We begin by paying tribute to our Warrior Baba Herukhuti. He was the Elder of Galaxyafiwe and leaves a legacy straddling the spiritual, creative and political spheres over several decades. Our condolences go out to his family. May his Spirit Rise after a FINAL JUDGEMENT in the counsel of Asar.
It’s Afrika Liberation Month. On May 25th 1963, designated Afrika Liberation Day (ALD), the independent heads of government met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to establish the Organisation of Afrikan Unity. Although the resultant organisation ended up being a compromise between competing blocs – the more radical Casablanca group (consisting of Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Libya, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria) and the more moderate Monrovia group (Nigeria, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Liberia, Sudan, Togo, and Somalia), (1) they did agree on some key purposes:
(a) To promote the unity and solidarity of the African States;
(b) To coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa;
(c) To defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity and independence;
(d) To eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa… (2)
While the continent is now nominally independent, most astute observers wouldn’t consider it liberated. In fact, the years the liberation emphasis declined and by 1994 the OAU dissolved its Liberation Committee. Since that time the word liberation hardly ever appears in any official OAU resolutions and in most it doesn’t appear at all. With the inauguration of the Afrikan Union, the body that replaced the OAU in 2002, Afrika Liberation Day became Afrika Day – giving another meaning to the term ‘taking an L’. (3)
Yet in recent years there have been flickers of hope, especially in the western part of the continent in places Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso and also Senegal, though the depth of these movements has yet to be confirmed. (4)
In contrast, the Caribbean region appears to slipping further into regression with CARICOM’s ignominious role in Haiti and Antigua conspiring with international finance capital to ethnically cleanse Barbuda and rob it of its sovereignty. (5)
An ongoing debate is which ideological vehicle should drive the global liberation movement. To many, the natural response would be Pan-Afrikanism, although it has come under criticism from reactionaries in the USA and Professors in the UK. However, it is often the case that such critics tend to attack and specific (and self-serving) version of Pan-Africanism and also tend not to offer alternative viable visions of liberation. (6)
Nevertheless, with advocates such as Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Osgayefo Kwame Nkrumah and Omowale Malcolm X with the applications through mass organisation or state power, there is still merit in Pan-Africanism.
The foundation of Pan-Africanism remains in the grassroots yet its organisations increasingly find themselves having to overcome ambivalence or even “disdain” from the wider community. In general and antagonistic attitudes to leaders and leadership in particular. (7)
ALD UK EVENTS 2025
25, 26 & 27/05: 11am-10pm. The Atrium , 99 Hucknall Road, Nottingham, Nottingham, England NG5 1QZ. Themes: natural organic agriculture, African holistic health preventions and treatments, science and technology, inventions, history, current developmwnts and industrial production and services. Speakers include: Cecil Gutzmore, Emmanuel Amevor, Vasco Stevenson, Kwame Anani, Sistah Shanice and Robin Walker. £10 (1 day). £15 (3 days). Info: 07496 777 397
25/05: PACM. The Grand African Renaissance Pt. 3. 6pm-8pm BST. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuBgShpOAlw. Panel Reasoning: Burkina Faso, Mais. Aiger & Senegal-What’s The Deal? Panel: Bro. Glenroy Watson, Sis. Affiong L. Affiong, Dr Chukwunyere Kamalu, Sis. Nana Salifu.
26/05: All African People’s Revolutionary Party (England). 2Pm GMT. Invited speakers: Comrade Patrice Laboissiere – Haiti, Sis. Shadia – Sudan, Comrade Myriam – UK and Senegal, Bro. Paul Matsemela – Swaliland.
27/05: PACM. PACM. The Grand African Renaissance Pt. 3. 10am-9pm. The West Indian Centre, 74 Carmoor Road, Manchester. M13 0FB. Keynote Speaker: Bro. Kemoy Walker. £10 (Under 16s Free). Info: 07510 249 828
(1) South African History Online (03/04/11) Organisation of African Unity (OAU). . https://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/organisation-african-unity-oau
(2) Tchioffo Kodjo (14/03/12) OAU Charter, Addis Ababa, 25 May 1963. http://www.peaceau.org/en/article/oau-charter-addis-ababa-25-may-1963
(3) Phyllis Johnson (01/06/15) MISSION ACCOMPLISHED – Julius K. Nyerere, the Liberation Committee, and Mt Kilimanjaro. https://www.sardc.net/en/southern-african-news-features/mission-accomplished-julius-k-nyerere-the-liberation-committee-and-mt-kilimanjaro/
(4) Adetutu Sobowale (18/05/24) Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger form new confederation after exiting ECOWAS. https://punchng.com/burkina-faso-mali-niger-form-new-confederation-after-exiting-ecowas/; Naija247news (17/05/24) Senegal’s Prime Minister Sonko Suggests Closing French Military Bases and Calls for Sovereignty. https://naija247news.com/2024/05/17/senegals-prime-minister-sonko-suggests-closing-french-military-bases-and-calls-for-sovereignty/
(5) Kevin Edmonds (10/04/24) CARICOM, Regional Arm of the Core Group, Sells Out Haiti Again. https://www.blackagendareport.com/caricom-regional-arm-core-group-sells-out-haiti-again; Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (13/05/24) Can we save Barbuda? https://alkebulan.org/2024/05/13/aswag-384-can-we-save-barbuda/
(6) Dwayne Wong (Omowale) (13/11/19) Why Pan-Africanism Matters: Lessons from ADOS vs. FBA. https://dwomowale.medium.com/why-pan-africanism-matters-lessons-from-ados-vs-fba-c643223b5672; Kehinde Andrews (2018) Back To Black: Retelling Black Black Radicalism for the 21st Century. Zed Books. p. 296. Andrews notes: “I have always been invested in Pan-Africanism as the solution to Black Struggle. That the opposite was true was a difficult but necessary realisation.”
(7) Claudius Adisa Steven (2019) The Evolution Ideas And Practices Among African-Centred Organisations In The UK 1975-2015 in Hakim Adi (Ed) Black British History: New Perspectives. Zed Books. p. 159.
we ask the question:
How close are we to Liberation?
1) Why did the OAU dissolve its Liberation Committee in 1994?
2) Is Pan-Afrikanism the right vehicle for liberation? Do its critics have any viable alternatives?
3) Are west Afrika and the Caribbean now on opposite trajectories?
4) How can grassroots activists overcome community ambivalence or even “disdain”?
Our Special Guests:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.
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