Debating Ideas reflects the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from within the African continent and beyond. It offers debates and engagements, contexts and controversies, and reviews and responses flowing from the African Arguments books. It is edited and managed by the International African Institute, hosted at SOAS University of London, the owners of the book series of the same name.
In November 1884, diplomats from Europe and America gathered in Berlin to divide the African continent amongst themselves. These outcomes infantilized Africa and treated its people as lacking in agency. A wave of colonial partitioning and occupation followed without regard for the wishes, customs, or political boundaries of Africans. This was the beginning of cultural suppression and the exploitation of Africa’s many resources.
The disruption and division of the continent would eventually birth a new movement that would challenge colonial powers and call for the reunification of African people. Pan-Africanism is the idea that people of African descent have common interests and should be unified. Since its inception in the mid-19th century, it has evolved into a political or cultural movement encompassing elements including a commitment to global partnerships and multilateralism, a movement for emancipation, decolonization and peace, a demonstration of African agency, and a vision for African regional integration. The latter two strands emerged from the struggle against colonialism and imperial rule and aimed to tackle common issues affecting the continent.
Pan-Africanism was pioneered by visionary leaders like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, President Gamal Abdel-Nasser of Egypt, and other revolutionary African leaders. These movements aimed to forge a future for Africa free of Western imperialism. Committed to the unity and liberation of African nations, these revolutionaries first fought for their countries’ independence and later worked to spread their vision by raising awareness among the people of Africa through media.
The vision of these founding postcolonial leaders inspired the creation of Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union) in 1963 to advance cooperation and solidarity between newly independent states and fight against colonialism.
The struggle against imperial rule would later evolve into a democratic movement, with the Pan-African movement aiming to eliminate all African heads of government that reinforced imperialist influence and demanding good governance from leaders. Consequently, numerous historic coups were orchestrated by the Pan-Africanists to achieve freedom for the people. In that era, coups were often bloodless and used to defeat widespread corruption and inefficiencies. Coups were liberation movements in power that often began as revolutionary groups that would later transform into ruling parties. Notable amongst them was the Egyptian revolution led by the Free Officers, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, who carefully planned and executed a coup in 1952 to overthrow King Farook. Nasser would become president in 1956 and led Egypt to become the first modern African state to initiate revolutionary land reforms and nationalize industries in Egypt.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya also planned and overtook leadership from the Senussi monarchy of King Idris, an administration strongly supported by the British. Gaddafi set out to tackle the unfair economic legacy of foreign domination. Gaddafi’s government nationalized the oil reserves and used the revenue to fund redistributive programs for the people. In a short time, Libya became a beacon of hope for all of Africa with the highest standard of living on the continent. Gaddafi is remembered as the man who fought against the hegemony of the West in Africa. Gaddafi supported a borderless “United States of Africa” to transform the continent into a single nation-state ruled by a single government and funded several revolutionary and reactionary groups in Africa. Although Gaddafi’s vision ultimately led to policies that were contrary to fundamental rights – such as full control of the media, and funding rebel groups within Africa that depleted Libya’s resources, leading to economic decline and internal rebellion in Libya – many still consider Gaddafi as a revolutionary hero.
Thomas Sankara overthrew the government in Burkina Faso, formed the National Council of Revolution, and became the president. The main aim of Sankara’s democratic revolution was to create some of the most widespread social programmes in Africa. Sankara implemented educational programs that increased the literacy rate of Burkina Faso from 17 to 73 percent, appointing women to high positions of the administration while outlawing forced marriage and building infrastructure to develop the country, all with the larger goal of disbanding imperial domination.
These Pan-Africanists-military leaders advocated ending imperialism at an exceptionally young age. Gaddafi was 27 at the start of his rule, and Nasser and Sankara were both 34 at the inception of their rule. It is unsurprising, therefore that Nasser repeatedly emphasized the role of youths in raising awareness about the ideals of Pan-Africanism among their peers and communities. To Nasser, by organizing protests, marches, and campaigns to highlight issues affecting the continent, the youths were driving change and unifying the continent.
Nasser’s position accurately represented the power and influence of African youths. Africa is the continent with the highest youth representation, with about 70 percent of its population aged below 30. They are stakeholders in shaping any movement within the continent including the Pan-African vision. They continue to raise consciousness on the struggles of the continent and fight against political rule that supports imperialist ideas while demanding good governance.
