Unification to Fulfill Historic Destiny

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Senegalese senior Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, has said immediate unification is “the only way to set Africa once and for all on the right track to fulfil its historic destiny”.

“Africa’s destiny depends on the option Africans will take right now, i.e. unite in order to survive or be condemned to disappear,” Gadio said at a conference he moderated at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), Senegal, at the weekend.

Reviewing the recent Accra Summit of the AU, which dwelt exclusively on the Union Government for Africa, he also declared that the Western powers did not wish an African Union government to succeed, simply to protect their selfish interests.

The Minister even accused some Western media organizations of working towards the failure of the efforts made to establish a Pan-African government.

Gadio urged the African media to be extremely careful of the stories they received from Western media before using them.

“It is the reason why Kwame Nkrumah made in 1963 a proposal to establish a Pan-African news agency in order to protect Africa’s image at the global level,” the Senegalese Foreign minister recalled.

Meanwhile, Gadio has described the Accra Summit as “a historical achievement for the continent”, considering the significance of the declaration signed by the heads of State and government.

He said the declaration “opens a perspective for the setting up of the future Union Government”.

He expressed delight that “several countries were ready for the setting up of a continental government”, noting that only two countries, out of 53, expressed the view that the African Union government “is very ambitious”.

The Senegalese Minister also said the “the African people are ready to walk towards unity”.

The Accra declaration was a consensus following disagreements on the timing of the setting up of a Union Government for Africa.

While most countries support the idea of a United States of Africa, opinions differ on how soon such a dream could become a reality.

Gadio also clarified the widespread belief that Southern African nations opposed the Union Government, saying “our brother from Southern Africa simply requested for the issue to be thoroughly considered before setting up the continental government”.

He concluded, therefore, that all that was needed was a “rapid harmonization” of the points of view expressed by Southern Africa countries in order to be able to move towards a continental government.

On the ministerial commission created during the Summit, the Minister said it was tasked with examining the concept of the Union Government and its links with national governments and identifying the government’s area of competence as well as other sources for the financing of the Union’s activities.

He however said the Accra Summit made a mistake in not giving significant importance to the participation of women and Africans from the Diaspora.

Several university students, intellectuals and representatives of youth and women associations took part in the Dakar conference, during which the university’s vice-chancellor, Abdou Salam Sall, announced the establishment in Dakar of an interdisciplinary working group on issues dealing with African unity.

Dakar - 23/07/2007

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