RECLAIMING AFRICA’S WIND OF CHANGE
The times have indeed changed. What was known as the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) is now called the African Union (AU). It is just a matter of time before we see a United States of Africa (‘USA’) in our lifetime. At least that is what Pan-Africanists envision.
Any change tends to be characterised by both discontinuity and continuity. Discontinuity of what was/is meant to be changed. Continuity of the vision associated with a mission of bringing that change.
It is such continuity that this article seeks to address. Why? Simply because the terms of the debate on how to unite African states has not changed significantly since Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere locked horns on the matter in the early 1960s.
REPOSITIONING NKRUMAH – NYERERE’S DEBATE ON UNITING AFRICA
The thoughts and sentiments of these two great Pan-Africanists on how to achieve African Unity still divide us today. There are those who side with Nkrumah. Others side with Nyerere. Yet some of us are caught somewhere in between.
CONCLUSION: RETHINKING PAN-AFRICAN NATIONALISM
My heart is with Nkrumah. I still get moved when I read his electrifying ‘Address to the conference of African heads of state and government’ on 24 May 1963 in Addis Ababa. But it is as unrealistic now, especially with Colonel Muamar Gaddafi at the helm of the AU, as it was then when Emperor Haile Selassie was the head of OAU. As such, my mind is with Nyerere. His pragmatic way is still valid today.
Thus to me the question is not Pan-Africanism or pragmatism? Rather, it is wither pragmatic Pan-African patriotism? To that end, I will feel with Nkrumah, yet I shall think with Nyerere.
Yes, Africa must unite, albeit, pragmatically!
* Chambi Chachage is an independent researcher, newspaper columnist and policy analyst.
* Please send comments to [email protected] [3] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/ [4].
The debate on how to unite African states has not changed significantly since Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere locked horns on the matter in the early 1960s, writes Chambi Chachage. Exploring Nyerere’s ‘step by step’ approach to building African unity in relation to Nkrumah’s desire to ‘fast track’ the creation of a Unites States of Africa, Chachage concludes that while Nkrumah’s Pan-African vision remains powerful, his approach is unrealistic even today.’ ‘To that end, I will feel with Nkru...read more [7]
Links
[1] https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/5102
[2] http://tinyurl.com/bxzy56]Dr%20Kwame%20Nkrumah:%20Remembering%20Africa%E2%80%99s%20Most%20Influential%20and%20Greatest%20in%20the%2021st%20Century%3C/a%3E.%20Therein%20he%20claims%20that%20it%20was%20Nyerere%20who%20frustrated%20Nkrumah%20when%20he%20%E2%80%98cunningly%20pushed%20through%20a%20resolution%20which%20urged%20the%20OAU%20to%20accept%20the%20colonial%20borders%20as%20permanent,%20recognised%20frontiers%20of%20the%20OAU%20member%20states.%E2%80%99%20Nyerere%20indeed%20admitted%20in%201992%20and%201997%20that%20he%20was%20responsible%20for%20moving%20that%20resolution%20which%20was%20carried%20by%20a%20simple%20majority%20at%20the%201964%20OAU%20Summit%20in%20Cairo%20with%20two%20reservations:%20Morocco%20and%20Somalia.