“While justice and reparation remain long overdue, Africa will not be held hostage by the pain of its past.” Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said.
Many years ago, Africa used to be identified with the negative and disparaging epithet, the ‘Dark Continent’. One can suspect that such an appellative was conferred on the continent probably because it was a mysterious and little-known reality by the first westerners who embarked on its shores, or perhaps because its inhabitants were of dark complexion, unlike the ones they were familiar with. Colonizers then used every means available, including crude and cruel force, to subject them to their whims and caprices.
They engaged themselves with all sorts of destructive actions against the natives and decided to divide the territories amongst their peers in what was then to be baptized as the famous ‘scramble for Africa.’ They arbitrarily shared the spoils, disregarding the togetherness of the communities to fulfil their greedy interests and plunder the continent’s resources. They did not even care when they divided families with artificial borders.
These injustices were to remain for decades, and even now, those venomous decisions have not been settled, and the frequent disputes and controversies in present-day Africa are a direct result of those decisions adopted by the colonial masters. African natives were ignored, despised, dehumanized, and made to bear in silence the heavy burden of a harsh and toilsome colonial rule for a long, long period.
Using their might and craft that suited the various evolving circumstances, the colonizers exploited and plundered at length the rich mineral, agricultural, and human resources at their will. They never consulted the people of Africa, and there was no representation of Africans in all administrative affairs, and every move was taken by the newly arrived people from Europe.
Slave traders also indulged in the chasing of youths to be sold for European and American service for free, making them undergo the most atrocious of actions that completely deprived them of their humanity, treating them as objects. The kind of cruel treatment to these indigenous African people was indescribable, as was recorded in history. The transport of the slaves from Africa was carried out by congested ships, during which many lost their lives, and only the strongest and healthiest survived the long and excruciating journey across the oceans before reaching their destined destination.
But such colonisation and slave trade couldn’t, of course, continue eternally. One day, the Africans’ conscience was to wake up and begin challenging the continuous suffering of their people, and questions were posed. Africans began wondering why there was so much suffering and destitution in their lives while others, the ‘masters’ who ran everything, were blessed with all rights, prerogatives, and privileges and basked in gold. The more Africans came to realize the overt, covert, and subtle injustices of the entire system, the more fervid their outrage, the more frontal their challenge, the more sustained and urgent the spirit of rebellion against the ‘rulers’.
The long, dark, and tumultuous days of oppression were forced to gradually fade away. Naturally, in the often violent, bitter, and protracted wars of liberation that Africans had to wage, untold sacrifices were paid. Along the way, Africa had to lose many of her precious children, mostly the active, the young, and the promising, erudite leaders. Many had to face and withstand brute incarceration and torture for years. Many had to endure humiliation of all sorts. But at last, Africans were free, and the once far-fetched dreams of generations had finally materialized!
Nevertheless, today, to the disappointment of many, the grim reality is that Africa still faces several unresolved challenges that have been rolling down the decades since independence. It has not managed to acquire its deserved space in global affairs, and it is still struggling to attain unity and make its voice well heard in the international sphere.
First of all, there were too many power struggles and rivalries among those who contributed to the liberation of the countries. Every political force wanted to have all the power of government in exclusivity. There were continuous cases of border controversies and disputes among neighbouring countries, which were, of course, a result of the artificial boundaries inherited from their colonial past. There were also divisions between the countries on the basis of cultural and linguistic inheritance from the English, the French, the Belgians, etc. Those leaders who had a dream of a united Africa that can be a big voice in the international arena tried to introduce this idea of forming an organization that was capable of bringing together all parties to one body and try to stand up to the global order that was undermining the entire continent with its more than a billion and two hundred million and many countries with immense natural resources that are crucial to the industries of the advanced economies which dictated the world order through their military might and technological advancement.
A series of talks and meetings were held among the various leaders of the independent African countries to organize themselves through one umbrella body so that the voices of all of the small African countries could add up to make it loud and forceful unfortunately the fact that there were several different political positions among these leaders retarded the much coveted union of African countries. There was the issue of ideology because some were inclined to the capitalist liberal political and economic view, while others were in favour of a socialist order, stating that this was the kind of community life that African societies were familiar with and comfortable with.
Despite decades of formal independence, decades of promises by its leaders and their associates, today’s Africa is still full of challenges. Not so much progress has been made in terms of extricating Africans from the deep abyss of poverty that has continued for decades, if not centuries. Even if a number of factors can be attributed to this state of affairs, one element that was still a big factor could be the lack of total unity among Africans and the lack of peace in African states.
Marking the sixty-second year of the foundation of the AU on 25th May, which is now called Africa Day, Africans have celebrated the anniversary with various events. At the African Union headquarters here in Addis Ababa, there was a ceremony graced by the presence of diplomats, ministers, and other high-level officials who made speeches on the situation of Africa and the dreams they have for a better future.
In a keynote address at the meeting, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf called for justice, unity, and transformative progress in Africa. He said justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations was long overdue and called for bold action toward a just and progressive Africa. He noted that Africa cannot live with the pain of the past, craving for justice, which is long overdue. It is trying to build a future of peace, prosperity, and integration, he added.
The Chairperson noted that Africa’s strategic strength included a young generation of growing population, vast arable land, rich mineral resources, and reliable energy. The population is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, and by then, it will be the engine of global transformation.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs State Minister Hadera Abera on the occasion reiterated his country’s commitment for African causes as usual because it is a tradition of Ethiopian leaders across the years including the participation in the formation of the continental body in May 1963 in Addis Ababa to then offer its capital city as the seat of the newly formed union with the unanimous support and endorsement of the then African leaders. He also called for stronger ties with the African diaspora in the quest for a stronger voice in global affairs. He said unity among African nations is more critical than ever before. ‘We must confront challenges such as climate change, youth unemployment, and technical disruption with a united front,’ the minister added.
In a similar note, Director of UNESCO’s Liaison Office to the AU and Representative to Ethiopia Rita Bissounauth stressed the urgency of the 2025 theme. She said justice through reparation is not about the past. ‘It is about reclaiming our future. ’ A high-level UNESCO roundtable on ‘Reparations, Memory and Sovereignty’ will be held later this year, she said.
As Africans continue to hope for a better life and a fairer world, they hope that the recently formed African Free Continental Trade Area (AfCFTA) will present the occasion for the free movement of goods and services, and that would be a true locomotive of change and growth for all Africans. In the meantime, Africans will pursue the path of the quest for justice through reparations for all the atrocities committed against them for several centuries. In this sense, a new chapter of Africans and people of African origin will be opened in their relations with the Western countries’ peoples, whose ancestors were the culprits of all those sad stories. It will never be too late to address this issue effectively. Better late than never!
BY FITSUM GETACHW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 28 MAY 2025
