South African opposition parliamentarian, Julius Malema, has called on Africa to unite and operate as one people.
He said the division of the continent into smaller countries was carried out to satisfy the interest of the West, because a united Africa was a threat to them.
Mr Malema, therefore, urged African governments and people to work hard to develop the continent to fend off any destructive tendencies from external forces.
He made the call at an event dubbed "Arise Ghana Dialogue with Julius Malema", organised by a pressure group, Arise Ghana, in Accra last Tuesday.
The Leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party in South Africa said the ideals of Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, to establish a united Africa was the solution to the continent's current predicaments, rather than the demarcation carried out by former colonial powers to exploit the continent.
He said the political freedom Dr Nkrumah and the generation after him achieved would be meaningless without Africa's economic freedom.
"We must achieve what Nkrumah saw.
Even if we don't achieve One Africa in our lifetime, we must lay a solid foundation for its achievement.
“One Africa is a threat to Europe and America.
The political freedom of Africa is meaningless without its economic freedom," Mr Malema added.
The symposium
He said “the unity of Africa must start from Ghana and end in South Africa because Africa always follows the leadership of Ghana”.
An Africa with one president, one currency, one military command centre and one parliament was a threat to Western powers, Mr Malema said.
"Imagine the currency of Africa against the US dollar.
Ours will be based on the natural resources on the continent. On what will the currency of France be based?
"France cannot even produce anything for its survival.
The whole soccer team of France is Africa, that is why we all support France when they play football; we see the blackness of the team.
That is how important we are to Europe and America and all those who support neocolonialists," he added.
Economic freedom Mr Malema further called for a new order that would see South Africa spearhead the economic freedom of Africa by reclaiming lands and resources from white settlers in that country.
"The economic freedom of Africa will start in South Africa; we want our lands and we mean no apologies when we say we want our lands, and we want it back without paying a dime.
“Anyone in possession of a stolen item is a criminal; therefore, anyone in possession of stolen South African land is a thief and a criminal that should be identified and searched.
They may think they have divided us, but one day Africa’s unity will be achieved," he said.
Mr Malema also said that the mineral resources in Africa such as gold, iron ore and copper, among others, belonged to the land.
“That is why when they came to Africa they did not steal our men, but they stole the land,” the politician who broke camps with South Africa’s ruling Africa National Congress (ANC) party said.
Democracy On democracy, Mr Malema urged African leaders not to undermine the practice on the continent through their selfish interests but must allow it to mature because it came at the expense of Africa's ancestors who were taken as slaves forcefully, with some dying without any honour and dignity.
He also entreated African leaders not to seek re-election when their time was due or charge the military to help them extend their mandate through forceful means.
Mr Malema said they must rather take a back seat and lend their support and guidance to young ones to take over the helm of affairs of their countries.
He added that no African head of state should die in office by overstaying, because presidency was not a traditional leadership position that lasted a lifetime.
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