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20move,%20Faye%20further%20asserts,%20%E2%80%98was%20in%20collaboration%20with%20Emperor%20Haile%20Selassie,%20who%20one%20year%20earlier%20had%20annexed%20Eritrea%E2%80%99%20and%20that%20%E2%80%98though%20Nyerere%20claimed%20that%20the%20intention%20was%20to%20minimise%20border%20conflicts%20in%20Africa,%E2%80%99%20the%20%E2%80%98underlying%20motive%20of%20the%20resolution%20was%20to%20frustrate%20Nkrumah%20and%20his%20Pan-Africanist%20ideals.%E2%80%99%20These%20ideals%20called%20for%20a%20speedy%20continental%20unity%20as%20early%20as%201965.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EFor%20the%20likes%20of%20Faye%20the%20choice%20was%20and%20is%20as%20clear%20as%20crystal:%20Nkrumah%E2%80%99s%20speedy%20way%20toward%20a%20United%20States%20of%20Africa,%20rather%20than%20Nyerere%E2%80%99s%20gradual%20way%20toward%20African%20Unity.%20And%20to%20the%20Fayes,%20Nyerere%20was%20%E2%80%98the%20architect%20of%20the%20OAU%20status%20quo%E2%80%99%20because%20he%20%E2%80%98cunningly%20pushed%20through%E2%80%99%20that%20resolution%20which%20allegedly%20made%20OAU%20cease%20%E2%80%98to%20be%20an%20instrument%20of%20the%20Pan-African%20revolutionary%20change.%E2%80%99%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAs%20such,%20they%20contend,%20even%20%E2%80%98the%20liberation%20of%20the%20remaining%20colonies%20was%20conceived%20in%20the%20context%20of%20maintaining%20this%20status%20quo%E2%80%99%20and%20that%20the%20OAU%20became%20its%20%E2%80%98apologist%E2%80%99.%20The%20situation%20became%20worse,%20they%20further%20contend,%20to%20the%20extent%20that%20in%201972%20Nyerere%20himself%20publicly%20admitted%20that%20%E2%80%98the%20OAU%20had%20become%20no%20more%20than%20a%20%E2%80%98trade%20union%20of%20Africa%E2%80%99s%20heads%20of%20state.%E2%80%99%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThen%20there%20is%20another%20relatively%20less%20polarised%20position%20advanced%20by%20the%20Mwalimu%20Nyerere%20Professor%20in%20Pan-African%20Studies%20at%20the%20University%20of%20Dar-es-Salaam,%20Issa%20Shivji,%20in%20his%20Bill%20Dudley%20memorial%20lecture%20on%20%E2%80%98Pan-Africanism%20or%20Imperialism?%20Unity%20and%20Struggle%20towards%20a%20New%20Democratic%20Africa%E2%80%99%20on%2017%20July%202005.%20Shivji%20sides%20with%20Nkrumah%E2%80%99s%20position%20yet%20bails%20out%20Nyerere%E2%80%99s%20supposedly%20recanted%20position.%20After%20quoting%20in%20full%20Nyerere%E2%80%99s%20speech%20at%20the%2040th%20independence%20anniversary%20of%20Ghana%20in%201997,%20Shivji%20concludes%20that%20in%20that%20quote%20%E2%80%98Nyerere%20is%20no%20doubt%20vindicating%20Nkrumah%E2%80%99s%20position%E2%80%99%20and%20asks%20rhetorically%20if%20thus%20Nyerere%20%E2%80%98is%20also%20critiquing%20his%20own%20position%20of%20step%20by%20step,%20any%20unity?%E2%80%99%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIronically,%20that%20same%20quote%20%E2%80%93%20coupled%20with%20what%20Nyerere%20went%20on%20say%20prior%20to%20his%20untimely%20death%20in%201999%20%E2%80%93%20proves%20that%20he%20never%20abandoned%20his%20own%20pragmatic%20position%20of%20step%20by%20step%20continental%20unity.%20In%20fact%20it%20shows%20how%20impractical%20Nkrumah%E2%80%99s%20position%20was%20vis-%C3%A0-vis%20Nyerere%E2%80%99s%20practical%20approach.