The
creation of the African Union as a new Pan-African body is not a sudden
happening that has not been anticipated in The African history. It was
rather a result of the age-old process of pan-African movements in
different courses of history. No one can dare to have a full-fledged
figure of the historical roots of the African Union without paying much
attention to the Pan-African movements, which may be considered as a
founding stone of the OAU, the African Union and any other forthcoming
political and economic integration between and among The African states.
The spirit of Pan-Africanism has been used as an engine for the
creation of cooperation of African peoples and states in different
generations, and is expected to be the same in the future.
Having
regard to the instrumental character of Pan-Africanism in any form of
African solidarity, it seems imperative to define what it is. A Martini,
in his includes this in the reference last. defineds Pan as Africanism
follows manner:
Pan-Africanism
is an invented notion. It is an invented nation with a purpose….
Essentially, Pan-Africanism is a recognition of the fragmented nature of
the existence of African’s, their marginalization and alienation
whether in their own continent or in the Diaspora. Pan-Africanism seeks
to respond to Africa’s underdevelopment. Africa has been exploited and a
culture of dependency on external assistance unfortunately still
prevails on the continent. If people become too reliant on getting their
support, their nourishment, their safety from outside sources, then
they do not strive to find the power within themselves to rely on their
own capacities. Pan-Africanism calls upon Africans to drawn from their
own strength and capacities and become self reliant. Pan-Africanism is a
recognition that the only way out of this existential, social and
political crisis is by prompting greater solidarity amongst Africans
.
As
can be inferred from the above quotation, Pan-Africanism is neither a
name of an African organization; nor an ideal imagination of what Africa
should be in the future. It is rather an engine for a continued African
solidarity and integration that can spur the effectiveness of
Afro-Centric regional integrations. It has served as such in different
times in history.
The
idea of Pan-Africanism would remain futile unless it is capable of
taking an institutional form. It can be said that Pan-Africanism has so
far undergone three phases of institutionalization. By
institutionalization we are referring to the coming up of an
organization that claims to further the ideals enshrined in the
Pan-African movement.
The
first institutionalization of Pan-Africanism is the series of
Pan-African Congresses. In describing this form of institutionalization,
Martini stated ‘Depending on how one chooses to interpret or define
Pan-Africanism, the first attempt to institutionalize If the goatali is
more them three gives, it has to follow the standardized from of
quoting it Pan-Africanism can be situated either at the 1896 Congress on
Pan-Africanism held in Chicago or at the creation of the African
association in London in 1997. In both instances, the term ‘Pan-African’
was widely used to signify the coming together of people of African
descent”.
In
1900, the first Pan-African conference was held in London where a new
organization called the Pan-African Association was established with the
objective of securing the rights of the African descendants. From that
time on wards, up to seven Pan-African congresses were held in Europe
and Africa with similar objectives of creating African solidarity.
The
second institutionalization of Pan-Africanism came with the
inauguration of the OAU in 1963. This achievement witnessed a greater
commitment on the part of the African states to the Pan-African movement
which served as a driving force for such occurrence. This historical
trend goes ahead with the third institutionalization of Pan-Africanism
under the existing African Union.
One
might dare to internalize the proper link between the aforementioned
institutionalizations of Pan-Africanism. In connection with this issue,
Martini Timothy has the following to say. The fundamental insight gained
from the emergence of the organized Pan-Africanism is that the power of
individual country or society is amplified exponentially when it is
combined with the forces of other countries and societies. It is a
similar way of thinking that animated and informed the founders of the
OAU and the present African union. This same type of thinking is
potentially expected to animate and inform future generations of
Africans and their diaspora to be kin in promoting ever-increasing
social, political and economic union.
Making
the Pan-African movement a stepping-stone in the study of historical
antecedents to the contemporary African Union has a lot to serve. If one
knows the purpose of Pan- Africanism, then the steps to achieve its
goals become clearer to understand it is in this context that one can be
able to appreciate the emergence and concretization of the African
Union. Considering the African Union as a new phenomenon that came into
picture in the beginning of the 21st century is a regrettable
historical mistake that can in no way give one a full-fledged
historical picture of the Union. It would be more appropriate, to
understand that the African Union is not a new happening, but the latest
incarnation of the idea of Pan-Africanism. It is with this idea in mind
that one can better understand the beginning and destiny of the African
Union.
