AN ARGUMENT FOR THE FEDERATION OF AFRICAN STATES
People of African origin who live in the Diaspora have risen in stature and prestige in their foreign lands in a very short time. Given that 50 years ago there were just a handful of African immigrants in Europe and North America, it is amazing how quickly they have risen to high levels in society. With this new cadre of Africans combined with those who were forcibly removed from Africa and brought to the Americas, Africa smiles at its newfound resource that will help and aid in its dilemma and misery. It is as though the ancestors are calling their sons and daughters to remember their home; and remembering they have begun to do. However, I believe strongly that even though black men have risen to the greatest eminence in the Diaspora, North America, Europe, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and also in Africa, with wealth and political distinction, the resources and capabilities of Africa will remain undeveloped as long as there is no respectable power of African origin in Africa. As long as the continent remains in her present degraded state, she will reflect unfavorably upon all Africans around the globe regardless of their stature and distinction. Simply stated, there will be no respect for Africans until Africa as a continent is respected. Even if many hide behind the pseudo-identity of Europeanism and a Neo-Colonial definition of social-cultural identity, Africa will forever remain the appropriate home of the black man, and he cannot rise above her.
The time has come to truly free Africa. There is a resurrection and a reawakening among the Africans of the Diaspora for the love of their Motherland. They are beginning to take the injuries of Africa personally and are outraged that this has been going on for many decades unabated. Having reconstructed their lands of enslavement, the time has arrived to collect the scattered forces of the race; and there is no rallying ground more favorable than Africa to ameliorate the sufferings and bind the wounds of our Motherland. The African Diaspora in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America are experiencing a rekindled love and interest in African affairs. In the past they have organized primarily on the basis of affiliations and associations, i.e., ethnic, alma mater, regional, fraternities, lobbying groups, charities, nationalities, etc. These parochial organizations that house vast knowledge and operate as active, applied knowledge networks are beginning to shift their focus toward Africa. Undeniably these African organizations have important roles to play in contributing to Africa’s development, and we must find a way to bring their expertise and resources to bear upon the needs of our people.
African Diaspora organizations have demonstrated a capacity to network and to collaborate in the furtherance of their specific aims. They will give their support for not only one economic system but also one government in Africa. Our forefathers did not have this kind of intellectual bank when the movement for the liberation of Africa began. They were lonely voices shouting in the desert: W. E. B. DuBois, Sekou Toure, Patrice Lumumba, Marcus Garvy, Nelson Mandela, Azikiwe, Mzee Kenyatta, and a number of others who gave their lives to bring us to where we are today hoped for the kind of support Africa now has. In gratitude for their fortitude, it is now time for us to move forward the dream of African unity. There is enough talent, wealth, and enterprise among African people today to form a respectable government on the continent of Africa and to put in place systems for the delivery of services to millions who live in incalculable misery.
The duty ahead of us is imperative. I am confident that within a very brief period that down-trodden land, instead of being regarded with prejudice and disdain, will attract the attention and engage the sincere interest of every man of color. For those who continue to exclude Africans from discussions about the future of their own continent as in Berlin when our lands were divided among world powers without reference to those who occupied those lands, be forewarned that a new day has dawned. Africa can no longer be “kept in its place.” It is no longer acceptable for any agencies, Western or otherwise, that want to work in Africa to do so without involving sons and daughters of Africa who themselves are usually more qualified than foreigners to solve their own problems. We demand to be at the table of development, reconstruction, restructuring, realignment, reallocations, and redistribution of all resources that affect our continent. We challenge any world agency or government to prove the perception that we Africans of the Diaspora have no understanding or are incompetent with regard to African affairs. The African affairs we may not be aware of are those underhanded deals made behind closed doors by kleptocrats. It is therefore no longer acceptable to marginalize Africa and Africans of all regions based on this faulty assumption, as indeed has been the practice of the past. We may not have been a watchdog in the past, but now with enlightenment we must demand to be at the table to not only monitor but also to contribute to the development of the land that nursed us. If not, we must construct one that respects our knowledge, expertise, and humanity.