%20To%20get%20the%20context,%20lets%20revisit%20this%20quotable%20quote%20of%20Nyerere%E2%80%99s%20that%20Shivji%20was%20referring%20to.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAs%20%E2%80%98the%20greatest%20crusader%20for%20African%20Unity%E2%80%99,%20generously%20notes%20Nyerere,%20Nkrumah%20%E2%80%98wanted%20the%20Accra%20summit%20of%201965%20to%20establish%20a%20Union%20Government%20for%20the%20whole%20independent%20Africa%E2%80%99.%20But,%20he%20admits,%20they%20failed.%20%E2%80%98The%20one%20main%20reason%E2%80%99,%20Nyerere%20further%20notes,%20%E2%80%98is%20that%20Kwame,%20like%20all%20great%20believers,%20underestimated%20the%20degree%20of%20suspicion%20and%20animosity%20which%20his%20crusading%20passion%20had%20created%20among%20a%20substantial%20number%20of%20his%20fellow%20heads%20of%20states.%E2%80%99%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20major%20reason,%20however,%20confesses%20Nyerere,%20is%20that%20already%20too%20many%20of%20them%20%E2%80%98had%20a%20vested%20interest%20in%20keeping%20Africa%20divided.%E2%80%99%20He%20then%20echoes%20his%201960s%20prophetic%20warning%20on%20the%20necessity%20of%20establishing%20an%20%E2%80%98East%20African%20Federation%E2%80%99%20prior%20to%20independence%20by%20reiterating%20why%20Nkrumah%20encountered%20such%20resistance.%20%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESuch%20opposition,%20affirms%20Nyerere,%20naturally%20happens%20because%20once%20%E2%80%98you%20multiply%20national%20anthems,%20national%20flags%20and%20national%20passports,%20seats%20at%20the%20United%20Nations,%20and%20individuals%20entitled%20to%2021%20guns%20salute,%20not%20to%20speak%20of%20a%20host%20of%20ministers,%20prime%20ministers,%20and%20envoys,%20you%20would%20have%20a%20whole%20army%20of%20powerful%20people%20with%20vested%20interests%20in%20keeping%20Africa%20balkanised.%E2%80%99%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETellingly,%20Nyerere%20reminisced%20how%20in%20that%20summit%20he%20heard%20%E2%80%98one%20head%20of%20state%20express%20with%20relief%20that%20he%20was%20happy%20to%20be%20returning%20home%20to%20his%20country%20still%20head%20of%20state.%E2%80%99%20Even%20though%20he%20was%20not%20sure%20if%20this%20leader%20was%20serious%20or%20joking%20%E2%80%93%20although%20Nkrumah%20%E2%80%98was%20very%20serious%20and%20the%20fear%20of%20a%20number%20of%E2%80%99%20leaders%20%E2%80%98to%20lose%E2%80%99%20their%20%E2%80%98status%20was%20palpable%E2%80%99%20%E2%80%93%20Nyerere%20thus%20reiterates%20his%20then%20pragmatic%20scepticism:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%E2%80%98But%20I%20never%20believed%20that%20the%201965%20Accra%20summit%20would%20have%20established%20a%20union%20government%20for%20Africa.%20When%20I%20say%20that%20we%20failed,%20that%20is%20not%20what%20I%20mean,%20for%20that%20clearly%20was%20an%20unrealistic%20objective%20for%20a%20single%20summit.%20What%20I%20mean%20is%20that%20we%20did%20not%20even%20discuss%20a%20mechanism%20for%20pursuing%20the%20objective%20of%20a%20politically%20united%20Africa.%20We%20had%20a%20liberation%20committee%20already.%20We%20should%20have%20at%20least%20had%20a%20unity%20committee%20or%20undertaken%20to%20establish%20one.%20We%20did%20not.%20And%20after%20Kwame%20Nkrumah%20was%20removed%20from%20the%20African%20political%20scene%20nobody%20took%20up%20the%20challenge%20again.