if not over-ambitious and idealistic--that is not to say that the idea is a bad one. My questions are: Can it be done? How? When? I circumscribe these concerns within the context of the many socio-political and economic challenges that have bedeviled the continent, some of which Eche has outlined.
Here are my concerns: First, the African continent is 'bugged' by complex religio-cultural challenges that will threaten such a dream. The continent has been plagued by numerous conflicts, the root of which is traceable to deep-seated ethnic, sub-ethnic, or religious considerations. Even though the most brutal conflicts in Arab Africa are religious, the worst conflicts in Sub-Saharan African have been attributable to deep-seated ethnic differences. By far, then, the greatest challenge most countries face in Africa is not economic, but religio-tribal, which, unfortunately is inextricably tied to economic development. The challenge, here, is how to deal with these issues most of which have to do with identity and how to assert it. To quote Ali Mazrui, "While Black against White in Africa is a clash over resources; Black against Black is a clash of identities."
The thesis, here, is that the cultural or religious tensions within most African countries--between or among tribes and ethnic groups--will not subside with just the formation of an African unity government, and I can't see how a unity government will be able to diffuse the tension if there is no effort by groups within member countries or on the part of leaders from member countries to attempt to diffuse the tension, themselves.
Will Tutsis and Hutus unite and do away with their differences just because of an African unity government? Will Christians and Muslims be tolerant of each other because of a continental unity government?
Second, Eche captures my next point when he argues that: "The reason why African countries cannot come together as one country is because most leaders are not ready to forfeit their fiefdoms." There is too much attachment to traditional bases of power. There has never been any good record, across the continent, of the management of power. African leaders will find it very difficult to agree to such a system because it would dilute their individual strongholds within their countries and make them vulnerable. A political system/structure such as the ones that pertain to Africa's regional bodies like the ECOWAS, the AU, among others, will not be so much of a problem because there are no questions of sovereignty. With the union government concept, the dissolution of the power dynamics involving African leaders, which will see leaders yielding some power, will be very difficult.
Would Ghadhafi be happy to play "second fiddle" to (say) Mubarak, Idris Derby, or Mugabe? What criteria would be used to table candidature for election and how smooth will such a process be? Egotism among our leaders will be the greatest threat to a process such as this.
Third, for a continent that takes the opposite direction when good government is mentioned, such a dream will be elusive. How is this going to be possible in Africa when there is lack of leadership and good governance in some African countries and there are only few countries that are willing to serve as paymasters?
Fourth, these challenges notwithstanding, the regional/geographical organization of the continent poses a threat to such a union. The continent prides itself on regions perched on the East, West, Central, South, and North Africa all of which have been active participants in the politics of Africa except, perhaps, for the Arab-speaking states of North Africa, whose activity has been quite recent, albeit peripheral.
At the time Dr. Nkrumah mooted the Pan African government idea, either the non-Arab states, south of Africa had extricated the Arab-speaking states from the politics of Africa or that the Arab-speaking states thought they were less African than those south of the Sahara.
With Dr. Nkrumah's encouragement and largely through his friendship with the then Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Naser, the Arabs since became quite active in the affairs of the continent.
The first son of Dr. Nkrumah, Gamel writes that "Be that as it may, relations between Arabs and sub-Saharan Africans have often been uneasy - and at times even tempestuous" adding that "self-styled "Arab" Somalia fought non-Arab Ethiopia. "Arab" Mauritania went to battle against non-Arab Senegal."
Developments of this nature are deep-seated and well ingrained in the political organization of the continent, which are not easily forgotten. There have been stories of the Arab-speaking states referring to those of the south Saharan region as the Africans, as if they were/are any different.
Forgive me for writing a whole thesis, but such is the gravity of my skepticism. Can the dream of a United States of Africa be realized? I guess, YES, but it is so very far-fetched. I will advocate a gradualist approach, within which period many structures have to crumble (or be crumbled)--you know what i mean.
