The Africa We Want
Ali Askari
July 8, 2024
Among all the frustrated news from around the world, the news of the unification of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in a federation with one army and one border came as a relief and peace to us and opened a window in the pitch darkness surrounding the continent despite the claims of democracy and other operations of (Westernization) of Africa in the name of freedom and respect for human rights, as if the West respects human rights!
Breaking the political molds and borders set by colonialism is the correct way to liberate Africa from the yoke of dependence on the West, as adhering to the borders set by the European colonizers is in essence a deadly consecration of colonialism and evidence of the surrender of African elites to the divisions of the colonizer and working to perpetuate them.
The fatal mistake that the liberation leaders made in the first meeting called by Emperor Haile Selassie – in light of which the Organization of African Unity was established – was that those leaders adhered to the political borders drawn by the Europeans according to their areas of influence without any consideration for the societal reality and the overlap between societies. The emperor had a great influence on that decision as he was planning to hold on to Eritrea as part of Ethiopia and as a strategic sea outlet for it.
Among the presidents who attended that dangerous meeting were Abdel Nasser, Nkrumah and others (I write from memory) and most of them were from West African countries as a number of East African countries were still under colonialism. The justification of the meeting for that disastrous decision was that if the borders drawn by the Europeans were changed, chaos and endless conflicts would occur. Thus, they chose to perpetuate colonialism instead of ending its division through mechanisms that could be agreed upon and implemented gradually, taking into account the values of coexistence and societal harmony. This nascent federation will confuse many imperialist calculations, and even the West African countries, many of which have surrendered to Western molds and “slept in honey.” This bold step will also revive and revive the aspirations of Pan-Africanists that the dream of African unity is possible, and that working for unity has not and will not stop. The poor Sahel countries continue to embarrass the influential countries on the continent that have abandoned the dream of unity. It is noted that these three countries have a clear position on the African Union (AU )after it abandoned its goals and became an institution that everyone talks about the corruption of its leaders, which the caravans have followed, and its position on the militias that kill the Sudanese alone is enough to indicate the corruption of its leaders.
This federation puts huge pressure on the state of Chad and exposes its isolation from its surroundings. From the east, its relations with Sudan are bad due to its involvement in supporting the militia, and from the west, the countries of this federation stand against France, which is desperate to cling to its former colony and uses it as a starting point to implement its colonial agenda on the continent.
This situation will put Chad in a difficult position and will increase its dependence on France after the UAE stopped supporting it after the defeat of the militia in Sudan, which is something whose signs are looming on the horizon.
For all of this, I think that a change will most likely occur in Chad when the war in Sudan ends.
It is still too early to provide a comprehensive reading or analysis of the consequences of this strategic step on West Africa and on the policies of the major countries that seek to expand their influence on the continent, but it will certainly confuse many political calculations and will put the African Union (AU )in an embarrassing position given France’s influence on the Union through its commissioner and through the money it spends on its leaders. I do not know whether the African Union (AU)has welcomed this step or not, and it is its duty to welcome it because it represents the essence of its goals.
The hope is that this bold step will inspire other countries to unite and break out of the restrictions of the Europeans.
Countries such as Sudan, Egypt, South Sudan and Eritrea can work in the same direction and overcome the barriers of the nation-state created by the colonizer.
My conviction is that Africa will not emerge from the yoke of backwardness and the shackles of dependency unless it gets rid of the borders drawn by the Europeans.
This is a difficult strategic work that requires a lot of courage and initiative.
Of course, we will not live long enough to witness the unification of Africa, but I have no doubt that the borders drawn by the Europeans will fall and Africa will unite, and this continent will give birth to leaders capable of changing the miserable prison in which the colonists placed it… This will happen even if the colonists hate it..! The future belongs to Africa and the struggle for unity and freedom continues.
A fragrant salute to these young leaders who broke the barrier of fear and opened a window of hope and optimism for all of Africa.
This land is ours
