Microsoft Word - IGWEBUIKE JOURNAL VOL. 4. NO. 4.docx IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 67 PAN-AFRICANISM AND AFRICAN SOVEREIGNTY IN A WORLD OF CHANGE Matthew Ikechukwu Obijekwu, PhD School of General Studies Anambra State Polytechnic, Mgbakwu, Anambra State mathewobijekwu@gmail.com & Romanus Ikechukwu Muomah, PhD Department of Philosophy, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State & Charles K. Onebunne Department of Philosophy Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State charlesonebunne@gmail.com Abstract Applying an analytic approach, this paper explores the problems that led to the emergence of Pan-Africanism so as to find out if those problems have been completely eradicated in Africa. Among the problems include: colonialism, slavery and bereft African sovereignty. African sovereignty essentially comprises political, economic and socio-cultural sovereignty; even science and technology where Africa is yet to establish its footnote, is also among the problems. If till date, Africa is still being socio- politically, economically and culturally dominated and controlled by the western world through their financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, it shows that Africa, as a continent, is still glorying on a bereft sovereignty. The paper argues that despite the efforts of the African nationalists to reposition African continent from the colonial domination, the contemporary Africa is more a sufferer than the old Africa that was physically violated, brutalized and dominated. The work advocates that contemporary African leaders should live by the liberation spirit of the African forefathers so as to set Africa free from the shackles of the developed nations, and at the same time, have a place in a world of change. Key words: Pan-Africanism, sovereignty, African sovereignty, world and change Introduction Heraclitus, an Ionian philosopher from the city of Ephesus, once said that “All things are in a state of flux…no one steps twice into the same river” IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 68 (Nwanegbo-Ben, 2009: 25). A river, as we know, is not stagnant, rather it is always in motion. Regarding this, Heraclitus went further to portray his famous theory of conflict of opposites. This analogy, as well remain typical to the changes we observe everyday in the world. The fact remains that as the world changes so also is the change in relation to the modification of ideologies or beliefs held over the years by the individuals, or a group of people. In the past, even till date, different ideologies like socialism, capitalism, liberalism, republicanism, communalism, egalitarianism, communism, to mention a few, have been held. Oftentimes, one doubts whether some of these ideologies are still relevant in today’s society, or whether they have outlived their contemporary usefulness or relevance. The theme of the conference, “African Ideologies in the World of Change” seems appropriate because of continuously “natural flow”(Obijekwu, 2017) of things in the world as well as God’s command: “Increase and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen.1: 28 KJV). This biblical injunction seems to have led different scientific and technological innovations and inventions, which gear towards making the world a better place. Other factors in realizing this mandate involves human creativity, technological skills, intelligence and knowledge. The phrase, “in the world of change” remains outstanding or peculiar as one, even nations, interprets their environments, and other circumstances around them. Coupled with the changes seen in areas like science and technology, politics, economic, social and cultural activities of some nations, some of the previous ideologies tenaciously held by some individual nations or continents like Africa, have been questioned, and their authenticity, or relevance have been doubted. Furtherance, some of these ideologies seem to have outlived their usefulness, even meaningfulness if we are to toe the position of logical positivist that considered the usefulness or meaningfulness of concept based on its concrete effect. For example, scientific and technological innovations, biological experiments, human experiments and other areas like medicine, communication, politics, economy, and socio-cultural dominations, have questioned the reality of some nation-states’ sovereignty of which African is among them. Within the period of nineteenth century, cutting across, the period of twentieth century, in the mouth of African-Americans and Africans in Diaspora, was the rhythm of freedom for self-determination, independence and African unity as well as African sovereignty. This is also made explicit in IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 69 Nkrumah’s book entitled, “Africa Must Unite”. Here, Nkrumah calls for the promotion of African unity. He states: “…the aim of Pan-Africanism is to establish fraternal relation with, and offer guidance and support to all nationalist democratic and socialist movement, in Africa and elsewhere, for national independence” (221). Looking at the transition from the Organization of African Union (O.A.U), which was considered as the Pan African “identity and destiny”(Sturman, 2007), then, to African Unity (AU), and the intended United State of Africa (USA), one may asks, has Pan-Africanism achieved its lofty dream? It is necessary to note that the unending desire from the Organization for African Unity (OAU) to African Union (AU), and now a new stage, the United States of Africa (USA) is a crisis of identity and substance. One may still ask, what is the usefulness of Pan-Africanism in this contemporary Africa and in the world of change? Has Africa, so to speak, outlived the factors that led to the emergence of Pan-Africanism? Differently put, how possible is the unity of Africa in the midst of conflict and bad