OAU as a Predecessor to the African Union
The
aim of this section is not to give the detailed account of the OAU as
an African organization. Rather the OAU is highlighted to show in way
that it can be considered as a predecessor to the African Union.
The
OAU, placed in a longer term of historical current, is a manifestation
of the Pan- African movement which originated in the USA during the late
19th century. In the USA, thousands of blacks, with African
origins found it intolerable to bear the agonizing experience of racial
discrimination and alienation. Some of their prominent leaders, namely
WEB Du Bois (1868-1963) and Marcus Garvey (1885-1940) raised a flag of
revolt against the then prevailing injustice and chose to speak for the
entire black race which was leading a dehumanized existence. They
subordinated the immediate problems of American blacks to a grand and
enlarged vision of Pan-Africanism, which, in essence, stood for the
unity and dignity of the black race.
As
it has been reflected by Harshe in an article in the USA, the
Pan-African movement has grown, substantially, acquiring different forms
with charging times. The period prior to the birth of OAU had its own
historical contribution to fully appreciate the on going Pan-African
process.
Prior
to the birth of the OAU, there was an inter-state politics in Africa
which was characterized by growing rivalry between the Casablanca and
Monrovia group of states. This rivalry, at least for a while, hindered
the realization of the OAU.
The
Casablanca group was principally led by Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Sekou
Toure of Guinea, and Madibo Keita of Mali. The group vehemently opposed
colonialism, racism and neocolonialism. Among other things, it opposed
the Katanga secessionist movement, gave an extended support to Patrice
Lumumba’s efforts to oust the Belgians from Congo, demanded French
withdrawal from Algeria and was sympathetic towards the Soviet Union due
to concrete Soviet support to their activities. This group had a more
radical approach involving the creation of the federation of African
states with joint institutions with a joint military command.
The
Monrovia group, on its part, was constituted by the Brazzaville group
including most of the moderate Francophone states such as Ivory Coast,
Gabon, Niger, Senegal, Monrovia, etc. In addition, it had members like
Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria and Somalia, which were neutral towards the
rivalry between Casablanca and Brazzaville groups. It stood for the
protection of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and
independence of its members. It defended the principle of mutual
non-interference in inter-sate relations and welcomed interstate
technical and economic cooperation. Instead of snapping the ties with
the west, the Monrovia group sought western cooperation in the process
of promoting development.
The
rivalry between the Casablanca and Monrovia groups was not, however, an
unbridgeable gulf that could prevent the birth of the OAU. Article
Harshe stated three basic justifications for this historical scenario.
To begin with, like the Monrovia states, the Casablanca states were also
getting absorbed in the world capitalist economy despite their sporadic
tirade against neo-colonialism and imperialism. The penetration of
western finance capital in the extractive sectors of Guinean economy and
Ghana’s membership of British Commonwealth amply illustrated this
position. When succinctly expressed, both groups were eventually moving
in the same direction. Secondly, despite their theoretical differences,
both groups were keen to regulate and promote inter-state cooperation in
Africa. Thirdly, though on their own ways, both groups aimed at
liquidating colonialism and racism.
Harshe
concludes that both groups had a lot in common. These commonalities
were backed by the mediatory efforts of uncommitted (i.e. not strictly a
proponent of either group) states like Ethiopia gave birth to the
Organization of African Unity. Having passed all these ups and downs,
the OAU was formally established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in May, 1963.
The OAU Charter presented both views but using the vision of the
Monrovia group as its core.
Wolfer
states the tension in early days of the OAU and the compromise adopted
as follows. “The main contention that surrounded the founding of the OAU
is well known: whether the institution should lead to a union of states
or merely to an association of the independent units.” Nweke, also
states “The OAU was the product of a compromise between African
statesmen who wanted political union of all independent African states
and those who preferred functional cooperation as a building block
towards the construction of an African socio-psychological community”.
The
above statements can create a historical link between the OAU and the
African Union. In the contention that surrounded the founding of the
OAU, the latter statement views the OAU as an association of the
independent units prevailed over the creation of a union of states. The
latter view had to wait for another favorable historical ground to be a
reality. Wolfer state that the former position which failed to be
operational has left its foot prints in the naming of the organization.
