Today is Africa Day, a day set aside to celebrate the “unity, peace and cultural diversity” of the continent where humanity began.
To celebrate Africa is to celebrate humanity and the world. As Zeinab Badawi stated unequivocally in her new consequential book, AN AFRICAN HISTORY OF AFRICA: FROM THE DAWN OF HUMANITY TO INDEPENDENCE, “even if there is still debate about precisely where it happened within the continent, Africa is certainly where the human story began. We are an African animal, an African species who colonised the world at different times and in different ways. No human being on earth can deny that Africa is their first home”.
But the first home suffered devastation. It was ravaged. Hence, the theme of this year’s commemoration, which resonates with the African Union (AU) thematic vision for this year, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations”.
Annually, people of African descent on the continent and in the diaspora as well as friends of Africa line up events beginning from May 1 to the last day in the month to celebrate the chequered history of the continent that Prof. Kingsley Moghalu described as global economy’s ‘Last Frontier’ in his illuminating book, EMERGING AFRICA, where he captured with remarkable intellection, a reasoned analysis of opportunities for the transformation of Africa.
While it’s usually a month-long celebration, May 25 is recorded as Africa Day because it was the day in 1963 that representatives of 32 independent Africa countries converged in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to form the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the AU. It was only on September 9, 1999 that OAU was re-christened as AU at the Fourth Extraordinary Session of the African Heads of States and Government which took place in Sirte, Libya.
Now a 55-nation member body, the African Union is still headquartered in Addis Ababa but in a new architectural masterpiece facility. It is of interest too that Haiti, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Mexico, Palestine, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are granted observer status with the AU, just as the African Public Relations Association (APRA) is one of the organisations granted observer status with the African Union.
In February last year, precisely from 17th to 18th, institutional representatives in a spectrum spanning AU to NEPAD, who gathered at the foyer of the Nelson Mandela Hall at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, undertook a review of our continent’s strategic aspirations during an exhibition and weighted Africa’s performance using the following indices:
1. A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development (37%)
2. An integrated continent politically united and based on the ideals of pan-Africanism and a vision of African Renaissance (84%)
3. An Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the Rule of Law (42%)
4. A peaceful and secure Africa (63%)
5. Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics (45%)
6. An African whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of the African people (67%)
7. Africa as a strong and influential global partners (58%)
The continent’s overall score based on the foregoing indices was 51%. Reckoning this data, we need to reorganise afresh, mobilise our resources, collaborate in a strategic manner and rally all stakeholders and our partners to continually improve the fortunes of Africa.
HAPPY AFRICA DAY 2025
Mayibuye Africa!
