Recently, I watched a viral Video of French President Emmanuel Macron demanding silence from a loud audience of African students during a culture and youth session at Nairobi University in Kenya.
Despite macrons disciplining viral video and the Nairobi marathon with the Kenyan two times Olympic gold winner Eliud Kipchoge and 25 Billion US dollar pledge, mostly, what caught my attention was his statement claiming to be a true Pan African despite being a European.
Mr. Macron stated “We are the true Pan Africanists” we believe that Africa is a continent and that this continent has an enormous amount to build, it is the youngest in the world and therefore has an extraordinary demographic dividend, it is the one with the greatest growth in the world”.
Macron’s Pan African claim received public outrage, street demonstrations, diatribe and online condemnation across Africa;
I was equally compelled to analyse Macron’s claim, sentence by sentence, given that Macron is not an ordinary president of any Europe country but a president of France ‘a coloniser’ and G7 and veto member in the United Nations Security Council where Africa has no representation.
I kept wondering, what he meant by saying “We are the true pan-Africanists and we believe that Africa is a continent?
Is it because his colonial predecessors scrambled and partitioned Africa or probably they still consider the shared borderlines as territories?
I wish to correct the French president and other like minds that historically, biblically, scientifically and geographically Africa is the oldest continent with the oldest human skull of 315,000 years at Jebel Irhoud archaeological sites in Morocco.
Lest we forget, that the landmass surrounded by Indian Ocean in East, Atlantic Ocean in West, Mediterranean Sea in North and Red sea in North East was called Alkebulan before being named Africa by the Romans in 146 BCE.
The continent has the oldest historical civilizations of Kemet, Kush, Nok, Aksum and Aethiopia, therefore the undertone despising gestures in pan African claim by Macron undermines these historical facts.
Am prompted to I join Ghanaian Journalist David Hundeyin among others to dismiss the Pan African claims as we celebrate the Africa Day 2026.
Most notably, such claims do not only undermine Africa but also serve as an opportunity to reimagine the concept of African renaissance as the World restructures into the new world order.
On this Africa day, we must also reflect as to why Africa is still undermined, despite its rich history, demographic dividends, natural resources and geographical positioning.
Honestly, behind closed doors, we must ask ourselves, how Africa with a population of 1.5 billion people is at a total GDP of $ 2.8 Billion yet France a country of 70 million people has a GDP of $ 3 Trillion.
Therefore, the Africa day is an opportunity to deeply reflect and take action towards the unanswered hard questions and realities that probably lead to undermining undertones, misconceptions, misguided perspectives and narratives.
Realistically, the Africa day has come at a time, when the continent is plugged into fresh Ebola outbreak in DRC, civil unrest in South Africa, DRC and Sudan, rising fuel prices in Kenya among other issues.
Fortunately, Africa day equally comes at a time when some parts of Africa are reducing on foreign dependency (case in point is Namibia) while others are embracing economic integration programs, improving bilateral and multilateral relations and blossoming democratic presidents in states like Botswana, Senegal, Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia and Namibia.
Macron’s statement notwithstanding, Africa’s major issues in the face of the world are (I) Debt crisis (II) Global tainted negative image and (III) Permanent exclusion at United Nations Security Council and must resolved by the African Men and Women themselves.
First and foremost on the issue of debt crisis, African countries are collectively borrowing a tune of $ 155 US Billion and total sovereignty commercial debt standing at $ 1.2 trillion, as a result most nations spend large sums of internal revenue collections on debt servicing.
Moving forward, Africa must utilise its G20 position to negotiate a reduction of borrowing rates by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Alternatively, African states need to pay off foreign debts or reduce on unnecessary borrowing, because it’s only a continent that is economically independent that can negotiate its values and interests at the global table.
For instance, Namibia and Botswana have demonstrated this, by paying off all its International Monetary Fund (IMF) debts to zero balance taking great strides towards gaining economic independence and overcoming financial neo colonialism, therefore, they can make any sovereign decision without foreign interruptions.
Africa can leverage on its renewable energy capacity in solar, geothermal, cobalt, uranium, lithium and manganese mineral resources to negotiate equitable terms in at the global stage.
Africa must shift from being the world’s largest raw materials exporter and instead add value to its resources into high quality products, thereby building its economic muscles to gain substance in the structuring of the global order.
Secondly, on global tainted image, African media outlets must effectively and efficiently encounter the narrative control by western media in misreporting about Africa.
African states needs to reinstate democracy and the rule of law, combat corruption, abuse of human rights and chronic poverty that have plugged the continent into terrible international image.
Thirdly, Africa must continue to restlessly demand a seat at the UN Security Council to advance continents perspectives on peace building, finance and global economic architectures and security.
As African nations join the new world multi polar orders such as BRICS, South South cooperation, NAAM and US’s Board of Peace, the African leaders must front a unified voice and interests.
Among other efforts, Africa needs to upgrade from merely organising colorful summits and conferences into action and deliverables, hence forth the continent will become a major architect of global governance.
African states jointly need to remove trade embargos, travel visas and restrictions to enable regional supply chains for the success of the Africa free continental trade area (AfCFTA) in fostering regional integration and economic sovereignty.
Africa needs to undertake serious benchmark studies of how China and India economically managed to position themselves as key players in the geopolitical landscape despite being semi-colonised and colonized by the British.
Africa day is an opportunity for key stakeholders to re-arrange the African academic circular to re-align the continent’s education system with the charter for African cultural renaissance.
It’s also high time for African presidents to desist from being paraded in a group like primary children in Washington and Beijing by a single president.
As we celebrate the Africa Day, it should not be about merry making but a moment to reflect on the past, the present and the agenda 2063.
Wherefore, as we celebrate the Africa Day, it’s high time to practically reimagine Chiekh Anta Diop’s concept ‘African renaissance’ as the world gradually restructures into a new world order.
Robert Kigongo is a sustainable development analyst.
as we celebrate the Africa Day, it’s high time to practically reimagine Chiekh Anta Diop’s concept ‘African renaissance’ as the world gradually restructures into a new world order.