He states “the agreed name [for the organization] was proposed in French
by President Hubert Maga of Dahomey (possibly at the instigation of
President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana); and President William Tubman of
Liberia insisted that the English translation be organization of (emphasis added) African Unity, rather than organization for African unity”.
The
Assembly of the African Union has passed the Durban Declaration in
tribute to the OAU and the launching of the African Union. The Durban
Declaration describes the OAU in the following manner:-
The
establishment of the OAU was a statement of determination to define
Africa, not as individual countries but as collective bound together by
geography, history and destiny. It was a self-empowering decision to
find a framework for cooperation and forum for advocacy for African’s
causes and for joint action. This determination found concrete
expression in the objectives the founding fathers set for the OAU in its
Charter of promoting unity and solidarity among African states, of
coordinating and intensifying cooperation for development, of defense
for sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of African
state, of eradicating colonialism and of promoting international
cooperation within the framework of the United Nations. The founding
fathers saw a common future for Africa not contained by borders,
linguistic differences, color, religion or other divisive legacies of
colonialism. They saw one Africa, united in its diversity, speaking one
language of freedom, unity and development under the Organization of
African Unity.
Article
II of the OAU Charter specifies the OAU’s purposes and indicates areas
of intra-African cooperation. The following are the purposes of the OAU:
-
- To promote the unity and solidarity of the African states,
- To coordinate and intensify their collaboration and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa;
- To defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence;
- To eradicate all forms of colonialism in Africa, and
-
To promote international cooperation, having due regard for the Charter
of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Article
III of the OAU Charter lists down the principles of the OAU, which are
derived from the postulated purposes of the same. The principles of the
OAU: include
- The sovereign equality of all member states;
- Non interference in the internal affairs of member states;
-
Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each state and
for its inalienable right to independent existences;
- Peaceful settlement of disputes by negotiation, mediation, conciliation, or arbitration;
-
Unreserved condemnation, in all its forms, of political assassination
as well as of subversive activities on the part of neighboring states or
any other state;
- Absolute dedication to the total emancipation of the African territories that are still dependent; and
- Affirmation of a policy of non-alignment with regard to all blocs.
Many
of the purposes and principles of the OAU were keen in those days. Most
of them are, however, not pertinent to the contemporary situation of
Africa. A clear exemplification of such a holding may be the last that
state the principle of the OAU i.e., affirmation of a policy of
non-alignment with regard to all blocs. By now, the mentioned blocs, the
capitalist and socialist blocs are no more in rivalry. That is way a
need was felt to bring a timely organization for Africa.
It
can be argued that the African Union was conceived in the womb of the
OAU. Stated other wise, though the objectives and principles of the
African Union and the OAU are different, as is evident from the
surrounding historical conditions, the idea of establishing the African
Union was consolidated inside the OAU. Baimu shares this opinion as “It
was noted that in the period between 1966 and 1999 efforts were made to
realize African unity through the means of economic integration. This
was expressed theoretically in a number of OAU declarations, resolutions
and plans of actions that were adopted between 1968 and 1980, and in
concrete terms in the formation of several sub-regional blocs.”
The
conception of the African Union inside the OAU is highly reflected in a
number of resolutions, decisions and declarations adopted by the OAU
Assembly of the Heads of States and Government with a desire to realize
African economic integration. The Monrovia declaration of commitment on
the guidelines and measures for national and collective self-relations
in economic and social development for establishment of a new
international order called for the creation of the African Economic
Market as a prelude to an African Economic Community, and the Lagos Plan
of Action (LPA) which was adopted by the second extra-ordinary summit
of the OAU in April 1980 and envisaged the creation of an African
Economic Community by the year 2000.
The
idea of continental economic integration was concretized in the 1991
Abuja Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community, which was
adopted under the auspices of the OAU on 3 June 1991 and entered in to
force on 12 May 1994 after the requisite number of ratifications was
attained. Article 6 of the Treaty envisages the establishment of the
African Economic Community, AEC, as an integral part of the OAU upon
passing six consecutive stages over a transitional period not exceeding
thirty-four years. The Abuja Treaty envisions the establishment of the
AEC as a goal that should be achieved through encouraging the formation
of sub-regional economic bodies which would eventually amalgamate to
create the AEC.
