Libyan Leader Calls for a United States of Africa

The Libyan leader, Muammar Al Ghadaffi, has once again reiterated his call for Africans to unite and form a united government.

The Libyan leader made these remarks on yesterday at the opening of a two-day international conference underway in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

According to him there is no justification for delaying the unity of Africa. He therefore underscored the need for the removal of borders; visa and customs requirements so that people can move freely within Africa. “United Africa has the ability to become a super power in the world,” he asserted.

He cited the example of United States of America and Europe, enquiring rhetorically: “Why can’t Africa unite?” He declared his belief in the possibility of African unity.

He claimed that the US Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice, is better known even within Africa than the Commission members of the African Union, whom he said are known only by name as their terms of reference are limited.

He recollected that when efforts were being made to unite America, there was a lot of scepticism that it could not become a reality, explaining that it was nevertheless eventually achieved and that it has ultimately become a superpower.

It could be recalled that the theory of African unity has been expounded by African leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, Kenneth Kaunda, to name but a few. Recent developments have seen the leader of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Muammar Ghaddaffi, forming part of the vanguard to advance African Unity.