After being mentioned in passing at various continental forums, the idea of creating an African Union (AU) along the same lines as the European Union (EU) was vigorously revived in the mid-1990s. The move was concretized with the adoption of the Sirte Declaration at a conference of OAU heads of state and government in the Libyan town of Sirte on September 9, 1999, calling for the creation of an African Union. Although established in 2001, the AU was formally inaugurated to replace the OAU
on July 9, 2002 in Durban, South Africa.
It is often said that in matters of regional integration, the European Union has become a living laboratory for any part of the world to draw lessons from. In discussing the African Union, therefore, it would not be out of place to make a few references to the European experience. From the historical perspective, the idea of European integration is rooted in the tragic events of the two World Wars, the aftermath of which set nations in Europe on the search for lasting peace and co-operation, following the devastation of their major cities and the destruction of their economies during long years of battle. The search for peace eventually led to the quest for integration. Indeed, the legacy of Jean Monnet, who is reputed as one of the founding fathers of the European Community, lies in his desire to remove forever the causes of war that periodically tore Europe apart.
In his May 9, 1950 declaration in Paris, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman observed that the incidence of war between European states was as a result of the lack of unity amongst them. Schuman then went on to table the French government's proposal which placed Franco-German production of coal and steel under a common 'high authority', and which eventually led to the formation of the European Coal and Steel Commission (ECSC) in 1951, thus providing the foundation for a wider and deeper economic community About six decades down the lane, the EU has not only expanded in terms of membership (currently 27 nations) but has also become the world's most successful example of regional integration, reaping the benefits (as well as the challenges) that come along with a virtually borderless continent and a huge market.
Indeed the benefits of integration are immense, but Africa's road to integration is fraught with formidable challenges. Seven years
after its inauguration, the AU is yet to put its act together. For instance, the vast majority of Africa's population is yet to know about the AU and to feel its impact in their everyday lives. Obviously the momentum, the spark that is needed to set the flame of integration ablaze has not happened yet this far, because apart from the routine conferences, things are a bit too quiet on the AU front. Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also doubles as that of Regional Integration. It is assumed that correspondingly, every AU member State would have created a Ministry in-charge of integration by now. If so, what are those ministries doing by way of sensitizing the citizenry in their respective countries about Africa's integration agenda?
The impediments confronting the Union are both internally and externally generated - some instances of bad governance, huge foreign debts, unfair terms of trade, crushing poverty, and endemic armed conflict which, together with other constraints, present a formidable threat to the progress of the African body. The dilemma posed by the dichotomy between state sovereignty and regional integration is another obstacle that cannot be overlooked. There are, also, the problems created by colonial/territorial boundaries.
Traveling across the border from one African country to the next remains a nightmare, with numerous road checkpoints where ordinary travelers and traders routinely have to part with money before border officials on duty allow them to get through.
By far the most outstanding and most crucial challenge confronting the AU and Africa's quest for integration, however, is the non-performance of the various Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on the continent. These include the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Community of Sahelo-Saharan States (COSASS), the Economic Community of Central African States ((ECCAS), and the Southern Africa
Development Commission (SADC) to mention but some. The reactivation and harmonization of the RECs is what would actually propel both the AU's integration process and Africa's economic development forward. Considering the large membership of the AU (53 nations) and other peculiar characteristics of the African continent, the RECs are essential building blocks whose effective function is a vital prerequisite to any successful integration process on the continent.
Ideally, there should be reliable rail and road networks connecting the regions to boost intra-continental trade, but unfortunately
Africa has not shaken its colonial-era economic patterns, with countries on the continent still trapped in a long-standing legacy dominated by trade with their former colonial rulers rather than trade with each other. For instance, whereas intra-African trade in 1998 stood at about 11.4 per cent, trade between African nations and the industrialized world as a whole was 61.2 per cent during the same period, out of which trade with the EU alone accounted for more than 40 per cent.
That picture remains pretty much the same even today with intra-African trade standing at about 15 per cent, as against 45 per cent trade with Europe. The particular issue of concern here is the prevailing terms of trade between Africa and the developed world which have been far from favourable to Africa. The hue and cry across the Continent about the Economic Partnership Agreements between Europe and Africa is not for nothing. It is the view of many that the world's wealthy nations would be seen as true development partners if they would support African countries to industrialise their economies and set them on the path of sustainable development, rather than dole out aid money.
