By Linus Aleke
There had always been calls by African elites, and political class, for united and borderless Africa that is prosperous, strong and respected amongst the comity of nations. This vision, noble as it seems, has continued to remain a troubled pregnancy that defiles natural procedures, including unnatural procedure such as caesarean section to bring the envisioned new borderless Africa to gross material world from the womb of abstract, imagination and dreams.
This is not to say that progress had not been made in the past decades, but the undisputable fact remains that the dream had largely remained dream for a century, if not more.
The Western powers and insignificantly the Arabs, had for reasons, aside from humanity, fairness equity and justice, distorted everything about Africa, including turning Africans away from their own gods and cultures, as well as imposing border of restrictions to economic prosperity, communality and ancestral political alliances that existed before their arrival.
Kings were disposed with barrel of guns by these imperialists to give way for an unfettered access to the mineral resources of the people, for their own benefits and exclusion of the real owners of the resources. The business community and religion institutions, also collaborated to perpetrate this unpardonable atrocities against the black race in the annals of human existence. They aided slavery, exploitation, imperialism and colonialism.
After the distortion of Empires in Africa which gained official status between 1884 and 1885, under the guise of Berlin conference, convoked by Otto Von Bismarck, Africa was partitioned amongst the then European powers.
The African nationalists who envisioned a prosperous and borderless Africa that will be respected amongst the comity of nations, only succeeded in gaining flag independence, but failed to achieve the vision, which, had continued to incubate inside the womb as abstracts and dreams.
Fortunately, the succeeding generation of African leaders have continued to pass on the flame from generation to generation. Just last week, the community parliament of two respected sub regional blocs, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, and the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), made a fresh call for borderless Africa, to encourage integration of Africans.
The National Assembly, also, added its voice to this loud call over the weekend, when the Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, played host to Speakers of the two sub regional Parliaments.
However, the renewed call by Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, otherwise known as ECOWAS Parliament, and
the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA), for a prosperous and borderless Africa is reassuring.
The Speakers of the two regional Parliament of East and West Africa, made this fresh call in Abuja, during the two days working visit of the Speaker of East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA), Rt. Hon. Ntakirutimana Joseph to the ECOWAS Parliament.
The concept of a prosperous and borderless Africa is not a virgin idea, as nationalists and revolutionary leaders in Africa such as former President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, former Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, amongst several others espoused similar ideology and worked very hard to achieve it, during their earthly sojourn.
In his classic speech at the founding of African Union (AU), formerly Organized of African Union (OAU), in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 24 May 1963, Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, appealed to his colleagues to support the idea of a prosperous and borderless Africa.
The speech titled, “We must unite now or perish,” reads in part, “There is hardly any African state without a frontier problem with its adjacent neighbours. It would be futile for me to enumerate them because they are already so familiar to us all.
“But let me suggest that this fatal relic of colonialism will drive us to war against one another as our unplanned and uncoordinated industrial development expands, just as happened in Europe. Unless we succeed in arresting the danger through mutual understanding on fundamental issues and through African unity, which will render existing boundaries obsolete and superfluous, we shall have fought in vain for independence. Only African unity can heal this festering sore of boundary disputes between our various states. The remedy for these ills is ready in our hands. It stares us in the face at every customs barrier, it shouts to us from every African heart.
“By creating a true political union of all the independent states of Africa, with executive powers for political direction, we can tackle hopefully every emergency and every complexity. This is because we have emerged in the age of science and technology in which poverty, ignorance, and disease are no longer the masters, but the retreating foes of mankind. Above all, we have emerged at a time when a continental land mass like Africa with its population approaching 300 million is necessary to the economic capitalisation and profitability of modern productive methods and techniques. Not one of us working singly and individually can successfully attain the fullest development. Certainly, it will not be possible to give adequate assistance to sister states trying, against the most difficult conditions, to improve their economic and social structures. Only a united Africa functioning under a union government can forcefully mobilise the material and moral resources of our separate countries and apply them efficiently and energetically to bring a rapid change in the conditions of our people”.
Flowing from Nkrumah’s visionary ideas, Rt. Hon. Ntakirutimana Joseph, the Speaker of East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA), said that East African countries has put measures in place to bring down the border walls created by the colonialists.
