African Unity a Popular Demand

The call for Africans to unite and form a united state of Africa has long been a popular demand among the people of the continent. It will be recalled that the theory of African unity has been addressed by many African leaders in the past including Kwame Nkummah, Sekou Toure and Kenneth Kaunda to name but a few. In more recent times the issue has been addressed by the Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi,

For Nkurunmah, one of his most outstanding legacies was a commitment to the potential of African unity. The only way forward for Africa is through the type of union envisaged by Kwame Nkurunmah.

This common demand or African unity was shared by most of the African leaders who gathered in Accra, Ghana, for the last African union summit. They tempered their support however by cautioning against a premature rush towards establishing an African government before certain issues have been addressed.

One thing is or certain, if we are to achieve this popular demand for unity African leaders and people must be committed to the free movement of goods and labour, common services and customs, monitory unions and also a number of other steps towards more complete integration. This requires regional political and commercial commissions to redouble their efforts. When unveiled Africa would be a great nation for all her people.