Why Modern Pan-Africanism Must Focus on the Dignity of the African: Reflections Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Pan-Africanism is at the heart of many of the successes Africa has achieved in pre-and post-colonial times. It is a foundational, if not spiritual, ethos—one that has held together the dreams, aspirations, and common purpose of Africans across the globe. From the successful struggle to break the shackles of colonialism to the fight against slavery, the forces of Pan-Africanism are the roots that hold Africa's people together—bound by a common history and desire for a prosperous future. The strength of Pan-Africanism has created a strong consciousness amongst Africa's peoples—about what was wrong with how the world related with Africa and a solidarity to fight for justice and freedom and correct the erroneous assumptions about Africa.

The desire to create an African nation state meant that the initial Pan-Africanism struggle was defined mostly in political terms, and thus, political independence meant victory. It was hoped to be a gateway to achieving the next generation of pressing needs: economic progress and the provision of social services to all Africans. But there was something missing in this focus on the nation state and the yet-to-be-attained economic independence is reflected in the large levels of poverty that bite at the continent. By framing Pan-Africanism as a battle against a common third party, Africa gained political independence, but the fullness of the emancipation and independence did not entirely yield the promise of socioeconomic progress. As such, the continent continues to struggle with how to transform its political independence into meaningful opportunities for the self-actualization of Africans in and outside of Africa.

More than sixty years later, all of the political liberation struggles have folded into sovereign nation states. While Pan-Africanism has remained a construct of significant force, the next major milestones—defined in the African Union's Agenda 2063—still remain aspirational, and the means to achieve them are even more complex, creating an urgency for solutions—especially amidst the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. We have often spoken of Pan-Africanism as a notion that positions the African continent on one side of a debate with the rest of the world on the other. Historically, this made sense in battles against colonialism, where the challenger was identifiable. But the future of Pan-Africanism must be about putting the African in the midst of a conversation that is about Africans and their dignity.

This paper argues that the next generation of Pan-Africanism—what we call modern Pan-Africanism—must focus on settling the unfinished business of economic independence. It must place the African at the center of its cause and see the achievement of wellbeing for persons of African descent the world over as its goal. Modern Pan-Africanism must renegotiate the social contract to ensure that the value of African life is raised in the estimation of both Africans and non-Africans. The goals of leaders at national, regional, and global levels must shift from power to service. This must be a push for the dignity of the African life and must seek to make the attainment of economic and social progress the business of all collective efforts. Bolstering this dignity should concern all Africans and imbue all of humanity with a great sense of impatience with the status quo. In this new model of modern Pan-Africanism, public resources must be managed for the benefit of all, leadership must frontload ethics and values, and the state must be a facilitator, enabler, and provider of the necessities for decent and dignified living.

This modern Pan-Africanism must question how a politically independent Africa will provide for the needs and priorities of the African woman, man, girl, and boy.

Situating the African in modern Pan-Africanism

COVID-19 has shined the spotlight on African development. The behavior of individuals has been at the heart of government measures to stem the spread of the pandemic. Keeping people at home via lockdowns has highlighted the issue of food security as well as the need for social...