Meanwhile, I want to talk to Mugabe, first, about this idea.
we are some day becam uonit
ReplyDelete..Etse and Godwin, you both make very compelling arguments highlighting your concerns.
ReplyDeleteAt the root of many of the problems that you both mentioned is the unwelcome interference of western powers in Africa. Therefore, one of the first things that Africa needs to do is to purge itself of its dependence on others for almost everything. I mentioned the CEAO/CFA francs nonsense and you mentioned the Hutu-Tutsi situation in Central Africa. These are serious concerns obviously. But these religio-cultural "bugs" as described by Godwin have long been in existence but they were further heightened by Europeans in their effort to divide and conquer. Foreigners have always fanned the flames of civil strife in Africa.
Instead of tackling the symptoms of our common disease by wasting time with regional this, regional that, let's tackle the issues at the core of our failure to unite-Dependence on others (hence giving them a chance to interfere with our business). Otherwise we'll continue taking "painkillers" to treat a canker; instead of eradicating the canker.
My deepest respects go to Isaias Aferweki of Eritrea once again, for taking the lead on this. The rest of us just need to follow his shining example. Clearly, many of the current leaders that you both mentioned, Mugabe, Mubarak, Eyadema, Paul Biya will have to be removed for this to work. They just won't understand. I think it's really up to the younger generation to implement this "dream"
As far as the Arabs to the North of the Sahara, I really can't comment much about their behavior. I admit though that they're gonna be a problem. I do know that Morocco left the African Union (then OAU) in 1984 because of disagreements over the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (or Western Sahara). So clearly such behavior will adversely affect the unity agenda. These are people who generally don't regard themselves as Africans. What can I say?
I have enjoyed reading about you all who are optimistic and those who see 'the cup half empty'.The question i want to ask is "what is the reason for the Unification of Africa"...is it just nice for us to also build a block like others have done?if we are all to build blocks by continents we would end up having 5 or 7 countries.
ReplyDeleteCan we not see what is happening in the EU,even though they have a better bargaining power the individual countires do not benefit equally whether economically, socially or politically.
I am not by this saying i do not believe in the unification of Africa,however i just want flag the fact that the method or reason for our unification should be beneficial and sustainable.
Sorry to be so blunt but A United States of Africa is never going to happen. Not now, not in the long distant future. Never Ever! I support what Eche is saying. Lets try that and see how it works out. And about Africa purging itself of its dependence on others; frankly, I don't think thats possible either . I hate to be such a pessimist but Africa is really messed up. African leaders seem not to care and the Western World just enjoys giving us the little fish instead of helping us learn how to fish. The saddest thing is, we love taking the little fish. We are satisfied with the little fish.
ReplyDeleteAfricans can only see the so called things that divide us and not the many that bring us together. Travel around...observe land, climate, attitudes, culture etc n see!diversity(differences) never mean division. what are you telling me, that if Ghana were to be incorporated into America as a state it not work??? or if the whole of Africa is invited to join hands with America, it will not work or something. See, you are nodding that it will work, right??? and that is because you feel , oh why not, America is desirable. If Africans, you and I desire to have United States of Africa we can press for it and at least we can rest in the hope that progress towards Afican unity will be achieved.
ReplyDeleteI am of the conviction that very few things divide us as Africans and perhaps that may only be our customs, but even that I am so confident that the purpose of our traditions and customs are so similar and it may only be the way of carrying the customs out that differ.
we always sit down in inaction and complain about our virtual huge differences. It is the paradigm...our mindset that makes the difference whether we will achieve a united states of Africa or not. Let us gather around a commonpurpse as citizens, debate and submit our thoughts. Then let us educate the grass roots people to know our purpose and why there has to be a united states of Africa, then we can press for that. Doing this does not mean instant unity. have we ever thought of the people who are left to discuss this issue of unity ar the same people enjoying sovreign power in their states???? we cannot blame them for the progress we cant see because you cannto leave leaders of today to go and bargain on shedding off some sovreignty. we the people shold force them too make such a decision and be committed to it and put in the systems, institutions and processes to achieve it even if in another twenty years.