Significantly, however, the question of external support from Europe and other parts of the developed world presents a double-edged sword. The exclusive support of a 'godfather' in the African scenario - France, Britain or Portugal, for instance - on the basis of past colonial ties, tends to produce zones of influence which could only exacerbate the prevailing trend of dependency and division on
the continent. Unfortunately, the godfather syndrome is already a reality in African politics, as almost all the countries have continued to depend on their former colonial masters for economic viability and for their security/defense needs, since independence. But in spite of its comforts, the godfather factor serves as a great disincentive to the continent's integration agenda. To a large extent, it is
responsible for the low level of trade and cooperation among African countries and, for that matter, the ineffectiveness of the RECs.
Karl Deutsche argued that groups of countries would integrate or come together to form unions when they are confronted with a
common threat (such as the devastating inter-state wars in the case of Europe). Although in Africa's particular circumstances there is
no history of bloody inter-state conflicts, there is nonetheless the combined scourge of poverty, unemployment, hunger and disease.
Arguably, the devastation and misery caused by these conditions surpasses that experienced by Europe in the two World Wars and should, therefore, suffice as a motivating factor or catalyst to bring African countries together to seek common solutions to the problems that afflict their people.
European integration began with the joint production of coal and steel, and with time spilled over into cooperation in other sectors
including security and defense. In Africa the manufacturing base is almost non-existent but this deficiency can be turned into an
opportunity if African governments, under the umbrella of the AU, unanimously declare an industrial revolution and work
collectively/consistently towards its realization. At one of their recent meetings in Sirte, Libya, in July 2009, AU leaders rightly
emphasized the need for increased collaboration in the agricultural sector as the continent's way out of the current global economic crisis. Committing more resources to agriculture would not only enable them to make food available for the teeming population, but would also generate jobs for the unemployed if pursued with the requisite commitment and consistency, devoid of lip service.
Agriculture is one area that could provide a springboard for the much needed activation of the RECs, and the heightened level of economic cooperation that has so far eluded the continent. African countries could begin integrating their economies in the agricultural sector since they are all essentially agrarian. The adoption of a strategy similar to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which would place emphasis on joint action in agricultural production and agro-processing would provide a logical starting point.
Here, again, the advantage is two-fold: it would enable each region on the continent to maximize the production of specific agricultural commodities based on the principle of comparative advantage, thereby streamlining/synchronizing the terrain for effective collaboration amongst the various sub-regions. In addition to enhancing food self-sufficiency on the continent, the system of interdependence thus created would help accelerate the continent's integration process. Why, for instance, should Mali import palm oil
from Indonesia for industrial use when it could get the commodity from Nigeria or Ghana at a comparatively cheaper cost. That is the kind of situation the RECs are meant to rectify so as to pave the way for increased intra-African trade and collaboration. A robust agricultural plan can also be used as a springboard to launch a successful industrialization programme on the Continent The apparent absence of intellectual interest in Africa's integration process is another inhibiting factor as far as the AU's progress is concerned. The theorizing and scholarly debates that characterized the evolution of European integration, and which served to refine the process, is completely absent in Africa's case. Academicians and scholars in every part of the continent need to come out with published works to generate healthy debates and sustain the interest of the citizenry in the integration process. Critics also point
out the absence of committed technocrats - an African 'Jean Monnet' or 'David Mitranny' - who would provide the vital inspiration and guidance that would give life to, and accelerate the continent's integration process.
Ghana and Africa recently celebrated the centenary of Kwame Nkrumah's birth. The ultimate dream of Kwame Nkrumah and the rest of the founding fathers of African unity was not only the creation of a United States of Africa, but above all guaranteeing the Continent's true independence by making it economically self-sufficient. The late Osagyefo preached that the only path to the actualization of this goal was for Africa to LOOK WITHIN rather than place reliance on external sources. Unfortunately, successive generations of Africa's leaders, in utter disregard of this guiding principle, have chosen to run after foreign investors whose ambitions and aspirations are not exactly the same as Africa's. Of course, in today's interdependent world Africa cannot act in isolation but the focus must remain intra-African.
For African governments the greatest challenge now is to demonstrate in practical terms their readiness to embark on a deliberate, sustained and practicable plan to transfer elements of state sovereignty to the newly established AU supranational institutions (since nationalism and integration are incompatible), as well as a pursuit of the progressive fusion of national economies, the removal of tariffs and trade barriers among African nations, the creation of a common market, and the progressive harmonization of their social policies. In all seriousness, the maxim for the 21st Century and beyond should be "The Prosperity of Ghana, Nigeria or South Africa is meaningless unless it is linked with the prosperity of the entire African continent." Indeed, if there is one thing that governments on the Continent should do in honour of the legacy of Kwame Nkrumah and the rest of the Founding Fathers of African Unity, this is it.
By Mohammed Nurudeen Issahaq