I can think of four times in the fifty year or so history of post-colonial Africa in which the continent had one voice, and the same couple of countries – Ghana and South Africa – were the instigators. First with Ghana being the first country to gain independence in Africa in the late fifties. Then the united struggle against apartheid in South Africa garnered by the inspiring grace of Mandela. Then when the same country won the bid to host the first world cup on the nation, and finally when Ghana proved the only African football team worth anything.

If it is possible, why then do we find it so difficult to unite? I believe it is arrogance bred from subjugation. Every African nation wanting to prove they emerged strongest, most unscathed, most refined… from the colonialism era grasps at what makes their fellow Africans unworthy… Kenyans are too timid, Nigerians are too aggressive, Ethiopians are too proud, Egyptians are too angry, South Africans think they are better than everyone. We love it! Everyone else has an issue. The times we have been united are when we single out one country to support. So, we are not really united just rallying behind achievement of another for a brief period of time.

Noble as that is, it is inherently limiting. The African world cup we were so excited about was restrictive to Africans due to the high cost of transportation and the fact that tickets could only be purchased by credit cards… CREDIT CARDS! I could not buy a ticket at the airport in Nigeria a few years ago with a card when fifteen-year-old boys in the west were charging cigarettes to it. Please realize that Nigeria is in the top five banking powerhouses on the continent. Now does it not make the ‘African world cup’ idea slightly laughable when Africans could not purchase tickets to attend it? We are acting on models made for one country and trying to throw it over the entire continent – erroneous and bound to fail.

I am proud of the fact that we proved ‘Africa’ could host such a competition glitch *fingers crossed* free. But in a week, maybe a month after the curtains fall, Africa united would be an abandoned phrase. South Africa might make some important development deals but it would not filter to the rest of us. Because they have let us share their moment of glory, but we have done little else to extend the benefits of such an event to the rest of the continent. We did not advertise the rest of the continent as a healthy business environment or a wonderful tourist destination. We frankly ‘kaitaed’ the opportunity to properly brand ourselves when many countries on the continent are about to celebrate their golden jubilees.

Save for Ghana, we could not even put forward serious teams to contend! Another of the bloggers on this site has also been addressing the issues of a United Africa, and I focus on this topic because we must ingrain this mindset in our way of thinking and development planning.