Article 4 of the Abuja Treaty enumerates four basic objectives of the AEC. These are:
$1· To
promote economic, social and cultural development and the integration
of African economies in order to increase economic self-reliance and
promote an endogenous and self-sustained development;
$1· To
establish, on a continental scale, a framework for the development,
mobilization and utilization of the human and material resources of
Africa in order to achieve a self-reliant development.
$1· To
promote cooperation in all fields of human Endeavour in order to raise
the standard of living of African peoples, and maintain and enhance
economic stability, foster close and peaceful relations among Member
States and contribute to the progress, development and the economic
integration of the continent, and
$1· To
coordinate and harmonize policies among existing and future economic
communities in order to foster the gradual establishment of the
community.
With
the coming into force of the Abuja Treaty, the OAU committed itself
with the realization of the aforementioned objectives and therefore it
has to coexist with the AEC. The gradual operation of the OAU based on
both its Charter and the Abuja Treaty made it clear that there is an
emerging need to come up with an institution that would combine OAU’s
political nature and the AEC’s economic character. At the same time, the
end of the millennium led to a sense of urgency among African
leadership to reposition the OAU in order to set the African continent
as a whole on a firm path to development and peace in the new
millennium. It was in this context that the forty four African leaders
met in Libya from 8 to 9 September 1999 at an extraordinary summit of
the OAU called by the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, to discuss the
formation of a ‘United States of Africa’. The summit basically aimed at
‘strengthening OAU’s capacity to enable it to meet the challenges of the
new millennium.’ It was there that the African leaders adopted the
Sirte Declaration which called for the establishment of The African
Union.
Having
been instructed to model it on the European Union and taking into
account the Charter of the OAU and the Abuja Treaty Establishing the
African Economic Community, the OAU legal unit drafted the Constitutive
Act of the African Union. The resulting draft Constitutive Act was
debated on a meeting of legal experts and parliamentarians and later at a
ministerial conference held in Tripoli from 31 May to 2 June 2000.
The
Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted by the OAU assembly
of Heads of States and Governments in Lome in July 2000. By March 2001,
all members of the OAU had signed the Constitutive Act and hence the OAU
Assembly at its 5th extraordinary summit held in Sirte,
Libya, from 1 to 2 March 2001 declared the establishment of the African
Union. However, to fulfill the legal requirements for the African Union,
the Constitutive Act had to wait for ratification by two thirds of the
member states of the OAU. It was on 26 April 2001 that this requirement
was met. On 26 May 2001, the Constitute Act entered in to force and
thereby making the African Union a legal and political reality.
All what has been stated above might be taken as evidencing the assertion that ‘the African Union was conceived and be made realty in the womb of the OAU.’
It is this fact that capitalizes the importance of studying the
development within the OAU to give birth to the African Union.
As
has been stated earlier, the theme is not an in-depth analysis of the
activities of the OAU. Rather it is a bird’s eye view of the same
targeting on the historical tracks that led to the emergence of the
African Union.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the OAU
The
strengths and weaknesses of the OAU can be considered as good
historical lessons to the African Union. In this section attempts to
highlight The major strengths and weakness of the OAU.
To
begin with its strengths, decolonization is the most important
achievement of the OAU, which has to be written in bold. Decolonization,
like colonization, is a long drawn out historical process. In an
attempt to assist the decolonization process, the OAU established a
Coordinating Committee for the Liberation of Africa in 1963. This
Committee offered moral and material assistance to anti-colonial
struggles in different parts of the African continent.
In
describing OAU’s role in the decolonization process, it seems more
appropriate if we reiterate the wordings of the Durban Declaration in
tribute to the OAU. Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Declaration state:
The
OAU was instrumental in creating an African Identity and in promoting
solidarity among the African people. Today, being an African is not a
philosophical proposition but a reality. Today, our people find
expression in a common identify as Africans. That common identity and
unity of purpose become a dynamic force at the service of the African
people in the pursuit of the ideals are predecessors believed in and in
which we continue to believe. No where has that dynamic force proved
more decisive than in the African struggle for decolonization. Africa
saw its independence as meaningless as long as a part of it remained
under colonial tyranny. Immense human and material resources were
consecrated to the task of decolonizing Africa. Through the OAU
Coordinating Committee for Liberation, Africa worked and spoke as one
with undivided determination in forging an international diplomatic
consensus for liberation and in prosecuting the armed struggle.
