Editorial: African Union, is it a waste of time?

Before the Accra Summit, Africans all over the world had high hopes in the knowledge that, at long last, the African dream, a Unified Africa, was going to be achieved. But this hope was quickly dashed by comments from some Pan African activists, who have analysed current trend of events on the continent and come to the conclusion that a United African Government was not feasible, at least not now.

One of the activists, Gamal Nkrumah, the son of the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was very emphatic when he said, African Unity, as envisaged by his father, is only a dream, judging by the current political atmosphere on the continent.

Even as some Africans were pessimistic of the summit achieving its goal of a United African government, there were those who were optimistic in their expectation of seeing a continental government for Africa by the end of the summit in Accra.

One of such people was the Libyan Leader, President Muammar Gaddafi, who came to the Accra summit with a slogan for his colleague African Leaders “Unite or die”.

But even as the Accra summit was going on, did events in African countries give any indication that African Unity government was achievable by the end of the Summit? No!

No because while Nigerian citizens keep trooping into Ghana and are here in their numbers without any documentation, the Nigerian authorities from time to time have been deporting Ghanaians, who they consider illegal immigrants and yet Nigeria is a country that claims they want a United African government.

No because at the time President Muammar Gaddafi left Tripoli, the Libyan capital for Accra, there were over one thousand black Africans, all from south of the Sahara, including Ghanaians in Libyan jails and their only crime is that they do not have proper documentation in that country.

No because even as the debate on African unity and free movement of Africans is raging on, the Angolan authorities are deporting some 25,000 Congolese back to the Democratic Republic of Congo, because they are considered illegal immigrants in that country.

No because as at the time the Accra summit was struggling with what answers to give Africans at the end of the summit, over 300 Africans were reported to have died trying to cross the Red Sea into Yemen and about 200 reported missing all because of the uncertainty of the future they face in their countries.

No because in far away Sudan, Darfur to be precise, millions are dying in that country while African leaders wine and dine with their colleague who could not identify with some of his own people because of the colour of their skin.

So why wouldn’t the pessimists say African Unity is a dream that is not achievable.

For any integration to take place in Africa, there must be the free movement of people and goods but currently it looks like even that basic rule, that should be the basis for a continental unity has not been accepted by our leaders so how do we unify the African continent?

In Ghana today, foreigners praise us for our hospitality. It is because Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who conceived the African Unity idea, never closed the doors of Ghana to Africans on the continent and the Diaspora. That is the reason why we have a large number of Africans here and nobody cares about their documentation.

The European Union started with the free movement of their people and goods. It enhanced their trade and their human resources circulated within the union. This also enlarged their economies making it a force to reckon with.

It is not as if our leaders are not aware of this, they are, but greed and their desire to be Presidents for life have blinded them and they would have nothing to do with a United Africa but would pretend they want it so much.

“Africa must unit or die”. We agree completely with the Libyan Leader but how committed is he to the African Unity cause?

It is our firm belief that the only way forward towards an African Unity government is for our leaders to open their borders for Africans and their goods to move freely on the continent. That is how we can strengthen our economies and make Africa a better place to live so that our brothers and sisters would not go dying, seeking greener pasture in the white man’s land.