May 25 of every year in Africa is Africa Day. The day is set aside by
the African Union (AU) to commemorate the founding of the Organization
of African Unity (OAU). Throughout this week, which is also termed
#AfricaWeek, Face2Face Africa will be sharing some iconic speeches by
the founding fathers of the Organization of African Unity as a build up
to Africa Day.
Here’s
Nigeria’s first Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa’s speech at
the inauguration of the Organization of African Unity in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia in 1963.
First, I want to express the thanks of my country to your
Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Majesty’s Government and the People of
Ethiopia for the warm reception which they have given to my delegation
and myself. The presence of almost all the Heads of African States and
Governments in Addis Ababa is a great tribute to your Imperial Majesty
personally. The history of the new Africa will always have your name in
the forefront, because the unity which we are trying to build in this
conference is going to have quite a lot to do with the name of the
capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
Mr. President, His Imperial Majesty sustained a double
loss not long ago in the death of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress, and
Prince Sahle Sellasie. During your period of sorrow which you have
sustained with very great fortitude, our hearts were with you, Mr.
President, may I ask all of you, Your Excellencies, to rise and observe
two minutes silence in memory of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress, and
Prince Sahle Sellasie.
Mr. President, it is very difficult, after so many
eloquent speeches which have exhaustively dealt with the subject, for me
not to make some repetition of the points made. However, sir, I will
try to explain the views and the stand of Nigeria as far as African
unity is concerned. I feel that the mere presence of all the Heads of
African States and Governments here shows the success of the Conference,
and I have no doubt that all of us will leave Addis Ababa satisfied
that we have done something.
It has always been our view in Nigeria that personal
contacts and the exchange of ideas are the basis of mutual
understanding. I am pleased to say that, from now on, there will be no
question of the so- called Monrovia and Casablanca Blocs. We all belong
to Africa.
There have been quite a lot of views on what we mean by
African unity. Some of us have suggested that African unity should be
achieved by political fusion of the different states in Africa; some of
us feel that African unity could be achieved by taking practical steps
in economic, educational, scientific and cultural co—operation, and by
trying first to get the Africans to understand themselves before
embarking on the more complicated and more difficult arrangement of
p0litical union. My country stands for the practical approach to the
unity of the African continent. We feel that, if this unity is to last,
we must start from the beginning. Nigeria’s stand is that if we want
this unity in Africa we must first agree to certain essential things:
The first is that African States must respect one another. There must be
acceptance of equality by all the States. No matter whether they are
big or small, they are all sovereign and their sovereignty is
sovereignty. The size of a state, its population or its wealth should
not be the criterion. It has been pointed out many times that the
smaller States in Africa have no right to exist because they are too
small. We in Nigeria do not agree with this view. It was unfortunate
that the African States have been broken up into different groups by the
Colonial powers. In some cases, a single tribe has been broken up into
four different States. You might find a section in Guinea, a section in
Mali, a section in Sierra Leone and perhaps a section in Liberia. That
was not our fault because, for over 6o years, these different units have
been existing, and any attempt, on the part of any African country to
disregard this fact might bring trouble to this continent. This is the
thing we want to avoid and, for this reason, Nigeria recognizes all the
existing boundaries in Africa, and recognizes the existence of all the
countries in Africa. This I think, Sir, is the basis of the unity which
we in Nigeria pray for on our continent.
As I have said, we have to start from the beginning. I
have listened to speeches in this conference, and there have been only
very few members who spoke on the desirability of having a political
union. Almost all the speeches indicate that a more practical approach
is much preferred by the majority of the delegation. I am glad to say
that the stand we have taken right from the beginning is the stand of
nearly almost all the countries in this conference. It appears from the
speeches as if we were just sitting idle and doing nothing towards the
achievement of this unity. For our part, in Nigeria, we are already
co-operating with some of our neighbours. For example, the other day, my
friend, the President of Malagasy said he could not contact Lagos by
telephone from Cotonou. This is no longer the case. Now he can speak
direct. What we are trying to do is to link up with all our neighbours
by means of telecommunications and by exchanging more postal facilities;
and we are already entering into bilateral agreements with many of our
neighbours. We are discussing this matter with the Republic of the
Cameroun, discussing our common problems with Tchad, Congo Leopoldville,
with Dahomey, and also we have direct link with Togo. We hope to
continue in this work because we feel that, if we are to unite, it is
important that our communications system should be excellent and
transport facilities should be such that it would enable us to move
freely around, to move not only ourselves but to move our goods to
different parts of the continent.