Strength
of the OAU, is perhaps closely related to its actions against racism
and Apartheid. The OAU resolutions have ritually condemned racism in
general as well as the system of apartheid which institutionalized
racism in South Africa and Namibia in particular. The strategy of the
OAU for the liberation of the South Africa, in particular, has been a
mixture of support for freedom fighters and appeal to the conscience of
the international community. In 1991, the apartheid policy was done away
once and for all and maked the final step for Africa in the struggle of
political emancipation form colonial and racist rule.
Another
strength of the OAU that is worth being mentioned is its important task
in coming up with the establishment of that formed Abuja Treaty the
African Economic Community in 1991. The Treaty seeks to build the
African Economic Community through a common market built on the regional
economic communities. This effort of the OAU proved to be instrumental
as regional economic communities are today consolidating and proving
today to be engines for integration.
The
major weak OAU’s weaknesses, is its principles related to the culture
of non-intervention for which the OAU has been criticized. Among the
principles of the OAU, as stated in Article III of the OAU Charter,
non-interference in the internal affairs of member states is one. The
OAU is blamed for taking a “hands-off” approach to internal struggles in
member states. Though there were rampant political instabilities within
the territories of its member states, the OAU miserably failed in
taking an action due to the culture of non intervention. Capitalizing on
this point, Timothy Murthi stated that ‘Indeed the OAU did not
intervene as much as it should have in the affairs of member states to
prevent war crimes and crimes against humanity which has bequeathed upon
present generation of Africans the legacy of human rights atrocities
and the domination, exploitation and manipulation of societies within
states.”
Another
weakness of the OAU is its failure to feature protection of Human
Rights as one of its principal aspirations. This does not mean that
Human Rights were wholly neglected by the OAU Charter since it makes
references, albeit slight, to Human Rights. The principal objectives of
the OAU have been to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
its member states. That may explain why it took 20 years for the OAU to
adopt a Human Rights document proper.
The Rationale for the Establishment of the African Union
The
rationale for the establishment of the African Union is not something
that is alien to what has been stated hereinbefore. It is a cumulative
effect of the urgency to rectify the downsides of the OAU and build a
new paradigm of African integration and solidarity that can enable the
continent as a whole to coup up with the challenges of the day.
It
has to be recalled that the idea of African unity was there even before
the realization of the OAU. Elaborating this point, Baimu stated that
despite the creation of the OAU, some African leaders, particularly
Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, felt that Africans needed a stronger union than
the one that had been realized in the OAU. Kwame Nkrumah is known for
this famous speech that “Africans must unite or disintegrate individually”.
In pursuance of this idea, he made an impassioned speech on the eve of
the founding of the OAU, in which he argued for a union government of
African states with a common market, currency, monetary zone, central
bank, system of defense, citizenship, foreign policy and continental
communication system.
The
aforementioned proposal failed to be realized in those days. In fact,
it evoked suspicion and animosity from a substantial number of African
heads of state as they were jealous of their hard-fought independence
and recently acquired presidential status for the sake of a continental
union. Whatever the reason may be, the idea of African unity had to The
wait for another period with comfortable economic and political factor
propelling for its reality. This period began to come as of the 1980 due
to multifaceted factors that urged Africa and Africans to come up with a
firm integration and solidarity between and among themselves. Several
reasons might be mentioned as pushing factors to African unity of which
the major ones are discoursed below.
The
first factor could be the fact that the challenges that Africa began to
face as of the beginning of the 1980; were no longer the same as those
of the 1963s. Eradicating colonialism and establishing the independence
of African nations had been virtually completed except for the continued
struggle in South Africa. The objectives and principles of the OAU were
basically targeted at securing the process of decolonization. In the
1980s, this target became less important, if not totally not important,
than it used to be when the OAU was founded. Hence, Africa is now in a
state of a different scenario which demands a different solution from
the one proposed by the OAU machinery. The OAU, as it has been stated in
the preceding parts, deserves a credit in accomplishing its number one
target. But, it has already become less important that paves the way for
the creation of a new Pan-African body, the African Union.
The
second pushing factor for the birth of the new African Union is the
political global changes in the beginning of the 1990s That mainly
characterized by the end of the cold war and the town fall of the Soviet
bloc. This global change was not corroborated by a response form the
side of Africa, despite the vital influence it had on the continent.