leadership? There is no doubt that from the period of emergence of Pan- Africanism till date, that contemporary Africa is still a sufferer despite the lofty ambitions of the founding fathers, both within the African continent and in Diaspora. It is on this background that this paper tries to find out if the factors that led to the emergence of Pan-Africanism have been completely eradicated in Africa. To achieve this, this paper embarks on conceptual clarification. Some of the concepts used are explained for easy understanding. Furthermore, the historical trend of Pan-Africanism is traced as well as its objective. Again, th examines the impact of Pan-Africanism in the restoration of African sovereignty in the changing world of globalization and digitalization. This section tries to find out if Pan-Africanism has outlived its relevance in contemporary world in relation to African unity. Finally is the conclusion of the work. Now, let us turn to the historical trends of Pan-Africanism. Historical Trends of Pan Africanism The most common principle among the individuals, city-states, or among the nations of the world, is the principle of self-preservation. With this principle, no individual, no city-states or nation, wishes to go into extinction. Everyone of them wishes to preserve itself or generations This is also made explicit in Huntington’s work titled, “The Clashes of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order” (Huntington, 1996). According to him, most of the conflicts among cultures, city-states or nations were as a result of superiority and inferiority that have been existed among human beings. Each culture wants to exists, and by so doing, tries to outweigh others. Some claim superior over IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 70 others, and at the same time, try to destroy the cultural heritage of those cultures, even to the extent of destroying the habitants of those cultures. This was exactly the condition Africa continent and its inhabitants found themselves after the partitioning of African continent in 1884/5 in Berlin Conference. Africa’s coming in contact with Europe and America led to serious cultural conflict, strangulation, and imposition, which was later extended to socio-economic exploitation and political domination. Slavery, colonization and racism were highly instrumental in the hands of the colonizers to perpetually subjugate and dominate African continent, and thereby leaving her with a bereft sovereignty. Therefore, the emergence of Pan Africanism is rooted on the above historical trends. Pan Africanism emerged as an ideology and later as a movement. As an ideology, it is conceived and propounded for a purpose, while as a movement; it began around the 19th Century in the United States of America. It was framed within the confines and/or aspirations of Africa and Africans in Diaspora. It was also formed towards redefining, reshaping and regaining of the African sovereignty, identity, personhood and integrity. The concept, ideology was coined by Antoine Destutt de Tracy in his work, Science of Ideas in 1796 (Mannhein, 1929). The concept is considered as the most generic term due to the fact that science of ideas contains the study of their expression and deduction (Althusser, 1971). From this perspective, ideology is defined as a set of conscious and/or unconscious ideas that constitute one’s goals, aspirations, actions, desires and expectations. In Steger’s and James’ view, as cited in Althusser (1971) ideologies are organized clusters of morally imbued ideas and concepts, which help people to navigate the complexity of their political universe and carry claims to social truth (127-188). The things associate with the concept of ideology is that, it has a content, which is often normative; it also has internal local structure, which has to do with the role the ideas play in human social life or interaction. This involves the area of socialization within the framework of the society. Fourth is the impact of ideas within the structure of an organization, and finally is the persuasive nature of the driving idea(s) within the locus of the social interaction. Pan-African, as an ideology, could be understood within the above structures. It has normative impact, applied within an internal local structure when its role is considered, as well, persuasive if one considers its purpose or intent. On the other hand, as a movement, it becomes a trend in human affairs and society at large; a movement towards freedom or total independence. Pan IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 71 Africanism was championed by African descendants, or African-Americans, who had like minds towards liberation of Africa and securing freedom, justice and equality for themselves in their sojourn land. Its thrust was to fight against racism, colonialism, slavery, discrimination, segregation, social injustice, inequality, exploitation, dehumanization and all other sorts of social evils that came with the colonizers. The reason for the formation of Pan African movement in America seemed to be different from the one it served within the geographical constituents of Africa. In America, and other European nations, it was a movement to belong; that is, to ‘fit-in’ among the nationals or citizens of that particular nation so as to embrace social justice, equality, and at the same time, be set free from segregation and discrimination. It was under this condition that Martin Luther King, Jr., and other African-Americans like, W.E.B. Du Bois, were noted today as freedom fighters, liberators or human rights activist. It was a call to revive the famous voices of the American forefathers; that is, to remind the then, and, even the present American society and the entire world, the foundation upon which the American society was laid. The former American President, Jefferson, in his proclamation in 1776, states that “all men are created equality…both in liberty and pursuit of happiness” (Dupre, 2010). With the spirit of survival, African descendants during period in America were able to persuade the racist Americans to bend the hand of unjust laws, which led to unjust society. On April 9, 1866, the Civil Rights Bill passed by the American Congress, gave hope to the African-Americans. The Bill, as it was, conferred citizenship on them, and at the same time, gave them right in every state and territory as enjoyed by other Americans (Odey, 2005: 39). Another remarkable amendment was the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution by the Congress on July 21, 1868, which states that: No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws (39). On March 30, 1870, the Fifteen Amendment of the Constitution geared towards recognizing the voting rights of the African descendants in America. It reads that the rights of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by States on account of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude”( 39). IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 72 From the foregoing, one would understand the background and activities of Pan African movement. It was an offshoot of Pan-Negros movement in America. The point we are making here that what started as the desire for individual autonomy or freedom, which later extended to general or community freedom (community of African-Americans), later went beyond America to incorporate all other African nations. The argument was, if African-Americans could, with their ideology or aspirations, influenced American government to recognize and accept them, why would African continent not be liberated from the shackles of colonialism? This led to the utmost fight for African independence, or rather, the reposition of African sovereignty. So, within Africa, Pan Africanism was a movement for African liberation and independence. This desire led to the unification of all the African descendants towards repositioning of Africa. Pan-Africanism towards Repositioning Africa The concept, reposition or repositioning, simply means “to change or to bring something back to its originality”. Pan African, as an ideology and a movement, was meant to achieve three things, namely; (a) to achieve African independence (b) to achieve African unity, and (c) to restore African sovereignty. We shall examine the three objectives of Pan-Africanism. But before that, it is proper to note that before the emergence of Pan African movement, the integrity of African as well as her contributions to the world’s civilization, over the years, has been denied. Therefore, there is no doubt to say that Pan African movement was formed to reposition African continent. According to Sturman (2007), “Pan-Africanism is a philosophy in which Africa is regarded as the spiritual home of a united African people, with the emphasis on solidarity and brotherhood between all people of African origin.” Being aware of this fact, we shall turn to the three main objectives of Pan- Africanism as stated above. For some African scholars, it may be more than these three objectives. But, this paper concentrates on the above mentioned three as its main objectives. …Towards African Independence Notably among Africans in Diaspora was the fact of developing geographical consciousness; that is, the sense of having a root. As a result, Du Bois and other historians went into research to discover Africa’s contributions in the world civilization. For them, the quest for freedom must begin from home not in Diaspora. But, the general contention was that Africa must be freed from all IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 73 sorts of dominations, be it internal and external dominations. The internal domination or enslavement has to do with colonialism, slavery and racialism within the African environment. So what started as an individual-national consciousness, seemed to have extended to community-national or continental consciousness. The fight for independence took different dimensions, namely; mental, political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions. This is clearly seen in the works and speeches of most African scholars and liberators like DuBois, an African-American, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Jomo Kenyatta, etc. The primary aim of these scholars was first meant to react to the denigratory or racist works of Hegel, who said that Africa should not be mentioned in the history of the world’s civilization. For him, Africa has “…no history, no culture, and has never contributed to the world’s civilization”. In line with this, Lucien Levy-Bruhl’s Primitive mentalite (primitive mentality published in 1923) reduced the cognitive component of African to zero level. The position of David Hume, who denied ingenuity for an African person, opened up the fight for the intellectual racism, “epistemic injustice” (Chimakonam, 2017) as well as mental freedom. Aime Cesaire’s Return to Native My Land written in 1941 was a critique of French colonization, and later, the book became a liberatory tool in the hands of Negritude movement (Berger and Bostock, 2014). Blaydon’s radical proposal for individually and collectively “defensive identity” was outstanding. Other related works on African civilization, identity and personhood, were meant to debunk some of the denigatory or misconceptions of Africa. In fact, these work fast-tracked, or better put, promoted the collective consciousness of Africans in Diaspora towards common independence. So, the foundation for African independence as observed in the spirit of Pan- Africanism was laid within the framework of individual consciousness, which later metamorphosed into collective consciousness. This was the reason the agenda of the First Congress of Pan-African movement organized by H. Sylvester Williams, a Trinidadian Negro in 1900 in