There are so many of our people who fail to realize their responsibility, who fail to hear the inspiring call of the past and the prophetic call of the future, to participate in the healing of our Motherland. Though educated and informed, we have chosen to be silent and a few who have dared to speak on behalf of Africa’s affairs find themselves almost silenced by a passive support that comes from those who would divorce themselves from that which makes them human. Our continued silence spells death for our people and sends a dreadful message to those who have for years treated us and continue to treat us with disdain. There is a talent entrusted within each of us to call to action the highest forms of our being for the purpose of advancing Africa. The great work of reconstruction in the land of our forefathers requires the capacity of all Africans.
I am most encouraged that many of our African leaders are beginning to assert the primacy of Africans in African affairs. We call upon each one of them to assertively harmonize the interest of Africa and promote an agenda that has Africa and Africans at the center. The inclusion of the African Diaspora in this harmony allows for better understanding and relations and brings to an end an era of perpetual exclusion. Pooling capacities and developing common approaches increases the influence of Africa in the international foray and its likelihood of making substantial gains. The African Diaspora is part of that foray, and harnessing its resources for the reconstruction of Africa is of paramount urgency. More than ever we need to put systems in place to strengthen the political and economic forces in Africa in order to increase our capacity to make our own decisions. Individually African countries do not have the capacity to make the necessary changes. We must therefore speak as one voice. The USA or any Western power will not do this for us. It is our obligation to ourselves.
There are too many horrible scars from our linkage to foreign powers so that we cannot take their word any longer at face value. And whom can the African leaders count on except those who live among the foreign structures. What we need in Africa today is not isolated success stories but coordinated systems of integration based on continental policies without which we are doomed to deeper disaster. The effect will be that we will increase our capacity to deal with the richer nations and to meet the enormous needs of our people. Let us take for example the recent developments in which USA has been seeking permission from NATO allies to attack Iraq. France has refused to give that permission and will not allow USA to attack Iraq. In the meantime, France has deployed troops in Africa without anyone’s permission; and that is considered acceptable. How long will Africa continue to be the ward of Europe? As long as we remain within the framework of colonial identity, Africa will never gain respect. We have allowed Europe to build for us, educate us, and feed us. Is it any wonder that they think it their paternal right to rule over us? Can we hope to go free when we continue to feed at the hands of those who oppress us? I believe strongly--as I hope our African leaders do--that the African Diaspora is an asset in this regard.
Forming one government in Africa during this generation is not a far-fetched idea. Even though there is a high level of political demoralization across the continent and a clear lack of confidence in political institutions and political leaders, there is a strong sense of common identity across Africa as evidenced by a growing body of African charters and conventions and a small but increasingly confident African Commission on Humanism and People’s Rights. Many of our African leaders are sensing this trend and are responding accordingly.
The idea of Africa and an African common interest still resonates strongly. At independence, many African states were financially and economically integrated; and some shared sub-regional political institutions. This was particularly so for the Franc Zone in West Africa, the East African Community, and the Central African Federation. However, these associations rapidly fell apart or, in the case of the Franc Zone, failed to develop. Following the adoption of the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action that announced a pan-African program of economic cooperation and integration, a new start seemed evident. And now with the advent of NEPAD, it seems to me that Africans are on their way to forming one economic system and one political entity. My hope is that NEPAD will not simply become a recycling forum for old economic systems that have failed our people in the past and continued European dominance while taking away our resources.
There is also an Africa-wide consensus that economic, social, and political hegemony is desirable. Africans are drawn together and intuitively distrust the colonial boundaries that separate them. Many African countries share similar institutional and legal histories as well as common languages. The qualifications awarded by their educational systems are broadly compatible. There are relatively few social and cultural barriers to migration, intermarriage, and socialization. Africans enjoy the same music. There is real cultural unity, together with a genuine appreciation of the cultural diversity of the continent. During the last World Cup, there was a time when Senegal ceased to be a country and became the hope of a continent. The support that Senegal received at the World Cup was an all-African affair. Africa continues to decry the artificial border divisions placed upon them by colonial madness. In their diversity, they long for unity, not continued forced cohabitation that has plunged us into hostility and untold suffering.
We are therefore ushering a call to anyone who considers himself African and anyone who considers himself or herself a friend of Africa to rise and advocate for the unity of Africa and Africans. Every one should do his/her part. Each participant should exert himself/herself to usher in progress on the continent. Whatever your condition and whatever the resources, you do occupy a very important part in this vision. Africa must arise, and Africans of the Diaspora must unite.
