Going back to our ancestors the first human beings, we are all Africans. It was from Africa that humanity spread to the rest of the world. This must be reason enough to think in more protective terms towards Africa, but the reality has been in the opposite direction, as centuries of colonial plunder including mass slavery bled this continent high and dry to enrich others.

This was followed by a period of neo-colonialism under which the relations with the rich world continued to be dominated by Africa’s resources rather than by the welfare of its people. Hence a highly promising leader like Patrice Lumumba was assassinated, and the forces of imperialism did not think twice before igniting the flames of civil war or secessionist violence or imposing cruel dictators as long as this helped them to continue their plunder or serve their related geopolitical interests.

Colonial forces had also  imposed artificial borders which created frequent discords and obstructed pastoral livelihoods based on established migration routes that had helped maintain sustainability in difficult conditions over the centuries. Neo-colonial interventions which promoted agro-business interests, export crop monocultures and expensive, ecologically harmful, dependence-increasing inputs and technologies further worsened the situation. Alien ‘conservation’ models, dedicated more often to commercial tourism than to sincere environment protection, further displaced and alienated rural communities over vast areas.

This provides the essential background to understanding the multiplicity of conflicts the continent faces, estimated to be around 35 or so. Some civil wars and conflicts are known to be extremely violent. In recent decades millions have perished from the direct and indirect impacts of conflicts and wars. Several hundred thousand people have been killed in very cruel attacks. Very serious humanitarian crisis situations have arisen in many countries over vast areas. Famines and near famines as well as other disasters have claimed millions of lives in recent decades, and the prospects of these and other extreme weather situations  are worsening  further in times of climate change. Several terror organizations are active over extensive areas, crossing over borders of several countries with relative ease. 

All this has been happening despite the efforts of the African Union, with 55 member countries, to improve the prospects of peace, development and welfare. The civil war in Sudan can engulf a wider area. The same remains true of the Rwanda-DRC and related conflicts.

There is thus need to think beyond efforts like the African Union which can lead to the kind of greater unity of Africa and its people that can provide a future of much greater safety, peace and overall protective conditions to the people of the first home of humanity.

It is in this context that the idea of much greater integration and unity of the people of Africa should be at least used as a guiding post and as an ideal to be desired and worked for. Can this ultimately take the form of some sort of a United Countries of Africa (UCA), having one unified government to ensure peace in the entire continent while at the same time providing great levels of decentralization at all local levels to take forward development tasks and protect cultural norms in tune with local conditions? This is difficult, but this is possible, this is desirable.

Africa has a population of about 1.5 billion, and countries close to this population level already exist. So the concept of Africa as a single nation is not as unrealistic as it may appear to some people at first glance. A big national market of 1.5 billion people will help economic development. 

This concept should be taken forward on the basis of equality, justice and peace for all people to create a future without wars and conflicts for Africa. This can also be the best gift of the present generation to the next generations, to their children and grandchildren.

This can help to create the conditions in which the seeds which create violence and terror will not be there, but if some violent elements persist with their old ways, they can be more easily stopped by the united government of all people. It will become much easier to stop neo-colonial plunder, so that the vast mineral and other resources of the continent can be used on a priority basis to meet first and foremost all basic needs of all people of Africa. The livelihoods of rural people should be protected on the basis of the agro-ecology approach and the big business interests which promote development strategies to serve their own interests can be asked to go away. A new people centered conservation model can be brought in which helps in climate change mitigation and adaptation at the same time as it promotes the livelihoods of people on a sustainable basis.

At present several countries of Africa are troubled by serious problems like denial of access to sea (in case of several landlocked countries like Ethiopia), river waters not shared properly, minerals being stolen by neighbors, migration routes of people disrupted by strangely drawn boundaries etc. Some of these problems can become the cause of conflict and war. These problems will go away or will be resolved more easily in a united country with high levels of decentralization, based on true democracy, transparency, honesty, justice, equality, protection of environment and all forms of life, peace within and with the rest of the world. 

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Earth without Borders, A Day in 2071 and Man over Machine. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from Silent Crow News

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