London, was different from the Fifth Congress of the movement in 1958. The sole objective of the conference was to unite the Negroes of Africa and America and to articulate a common front for all African nations and Africans within and outside the four walls of Africa. Subsequent Pan African Movement Conferences were championed by Du Bois between 1919 and 1927 (and between 1919 and 1927 were four Pan-African Congresses). These congresses watered the ground for African independence. Although at this period, it was at infant stage, but with IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 74 a persuasive zeal and desire for African independence cumulated into a nationalist spirit (anti-colonial and anti-imperialist). Furthermore, the Fifth Congress held in Manchester in 1945, which was super- headed by Du Bois, clearly spelt out the objective of Pan-African movement. For him, Pan-African movement is a conscientious and/or an obligatory call on all Africans to be committed towards African salvation. It was an awakening call of all the African intellectuals, farmers, workers, etc., to come together, with one mind, heart and spirit, to fight for abolition of colonialism and work for the attainment of political independence (Potekhin, 1964). Having made this call, therefore, the quest for African Unity began. …Towards the African Unity In this section, we shall examine the in-road towards African unity. This is another move made by Pan-African movement towards repositioning Africa. The concept of reposition in relation to Africa, as we said earlier, simply means to change, to regain, sustain, or to consolidate the independence of African states. It is proper to know that despite the effort of Pan-African movement to eradicate racism completely; today racism is among the problems of contemporary society. The difference when compared to the conditions of nineteenth century African-Americans or Africans in Diaspora is not the same. So many institutions such as legal institutions, or legislative institutions, and others like, non-governmental organizations, seem to have been working for unity and integration among people as well as nations. The question remains, how effective and efficient are some of these institutions? Organization of African Union remains one of these institutions. We do not need to ask, how effective O.A.U was in promoting African unity. The truth is that if O.A.U was effective in its unification of African nations, the emergence of the African Union might not have been possible. The fact is that the African unity is inevitable in all ramifications. In Nkrumah’s view, which was expressed in his work, Africa Must Unite” (Nkrumah, 1963), stands as a point of reference. Even Murmmar Gaddafi once said that, “Africa must unite” or “die” (Gaddafi, 2009). Therefore, the quest for unity started as the Pan-Negro unity in America, later as Pan-Africanism, to the Organization for African Union (OAU); and currently to African Union. The current debate on the “United States of Africa” remains a paramount issue. Today, with the establishment of OAU, and later AU, the Pan- Africanism is institutionalized. Now, it looks as if it is no longer considered a IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 75 reactionary movement. It is! Looking at the present condition of Africa, one would not doubt that Africa is still floating. The age-longed efforts to regain and to redefine Africa remain the underlying factors in most of these debates. Like the previous efforts, the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries’ African scholars’ efforts were to re-establish that Africa has its personality, its own history, its culture, and has contributed to the world civilization. But, the post- independence African scholars seemed not to have interest in this anymore. The age-longed discourse with regards to the history and African contribution to the world civilization seemed to have been shifted to other areas like issues of development, good governance as against bad leadership, etc. It is believed by some Africans that the issues of history, culture, and sovereignty of Africa have been established by the African intellectuals. But, this paper doubts the assumption that African personality, culture, history and Africa’s contributions to the world civilization have been proved to its logical conclusion. The reason for doubting this assumption is not farfetched. It is based on the current acceptance of African cultures among Africans as well as her contributions to the modern world, especially in the areas of science and technology and communication. What is at stake now is the new Africa not the old Africa, Julius Nyerere as cited in Sturman (2007: 1), said: What we want is unity of action together with the greatest possible degree of local self-expression on things which affect only that locality. This will be in accordance with the oldest traditions of Africa; it will be a new growth on the deep roots of our life. In the above excerpt, Nyerere was projecting Africa that is to be rebuilt using the traditional materials like common labour, equality, participation, sharing and caring. These, as well, provide a ground for African unity as conceptualized in Pan-Africanism. Further on African unity, we shall consider other aspects like, political and economic unity of African nations as championed by Pan-African movement. This political and economic unity remains the epicenter of O.A.U; and AU as its later development. With regards to economic unity, Pan African movement sought for economic unity by formulating common economic policies and to establish common economic links so as to bring African nations under one umbrella. Such links like, the formation of African Economic Community(AEC), Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS), which was established in 1975, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA) in 