The African Union (AU) is the backbone of Pan Africanism as reflected upon its formulation values and the dictates of its objectives that promote democratic practices, good governance and protecting human freedoms and rights in compliance with Internationally accepted standards. An African renaissance is only possible when the whole continent unites against bad political and economic practices and promotes institutions that ensure that the governed are the ultimate beneficiary of every country’s resources. These goals have taken far too long to be achieved even in the greater part of Africa because of our leaders’ hypocrisy and greediness. But in recent years, the long overdue dream of our forefathers has taking shape, in different forms but the root cause of all being the awareness that has arisen within the masses of people.
I should mention that it was very easy then for presidents and key political people in Africa to go up on big podiums and preach the gospel of Pan Africanism and at the same time reign with a heavy hand in their home country and still be regarded as Pan Africanists. In this computer age, tyrants and dictators in Africa are, and will continue to find it very difficult to use the same tactic of hiding behind the weakening membrane of sovereignty to terrorise their own people in the name of bringing ‘home grown’ solutions.
They use very sweet and noble words like ‘our solutions for our problems’, ‘no to imperialistic solutions’ but in most distressed and panic ridden states in Africa they are being used as shields to cushion the heavy hand from inquisition. In old days these were working disclaimers for them but the global village has now put them in the spotlight. In as much as they may try to re-engrave their self-torn names on the continental walk of fame, their true selves are always haunting and outweighing their verbal efforts. Gone are the days when presidents and security chiefs could afford to be two faced shielding their dark and ugly sides while upholding and celebrating an artificial image of good governance. Gone are the days when their own citizens would live in abject fear and repression, find ‘peace’ in those appalling conditions and never know what others out there are enjoying and how much freedom they are missing out on.
The tyrant’s evil deeds are now a click away from the world eye and blessed is this our generation; no matter how much they may try to victimise us from the urban centres of Harare to the deepest parts of the country and many others, the world is now in the know and there is not a single panacea that our murderers and their masters could now administer to redeem their battered images from the mud they dragged themselves in.
