Page 98 - A People Called Afrika

A PEOPLE CALLED AFRIKA

our states, and to fight against neocolonialism in all its forms,”
The Charter further went on to say that one of the purposes of
the OAU would be, “To eradicate all forms of colonialism from
Africa.”

These optimistic words are yet to see fulfillment partly because
the Organization of African Unity was founded on the back
of a compromise position between the ideologically divided
Casablanca and Monrovia groups of the newly independent
Afrikan countries. The former comprised 7 countries that
were firmly committed to the vision of a pan-African entity
that would be united against their common foes and standing
together in solidarity. The latter, 22 nations firmly commit-
ted to nationalism and the maintenance of colonial borders
and, based on their support of France’s interests over Alge-
ria’s, clearly not committed to standing against any common
enemies, nor their neocolonialist intentions. Afrika’s oppor-
tunity to form a powerful and unified bloc was dead in the
water before its inception and what remained was an under-
funded, limp wristed, pan-African organization by name only.

An organization that - just like its member states - re-
lies (to date) on handouts from foreign entities that
then determine the policies and programmatic priori-
ties of what should have been Afrika’s coalescing front.

The struggle continues today against the oppression of the for-
mer colonialists and the other nations and organizations that
joined in the fray in subjugating and exploiting the Afrikan
people to the fullest measure and extent possible. This ex-
ploitation is couched in euphemisms such as foreign invest-
ment, economic development or military aid. Those words

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