According to him, “In East Africa, we have one passport for all member countries and there is no VISA requirement. We are now working to open the air space to bring down the high cost of air ticket across East Africa. Even tourists do not require VISA to come into east Africa. Even for businesses, there are favourable laws that guide businesses”.
He said that the solutions to African problems lie in the hands of Africans, as outsiders will not come to solve Africa’s problems for them.
He noted that Africans are one people, separated by colonial boundaries.
He counseled African leaders not to listen to some super powers who are determined to get Africans fight against each other for reasons best known to them.
“If Africans understand that they are one people with one destiny, suffering will reduce and Africa will be great and prosperous,” he said.
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon Sidie Mohammed Tunis, said that ECOWAS has put mechanism in place to fast track the integration of West Africa, and extension the entire continent of Africa.
He noted that the Protocol on free movement of people and goods within the subregion is a testament to the effort of ECOWAS institutions to integrate the community.
Tunis said that both parliaments have agreed to come up with resolutions to enhance visa free movement across West and East African countries and to share knowledge on best parliamentary practices.
“We have had a very short but important discussions bothering on the two institutions as to how we can collaborate in the interest of the people of the two regions. For the first time, these two regions have agreed as a parliament to work together to make sure that we bring them together. If these two regions through the parliament can work together, we will be bringing Africa together”.
On free movement he said, “Free movement is key within our regional body, our aim is integration. Free movement is an integral part. The aim is to work together for Africa to become one. If the two regions collaborate, we believe we can come up with resolutions that can enhance free movement of people from West Africa to East Africa and from East Africa to West Africa. Like West Africa, the ECOWAS Parliament is playing a very important role in ensuring that we have free movement. And it is the same thing that we want to collaborate with EALA, so that both regions can collaborate to integrate”.
On his part, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, called for greater economic partnerships and co-operation amongst the 54 Africa countries, stressing that the artificial boundaries that impede free movement of people and goods should be removed.
The deputy speaker made the call, when he received the Speaker of East Africa Legislative Assembly, Hon. Joseph Ntakirutimana who paid him a courtesy visit in company of the Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament, Hon. Sidie Mohamed Tunis and a member of Tanzania parliament, Hon. Hon. Mlozi Shogo Richard.
Kalu urged parliaments of various countries in Africa to review their laws impeding economic growth and free movement of people.
According to him, “If you are part of African Union, why the boundaries, why the restrictions? The restrictions have underdeveloped the continent more than it has lifted it to measure shoulder to shoulder among the comity of continents. These we must take seriously, and this message we must take to all our countries’ parliaments for a review of our various positions on this issue.
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“I am happy to announce that the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been made Chairman of Authority of ECOWAS Head of States and Government, we will give all the support that’s expected to make him succeed in his tenure as the Chairman of ECOWAS and that includes the parliament. The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, in his speech, expressed the need to retool the ECOWAS parliament. We need to review the mechanism used so far by our nations interest in the parliament. We need to revisit that so that we can stimulate more interest and more motivation that will no longer stall the speed of ECOWAS parliament, towards realizing the continental objective of setting up the ECOWAS parliament.
“We are all one people and we must take steps to reinforce that unity. With unity, we can deal with present challenges which manifest in transnational violence, coup threats in some sub-saharan African countries, slowing economic growth, climate change, and human trafficking especially in sahel region. We must not allow this to fester in the near future”.
The Deputy Speaker added, “After the Berlin Conference that started in 1884 and ended in 1885, Africa has never been the same especially due to the artificial boundaries and the negative consequences of colonialism meted
on the continent. We in Africa are at a precarious time to correct these defects and consequences of that conference. The artificial boundaries created have become impediments to the needed pan-African cooperation, trade and growth for Africa’s development”.
The commencement of The African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA), he said, is a step in the right direction, stressing that there is no reason why Africans should not trade and travel freely within Africa as is the case in Europe.
“Parliament in all circumstances includes legislation and timely diplomatic overtures and this friendly visit is a good example of what we should be doing. Pan-African parliamentary organizations must encourage the people and work collectively towards one purpose. They must take deliberate steps to work on immigration laws and trade laws, so, as to encourage free trade and movement.This will ultimately lead to closer ties and the fulfillment of intra-African trade.
“This has held Africans down, to fight fellow Africans. Let’s be free in East Africa, just like East Africans are free in Nigeria, West Africa,” he cautioned.
