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Africa Day on the eve of the golden jubilee: Drawbacks and achievements
Youth Forum
May 22, 2012

Africa celebrates Africa Day on 25 May annually, a celebration in recognition of the formation of the African Union, AU (formerly Organisation of African Unity, OAU) and appreciation of its achievements to date. 2012 sees Africa marking the celebrations on the eve of the Golden Jubilee after the formation of AU, which makes it an important celebration as we seek to take stock of the achievements or lack of such before we celebrate half a century of Africa's watchdog organization.

The 49th Africa Day occasion is a moment for reflection. Africa is one stereotyped continent that continues to call to mind grueling images of poverty, gory scenes of famines, blighted tales of corruption, tragic narratives of civil conflicts resulting in despicable human rights abuses and a damning prognosis of outright dismissal. Simply, pessimists cannot envisage a foreseeable solution to the crisis presented by the sum of Africa's misfortunes.

Such pessimism is not justified considering that the natural resources of the world's poorest continent include a gold mine which has never ceased to tantalise predators outside the continent and their surrogates within. Africa possesses 99% of the world's chrome resources, 85% of its platinum, 70% of its tantalite, 68% of its cobalt, 54% of its gold plus significant oil and gas reserves. The continent is also home to uranium, manganese, diamonds and bauxite deposits in very high quantities. Underground water reserves discovered in some of the driest parts of the continent, timber and other forests resources also add to the lure.

It is perplexing how a continent with such unusual amounts of natural resources can still remain the poorest, 50 years after the formation of the AU, with a mandate to ensure the economic emancipation of the continent. In what is known as resource curse theory, the blame has been incongruously vented on the resources themselves rather than on the greed of bloodsucking marauders and their cohorts. It certainly calls for reflection.

But how can we put an end to this? This is the question the AU should be looking towards answering as we prepare to embark on another half-century aiming at total emancipation and meaningful utilization of our resources to achieve growth and development. With a population density of 65 people per square mile and all the resources mentioned above, Africa should be able to produce enough for its citizens when it celebrates its next 50 years after formation of the AU. One way of ensuring this is first ensuring that our resources work toward benefiting the citizens of the continent first before their exportation and expropriation.

Africa does have achievements to celebrate on the eve of the Golden Jubilee; we need to celebrate our achievements and excellence and our potential and promise: the total deliverance of the 54 countries from colonial bondage in the past half-century resulting in Africans having relatively much greater opportunity to chart a cause of progress for themselves and by themselves. Recording an unusually high number of fast growing economies including the fastest (Angola) in the past decade has resulted in poverty declining, albeit by a mere 1%, also calls for celebrations.

Improving and ever-snowballing examples of democracies with counties like Ghana, Zambia, Botswana and Senegal becoming shining beacons of hope and making it more and more difficult for the last standing dictatorships to survive, especially if the peer review mechanisms proposed are to be followed. This wind of representative governance blowing auspiciously across the continent deserves celebration.

The value of Africa Day is in the unity it enjoins. Artificial boundaries impacted by colonialism have knifed through ethnic nationalities and left the continent balkanised in sovereign entities that are hardly viable individually and economically in a competitive global environment. The celebration of Africa Day throughout the continent is recognition that these boundaries are indeed superficial. Africans are one people with a shared destiny that is better served by unity of purpose, of economies and ideally of politics.

Let us strive for a better Africa together! Happy Africa Day to those at home and abroad!

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