United States of Africa? Only if...

The recently concluded African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, once again delved into the longstanding and controversial matter of the establishment of the United States of Africa (USAf) which will bring all African countries under a single governance structure. The concept of the USAf has been around for a very long time – in fact from the early days of African independence when the likes of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana were gallivanting around the continent trying to mobilise other newly independent African states to shun their colonial borders and come together to form a new stronger country which would more effectively compete on the global arena. That Nkrumah failed to achieve this unity and instead died in exile having been deposed in a coup is perhaps another small evidence of everything that is wrong with the continent.

I have a lot of sympathy and respect for the idea of a united African state. I have been fortunate and privileged to have either worked in or visited a large number of African countries. Just a few months back I was addressing a gathering of professional colleagues in West Africa and I remarked that we Africans were all one people who have been separated by artificial borders. Of course, we may have different languages and different cultures but beneath all that we are one people. I feel as comfortable and at home in Nigeria as I feel in Ethiopia or Rwanda or Zambia or Zimbabwe. There are far more similarities between our people than there are differences. I have friends and colleagues scattered across the continent and when we meet and interact, there is very little difference between us except the nationality tag which history imposed upon us and which we are obliged to carry with us.

My experiences in Africa have taught me that the importance of nationalism is as insignificant, if not harmful, as regionalism or tribalism is within a national context. I am more than convinced that Africa, especially south and west of the Sahara, is and should be one country. I do have, of course, reservations on whether the northern parts can still be classified as Africa given the predominance of the Euro-Arabic (or Mediterranean) influences. Even then I would be quite happy to give them the benefit of doubt and support their membership of USAf. So if it is such a good idea to establish the USAf, why is it proving so difficult to advance this idea forward and achieve the realisation of Nkrumah’s dream?

To be brutally frank, I don’t believe that the union will be achieved by the present crop of leadership. The present leadership in Africa is still dominated by despotic and dictatorial leaders whose only desire is to strengthen and expand their rule or to cling on to power even when they no longer command the support of their people. I cannot see for goodness sake see how Muammar Gaddafi can be a credible advocate of African unity when he lacks a democratic mandate even in his own country. It should be remembered that this man came to power through a military coup and has kept power in a tightly clenched fist for more than three decades through systematic repression and suppression of the opposition. I seriously doubt Gaddafi’s sincerity and suspect that he is more interested in expanding his empire and sphere of influence without the mess and pain of military conquest.

Many other current African leaders use their countries as sources for personal wealth and accumulation. A recent article on the internet (whose veracity I cannot vouch for) placed six of the present and past heads of state among the twenty richest people on the continent. And you have the likes of Mugabe baying to all and sundry that “Zimbabwe is mine” as if it is a t-shirt or a pair of sneakers! Such leaders are not interested in a united state of Africa because it would reduce the rent-seeking opportunities which they enjoy and threaten their ability to continue expropriating their countries’ wealth for themselves and their supporters. As long as leadership is synonymous with personal wealth accumulation, every leader will hold on to their small pieces of turf and damn the consequences for the ordinary citizens!

The other barrier to African unity is the different levels of democratic maturity on the continent. As I have already alluded to, there are far too many leaders who have no time or respect for democratic governance. Some achieved power through military coups and others inherited it from their dictator parents. And with very few notable exceptions, most leaders retain power through oppression and downright fraud in the few circumstances when elections are conducted. What this means is that the leaders lack the mandate to make any fundamental concessions or decisions and they lack the conviction that they would retain any measure of importance and influence if they allow their own countries to be “swallowed” by a larger entity.

While the African Union charter and the protocols of regional bodies like SADC prescribe the minimum standards of democracy which member countries must abide by, these are often ignored in practice. To exacerbate the situation, the continental bodies appear to have no authority or, indeed, the political will to enforce compliance. Two recent examples of this impotence are the rigged elections in Kenya and the refusal by Zanu-PF to accept the results of the free and fair March 2008 elections in Zimbabwe. In both instances, the AU could have read the riot act on the errant incumbent governments but they failed to do so promoting, instead, national unity governments which preserved the status of the sitting but electorally vanquished incumbent presidents.

In the circumstances it is very difficult to imagine or appreciate how the 47 odd countries on the African continent (and six other islands off the coast which are also considered as African) can be managed under a central administration. It will take much more than sober argument, political will and unity of purpose – it will take a miracle to get all the countries to agree to such arrangements. Unless of course, such unity is dictated and enforced through military conquest. This is something which I have previously advocated but which I doubt would be acceptable in today’s political and diplomatic environment.

Having said that, I should not sound too pessimistic about the prospects of success of the USAf. As I have already alluded to above, I am a strong proponent of a united Africa falling under a single statehood. I am convinced that a huge potential is lost due to duplication of effort, failure to synergise and national capacities which are limited by geographical and resource disparities and constraints. The latest figures show that approximately one billion people live in Africa. The continent is also endowed with immense natural resources and climatic conditions which are unsurpassed by any other region or continent on earth. If all these advantages and potentials were exploited in a cohesive and collaborative manner, this could catapult Africa to unimagined levels of economic and social development and dramatically reduce the current levels of poverty.