The founding fathers of the African Union

 Lovemore Ranga Mataire
In view of the continued fragmented nature of African nations and failed experimentation with a myriad of Bretton Woods institutions economic prescriptions, some analysts have called on African governments to revisit the tenets of pan-Africanism in order to usher in a new framework born out of shared historical post colonial experience.
In his contribution, “The Making of the Africa Nation – Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance” edited by Professor Mammo Muchie, Zimbabwean academic and legislator Chen Chimutengwende argues that the apparent failure of what he calls unplanned ideologies, uncontrolled market forces, foreign dictated and rushed privatisations and over reliance on the West have all been the major ingredients for the catastrophic situation prevailing in most countries on the continent.
Titled, “Pan-Africanism and the Second Liberation Struggle for a United New Africa”, Chimutengwende premised his article on a 2002 report by the United Nations Economic Commission which states that: “Africa will not achieve any of the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations at its Millennium Summit”.
The report says in Africa, levels of poverty, endemic diseases and unemployment are continuously and rapidly worsening.
The availability and quality of social services have been greatly reduced. Social conflicts, often leading to ethnic or national hostilities, are on the increase.
Political direction is faltering. External manipulation and interference is at its highest level.
Chimutengwende is convinced that Africa’s grim prospects have been worsened by the fragmentation of the continent, a development that has made it easy by the West to easily manipulate and dominate Africa because of Africa’s political orientation as some of the states are not viable entities in their present state.
“After independence, the West created and has to this very day expanded and maintained a deadly network for puppets and collaborations among the African leaders through whom it implements its exploitative schemes in Africa. Apart from the West, this network is a beneficiary of such schemes and that is part of the essence of neo-colonialism,” Chimutengwende says.
Just like most fervent pan-Africanists, Chimutengwende expresses pessimism on the future of Africa unless the current situation is reversed.
He argues that the only way the current debilitating scenario can be reversed is through what he calls the second liberation of Africa based on the principles of pan-Africanism and economic egalitarianism which will bring about Africa’s re-awakening, unification, anti-neocolonialism, independence, self-reliance, democraticisation and sustainable development.
The origins and impetus of the second liberation of Africa will be fought on both local and international fronts. Chimutengwende says there is already a groundswell for the second liberation of Africa.
The defeat of colonialism in Africa ushered in the first liberation of Africa but the continent’s economic progress remained hamstrung by an international exploitative system that favoured the former colonisers.
It cannot be doubted that pan-Africanism was the major driving force behind the successful execution of the Africa’s first liberation struggle.
One the most incisive and strong advocate of pan-Africanism was Ghana’s founding president Kwame Nkrumah who foretold of the dangers of internal and external negative forces combining their efforts to reverse the gains of African independence.
Nkrumah urged Africa to constitute a formidable united front fully committed to the economic independence and human-centred development process and he strongly advocated for a socialist, vigilant, consistently and permanently anti-neo-colonialist Africa.
In line with Nkrumah’s thinking, Chimutengwende believes that without creating a strong, democratic, independent, and anti-imperialist and self-reliant United New Africa, the continent will remain an easy victim of the western imperialist tactics of divide and rule, marginalisation, manipulation, exploitation, neo-colonialism and even re-colonisation.
“This, as we have seen, is largely responsible for Africa’s sickening and worsening political crisis, poverty and negative socio-economic development. It is true, therefore, that if united, Africa will stand; but if it continues to be divided, it will continue to fall.”
Chimutengwende posits that the failure by most Africa countries if not all to consolidate the gains of the first liberation struggle due to the lack of a concerted vigilant strategy premised on anti-neocolonialism and lack of a commitment to the founding principles of the continent’s founding fathers like Nkrumah.
Post-colonial Africa has had the infamy of nationalistic leaders turning rogue by pursuing selfish, decadent and evil policies at the service of the imperial centre. It such kind of leadership that Chimutengwende believes Africa must do away with.
In what Frantz Fannon describes as the pitfalls of national consciousness, genuine nationalists have degenerated to despicable levels of dereliction where they are now supping with the former colonisers. It is Chimutengwende’s view that there is a danger in embracing nationalism without being dynamic and revolutionary for this has a tendency of relapsing into a negative and reactionary force. Any progressive country needs a national philosophy or ideology that is higher than mere nationalism and capitalism.
“The present situation of the post-colonial period should now be made to be a fast passing phase of African history.
“It is a period in which Africa has been trying to consolidate its independence and push for its own socio-economic agenda.
“The balkanisation of Africa was meant to be for the benefit of Western Europe and still serves that purpose. But post-colonial Africa has failed to reverse it for its own good.
“Without the total unification of Africa, the continent will remain permanently weak and vulnerable to western machinations and exploitation.”
The establishment of the African Union was in itself according to Chimutengwende part of the second liberation of process. 
He contends that the second liberation proponents must be inspired by the ideas, principles and strategies which were well articulated and applied by Africa’s liberation heroes who, among others include Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Gamal Abdel Nasser, William E.B Du Bois, Patrice Lumumba, Frantz Fanon, Julius Nyerere, Ahmed Ben Bella, Bob Marley, Sekou Toure, Modibo Keita, Samora Machel, Ahmed Sekou Toure, Martin Luther King Jr, Walter Rodney, Edward Wilmot Blyden and Louis Troissant. 
It is the ideas of these heroes that should work as inspirational springboards to rescue Africa from its present predicament.
Like in the first liberation, the second liberation of Africa should be fully backed by the African Diaspora and anti-racist progressive forces worldwide. Their contribution was highly crucial and unequivocally stated that the freedom, dignity and security of the African Diaspora is essentially linked up with the condition of the African continent.
In summary, Chimutengwende advocates for an Africa that would effectively engage and a systematic movement for the speedy reduction and eventual elimination of mass poverty, squalor, HIV/Aids and other endemic diseases, illiteracy, unemployment, injustice, corruption, ethnic wars, rural neglect and all other problems of under-development.
“The United New Africa envisaged that is envisaged here would be based on the principles of pan-Africanism, Afro-Arab unity, Third Word solidarity, south-south cooperation; the democraticisation of international relations including its institutions and international trading regimes and democratic internationalism; socio-economic democracy; open debate on all public issues; and, maximum mass participation in the decision-making process.”
SOURCE: Southern African News