Also, we have been trying in Nigeria to join other states
in trying to discuss common problems—educational and scientific
problems.
We feel that it is very important for the nationals of
different African countries to have the opportunity of mixing at all
levels, not only at the Heads of States and Governments level, not only
at the Foreign Ministers level, but also at all other levels. Let our
peoples travel different countries in Africa; let them get to know
themselves d to understand themselves. This, I am sure, will bring great
understanding among all the peoples of this continent. So far, our
communications system is not what we would like it to be; our transport
is bad. This is riot our fault. It was the fault of the Colonial Powers
because they designed everything for their own purposes. It is up to us
now—those of us who shape the destiny of our countries- -to do what we
can to improve matters.
Many of the speakers have told us that mere resolutions,
mere condemnations is not enough; it is time for action. I would call
upon the conference that we now start on the real work. It is in our
hands to build, to create and to develop a new Africa, which all of us
are anxious to do.
Now, Mr. President, the Hon. President of the Sudan, I
think, when he spoke, told us that we should be frank. I think it was
the President of Malagasy who said that we in Africa do not want to
speak the truth. We have a saying in Nigeria, which is that ‘Truth is
bitter’. Mr. President, I want to be frank; I want to tell the bitter
truth. To my mind we cannot achieve this African unity as long as some
African countries continue to carry on subversive activities in other
African countries.
Sir, many of the members have spoken very strongly on the
decolonization of the continent. I want to say that we in Nigeria are
prepared to do anything to secure the freedom of the continent of
Africa, There has been a suggestion that we should pull our resources
together, that we should make arrangements, if necessary, to help the
nationalists in different countries in Africa, which are still
dependent, to fight their way to independence. We in Nigeria are
prepared to do anything towards the liberation of all African countries.
I have observed that when we give assistance to another country which
is fighting for its independence, some of us are in the habit of
imposing obligations on those States. That is wrong. If we give
assistance to African people in any dependent territory, we should not
ask for any obligation on their part; because that would come almost to
the same point that many of the speakers have made that they would only
accept foreign aid without any strings attached. I do not believe that
any aid, no matter from where it comes, is without strings attached to
it. Let us not fall into the same trap. If we assist any dependent
territory in Africa, we must see to it that we do not attach conditions
to our assistance. This is very, very important if we want to establish
the solidarity of the continent of Africa, to make sure that any of
assistance we give is free.
It is good, Sir, that we have a common pool, but a
conference like this cannot discuss the details of such an organization;
and it is our view that, immediately after leaving this conference, or
before we should appoint a committee—a standing committee—to go into the
details of this matter. On the question of colonialism and racial
discrimination, I am afraid that we in Nigeria will never compromise.
Now, I Come to a very vital matter, which is the
development of continent. The African continent is very rich in
resources but, unfortunately these resources are not developed yet. We
are born at a very difficult time: we have not the necessary capital,
the necessary equipment, or the necessary know-how for the development
of our continent. Therefore, we find it absolutely necessary to rely on
outsiders for the development of the African territories. I would like
to tell the conference that we must take every care to know whom we
invite to assist in the development of our resources, because there is a
fear, which is also my personal fear, that, if we are not careful, we
may have colonialism in a different form. Colonialism can take many
different forms. Our countries can be colonized economically, if we are
not careful. Just as we have fought political domination, it is also
important that we fight against economic domination by other countries.
Let us not forget that we in Africa are part of the
world. We have our international obligations as well. Whatever we do, we
cannot isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. Therefore, in all
that we do, and in all that we say, we should be careful because we
belong to one human society. Mr President, I always tell people that I
do not believe in African personality, but in human personality. The
African is a human being and, therefore, we have to see to the
development of the human personality in Africa. I think any talk of
African personality is based on inferiority complex. I do not regard any
human being—red, white, brown, yellow or green—as superior to me. I
regard myself as equal to anybody. I am a human being.
