Rethinking Pan-Africanism: The Quest for Supra-State Formation and Authentic Development in Africa

Abstract

Pan-African ideology assisted African people to realise political independence and achieve national sovereignty in the time of colonialism. From 1900 to 1960, Pan-African ideology brought a dramatic change in the social, political, and cultural lives of African people and black diasporans who were living in Europe and North America. Pan-African ideology resolved the cultural and political questions of black people at the time of slavery and colonialism. However, since the 1960s the cultural, political, psychological, social, and scientific movements of Pan-Africanism have ceased and become stagnant, without the ability to properly address the economic and governance problems of the continent. And today, neo-colonial tendencies, from both the West and the East, continue to challenge the continent. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is three-fold: first, to suggest the possibility and potential of the neo-Pan-African movement for realising supra-national sovereignty in Africa; second, to show how rethinking Pan-African ideology can help to overcome the apparent economic crisis of Africa; and third, to capitalise on the significance of Pan-Africanism as a panacea to block neo-colonial tendencies in contemporary Africa. The study used interviews with key informants, books, and published articles as sources from which to draw important inferences.