I had discussed in my previous article in this series the important question of “why”. In there we discovered this question may be interpreted to extract there from three different bases of our arguments. I love Africa, and you too understand the spirit of pan-Africanism that has been a fore front agenda of many independent African states. Among the many reasons as to why the process of unionization has taken longer than anticipated is one that still some states have not accepted that uniting as an Africa is in the interest of all. They fear that some more powerful African states are using the argument for one Africa as a veil for their hidden motive which they just don’t know.
As a proponent, I have taken it upon me to argue for the one Africa state. I split my question in to three interpretations that would aid me drive my argument home. Today, I respond to the first interpretation. That is, why does it have to be Africa and not any other continent? We may as well join the more mature blocks. Remember I chose to base my arguments on business and trade and how the unity benefits will trickle down to individuals far away from the continent’s negotiation table like me and you.
Generally, we cannot join the already established blocks because they don’t accept other states to freely join their trade block. As a matter of fact they formed such blocks so that they could exclude from them those nations that did not share with them their agenda of ‘united development for all’. But more, they encountered similar challenges that could best be tackled in unity. Though uniting posed the risk of a united fall, the happier end that could accrue from the bargaining strength achieved won the favor of the many opinion makers of that time. It is apparent that in conclusion it was the environment that the west countries were in that favored the formation of their unions.
The environment was similar if not less grievous than the one African states are living in. Therefore, it is in attempt to fight common problems that animals as well as humans form unions. Common problems for the nation often narrow down to individuals. Arguably, it is the fear of this common problems that lead to the formation of united faces amidst internal conflicts; from simple and informal togetherness like a gentlemen’s agreements in business to the other end of formal units like the European Union or the United States of America. So, as to why Africa, the response would be by looking at any common problems that we may have. Do we have any at all? Disease, poverty, worsening terms of trade, negative balance of payments, and many more problems of interest that affect individuals, nations and the entire continent argue more for unionization of Africa than they argued for unity of the European Union.
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