60 years of African unity: trials and tribulations

MAY 25 has been celebrated as Africa Day since the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was formed in 1963, three years after the independence wave swept the continent. In those heady days there was a deep sense among Africans – young and old – of better things to come.

There were high hopes for the continent. In fact, things were orderly for a while and the projections for the continent were positive.

While most of the countries on the continent were savouring their new-found freedom, there were others that were still under colonial rule, and in South Africa racism against the country’s majority black population was entrenched by a minority white government under its odious apartheid policies.

So, while independent African governments were forging ahead with plans for their own citizens, they were still relentless in pursuing their goal of freeing the whole continent from foreign oppressive regimes. Thus, as the OAU was being formed, African leaders also decided to establish the Coordinating Committee for the Liberation of Africa to rid the continent of Portuguese and Spanish colonial rule, as well as oppressive white minority governments in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Headquartered in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the Liberation Committee was totally committed to its remit. It was fully backed by the rest of free Africa. Indeed, while in later years OAU members were late in making their annual contributions to the regular budget of the pan-African body, there was no tardiness when it came to funding the Liberation Committee.

In some countries, such as Nigeria, civil servants had a percentage of their salaries deducted and sent to the Liberation Committee. This commitment eventually paid off – first with the independence of Rhodesia, which became Zimbabwe in 1980, and then the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa when the country’s first black President, Nelson Mandela, eventually took charge in 1994 after being released from 27 year in prison in 1990.

By 2002, African leaders decided that the main aim of the OAU, ridding the continent of foreign political control, had been achieved. The Liberation Committee was wound up.

So, South Africa was selected for the launch of the African Union (AU) that would move the continent to a higher plane. Its Constitutive Act has laudable goals. For instance, under Article 3(h), the AU is to “promote and protect human and peoples’ rights in accordance with the Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other relevant instruments.” Article 7 notes: “Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person.”

While the OAU had stuck to its principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states, the AU had other ideas. In the mood of the times,

African unity today include the apparent lack of self-belief among leaders and the people, rising xenophobia in North Africa and South Africa of all places. Africans now feel lost, even though their continent is the richest in terms of natural and human resources. Everyone, except Africans themselves, is benefiting from the continent’s wealth.

Poor political and economic governance has compounded the issue. Nigeria, for example, a major oil producer, has been importing petroleum products since the 1970s because its oil refineries are moribund.

In South Africa, for which the rest of the continent made such huge sacrifices, the Gupta brothers arrived from India in 1993, and under Jacob Zuma they were allowed to “capture” the South African

African leaders agreed to Article 4(h), which established “the right of the Union to intervene in a member state pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity”.

Later, it was added that the AU could intervene in a member state if the “legitimate order” was threatened. This was forced through by leaders who ran their countries with an iron hand. Since then, we have seen many uprisings by citizens against governments that are not acting in the interest of the people. The chaos that is being witnessed around the continent is a clear sign that despite all its good intentions, the AU has been unsuccessful in living up to expectations, just as governments have equally failed to deliver for the countries.

Some of the problems clouding state, pocketing billions of dollars through nefarious financial activities. Zuma, who was the ANC’s head of intelligence during the struggle against apartheid, has been a big let-down, no matter his denials of being complicit in the illegal activities of the Guptas, who are now safely ensconced outside the country and enjoying their illgotten gains.

Under the ANC, South Africa, which had a united Africa behind it during the fight against apartheid, is a failing state because of massive corruption. And the politicians are using foreign Africans living in South Africa as scapegoats for the country’s socio-economic problems.

As we have always pointed out, the world does not owe Africa a living. In fact, what the world wants, as we are clearly seeing, is to make a living from Africa’s immense wealth.