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RAMBLE in the JUNGLE

United States of Africa?

By Wanaku Verdzekov · · Africa & the Gulf of Guinea

Date note: Undated Facebook post, estimated to about 2020.

Tags: pan-africanism, au, colonial-constructs

A United States of Africa is a "dream". Why?

Logistically speaking, managing 11 million square miles (3.5 million of which are the Sahara Desert) is a CHALLENGE for all "Africans", especially when Africa outsources the building of the African Union's official headquarters to China.

Question: so no "African" could construct that building (plus all the football stadiums China is constructing in various African countries, or the roads, railways, etc.)?

If you ask me, the only government systems Africa has known and used on its people are colonial, exploitative systems. Note: almost everything in colonial systems was designed to EXPLOIT, not to help or build the African community.

What's the point? Africa needs to RETHINK government systems, and should stay as far away from COLONIAL CONSTRUCTS as possible.

Example: when a district officer dressed in French military colours and style is standing in my grandpa's bedroom on the hills of Ibalikumato, where does their conversation begin or end? Nowhere. Because that is a "colonial construct situation". GrandPa won't have it. So the district officer is politely asked to leave, and to come back as a true African.

What the "uniforms" do is accentuate the ACTING. All Africans perpetuating colonial constructs are poor actors in the game of NEO-COLONIZATION. And that makes the climb to the dream (a United States of Africa) steeper.

Pardon the ramble.

TM

— Wanaku Verdzekov

Reading & grammar

Reading level: Gr 9–11

Understand

  1. Why does the author call a United States of Africa a "dream"?
  2. What example does the author give about the AU headquarters?
  3. What happens in the Ibalikumato bedroom example?

Grammar focus: numbers inside parentheses. "11 million square miles (3.5 million of which are the Sahara Desert)": parentheses add supporting detail without breaking the main sentence.

Try it: Write two sentences that use parentheses to add a figure or example.

Discuss: Should African countries build major public buildings with their own engineers, even if it costs more? Argue.