%E2%80%99%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EContrary%20to%20what%20some%20Pan-Africanist%20revisionists%20would%20want%20us%20to%20believe,%20Nyerere%20was%20solidly%20consistent%20in%20his%20pragmatic%20position.%20While%20it%20is%20correct%20to%20argue,%20as%20Shivji%20does%20in%20his%20Bill%20Dudley%20lecture,%20that%20Nkrumah%20had%20much%20earlier%20held%20the%20gradualist%20position%20but%20was%20quick%20to%20learn%20from%20experience%20and%20switch%20to%20a%20fast-track%20position,%20it%20is%20equally%20correct%20to%20argue%20that%20Nyerere%20had%20also%20earlier%20held%20a%20fast-track%20position%20in%20the%20context%20of%20regionalisation%20but%20was%20quick%20to%20learn%20from%20experience%20and%20switch%20to%20gradualism.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIn%20his%201960s%20call%20for%20an%20East%20African%20Federation%20prior%20to%20the%20independence%20of%20Tanganyika,%20Kenya,%20Uganda%20and%20Zanzibar,%20Nyerere%20ridiculed%20what%20he%20referred%20as%20the%20camps%20of%20the%20%E2%80%98bados%E2%80%99,%20that%20is,%20those%20who%20were%20saying%20%E2%80%98bado%20kidogo%E2%80%99%20as%20in%20%E2%80%98we%20are%20almost%20ready%20but%20not%20yet%20so%20lets%20wait%20a%20bit%E2%80%99%20to%20federate.%20He%20even%20asserted%20that%20this%20was%20the%20same%20argument%20that%20imperialists%20used%20to%20delay%20our%20uhuru.%20%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETherein%20Nyerere%20used%20case%20studies%20of%20Somaliland/Somalia,%20India/Pakistan,%20Nigeria,%20Canada%20and%20USA%20among%20others%20to%20prove%20it%20was%20relatively%20easier%20to%20federate%20prior%20to%20independence,%20paying%20homage%20to%20what%20he%20hailed%20as%20%E2%80%98the%20most%20brilliant%20and%20far-sighted%20sons%20of%20Africa%E2%80%99,%20that%20is,%20Nkrumah%20and%20Ahmed%20Sekou%20Toure,%20for%20managing%20a%20then%20exception%20to%20that%20rule%20by%20uniting%20Ghana%20and%20Guinea%20after%20they%20became%20independent.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20the%20Nyerere%20who%20was%20ready%20to%20delay%20the%20independence%20of%20Tanganyika%20so%20as%20to%20fast-track%20the%20East%20African%20Federation.%20%E2%80%98The%20balkanisation%20of%20Africa,%E2%80%99%20he%20insisted,%20%E2%80%98is%20a%20source%20of%20weakness%20to%20our%20continent%E2%80%99%20and%20that%20the%20%E2%80%98forces%20of%20imperialism%20and%20neo-imperialism%20will%20find%20their%20own%20strength%20in%20this%20basic%20weakness%20of%20our%20continent.%E2%80%99%20Thus%20he%20saw%20that%20golden%20chance%20of%20removing%20the%20balkanisation%20of%20East%20Africa%20as%20a%20chance%20to%20undo%20part%20of%20the%20harm%20of%20continental%20balkanisation%20and%20as%20a%20step%20toward%20continental%20unity.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBarring%20conspiracy%20theories%20about%20being%20a%20stooge%20of%20Anglo-American%20Imperialism,%20it%20is%20this%20experience%20that%20made%20Nyerere%20lock%20horns%20with%20Nkrumah%20on%20the%20feasibility%20of%20fast-tracking%20unity.