I spotted him in his back-yard garden. He was watering his vegetables crops, while whistling some old hymns heartily to his own pleasure.
From the other side of the palm-frond fence, I greeted old Uncle Tom.
“Aaah! There you are, my son. Welcome to the philosopher’s garden. Here in this garden I commune with nature and I learn surpassing and valuable lessons than your formal education can ever teach you,” Uncle Tom said with a smile as he welcome me to his garden.
“In this garden, there is harmonious integration and symbiotic relationships. There are also pests and parasites. My task here is to strive to achieve set goals, while discouraging negative tendencies and relationships that would not work in the ultimate interest. Whether this small garden yields food for me or not, depends on my commitment, skill and thorough understanding of what the challenges are and how to surmount them. Got it?
“The United States has been described as a ‘melting pot’ because, many years ago, for the sake of national integration and cohesion, all kinds of people of different racial, ethnic and tribal backgrounds were accepted into the mainstream America, dominated by Anglo-Saxon culture. That is one of the unique things about the United States. Why are we as Africans-at least Sub-Saharan Africans-not able to integrate culturally, socially, economically etc.?” Uncle Tom asked rhetorically, pointing at me as if I had the answer he needed.
At this juncture I came in. I told Uncle Tom it was the Europeans states who divided Africa among themselves at the Berlin Conference, thereby erecting artificial barriers that defined boundaries we now call countries.
“Barriers, boundaries…whatever! Pull them down. Stop blaming the European and take responsibility for the future of this continent and its peoples and resources.
“Look, in 1950, The then French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman proposed the integration of the steel and coal industries of Western Europe. This was not just a wishful thinking nor was it a political piece of communication. The proposal did not go down the drain with the sip of whisky at some extravagant conference. Rather, it was followed through and this proposal was what led to the Treaty of Paris which gave birth to the European Coal & Steel Community (E.C.S.C.) in 1951, with just six countries- Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. It was the same six countries that signed the Treaties of Rome, creating the European Economic Community (E. E. C.) and the European Atomic Energy Community. They began by removing trade barriers among them and moving towards a ‘common market’ in 1957.
“Until recently, Ghana was not a member of the oil producing countries but had a great potential for producing about a third of the salt that Nigeria needed in processing crude oil. What was the volume of trade that the two countries were involved in, with respect to salt? Find out and you would be amazed. Our leaders talk too much and they love the heat of the cameras being turned on them. But very little is achieved in terms of concrete objectives that would move the continent forward. They love to dine and wine, and then issue communiqués which are just routine, mandatory closing activities, after such extravagant conferences and summits.
“The AU has less than 4% of the world’s international trade. The irony is that the AU’s 3% or so actually makes up the bulk of real commodity traded worldwide, including about 70% of the world’s strategic minerals such as gold and aluminium. The saddest thing is that the AU is a large market for European, American and Chinese industries. Of late, the AU has become a ‘dumping ground’ for all kinds of inferior products from China, including plastic ware, textiles…even tooth-pick!
“Ironically, our governments have always been the first to sign all kinds of protocols, conventions and treaties. But when it comes to implementing those that serve the interests of the citizenry, they are the last to do so; unless such implementation has been attached, as a conditionality, to a World Bank or IMF loan facility.
“Another irony is this: while he was pushing for the declaration of a United States of Africa, his government arrested, jailed and even killed Sub-Saharan Africans who trudged the desert into his country in such of greener pastures. This tells you the principles and objectives they espouse are not at heart. It is a serious thing when the efficacy of a balm is lost due to the blunder of those who are to apply it.
“I tell you my son; 2023 will arrive and the AU is still grappling with the same foundational issues and we will have no single currency, no central bank, no single market, no customs union, no free trade area and maybe no AU,” Uncle Tom opined, pausing for my reaction, having been doing all the talking for a while now.
“You sounded like a prophet of doom, Old Tom,” I teased him. “Why would you think that the AU would ever become defunct?”
“No am not saying that. The AU will exist, but only as a nomenclature- I mean as a name among names of such unions,” Uncle Tom said scornfully.
“So Uncle Tom, what ought they to be doing which they are not doing?” I asked him, hoping to draw some real solutions from him.
“First of all, their approach to the unification and integration process is wrong. They are using a top-down approach, when it should have been a buttom-up approach. By that I mean they ought to start the process by integrating the African peoples socially and culturally by removing the artificial barriers and boarders that exist. The message of integration must be championed by the ordinary people of the member countries. People and goods from one member country to another must transit without the current frustration and extortion of money by immigration officers. Then economic integration. Trading among member countries should be vigorously pursued. Political integration should be the icing on the beautiful cake.
Uncle Tom has concluded his take on the AU. Whatever it is, we must not be too pessimistic about the future of the AU. Maybe great days lie ahead for the continent.
By: Ike W. Bikor
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