Opinion Politics Regional

My Take On It:The real reason a well-spoken daughter of the soil of Africa was terminated

3 Min Read
Arikana Chihombori-Quao was appointed permanent representative of the African Union Mission to the United States in 2017

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” — US Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Former AU Ambassador to US, speaks to African American panel chaired by Roland Martin in his Tuesday’s edition of Roland Martin in Unfiltered.

Last month, AU Ambassador to the US, Ambassador Dr. Chihombori-Quao was terminated for her outspoken views that criticized French treatment of its former African colonies. On the dawn of independence, France forced its former colonies to enter into an unpalatable alliance: basically to agree that the end to colonialism was in name only. The principal tag in the pact basically negates the end of its colonial hold; and to those that refused to sign the pact, France threw concrete cement into the sewer system of two of its former colonies, as a sign of what it will do to deserting former colonies.

France has also been extracting billions of dollars annually from its former colonies; these funds have been placed in French stock markets and redistributed to the former African colonies as loans.

The following are points that the ambassador raises in the panel discussion. 

1. African Americans, Africa is your home and anchor, come home (AU R400 Rule affirms this), and become part of the solution of the carnage of Soave trade and colonization of the continent.

2. Africans must unite to stop the inhuman right abuse of the legacy of French colonization of its former colonies whereby it takes $500b annually out of Africa for its use.

3. African Union must come up with single voice, single currency, and single customs and visa entry into all 55 countries in the continent.

4. BRILLIANT POINT: when skate traders took slaves from Africa or colonizers left Africa, they did not leave a bed of roses, land flowing with milk and honey in Africa; rather they never left but continue to inflict carnage on the continent, interfering and obstructing progress on the continent.

5. It is only with a unified voice that Africa, working with the African Diaspora (rooted out of the continent through the illegal racially-charged trade in black humans from Africa – now called African Americans), that Africa can develop like other nations in Europe, Latin America, and Asia have been able to do.

6. I applause mbassador Dr. Chihombori-Quao every time she speaks because as a graduate student in University of Malawi History Honors (Class of 1979), I made some of these points in my thesis on whether the African pan Africanists should have gone the  AU or OAU route. 

At that time my research concluded (as countless others before me, after me, and now Ambassador mbassador Dr. Chihombori-Quao) and point to the fact that closer, firmer, and meaningful union on the continent is made unattainable largely due to uninterrupted outside interference from former colonists, inability or reluctance of international watchdogs like the UN to intervene and mediate for a meaningful and acceptable outcome.

Neither the UN, or any country, like the champion democratic leader of the free world (also known as the US) have stepped in to intervene in the continued onslaught and ravaging of the continent’s 55 countries; despite the European countries forming their own union, the African continent what’s been hampered from creating the AU, starting in 1963.

France’s continued ravaging of it’s former colonies, in a sense perpetuates the benefits of slavery that continued unabated with the introduction of colonialism in 1894 through the Berlin Conference. All the world watches, by being frivolous as they pivot to other topics like corruption, poverty, and the HIV epidemic on the continent.

The irony is not to be missed.

Janet Karim

Author, high school Learning Disabilities Teacher, candidate Master of Education Special Education, Mason University; highly organized, charismatic and persuasive Communications Specialist and accomplished Journalist, Editor with 41 years in the communications field, offering expertise in all phases of print, broadcast, telecast, and social media productions. Enthusiastic story teller. Highly-motivated and trained media professional possessing exceptional writing and editing skills with ability to draft engaging and effective content; Opinion column contributor for leading national dailies (Maravi Post – 2015-PRESENT; Nation Malawi – 2015-PRESENT; Times Malawi (2004-2007). Other areas of expertise include grant writing and NGO project management. Highly trained in international, regional and local lobbying and election skills. Collaborates with international companies to initiate development policy change and foster public awareness, with deep commitment to social justice and health care equity; especially in work towards women’s political, economic, and social empowerment; ending child, early and forced marriage; and promoting the human rights of the elderly. Advocate for highlighting climate change its effects on the planet. International development work experience with the United Nations headquarters (10 years, and two years UNDP field work); field experience (Malawi) – Oxfam, UNDP, UNICEF and UNESCO. Superb public speaker who communicates effectively with target audiences through strategic one-to-one or large audiences, expert in event planning and PR campaigns. Conscientious, diplomatic, and tactful in all communicationsg.


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