%20Out%20of%20this%20experience%20there%20is%20no%20way,%20unless%20conspiracy%20theories%20hold%20water,%20that%20Nyerere%20displayed%20what%20Shivji%E2%80%99s%20(2008)%20%E2%80%98Pan-Africanism%20or%20Pragmatism:%20Lesson%20of%20Tanganyika-Zanzibar%20Union%E2%80%99%20refers%20to%20as%20%E2%80%98his%20limited%20appreciation%20of%20Nkrumah%E2%80%99s%20analysis%20of%20imperialism%20as%20a%20world%20system%20in%20which%20Africans%20could%20stand%20tall%20only%20as%20a%20politically%20united%20continent%E2%80%99%20when%20he%20thus%20responded%20to%20his%20criticism%20at%20the%201964%20OAU%20Summit:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%E2%80%98To%20rule%20out%20a%20step%20by%20step%20progress%20towards%20African%20Unity%20is%20to%20hope%20that%20the%20Almighty%20will%20one%20day%20say,%20%E2%80%98Let%20there%20be%20unity%20in%20Africa%E2%80%99,%20and%20there%20shall%20be%20unity;%20or%20pray%20for%20a%20conqueror,%20but%20even%20a%20conqueror%20will%20have%20to%20proceed%20step%20by%20step.%20To%20say%20that%20the%20step%20was%20invented%20by%20the%20imperialists%20is%20to%20reach%20the%20limits%20of%20absurdity.%20I%20have%20heard%20the%20imperialists%20blamed%20for%20many%20things,%20but%20not%20for%20the%20limitations%20of%20mankind.%20They%20are%20not%20God!%E2%80%99%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIndeed%20Nyerere%20lacked%20the%20economic%20sophistication%20of%20Nkrumah,%20but%20that%20by%20no%20means%20means%20that%20he%20did%20not%20then%20have%20a%20deep%20sense%20of%20the%20neo-colonial%20dynamics%20of%20imperialism.%20To%20prove%20that,%20one%20only%20has%20to%20reread%20his%20writings%20prior%20to%20the%201960s,%20such%20as%20his%201958%20pamphlet%20on%20%E2%80%98National%20Property%E2%80%99%20to%20see%20how%20he%20apprehensively%20foresaw,%20and%20tried%20to%20avert,%20the%20ongoing%20neo-colonisation%20of%20land%20tenure%20in%20Tanzania.%20%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EREVISITING%20THE%20DILEMMA%20OF%20THE%20PAN-AFRICANIST%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhat%20then%20made%20Nyerere%20%E2%80%98oppose%E2%80%99%20Nkrumah?%20The%20answer,%20I%20think,%20lies%20buried%20in%20Bill%20Sutherland%20and%20Matt%20Meyer%E2%80%99s%201992%20interview%20with%20Nyerere%20on%20%E2%80%98Mwalimu,%20Tanzania,%20and%20the%20Meaning%20of%20Freedom%E2%80%99%20and%20in%20Ikaweba%20Bunting%E2%80%99s%20(1998)%20%E2%80%98The%20Heart%20of%20Africa.%20Interview%20with%20Julius%20Nyerere%20on%20Anti-Colonialism%E2%80%99:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIn%20the%20case%20of%20the%20former%20interview,%20Nyerere%20thus%20reminisced:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%E2%80%98My%20differences%20with%20Kwame%20were%20that%20Kwame%20thought%20there%20was%20somehow%20a%20shortcut,%20and%20I%20was%20saying%20that%20there%20was%20no%20shortcut.%20This%20is%20what%20we%20have%20inherited,%20and%20we%E2%80%99ll%20have%20to%20proceed%20within%20the%20limitations%20that%20that%20inheritance%20has%20imposed%20upon%20us.%20Kwame%20thought%20that%20somehow%20you%20could%20say,%20%E2%80%9CLet%20there%20be%20a%20United%20States%20of%20Africa%E2%80%9D%20and%20it%20would%20happen.%20I%20kept%20saying%20%E2%80%9CKwame,%20it%E2%80%99s%20a%20slow%20process.%E2%80%9D%20He%20had%20tremendous%20contempt%20for%20a%20large%20number%20of%20the%20leaders%20of%20Africa%20and%20I%20said,%20%E2%80%9CFine,%20but%20they%20are%20there.%20What%20are%20you%20going%20to%20do%20with%20them?%20They%20don%E2%80%99t%20believe%20as%20you%20do%20%E2%80%93%20as%20you%20and%20I%20do%20%E2%80%93%20in%20the%20need%20for%20the%20unity%20of%20Africa.