AFRICANGLOBE – It is what African leaders do now and daily which will determine the place of Africa in the next 50 years.
Africa has already waited for 50 years for present African leaders to implement the foundational principles that the pioneers of Africa’s independence struggle laid down on May 25, 1963.
If Africa has to wait for another 50 years to achieve her goal of economic development and technological advancement; and rescue her people out of poverty, ignorance, enslaving “foreign aid” and its deepening debts; it is a sign that many present African leaders are subtly opposed to the Pan African vision and mission for which the African Union and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity were formed. A genuinely liberated Africa will not come from heaven like manna.
Like Africa’s political independence struggle, it will come through the sweat and blood of its own sons and daughters led by wise, dedicated and committed Pan-Africanist leaders.
Fifty years for Africa from now will be reaping time. Now is the sowing time.
If African leaders are sowing nothing now, there will be nothing to reap in 2063. The African Union seems to be failing to implement ideas that were long put forward by the pioneers of African unity in 1963 and beyond.
These ideas are the foundation for a strong Africa that can control its riches for its own people and effectively defend all the interests of Africa.
Africa is like building a house with an agreed plan. This house must be built in stages.
Those stages must show that the house is being constructed according to the designed building plan.
In this context, at what stage is Africa? Why must it take 50 years to rescue Africa from economic powerlessness in the midst of so much technology? Former colonial powers and their allies are afraid of a strong Africa that controls its resources and is advancing technologically.
When they gave in to Africa’s political liberation, they made sure that this liberation was devoid of economic power and also burdened with debts called “foreign aid”.
Africa’s economic liberation therefore is not going to be a dinner party.
Zimbabwe is an example of how deeply the former colonial forces and their allies hate an Africa that they can no longer plunder and loot its riches.
Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya is another example. African unity won political liberation for Africans. Africa has internal and external problems. These problems were there during the struggle for political liberation. Africa won her political liberation through African unity.
Without the Organisation of African Unity, African people in South Africa would be living in the “Bantustans” and the apartheid colonial forces would be today intimidating, the whole of Africa with nuclear weapons.
The South African nuclear programme was dismantled only when it was suspected that it might be inherited by a radical Pan-Africanist government. Without the Organisation of African Unity support, the people of Namibia, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Zimbabwe might have lost their wars of liberation.
The OAU may not have been a finished house, but it was a useful tent that can show important political gains. For instance, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania then led by people like Potlako K. Leballo and David Sibeko got apartheid South Africa expelled from the United Nations General Assembly.
This was through the diplomatic support by OAU member states at the United Nations. The expulsion of South Africa resulted in the PAC and the ANC being recognised as liberation movements and granted an Observer status at the United Nations.
Indeed, at the independence of Ghana on March 6, 1957 President Kwame Nkrumah dedicated the liberation of Ghana to the whole of Africa.
He declared, “Ghana’s independence is meaningless, unless it is linked to the total liberation of Africa.”
There were then eight African independent African States to the 54 today.
Africa will regain economic liberation and control of her rights through African unity. Africa gained her political liberation through African Unity. Africa will not regain her economic liberation and social emancipation of her people without African Unity.
If Africa does not sow seeds of economic prosperity, control of her riches, massive education in various spheres of knowledge; she will reap nothing in 2063. People that do not sow seeds, cannot reap because they have nothing to reap. This is the law of nature.
Africa’s leaders must do an introspection. Present Africa’s leaders must do an introspection of themselves.
Are they pursuing and protecting the interests of Africa’s people with the passion, vigilance and wisdom that were shown by Africa’s leaders of the independence freedom movement such as Kwame Nkrumah, Ahmed Sekou Toure, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi
Awolowo, Patrice Lumumba, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, Julius Nyerere, Haile Selassie and many others?
By: Motsoko Pheko
