This archive report was first published on 21 September 2019.
On September 21, 2019, Scheaffer Okore wrote about the importance of reclaiming the vision of Pan Africanism in an Africa that remains segmented.
Originally, Pan Africanism was a political ideology aimed at the unity of all people of African descent, with a long history of women and men who imagined a united African continent free from the influence of Western culture.
However, the ideology has been hijacked by subversive leaders who use its premise to reinforce the very injustices they were supposed to fight. These leaders restrict the movement of Africans, watch them die of hunger, and incite them against each other.
It is time for Africans to reclaim the vision of Pan Africanism and become the new visionaries, dreamers, and believers who will shape their own path. This requires re-imagination of our roles in the current African context, where tribe, class, religion, patriarchy, and xenophobia still exist.
Living in isolation will only make Africans easy prey for foreigners who will always thirst to dominate them. It is time for collective action to reclaim the dream of Pan Africanism and build a united, prosperous, and self-sufficient Africa.