%20BUT%20WHAT%20DO%20YOU%20DO?%20THEY%20ARE%20THERE%20AND%20WE%20HAVE%20TO%20PROCEED%20ALONG%20WITH%20EVERYBODY!%E2%80%9D%20And%20I%20said%20to%20him%20in%20so%20many%20words%20that%20we%E2%80%99re%20not%20going%20to%20have%20an%20African%20Napoleon,%20who%20is%20going%20to%20conquer%20the%20continent%20and%20put%20it%20under%20one%20flag.%20It%20is%20not%20possible.%20At%20the%20OAU%20Conference%20in%201963,%20I%20was%20actually%20trying%20to%20defend%20Kwame.%20I%20was%20the%20last%20to%20speak%20and%20Kwame%20had%20said%20this%20[OAU]%20charter%20has%20not%20gone%20far%20enough%20because%20he%20thought%20he%20would%20leave%20Addis%20with%20a%20United%20States%20of%20Africa.%20I%20told%20him%20that%20this%20was%20absurd;%20that%20it%20can%E2%80%99t%20happen.%20This%20is%20what%20we%20have%20been%20able%20to%20achieve.%20No%20builder,%20after%20putting%20the%20foundation%20down,%20complains%20that%20the%20building%20is%20not%20yet%20finished.%20You%20have%20to%20go%20on%20building%20and%20building%20until%20you%20finish,%20but%20he%20was%20impatient%20because%20he%20saw%20the%20stupidity%20of%20others.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIn%20the%20case%20of%20the%20latter%20interview,%20Nyerere%20thus%20recollected:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%E2%80%98Kwame%20Nkrumah%20and%20I%20were%20committed%20to%20the%20idea%20of%20unity.%20African%20leaders%20and%20heads%20of%20state%20did%20not%20take%20Kwame%20seriously.%20However,%20I%20did.%20I%20did%20not%20believe%20in%20these%20small%20little%20nations.%20Still%20today%20I%20do%20not%20believe%20in%20them.%20I%20tell%20our%20people%20to%20look%20at%20the%20European%20Union,%20at%20these%20people%20who%20ruled%20us%20who%20are%20now%20uniting.%20Kwame%20and%20I%20met%20in%201963%20and%20discussed%20African%20Unity.%20We%20differed%20on%20how%20to%20achieve%20a%20United%20States%20of%20Africa.%20But%20we%20both%20agreed%20on%20a%20United%20States%20of%20Africa%20as%20necessary.%20Kwame%20went%20to%20Lincoln%20University,%20a%20black%20college%20in%20the%20US.%20He%20perceived%20things%20from%20the%20perspective%20of%20US%20history,%20where%20the%2013%20colonies%20that%20revolted%20against%20the%20British%20formed%20a%20union.%20That%20is%20what%20he%20thought%20the%20OAU%20should%20do.%20I%20tried%20to%20get%20East%20Africa%20to%20unite%20before%20independence.%20When%20we%20failed%20in%20this%20I%20was%20wary%20about%20Kwame%27s%20continental%20approach.%20We%20corresponded%20profusely%20on%20this.%20Kwame%20said%20my%20idea%20of%20%E2%80%98regionalisation%E2%80%99%20was%20only%20balkanisation%20on%20a%20larger%20scale.%20Later%20African%20historians%20will%20have%20to%20study%20our%20correspondence%20on%20this%20issue%20of%20uniting%20Africa.%20Africans%20who%20studied%20in%20the%20US%20like%20Nkrumah%20and%20[Nigerian%20independence%20leader]%20Azikiwe%20were%20more%20aware%20of%20the%20diaspora%20and%20the%20global%20African%20community%20than%20those%20of%20us%20who%20studied%20in%20Britain.%20They%20were%20therefore%20aware%20of%20a%20wider%20Pan-Africanism.%20Theirs%20was%20the%20aggressive%20Pan-Africanism%20of%20W.E.B.%20Du%20Bois%20and%20Marcus%20Garvey.%20The%20colonialists%20were%20against%20this%20and%20frightened%20of%20it.