Now, some people have suggested, and this is a thing
which is already underway, the establishment of an African Development
Bank. I hope that, when the Ministers of Finance of different countries
of Africa meet in Khartoum, they will be able to produce something which
should be of benefit to all of us. Also, a suggestion has been made for
the establishment of an African Common Market. This is a very good
idea; but I must say that we in Nigeria feel that it is a very
complicated matter. We want an African Common Market. But, can we do it
by taking the continent as a whole? Or can we do it by certain groupings
in Africa? What appears to us to be more practical is that we should
have an African Common Market based on certain groupings. We are
thinking, Sir, of a North African grouping, which will include the
Sudan; a West African grouping which will extend to the River Congo; and
an East African grouping, which will include the Central African
countries. If we base our examination on these groupings, I think we
will arrive at a very successful establishment of African Common Market,
because I think it is good for the trade Africa. For example, the
inter-State trade in Africa is 10%, while 90% is done with countries
outside Africa. There is no reason why we should not increase the
inter-State trade on this continent. I think, Sir, that if we are able
to establish an African Common Mark we shall overcome many difficulties
and we shall be in a Position to stand on our own in relation to the
other parts of the world. My fear of our being colonised will disappear
if we are able to establish this African Common Market.
The question of disarmament was raised by several
speakers. I think all of us feel strongly about this question. Although
some feel that disarmament can never be achieved, still others feel that
it is most important that the great Powers will continue to talk about
it; because the more they talk about it, the less danger there would be
of an open clash. I am glad that they have seen fit to invite some of
the African countries to participate in their disarmament talks. The
most essential thing which is desirable is to effect disarmament. It is
desirable to ban nuclear testing; it is most important that we exercise
every possible influence we can upon the great Powers to destroy those
bombs which they have already got. If there is a war now, there would be
nothing left—everything would go. We are now just starting to develop
our country. The mere fact that Africa has been declared a nuclear-free
zone will not make Africa free in the event of a world war. If there is
war, we in Africa will be directly involved. It is our concern that
there should be peace in the world, and that there should be
understanding among the great Powers. Some people have suggested that we
should organize ourselves into a Defence Bloc. Well, Mr. President and
Your Excellencies, all of us have been talking about the bad nature of
the armament race. It has been suggested that we should embark on an
arms race in Africa. All of us know very well that we are at present
incapable of joining in such a race. Our idea is that we should not be
talking about an arms race. All we should talk about, Sir, is how to
stop it, and I would not suggest that we should join in that race at
all.
A suggestion was also made that we should come together
as a bloc in the United Nations. Well, that is a very good idea; but I
must tell the conference that we in Nigeria hate the idea of blocs, and
we do not like it. If we can find some kind of name for it, such as
African committee or an African ‘something’, it will be much better,
because the whole idea of blocs is revolting. I think we should try to
find better names for these different groupings. I think that we have
been working for sometime now in the United Nations where our different
representatives meet and matters of common interest. May I suggest to
the conference that it is time now that we find a permanent small
secretariat or such an African Committee in New York? That does not
mean, of course, that we will instruct our delegates to close their eyes
the wider issues of world problems. But, as a Continent which has
suffered for so long and also as a people who have suffered for so long,
I think we have to do everything to get our proper position in the
United Nations Organization. Some of us have suggested that we should
seek greater representation in the Security Council and also in all the
bodies of the United Nations Organization. Well, this has been our stand
all the years we have been independent. I said so in New York; I said
it in Monrovia. It is absolutely essential that the African continent
must have more appropriate representation in the Security Council and
all the bodies of the United Nations, because we have more to gain
thereby. That world
organization, I have always maintained, is a sure guarantee of the independent sovereignty of our African states.
Mr. President, many of the points have been made. Many
members have said that we cannot leave Addis Ababa without a charter. I
hope we shall not leave here without some kind of charter. I hope our
Foreign Ministers will produce a charter before we leave this city.
May I thank Your Imperial Majesty again and may I ask the
conference to forgive me for being a little bit frank. I think that is
the only way by which we could achieve understanding among ourselves. It
is important that, when we meet on an occasion like this, we try to
tell each other the hard facts, the truth about matters, instead of
speaking about them behind. It is most important that we become frank in
Africa. We are just beginning to know ourselves; and I am very happy,
Mr President, for having the opportunity o meet the very distinguished
members from all parts of Africa. I hope that this conference will pave
the way to the unity and solidarity of the African continent.”
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