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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Muammar Al-Gaddafi, Italy, and the United States of Africa

All eyes have been on Libyan leader Muammar Al-Gaddafi during his first official visit to Libya's former colonial master, Italy. Per his usual eccentric style, there has been no shortage of controversy during his trip. Al-Gaddafi blasted the U.S. for hypocrisy in its war against terrorism, gave a well received speech to hundreds of well-clad Italian women, and suggested that Europe substitute representative democracy for a more direct democratic system along the lines of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.



When Gaddafi was elected in February as leader of the African Union, the drums began beating again for a United States of Africa. While discussion of such a Pan-African dream has taken place for decades, no concrete steps have been taken to make it reality.

Today, Africa yet remains fragmented into both large and small countries carved by former colonial powers. The artificial divisions have lead to an untold number of ethnic conflicts, resource wars and an inability for many small countries to compete in the global economy. My hope is that a United States of Africa like the ideal being pushed by Al- Gaddafi, can finally bring an era of peace and development to a continent that has been riddled with internal divisions and extreme poverty.

Of course, there are many skeptics who doubt the feasability of continental unity in our lifetimes. They say a slower unification plan is more likely. The first leader of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, is perhaps the most remembered for his unrivaled advocacy for a politically unified continent. His warning that a gradualist, regional approach to continental unification was impossible, has been adopted by Colonel Gadaffi as he makes his case before the African Union.

Kwame Nkrumah's vision was ahead of its time, but how far? Is the U.S.A. possible in my life time? For now, it remains a dream.

3 comments:

  1. Good Post. My question remains, will arbitrary borders be redrawn to more effectively represent the various ethnic groups? Is it bad to have certain states be just one ethnicity? If they are redrawn, how will that affect resource distribution? hmm... I'm not sure how I feel about that actually, let me think on it and get back to you.

    BUT in my assessment of the situation, Al-Gadaffi can and will continue to promote the U.S.A., but at the end of the day, all must buy in. How can he and we get nation-states in Africa to buy in? We as black people face a dichatomy of interests. We are inherently a communalistic society that has been encroached and poisoned by the spirit of the "individual". The northern cradle mindset. Because of that, we are constantly at war with ourselves. Greed and corruption run rampant in many African states, and many of those people and their posterity have not a care in the world for their brothers who are still struggling and not as fortunate. What is in it for that politician, for that elite family who is gaining so much from gaming the very system that is "supposed"to work for the greater good of the people? What is it in for them to buy into the concept of a United States of Africa when they refuse to look at the longterm benefits. The short term profit margin and power is all they see. The "I am my brothers keeper" mindset was lost or as I prefer to say buried somewhere deep in the depths along the way, through no fault of our own. The question is, how do we recover and unearth this mindset and finally put our effort and faith behind a concept that will provide for the greater good in the long run when modern day culture and this anti-communalistic mindset says the short run gain is much more appealing?

    Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good Post. My question remains, will arbitrary borders be redrawn to more effectively represent the various ethnic groups? Is it bad to have certain states be just one ethnicity? If they are redrawn, how will that affect resource distribution? hmm... I'm not sure how I feel about that actually, let me think on it and get back to you.

    BUT in my assessment of the situation, Al-Gadaffi can and will continue to promote the U.S.A., but at the end of the day, all must buy in. How can he and we get nation-states in Africa to buy in? We as black people face a dichatomy of interests. We are inherently a communalistic society that has been encroached and poisoned by the spirit of the "individual". The northern cradle mindset. Because of that, we are constantly at war with ourselves. Greed and corruption run rampant in many African states, and many of those people and their posterity have not a care in the world for their brothers who are still struggling and not as fortunate. What is in it for that politician, for that elite family who is gaining so much from gaming the very system that is "supposed"to work for the greater good of the people? What is it in for them to buy into the concept of a United States of Africa when they refuse to look at the longterm benefits. The short term profit margin and power is all they see. The "I am my brothers keeper" mindset was lost or as I prefer to say buried somewhere deep in the depths along the way, through no fault of our own. The question is, how do we recover and unearth this mindset and finally put our effort and faith behind a concept that will provide for the greater good in the long run when modern day culture and this anti-communalistic mindset says the short run gain is much more appealing?

    Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yea, I agree totally. I think the large question about whether or not people at the grassroots are prepared to embrace a United States of Africa is important. As long as the project is about bringing peace and shared economic prosperity, the masses of African people would probably support it. I think though that a lot of African elites who benefit from the status quo may not. Also, the cultural hegemony of some foreign powers in the continent may also impede progress with winning the hearts and minds on this.

    As for the question of boundaries, a United States of Africa that does not move toward an Africa without borders, will be limited. I think the colonial boundaries have to be eroded over time. Obviously, this is going to take a while but that is the goal. Great points though Erica!

    ReplyDelete