Africa Day: Stop hiding behind the past, start fixing the present

May 25, 2025 in Editorial, Opinion by Editor

Today, as the continent marks Africa Day, commemorating 62 years since the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), later renamed the African Union (AU), we pause to reflect—not only on how far we’ve come, but also on how far we still have to go.

In Addis Ababa in 1963, a generation of brave leaders stood tall and declared Africa’s right to self-determination and unity. They laid the foundation for Pan-Africanism and kindled the hope of a continent free from the shackles of colonialism and apartheid. Their courage, clarity, and conviction gave the continent the moral high ground in the struggle for political liberation.

But over six decades later, too many African leaders continue to invoke the pain of colonialism as a convenient cover for their own failures. Instead of building on the dreams of the founding fathers, many have entrenched systems of governance that are oppressive, corrupt, and hostile to accountability.

Africa’s biggest challenge today is no longer colonialism—it is the failure of leadership.

Repression, economic mismanagement, rising inequality, and the erosion of democratic space are not colonial relics; they are the handiwork of today’s arrogant and unaccountable elites. Across the continent, dissent is criminalised, elections are manipulated, state institutions are captured, and public resources are looted with impunity.

This is not the legacy of foreign domination. It is the product of local betrayal.

Yes, the legacy of colonial exploitation still casts a long shadow on Africa’s development. The call for reparative justice, as emphasised by the Pan-African Parliament this year, is both legitimate and necessary. The global North must acknowledge its role in the historical disenfranchisement of Africa and Africans in the diaspora. But reparations alone will not fix Africa. No cheque from Europe or apology from the West will solve the governance crisis we see in many of our capitals.

The task of reclaiming Africa’s promise lies squarely with us.

We cannot keep demanding justice from former colonial powers while refusing to deliver justice at home. We cannot shout “sovereignty” in international fora while gagging the press, detaining activists, and weaponising the law against our own people. We cannot talk of dignity while citizens go hungry, youth remain unemployed, and health systems crumble under the weight of theft and neglect.

Africa’s future will be won by those who fix their countries, not those who deflect blame.

Today, the Pan-African Parliament promises to be the voice of the African people. That voice must be loudest in calling out impunity and bad governance. If the AU and its organs want to be relevant, they must hold their member states accountable—not just to grand declarations and summits, but to the everyday realities of ordinary Africans who still wait for roads, water, jobs, and justice.

Africa is not short of potential. But potential means nothing without purpose—and purpose is meaningless without action. As we honour the sacrifices of the past, let us not forget the urgency of now. Africa does not need more speeches. It needs leaders who serve, not rule; who listen, not lecture; who build, not loot.

Until we start demanding more from our leaders—and from ourselves—Africa Day will remain an annual ritual of rhetoric rather than a celebration of real progress.

The time for excuses is over. Africa must rise, not in slogans, but in substance.