‘....Agenda 2063, rooted in Pan Africanism and African Renaissance, provides a robust
framework for addressing past injustices and the realization of the 21st
Century as the African Century’
Whilst the International Development front tangles with the transition from the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), the African Union has charted its own developmental cause for
the African Continent with the mantra ‘Agenda 2063’- The Africa we want. This Continent wide
development initiative is not the first of its kind as there has been the NEPAD
(New Partnership for Africa’s Development) initiative, aimed at attaining the MDGs.
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| Source: www.un.org |
‘Agenda 2063’ was conceived as a building block from the Pan-Africanist ideas that
founded the OAU
(organization for Africa Unity) in Addis Ababa in 1963, with a vision to liberate Africa from the shackles of
colonialism. And yes, amid the uncertainties of that era, the struggle was won; though there still remain pockets of colonial enclaves dotting from
Mayotte, The Chagos
Islands and Western Sahara, the abolishment of
the Apartheid regime in South Africa remains a sterling fulfilment of the
struggles of the OAU in this regard. As such, the opening statement of ‘Agenda 2063’ pays tribute to the initial strides of Pan-Africanism viz:
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| OAU founding fathers, Kwame Nkrumah and Haile Selassie at the inauguration of the OAU in Addis Ababa in May 25 1963 Source: bbcnews.com |
‘We, the people
of Africa and her Diaspora, united in diversity, young and old, men and
women, girls and boys from all walks of life, deeply conscious of history, express
our deep appreciation to all generations of Pan-Africanist. In particular to
the founders of the Organization of African Unity for having bequeathed us an
Africa with exemplary successes in the fight against slavery, colonialism and
apartheid...’
CREATING THE
AFRICA WE WANT from lessons from the past
This being the mantra of Agenda
2063, the thought of achieving the dream defines its call to action; for the cause of Pan Africanism has transmuted from
that of anti-colonial struggles, to administering good governance and
attaining sustainable development. The fifty
year plan of action which connotes Agenda
2063 was born on the
fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the OAU in May 2013; having succeeded in achieving political independence
for 98% of Africa after 50years of its founding.
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| Source:http://agenda2063.au.int/en/documents/agenda-2063-africa-we-want-popular-version-2nd-edition |
Though Pan Africanism seems to be building on a success story of
political independence, it will be fool hardy not to take into cognisance the ensuing political maladministration which brewed
ethno-religious conflicts/civil wars and near/total economic collapse in most
African Countries after their Independence. This
disgustingly ‘turned the beggar bowl’
into the hands of most African leaders to the global bipolar powers. As
such, Africa has always blamed its woes on the global bipolar actors; from the throes of colonialism, internal/external conflicts, to economic woes. Such defines the saying that
Africa has achieved political but not
economic independence!
Agenda 2063 is an audacious plan and going forward; there are veritable lessons
that must be taken into cognisance. After 50 years of amateurship in political leadership and governance, charting a fifty year
sustainable development plan calls to question the virtues of competence and
dedication in these areas of deficiency. Yet, as inordinate
as it seems, it’s achievable.
The world has seen development examples in the Marshall
plan that rebuilt a devastated Europe after World War 2; the full emergence
and dominance of Asia tiger Nations of Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam,
South Korea and not to talk of the glories of the Asiatic powers in China and
Japan. All these Nations had one thing in common—they shared trademark devastation from the shackles
of Colonialism and Warfare after the Second World War and then emerged to the
zenith of development less than 50 years after! Of course, Africa nations must begin to rethink their strategic plan of action in
achieving Agenda 2063.. However, one thing must be jettisoned- Africans should stop blaming outside
forces especially colonist for its woes.
'PARTNERSHIPS'
The walk of Agenda 2063 will
be best achieved if complemented by foreign partnerships. As much as African solutions to African problems are
being sought, it will be fool hardy to ignore the investive overtures of
foreign partners especially the sincere
ones.
As a point of note, China has acted and fulfilled a self tasking
donation of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by wholly constructing and donating the ultra modern Africa
Union Headquarters building. As such, the Chinese are no push overs in terms of being development partners. More than that, it would be worthy of note for Africa to understudy the Chinese development
success story and imbibe some doctrines where necessary.
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| The $200million AU ultra modern Headquarter complex donated and constructed by China at Addis Ababa |
Africa like China has footprints in indigenous civilization straddling
from the Nile Valley in Egypt and Ethiopia to ruins of Great Zimbabwe in the
South. India too like China, having an indigenous civilization success
story has built on its past despite being colonized to overthrowing the West in
the advancement of Software technology, genetic modified medicine/technology
and as such spreading her developmental innovations to several sectors.
Identifying Africa as a partner in progress, the Indian Prime Minister during
the Inaugural India-Africa summit made this statement
"The hearts of 1.25 billion Indians and 1.25 billion Africans are
in rhythm. We are united by youth - two thirds of India and Africa are below
35. And, if the future belongs to the youth, then this century is ours to shape
and build,"...Narenda Modi (Indian Prime Minister)
As the journey into Agenda 2063
is being made, Africa should envy the development strategy of the World’s two
most populous nations. Surely there are lots of positives to imitate.
THE AFRICA WE WANT
With so much talk on the diversity and plurality of Africa’s populace,
the Chinese and Indians have in their endeavours belittled this. What’s next
for Africa is to look beyond its current struggles and march on to the Eldorado
of development. The vast human and natural resources provides no room for
excuse. Acknowledging the efforts of regional blocs at regional integration
from free movement of people and goods, this can be built upon by linking the
entire continent by rail.
Of course, talk is cheap but in actualizing Agenda
2063, there must be special focus on African induced technological
advancement
and industrialization. Away from the talk of gender and sundry rights issues, a self driven technology
will surely set Agenda 2063 in auto pilot.
Whilst appreciating the efforts of foreign partners, it is pertinent
that the materiel and personnel for Africa’s development future is solely
African. Africa cannot keep using non African produced essential products like
cars, machines, Infrastructure fittings, clothes etc and expect to attain Agenda 2063. Africa’s educational ivory towers must be empowered to initiate the drive through research
funding and project utilization. Only then can we have the Africa we want.
The Youth as drivers for
‘Agenda 2063’
According to the African Union Commission webpage on youth,
‘About 65% of the total population of Africa are below the age of 35 years, and
over 35% are between the ages of 15 and 35 years - making Africa the most youthful continent. By 2020, it is
projected that out of 4 people, 3 will be on average 20 years old.
The Youths of all climes are
conduits of development in their vicinity and any attempt to disenfranchise
their productivity through unemployment has always proved destructive to the
society and world at large. Examples of such abound in the fascist movement in
Europe that fueled the 2nd World War, several guerrilla movements that fueled
civil wars around Africa in the last quarter of the 20th Century, the
burgeoning revolution of the Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle East
and social vices of armed robbery and gangsterism;
all of which make use of youths as foot soldiers.
As such, it is imperative that the African youth be positively
engaged and harnessed. Only then can Agenda
2063 for ‘the Africa we want’ be achieved.
