by Neb Iritah Shenmira NABA

Since the earliest struggles for sovereignty of African states—marked by the creation of structures such as the Organization of African Unity (which later became the African Union) and the Economic Community of West African States—a new generation of leaders has been attempting to address the deep-seated aspirations of an African youth that is increasingly aware and demanding. However, this dynamic faces a major obstacle: the persistence of an ideological and institutional framework inherited from Western imperialism,a framework characterized by psychological alienation and intellectual contradictions. This deeply entrenched, empirical, and imperial system continues to influence governance mechanisms, educational models, and cultural and religious reference points, thereby hindering the true emergence of a new generation of elites among African people and their diaspora. It is a common tendency among our intellectuals and leaders to indulge in the illusion of emancipation through imitation, a phenomenon we shall refer to here as "Pan-Africanism."

This is a movement born in contradiction; for African elites, many of whom were educated within systems inherited from the colonial era, aspire to emancipation while simultaneously reproducing the very patterns they claim to transcend. Consequently, the acquisition of exogenous knowledge is not always accompanied by the critical capacity necessary to adapt it to African realities. The result is a form of identity transformation in which certain intellectuals and leaders, while African in their heritage, adopt frameworks of thought and modes of action that are external to their societies of origin.

At the very root of this system, one must recognize that it is a system devoid of principles or human values, at least from the perspective of African youth. If we view imperialism as a doctrine grounded in an ideology aimed at undermining the endogenous and indigenous systems of peoples often categorized as "people of color," the history of humanity teaches us that the convictions and ambitions of Indo-European peoples, along with their systems of thought, will invariably perceive the Black race as a mere herd of beings resembling humans, yet incapable of possessing true consciousness (spirit) or science (knowledge). The proof lies in the fact that our contemporary intellectuals and their predecessors, despite being highly qualified professionals in the fields of civilization and sustainable development, have done nothing but construct dreams and hopes for their own peoples from within lecture halls built upon those very same aforementioned convictions.

The masters wish to remain masters; yet the students, from the very moment they secured their scholarships have aspired to attain the status of those masters, simply by virtue of having mastered their masters' teachings: namely, acculturation. The worst part, however, is not limited merely to the mastery of the masters' ideals; rather that we are witnessing a peculiar metamorphosis among the students of the "white master"—a transformation occurring under the sway of forces and principles never explicitly taught to the student, yet which constitute the very bedrock of what was once considered the sole path to psychological liberation and intellectual emancipation: denaturalization. It is at this juncture that our people have witnessed the rise of a specific category of African men and women: individuals who, as the saying goes, possess "coconut heads": Black on the outside, but White on the inside. Regrettably aspiring to join the "club of masters", where the standard of admission remains light skin, an entirely new system is subsequently established to satisfy the ambitions of these individuals, who once believed they were learning from the white man for the ultimate benefit of their own people. Pan-Africanism is defined as a movement that aims to encourage and strengthen the bonds of solidarity among all indigenous peoples of Africa, as well as among all peoples of African descent. This ideology extends beyond Africans on the continent, enjoying a substantial base of support within the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe. The iconic figures of this movement were convinced that solidarity would enable the continent to realize its potential, namely to autonomously meet the needs of all its peoples. A crucial aspect of this, a genuine Pan-African alliance would empower African peoples to assert themselves on the global stage... Yet, Pan-Africanism has become nothing more than an unhealthy system devoid of African roots. Such, then, is the malady afflicting our African leaders and intellectuals.

Historically, the African-centric version of Pan-Africanism emerged as a response to colonial domination, championed by major figures such as Kwame Nkrumah, Captain Thomas Sankara, and Cheikh Anta Diop. It aimed to strengthen solidarity among African peoples and to enable the continent to achieve political, economic, and cultural autonomy rooted in our civilizational heritage as people of African descent.