The Chant of Savant

Sunday 23 May 2021

Union of Africa and EAC: Lesson from Canada

Many people in East Africa have never actualised the profits of the East African Community individually and collectively. Today, I’ll use Canada’s confederacy to show what Africa can learn from Canada. Canada’s a confederacy brings together ten provinces and three territories with the population of approximately 40m binadams. Canada is one of the richest countries on earth.
         If Canada were to be divided into 13 countries, its economic clout would vaporise right away. With three territories and ten provinces, Canada would perilously and pointlessly give birth to thirteen trifling countries, which would throw billions of dollars onto military budgets and purchasing weapons to protect themselves against their neighbours who happen to be Canadians as well. Imagine. How much the tiniest of all, Prince Edward Island (PEI) with 200,000 homos, would throw away to fear-driven military expenditures just like African colonial-tailored states have always done? The upshot’s simple. If all African states could divulge their military budgets, it is obvious that they’ve what it takes to finance their own development and social services. Arguably, Africa’s capable of improving the lives of its people by just spending billions of dollars it burns thanks to colonially calculated divisions and fearmongering resulting from colonial legacy. This anomaly doesn’t need an ace mathematician to debunk. According to the World Bank (2020), in 2019, Canada’s military expenditure stood at 1.3% of its GDP compared to ever-begging South Sudan 3.4%, Uganda 2.1%, Burundi 1.8%, Tanzania 1.3% and Kenya and Rwanda 1.2%, which makes an average of 1.8% for the EAC.
        Apart from military expenditure, how many billions of dollars Africa spends on feeding its do-nothing presidents not to mention keeping its borders safe? Surely, Africa’s what it takes to become a world economic dynamo without begging as it currently is. I know.  There are those who may doubt the viability of such an anecdotal proposal due to the fear that Western countries won’t like the idea of unifying Africa. For how long will Africa feed on and internalise colonial fear? Consider this. Rwanda used to be a Francophone country. After the 1994 genocide, Rwanda became Anglophone; and nobody stood in its way despite its move not auguring well with its former colonial monster, France. Yet, Rwanda pressed on; and stood its ground. Again, for how long will Africans fear the West as if it is their God? Methinks. Even God’s never been feared this much. For, humans still commit sins. Let’s commit this sin of pragmatically and truly reuniting Africa commencing with the East African Community (EAC) that’s now wobbly. Let’s give it a try. For, we’ve nothing to lose except our shame and sufferings.
            Essentially, the fear of the unknown is the major factor that prevents Africa from being reunited; and thereby become stronger. Apart from the fear of the unknown, individuality and greed, especially of our rulers are the major obstacles for our unification. As noted herein-above, if Canada were to be divided just like Africa was, countries produced out of it would only become bankrupt not just because of spending much on buying weapons for the fear of neighbours but also would become economically vulnerable; and would lose their interdependence and interconnectedness. The democracy that Canada enjoys would go under.  Single election season would bankrupt the new countries. How much money would they burn on elections just like it’s been in slapdash and rigged elections that produce but just the same rotten and venal rulers?
        What’s more, by having their individual interests secured at the detriment of their future, African countries still blindly plot to use each other for its interests and those of colonisers instead of working together for their true emancipation of Africa as a whole. This can’t; and won’t work. By being commandeered in their narrow and petty interests, African countries are at home with divisions among themselves and their people based on rash and trivial things such as flummery and flummoxed sovereignty. That’s why countries with bigger land mass and voluminous resources have always been seen as a stumbling block to the unification of East Africa. Again, did these countries apply to be what they’re namely colonial-design structures? As indicated above, in Canada’s confederacy there are big and small members. For example, comparably, the province of Quebec is 62% of the East Africa but still feels at home with being in the same confederacy with the PEI, which is just 0.2 of the EAC comparably. 
        The same applies to Tanganyika and Zanzibar whereby the latter is just 0.36 of the United Republic of Tanzania but still have equal rights in the Union.
I, for one, am an unflagging advocate of a single unitary Africa that’ll demolish faux borders; and thereby abolish division based on feeble and pseudo sovereignties. I’d like to see the current presidents hitting the road to give room for one president of Africa or the EAC. If this happens, we’d not be complaining about the dictators that want to illegally die in power. We’d not be suffering from the brutality from them and their private but public kept armies. For, without reunifying Africa to the tune of what it’s prior to 1884, all we’re cosmetically doing’s but feeding a black hole. Why’s it difficult to think as one nation instead of thinking like useless colonial-sired states we’re jealously protecting today for our peril? For today, this is the lesson from Canada. Hastas entonces.

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