Credit/Reuters
Over the fanfare of the last few weeks, Africans across the world united to support all the African teams at the FIFA World Cup 2022. It’s been heartwarming to see Africa put up a united front on the world stage.
“We support all the African teams and I think they support us too. That’s really nice… It was fantastic, it’s also nice to see all of Africa standing shoulder to shoulder like that.”
Kalidou Koulibaly – Captain, Senegal
These scenes of unity we saw in Qatar should be repeated long after the final goal is scored. When we can see that we have more in common than the differences that separate us, that is when Africans can stand together and therefore, stand strong.
Just as the football players across Africa fought hard to bring recognition to their respective countries and to Africa as a whole, let us fight to break the narrative of Africa being a disadvantaged continent and instead take charge of our futures.
“Sports has the power to inspire and it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sports can create hope where once there was only despair.”
-late President Nelson Mandela of South Africa
The Stakes:
The world is rapidly developing in the 21st century, and so is Africa. Yet data suggests that even under the most optimistic scenario, over 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa will continue to live in extreme poverty. Because, on the African continent, progress is always running behind the growing working age population. African governments have not yet managed to translate GDP growth into economic opportunities for citizens.
The Path Forward:
African unity is essential; not necessarily under some defined structure but instead through coordinated cooperation and support through the medium of grassroot African civil societies.
While Africa may be a developing continent and may have a long way to go, each country in the region does have its own strengths.
For African countries to work towards building the Africa they want, the first thing they need to do is use their comparative advantages to work towards being able to finance their own activities. The importance of African unity for development is that this can further help African countries ensure that foreign infrastructure investments are not done through debt trap diplomacy, which is slowing down proper economic growth.
Fortunately, most nations in Africa are rich in natural resources; they can use those resources to trade within Africa as an effective way of generating prosperity on the continent. To date, African countries have always needed financial assistance from foreign countries. By standing together like we’ve proven we can, we can build a more autonomous regional economy.
Not only should we stand shoulder to shoulder on the ground, but we should also think of unification within Africa in a vertical sense: vertical integration is pivotal to taking control of the supply chain and keeping it within the region so we reap the benefits of our own abundant resources.
Our next blog will explore this prospect of natural resource trading within Africa. Stay tuned!
