Integrating African countries into an economic and political union by African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has required tortuous and conscious advocacy. Perhaps subconscious advocacy too by non-Africans who, none the wiser, refer to Africa as a country.
It was a delight to watch 50 African heads of governments sign AfCFTA – i.e. African Common Market – into existence at the 2018 Kigali African Union Summit. It will no doubt be one of Africa’s finest moments of the twenty-first century.
As a bloc, ‘African Common Market’ would rank comfortably among the world’s top 10 biggest economies. Besides spurring internal trade by zero-tariff on goods moving within the continent, the African youth requiring nothing than an overnight bag and bank card to visit any African country will boost intra-continental skills exchange and tourism. A borderless Africa is a strong negotiating hand for the 55 countries of the continent when dealing with rest of the world. It’s a shame Nigeria, that had hosted the continent's 1991 Abuja Treaty, was conspicuously absent at that historic Kigali meeting.
But hardly would’ve signatures inked on the AfCFTA document dry, that familiar frailties that’ll render it useless would’ve been obvious to all signatories.
Kwame Nkrumah noted in his 1962 ‘Step to Freedom’ speech that African Common Market – vital to decolonising Africa for industrialisation – would be impossible without a ‘joint African military command’ to ensure stability and security on the continent. His reason: a sense of insecurity may draw African States to enter ‘defence pacts with imperialists’, leaving Africa yet vulnerable to external manipulations.
Prophetically, almost all African countries have today entered AFRICOM defence pact with the United States of America. 20 of those being former French African colonies are in ‘Françafrique’, which saw French Army fighting on behalf of Burkina Faso, Gambia and Mali recently.
So, how fortified is AfCFTA’s zero-tariff wall around Africa that, unforeseeably, USA or France (implicitly, European Union) can’t bypass by leveraging on security deals with their client African States, some today facing insecurity trio of authoritarianism, disintegration and terrorism?
We needn’t speculate. The answer was on display when Nigeria’s president Buhari was recently hosted by Trump. Buhari quickly categorised his host’s infamous ‘shithole’ remark about Africa as hearsay. And, feverishly, thanked the American president who had, on a whim, lifted ban of military hardware sales to Nigeria, further agreeing to train Nigerian troops on effective counter-terrorism tactics to combat Boko Haram terrorists ravaging the country.
A bullish Trump, presented with an overawed guest, demanded that USA’s contentious genetically modified organisms (GMO) be allowed into Nigeria. Now, for example, if Nigeria agrees to that deal, and then joins AfCFTA, a ‘Third country’ USA, will have its GMOs travelling freely across the continent. Proving Nkrumah’s point that integrating Africa without a United African Army will lead to collective colonialism. Furthermore, at a time when ‘Universal Basic Income’ is being trialled across Europe and ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is kicking off, this will mean aborting African jobs before they are created. And this isn’t Luddite paranoia. Or shouldn’t economic and political union of African countries be such a serious venture that’ll, at least, safeguard livelihood of the African child and youth who, unlike their European or American counterparts, have neither guaranteed incomes nor access to quality higher education?
Another obvious frailty facing AfCFTA is: will an integrated Africa be of genuine comradeship? Of this, Obafemi Awolowo shared his doubts in 1960 memoir Awo. Affirming African unity — a looser version than Nkrumah’s preferred Soviet Union model — was desirable, but it’s ‘quite plainly an ignis fatuus (false hope),’ Awolowo wrote. His reason: ‘pan-Africanism’ requires ‘believe in equality of all races.’
No one who’s witnessed the shocking Libyan slave market in a ‘modern Africa’ can accuse Awolowo of cynicism.
These challenges notwithstanding, an African Common Market is achievable. With each African country allowed opt-out from aspects of a borderless Africa they’re unsure of for now, like South-Africa and 20 others did, and build forward from there.
‘Mass migration’ has disrupted politics in Europe and USA. The far-right has resurrected. Far from paying lip service to African development like in the past, it’s now in Europe’s and USA’s self-interest that African peoples can live and thrive on African soil. This should make African leaders bold in their actions. Like phasing out bi-lateral security and trade deals with Third countries over a period of 5-10 years and renegotiating more equal continent-wide ones. Also moving decisively against remaining African despots. Demanding transparency in tax havens. Reviving reparations demand. African currency. And while doing these, heed Nkrumah’s wise call for a United African Army that will secure the continent for irreversible gains.
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