%20%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESuch%20was%20a%20context%20in%20which%20Nyerere%20clashed%20with%20Nkrumah.%20In%20his%20own%20words,%20%E2%80%98it%20was%20when%20we%20were%20very%20close%20to%20a%20federation%20of%20East%20African%20states%20and%20Kwame%20was%20completely%20opposed%20to%20the%20idea.%E2%80%99%20His,%20then,%20was%20the%20most%20practical%20solution%20given%20the%20fact%20that%20organic%20movements%20of%20the%20people,%20such%20as%20the%20Pan-African%20Movement%20for%20East%20and%20Central%20Africa%20(PAFMECA),%20had%20made%20strides%20toward%20regionalisation%20whilst%20the%20preamble%20of%20the%20OAU%20Charter%20that%20stated%20%E2%80%98we%20the%20heads%20of%20state%E2%80%99%20rather%20than%20%E2%80%98we%20the%20people%E2%80%99%20was%20ironically%20creating%20a%20bureaucratic%20Pan-Africanist%20political%20project.%20Later%20on%20these%20groupings%20would%20have%20come%20together%20naturally%20to%20form%20bigger%20units%20and,%20ultimately,%20a%20greater%20African%20unity.%20This%20is%20a%20position%20that%20Nyerere%20consistently%20held,%20as%20his%20%E2%80%98Reflections%E2%80%99%20during%20his%2075th%20Birthday%20celebration%20in%201997%20thus%20attest:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%E2%80%98The%20small%20countries%20in%20Africa%20must%20move%20towards%20either%20unity%20or%20cooperation,%20unity%20of%20Africa%E2%80%A6if%20we%20can%E2%80%99t%20move%20towards%20bigger%20nation%20states,%20at%20least%20let%E2%80%99s%20move%20toward%20greater%20cooperation.%20This%20is%20beginning%20to%20happen.%20And%20the%20new%20leadership%20in%20Africa%20should%20encourage%20it%E2%80%A6%20southern%20Africa%20has%20a%20tremendous%20opportunity%E2%80%A6%20because%20of%20South%20Africa%E2%80%A6%20but%20you%20need%20leadership,%20because%20if%20you%20get%20proper%20leadership%20there,%20within%20the%20next%20ten%20fifteen%20years%20that%20region%20is%20going%20to%20be%20the%20ASEAN%20(Association%20of%20Southeast%20Asian%20Nations)%20of%20Africa%E2%80%A6%20West%20Africa.%20Another%20bloc%20is%20developing%20there,%20but%20that%20depends%20very%20much%20on%20Nigeria%E2%80%A6%20The%20leadership%20will%20have%20to%20come%20from%20Nigeria%E2%80%A6%E2%80%99%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIt%20is%20people%E2%80%99s%20loyalties%20to%20these%20regional%20blocs%20as%20well%20as%20nations%20that%20pose%20what%20Nyerere%20referred%20to%20in%201966%20as%20%E2%80%98The%20Dilemma%20of%20the%20Pan-Africanist%E2%80%99.%20%E2%80%98On%20the%20one%20hand%E2%80%99,%20he%20noted,%20%E2%80%98is%20the%20fact%20that%20Pan-Africanism%20demands%20an%20African%20consciousness%20and%20African%20loyalty;%20on%20the%20other%20hand%20is%20the%20fact%20that%20each%20Pan-Africanist%20must%20also%20concern%20himself%20with%20the%20freedom%20and%20development%20of%20one%20of%20the%20nations%20of%20Africa.%E2%80%99%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIt%20is%20not%20surprising,%20then,%20that%20the%20latest%20%3Ca%20href=
[3] mailto:[email protected]
[4] http://www.pambazuka.org/
[5] https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/3666
[6] https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/5846
[7] https://www.pambazuka.org/print/54046
[8] https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/3318
[9] http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category.php/comment/55475