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The idea has been advanced by [[Libya]]n leader, and newly elected chairman of the [[African Union]] (AU), [[Muammar al-Gaddafi]], who has expressed the idea at a 2000 summit in [[Lomé]], [[Togo]] (and again in [[June 2007]]{{clarify me}}) and again in [[February 2009]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/africa/829060.stm "United States of Africa?" at BBC News]</ref> The idea has also been expressed by [[Alpha Oumar Konare]], chairperson of the [[African Commission]], who made his views on the occasion of the commemoration of the [[Africa Day]], on May 25, 2006.<ref>[http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/Past/2006/May/BC/CP_statement.htm Statement of the UA Commission Chairperson]</ref>
The idea has been advanced by [[Libya]]n leader, and newly elected chairman of the [[African Union]] (AU), [[Muammar al-Gaddafi]], who has expressed the idea at a 2000 summit in [[Lomé]], [[Togo]] (and again in [[June 2007]]{{clarify me}}) and again in [[February 2009]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/africa/829060.stm "United States of Africa?" at BBC News]</ref> The idea has also been expressed by [[Alpha Oumar Konare]], chairperson of the [[African Commission]], who made his views on the occasion of the commemoration of the [[Africa Day]], on May 25, 2006.<ref>[http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/Past/2006/May/BC/CP_statement.htm Statement of the UA Commission Chairperson]</ref>


Gaddafi has also remarked that the AU, which he currently heads, is a failure, and that only a true [[Pan-Africanism|pan-African]] [[sovereign state]] can provide stability and wealth to Africa.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6239656.stm Gaddafi urges pan-African state], from BBC, 26 June 2007</ref>
Gaddafi has also remarked that the AU, which he currently heads, is a failure, and that only a true [[Pan-Africanism|pan-African]] [[sovereign state]] can provide stability and wealth to Africa.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6239656.stm Gaddafi urges pan-African state], from BBC, 26 June 2007</ref> Several senior members of the AU have also expressed hope that the AU could bring peace to Africa.<ref>http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2723229.ece Ambitious plan for a new Africa: Welcome to the U.S.A (that's the United States of Africa)], from [[The Independent]], 30 June 2007</ref>


==Origins==
==Origins==

Revision as of 21:42, 25 April 2009

Political map showing the sovereign states currently within Africa (right-click to enlarge)

The United States of Africa is a proposed future unification of Africa as a federation of states. This idea is similar in nature to the idea of a Federal Europe emerging out of the European Union, and the formation of the United States of America of which it shares the acronym USA.

The idea has been advanced by Libyan leader, and newly elected chairman of the African Union (AU), Muammar al-Gaddafi, who has expressed the idea at a 2000 summit in Lomé, Togo (and again in June 2007[clarification needed]) and again in February 2009.[1] The idea has also been expressed by Alpha Oumar Konare, chairperson of the African Commission, who made his views on the occasion of the commemoration of the Africa Day, on May 25, 2006.[2]

Gaddafi has also remarked that the AU, which he currently heads, is a failure, and that only a true pan-African sovereign state can provide stability and wealth to Africa.[3] Several senior members of the AU have also expressed hope that the AU could bring peace to Africa.[4]

Origins

The phrase "United States of Africa", was mentioned first by Marcus Garvey in his poem 'Hail, United States of Africa' in 1924. Garvey's ideas deeply influenced the birth of the Pan-Africanist movement which culminated in 1945 with the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, United Kingdom, attended by W.E.B. Du Bois, Patrice Lumumba, George Padmore, Jomo Kenyatta and Kwame Nkrumah. Later, Nkrumah and Haile Selassie (among many others) took the idea forward to form the Organisation of African Unity, the forerunner of today's African Union.

African Union and future development

Muammar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya and the chairman of the African Union

At the June 2007 meeting of the African Union, discussions centred upon Gaddafi's idea of a federation of African states.

In February 2009, upon being elected chairman of the 53-nation African Union in Ethiopia, Gaddafi told the assembled African leaders: "I shall continue to insist that our sovereign countries work to achieve the United States of Africa." The BBC reported that Gaddafi had proposed "a single African military force, a single currency and a single passport for Africans to move freely around the continent". Other African leaders stated they would study the proposal's implications, and rediscuss it in May 2009.[5]

While development very much remains in the early stages of planning, very ambitous targets have been set out for future developent. The focus so far has been on building subdivisions of Africa - the proposed East African Federation can be seen as an example of this. The President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, has indicated that the United States of Africa may exist from as early as 2017. Gaddafi has also indicated that the the future federation may extend as far the Carribean; Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and other islands featuring a large African diaspora, may be invited to join.[6] Criticism has been expressed about whether these goals remain realistic, despite ongoing problems, conflict and povery in several AU member states.[7]

References

  1. ^ "United States of Africa?" at BBC News
  2. ^ Statement of the UA Commission Chairperson
  3. ^ Gaddafi urges pan-African state, from BBC, 26 June 2007
  4. ^ http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2723229.ece Ambitious plan for a new Africa: Welcome to the U.S.A (that's the United States of Africa)], from The Independent, 30 June 2007
  5. ^ "AU summit extended amid divisions", BBC, February 4, 2009
  6. ^ United States of Africa may take off in 2017, says Wade, from Guardian Newspapers, published 13 February 2009
  7. ^ 'United States of Africa' Still an Idea Ahead of Its Time, from World Politics Review, 13 July 2007

See also

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