wow Serwaa D I fink you need to partner with DK cos u've really come to his rescue with this strong pan-Africanism spirit. It all sounds good my sister but if it could have happened, it would have happened a long while ago. It’s not that heard...African leaders know exactly what to bring about the USA but they ain't doing it. it's going to take a new generation of leaders with a different paradigm other than the present to achieve what you're talking about. Perhaps let's wait and see what the outcome of Mr. Agboka's conversation with Mugabe will be.
ReplyDeleteStrikingly poignant thesis Mr Agboka. While I am a self-proclaimed, incurable idealist myself, I shall attempt to be objective on this issue.
ReplyDeleteI must echo DK's views were I to be permitted, in stressing that the 'religio-cultural' challenges to the idea of African unity as you put it are 'symptons of the problem'. Are Ewe's in Ghana different from Ewe's in Togo? And if they are, from whence these differences, certainly this ethnic group did not suddenly decided to erect an imaginary geographic division in the centre of their land on bright and sunny morning on the back of some misguided caprice.
As for the Hutu and Tutsi discord, who was it who placed the idea in their head that fair-skin and certain features made for a more desirable countenance?
In short: tackle the root of the problem.
The issue of leaders being adverse to loosing their influence in their individual countries, I fail to see as a very compelling one. I have yet to come across a rational support for the idea of a single president for a united Africa, hence I need not argue for why this just would not work at this stage. The EU model (and regional African communities) provides the remedy in this instance.
I shall allow you your gambit on leadership as it is particularly glaring that there is a lack of adequately revolutionary leaders on the continent currently. Africa sadly wants for leadership with the necessary Obama-esque attributes to get bloods boiling at the right temperature.
While I have my mis-givings about the Arab States to the North, I must pause and be cautious with any theorizing on this point as I am not convinced in my mind that they would be willing to recklessly engage in an inchoate idealism of unity with the South. My suggested approach here would be to imbibe these nations through compelling and irrefutable demonstrations of successes.
wow, really wow, nice points Selali. However I fail to see a clear suggestion as to which path Africa must take. That there's a leadership chasm in Africa is not without doubt. It’s interesting that you mention the Arab states. I think we should have very honest talks with those folks.
ReplyDeleteFact: They don't like us so I don’t understand why we tolerate them. It's obvious they feel superior to us. I still can't believe...Egypt/Morocco once applied to be a member of the EU. I mean, seriously? Not only that, some of these nations have openly said they'd rather be members of the Arab Union than the African Union. I just don’t understand why we can’t simply hack them off.
A United States of Africa – Pipe dream or concrete possibility! Well, honestly, it is both a pipe dream (immediate future) and a concrete possibility (far future). Like Eche Sica said, the current flock of African dictators are not likely to willingly sign over their powers to one leader. It is hard enough to freely walk away from office after several terms in office, as exhibited by the likes of Mugabe, Eyadema, Biya, Gaddafi, Obiang Nguema, among many others. Now if this leaders cannot would rather fight to retain the office of head of state, by redrafting constitutions to give themselves several more terms in office, than freely hand over the baton to someone else, with possibly fresher ideas to move their countries forward, what makes you think they would willingly sign up their countries to partake in a united African state? Thus, in the near future, there is no way it can happen.
ReplyDeleteNow looking far ahead into the future (No, I don't have a crystal ball!), it is a possibility, if an when the old dogs finally either get put down or decide their times are up. There is a young generation of Africans, as evidenced by this post and others around the web, willing to unite as Africans to be able to tap into the wealth African possesses and compete with the rest of the world on a grander scale. Now, if that desire is present and the hunger is strong enough, I can't say the idea of a United States of Africa is impossible. After all, impossible is nothing. There is always a way around whatever difficulty we face and there is proof of that.
Good and thought-provoking post.