El-Ayouty, described this scenario by saying “With the end of the cold
war, the world completely changed. Africa and the OAU, however, did
not”.
The
complete change in the global political order affected Africa in many
ways. During the cold war, the two super powers, the USA and The USSR,
were in a state of competition in most part of the world. They tried to
assume leading roles in promoting their own ideologies and thereby
assisted a country or a region which came to form a group within their
spheres of influence. But the end of the cold war heralded the collapse
of the USSR; the order of the game has begun to change.
While
explaining the situation in Africa in his article entitled, ‘an OAU for
the future: an assessment’, Yassin El-Ayouty said the following:
In
the process of playing the friendship and cooperation game with either
the East or West, Africa incurred the following hazards: It did not rely
effectively on the OAU for conflict resolution; several of its states
became pawns in the superpower chess games, the civil wars in Angola,
Mozambique, Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad and the Sahara were allowed to go on
without African solutions, the motto of “African Solutions for African
problems” become a hollow slogan…
Thus
end of the cold war posed a threat that was different from what it had
used to be there during the cold war. The end of the cold war heralded
the dawn of the new era of globalization in which Africa has become
increasingly marginalized and struggled to define its place and role in
the new global system. The challenge has now become different. Rather
than playing El-Ayouty’s chess games on African soil, the great powers
increasingly declined to assume leading roles in promoting peace and
development in the continent. This forced Africa and Africans to
reconsider the slogan That had been used at the founding of the OAU
i.e. “African solutions for African problems”, which sang truer than ever before and dictated more by necessity than inclination.
The
Durban Declaration of the first ordinary session of the Assembly of the
African Union shares the above sated pushing factor for the realization
of the African Union. The Declaration states the following:-
[I]n
1990’s, when the world was undergoing fundamental changes with the
collapse of the Soviet Union and the redefinition of the global power
relations, the OAU moved quickly to assess African’s place in the new
environment and charted a course for itself, aimed at stemming its
marginalization and ensuring its continued strategic relevance and to
address the challenges of development and of peace and security in the
continent.
The
global change forced Africa to strive for its continued relevance. To
that end, an incumbent was created on Africa itself to consider a new
political and economic order securing “African solutions for African problems”. The famous speech by Kwame Nkrumah that states “Africa must unite or disintegrate individually” became more relevant.
The
third pushing factor for the establishment of the African Union that is
worth being noted here is the economic situation that was getting worse
and worse in Africa. This may be considered as a sign of Africa’s
marginalization in the world order of the day. It has been commented
that ‘the economic crisis in the continent has now become literally a
matter of life and death and has to be dealt with. In response to the
economic challenges, the OAU came up with the Abuja Treaty Establishing
the African Economic Community in 1991. As it has been stated under
1.1.1, the coming into force of the Treaty suggested the emerging need
to come up with an institution that would combine OAU’s political nature
and AEC’s economic character. This paved the way for the realization of
the African Union.
The
final pushing factor that contributed to the coming into feature of the
African Union was the in-built weaknesses of the OAU. As it has been
stated above, Africa is was supposed to really implement the slogan “African solutions for African problems”.
This, however, was not possible within the existing framework of the
OAU. Experts agreed that the OAU charter needed revision, most
specifically with regard to the principles of sovereignty and
non-interference. These were among the basic principles of the OAU
Charter and their contention was not a simple matter. However, Africa
was in a state of necessity to enable the regional organization to take
measures in internal affairs of member states. Explaining this dilemma,
Thabo Mbeki, the then President of South Africa, said the following on 5
December 2003. “there is recognition of the absolute sovereignty of the
African sates. In spite of the sovereignty, we must be our brother’s
keeper and strive to end poverty in our continent. We must think for
ourselves and not allow others think for us”.
Among
other things, Africa was forced by the aforementioned factors to come
up with a re-invented notion of Pan-Africanism which would not limit
itself in defending the rights of African states against external
interference but to devise a scheme not to let Africa continue as a safe
heaven for undemocratic leaders who assume power by virtue of an
unconstitutional manner. The order of the day demanded Africa to firmly
get together than ever before and solve its problems by its own. All
these led to the birth of a new form of Pan-African alliance through the
African Union.
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