By way of example, the success of the recent military junta in Niger was largely driven by the strong support of the youth in Niger and neighbouring countries. Niger’s Sahel is a resource rich region; the seventh largest uranium producer in the world. This region is also a huge exporter of gold, coal, and oil, amongst other resources. However, the immense wealth of Niger does not benefit the people. The wealth of Niger, like the wealth of most African countries, is exploited by imperialists. Uranium extracted from Niger fuels one in three light bulbs in France – while the indigenous people of Niger live in penury. To worsen matters, Niger lost over $906 million in World Bank arbitration cases against French multinationals while France holds 50 percent of Niger’s monetary reserves. Recent takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad replaced neo-colonial regimes with military juntas. The military juntas have strong anti-imperialist sentiments and strong nationalist foundations.
Although ECOWAS did not support the military junta and set up a no-fly zone in Niger, in an attempt reinstate president Bazoum, Burkina Faso and Mali showed solidarity by pledging to defend Niger from any foreign military intervention. Guinea-Conakry also expressed the intention to refuse to take any action against Niger if ECOWAS requested it, while Algeria warned against any foreign military intervention. The support of Burkina Faso and Mali would eventually lead to the exit of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from ECOWAS, sparking concerns about the future of regional unity and, by extension, the Pan-African vision.
The Mali military junta was fuelled by weeks of protests from the youths who were demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The people condemned his administration for its inability to restore security, the mismanagement of the economy, and failure to improve living standards. These factors were elements that Thomas Sankara highlighted as important to guaranteeing Pan-Africanism. Although the coup sparked international criticism, Malian youths welcomed the military junta and the leadership of Colonel Assimi Goita, who was 38 years old at the time of the junta.
It was the same with the military coup in Burkina Faso. The people have long voiced their discontentment with the deepening security crisis in their country, which had killed over 7,569 people and displaced more than 1.6 million, according to UN estimates. In response to the discontent expressed by the people, President Roch Kabore’s administration was terminated, and Ibrahim Traore took over leadership of the country at the age of 34. Traore’s leadership resonated deeply with the African youth, who see in him a leader unafraid to confront exploitative structures of global financial institutions and foreign powers.
The advocacy of the youth in Africa and their boldness towards challenging governance that does not serve the interest of the people is an indication of Pan-Africanism and calls for rethinking the political structures of African states. Many of these political structures were adopted from the colonialists, and by challenging them, the youths moved towards building a political system more suitable to African needs. Their activism aligns with Kwame Nkrumah’s “Seek ye first the political kingdom.” African youths recognize that by achieving political empowerment, whether as gaining independence from colonial powers or demanding good governance, other desirable outcomes like social and economic benefits will naturally follow.
In line with Nasser’s ideologies, the youth have also used the media to raise awareness about Pan-Africanism. The quest for freedom amongst African youth birthed movements such as Y’en a Marre in Senegal, Balai Citoyen in Burkina Faso, Filimbi and La Lucha in DRC and Ça Suffit Comme Ça in Gabon as well as the Pan African Youth Union which operates under the AU with the specific mandate of gathering and rallying young Africans to realize the objective of the African Union. However, the extent to which the aim of AU can be achieved with its continuous dependence on the colonial nations is questionable.
In this digital age, youth have leveraged technology both to raise awareness about Pan-Africanism and amplify their call for better governance. Groups like Pan-African Worldwide, Pan-African Review, and School of Pan-African Thought, amongst others on Facebook and Twitter, consistently share insights on the fight against imperialism. In their push for better governance, the youth have used hashtags, including the #Feesmustfall in South Africa; #EndSARS in Nigeria, #RejectFinanceBill2024 in Kenya to share their struggles and tell their own stories, free from the influence of imperialist narratives.
Certainly, the youth have not achieved these without resistance as governments have resorted to violence to manage public dissent. But, despite political intimidation and attempts to suppress them, the youth have remained determined in their fight against imperialism and demand for good governance.
Mbasekei Martin Obono is a human rights lawyer. He received his legal education from the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom and Nigerian Law school. He is the Executive Director of Tap iNitiative for Citizens Development, based in Nigeria. He holds an Executive Programme with focus on Expanding Impacts for NGOs and Public Institutions from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is a Fellow of Alliance for Historical Dialogue and Accountability, Columbia University, New York. Obono has demonstrable skills and competences in human rights advocacy, ranging from protection of civic space and civil liberties to political participation in Nigeria, court room advocacy on gender justice, historical dialogue and restitution, sustainable development for Indigenous peoples among others. Obono is on the advisory board of Amnesty International Nigeria among other profit and non-profit organizations both in Nigeria, United Kingdom and Ghana.
Ugochi Peace Nwosu (PhD in view) is a lawyer and academic with 9 years’ experience in corporate law, Alternative Dispute Resolution and several other spheres of legal practice. Ugochi holds an LLM with distinction in InternationalCommercial Law and Dispute Resolution from University of Reading. Currently Ugochi is running a PhD in University of Reading where she uses socio- legal approaches to understand the phenomenon of law.
