This archive report was first published on 30 August 2019.
On August 30, 2019, the legacy of pan-Africanist freedom fighters like Kwame Nkrumah continues to inspire a new generation of Africans.
Many of us claim to be modern-day pan-Africanists, but our approach is often fragmented and lacks a shared vision. Unlike Nkrumah's deliberate and widely shared approach, our efforts are often disjointed and focused on specific issues rather than a unified pan-African agenda.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are a prime example of this fragmentation. While they work on various issues such as water, health, and human rights, their agendas rarely intersect or collaborate, even when working in the same geographical space.
As a pan-Africanist, this lack of cohesion has always troubled me. The African Union and individuals like Pius Adesanmi have attempted to bridge this schism, but a nascent discourse on pan-Africanism remains elusive.
One reason for this is the history of authoritarianism and violent conflict in some parts of the continent, which has limited dialogue on pan-Africanism and constrained the formulation of a coherent pan-African framework.
However, poverty remains the greatest obstacle to achieving a life with dignity, as envisioned by pan-Africanists like Nkrumah and Mwalimu Nyerere. We must re-examine our approach and work together to end poverty and improve the living standards of the most vulnerable groups.
Both NGOs and governments have a critical role to play in ensuring the progressive and sustainable realization of pan-African ideals. A pan-African framework to hold governments accountable for reducing inequalities is necessary, and it would sensitize citizenry to ensure government's legitimacy rests on effective policies and programs protecting citizens from poverty.
As Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen noted, desirable outcomes include removing unfreedoms that stand in the way of living a life with dignity. A deliberately developed and widely shared modern pan-African ideology on how to combine efforts to provide opportunities, protections, and guarantees to get Africans out of poverty is as necessary as unselfish pan-African leadership.
Without such effort, our pan-Africanism remains superficial, and our Kente cloth, Nigerian Ankara, and South African jewelry will not actualize our ideals.
