Time Africa stood on her own

News
As the continent continues to celebrate Africa Day which was formed on May 25 1963 when some independent African countries gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to form the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU), Africa should now take stock and stand on its own and chat the way forward.

As the continent continues to celebrate Africa Day which was formed on May 25 1963 when some independent African countries gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to form the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU), Africa should now take stock and stand on its own and chat the way forward.

Since the continent is endowed with vast natural resources and educated manpower, the time has come for the continent to wean itself from dependency. This continent should put behind the crybaby mentality and behave like an equal in its dealings with the international community. It is high time for Africa unites in all spheres of life that include political, economical, cultural, as envisioned by the founding fathers of AU, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere and others.

Africa should be in a position to use its natural resources for the benefit of its people. The continent should desist from relying on foreign aid as the aid normally comes with strings attached. History has shown that foreign aid has not come cheap to the African continent as many countries end up falling victim to manipulation by western countries.

Recently Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete blasted foreign aid as having “degrading conditions” after donors withheld funds meant for Tanzania over allegations of corruption, poor governance and slow pace of reforms by the Tanzanian government.

Now that 52 years have passed since the African states came together for the formation of the African body, leaders should make sure that they decolonise themselves from western bondage. African leaders should realise that Africa is for Africans and they should do away with rushing to the western countries whenever a problem emanates on the continent. Africans should realise that African problems can be solved by Africans alone. Rushing to western capitals seeking for solutions brings nothing, but divisions to the continent.

Africa should correct past mistakes that led other African leaders to be assassinated and others to be arraigned before the International Criminal Court (ICC). For example the assassination of Muammar Gaddaffi by the Libyan rebels supported by the so-called allied forces and the arrest and subsequent trial and conviction of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor by the ICC was made possible because some African leaders chose to be aligned to the western countries that had their own goals. So such mistakes should not be repeated, hence Africa should unite and fight together against external forces that seek to divide the continent.

Since the continent is endowed with vast natural resources and educated manpower, the time has come for the continent to wean itself from dependency
Since the continent is endowed with vast natural resources and educated manpower, the time has come for the continent to wean itself from dependency

It is high time that the African continent began to talk with one voice so as to earn respect globally. The trend which has been happening in Africa is that African leaders have been manipulated by western countries who wanted them to dance according to their tune. In actual fact, western countries have used that colonial bondage to oppress African countries to the extent that African countries became aligned to their former colonisers in an unhealthy relationship which is retrogressive in terms of development.

The fact that western countries like Britain, France, Italy and Germany, among others that arranged and planned to colonise Africa at the Berlin Congress in 1884, planted their colonial legacies in the different African states made it easy for them to manipulate whatever African states might think and plan to do.

African leaders should stand guided by Pan-Africanism that gives the concept of ubuntu as the way forward in deciding and planning what the African continent needs to do. In fact, Africa should now be vocal in championing the needs for the Africans in the international community, especially when they attend the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.

It is refreshing that the AU has now chosen 10 countries that have come to be known as the Committee of 10 (C10) to champion the negotiations with the super powers so that they allow an African country to have a permanent seat in the UN Security Council (UNSC). The C10 which started the ball rolling more than two years ago is currently having meetings with various countries which are in the UNSC as a way of making sure that they accept the continent’s plea.

The UNSC which comprises Britain, China, France, Russia and the US has been made up of those countries since the formation of the UN in 1945, making it impossible for other countries to get their voices heard. So the C10, which comprises Algeria, Congo DR, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leorne and Zambia, should be commended for the good work they are doing in confronting the UNSC so that it is reformed.

For that reason, all African states should remain united and always speak with one voice during international summits or meetings so that African interests are not trampled upon.