1990s, etc. In the spirit of Pan-Africanism, the African Economic Community (AEC) was meant to create a single common currency, IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 76 free trade areas and a united market for the majority of African states (Pardos, 2016). Likewise ECOWAS, which aims at promoting cooperation and integration of the continent. To this end, ECOWAS has signed numerous treaties that promote the Pan-African economic patterns that seem to have unified African countries. To this end also, ECOWAS signed an agreement with the Economic and Money Union of West Africa, and this agreement geared towards creating trade liberation policies as well as macroeconomic policies, which was intended to unite African countries. The Tripartite Free Trade Areas (TFTA), a new form of economic policy, is also in line with the aspirations of Pan- Africanism. TFTA is formulated to link and to unify the operations of COMESA, SADC and AEC. It is also meant to ease movement of goods and services across different African countries, which are members and part of the agreement. It takes account of more than half of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and as maintain a common front for preferential tariffs among the member states (Pardos, 2016). In politics, series of efforts have been made, and still being making to reposition contemporary Africa. This paper is never in doubt of these efforts. Like we said earlier, we are no longer talking about OAU today, but rather, AU, and further debate on the “United African States”. The question remains; was OAU successful in its bid for African unity and development? To what extent did OAU actualize and realize the lofty dreams of Pan-Africanism? As we discuss the contemporary impact of AU, it is, as well necessary to pounder on the paradigm shift from the early Pan Africanism to African Union with regard to political structure of African nations. AU, as it stands now, is still reactionary movement just as the Pan Africanism. And as a reactionary movement, it indicates that Africa is still seeking for independence despite her claimed years of independence, which most African countries seemed to have been parading. The fact remains that the contemporary African Union, with its members of about fifty-four united countries, is still having a floating territorial integration. Though, Africa is geographically located, but whether it maintains its sovereignty remains an issue. The map of Africa and most of its boundaries, after many years of independence, are still as they were given by the colonial masters (Europe and America). And this has led to tribal conflicts, genocide like Rwanda genocide in 1994; Nigerian-Biafran War from 1967- 1970; and other places in Africa. This, as well, has created much hatred among African nations. With this, African sovereignty remains “a wishful thinking”. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 77 Shortly after the formation of AU in 2007, was the formation of Pan African Coalition (PAC) in 2008. The main reason for the PAC is to recognize the sovereignty for each country, to seek for non-aggression and at the same time, work towards peaceful practices; to promote mutual defense membership and equal representation in the union; others include setting up a democratic participation, which involves the election of the president of the coalition. Another effort made by AU towards African Unity is the formation of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). According to Pardos, NEPAD is directed towards “the achievement of self-rule and the decolonization of the continent” (Pardos, 2016). Commenting on the goals of NEPAD, Pardos asserts thus: Its political and economic perspectives add tremendous importance to the guarantee of peace, security and global integrity…the treaty fosters the commitment of African leaders to the African people and the world by positively impacting the living conditions and success of treaties. The trading question remains whether the NEPAD main accord has been achieved in Africa. It is obvious today in Africa that the issue of peace and security in relation to both internal and external (or global) integrity has eluded Africa. And this, as well has questioned the possibility of African Unity as being projected over the years both by the Pan Africanism and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Another clause of PAC talks about the commitment or obligations of the African leaders towards the betterment of the living conditions of African people in areas of abject poverty, diseases and ignorance. At present, this seems to be a wishful thinking in most African countries, moving from Nigeria, Congo, Republic of Tanzania, even Ghana and others. The most pathetic of it all is that this is happening among the countries projecting African Unity. Having gone thus far, let us further reflect on the waves of African sovereignty. …Towards the African Sovereignty In this section, we shall examine the implicit idea of African sovereignty as seen among Pan-African intellectuals during colonialism and slave trade, and after which we shall consider the post-independence “African sovereignty” explicitly sought by OAU, and late taken up by AU. The most pronounced effort of Pan African movement was to redefine African identity and personhood, not ultimately African sovereignty. This seemed to be made manifest through African independence. The idea of African sovereignty was a later evolution. Sovereignty, as it were, is the resultant effect of IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 78 independence. A country most first and foremost become independence before it begins to talk of sovereignty, without minding the fact that it could be projecting the two concepts at the same time. This is the reason why, after the years of so-called African independence, Africa is still battling for sovereignty; that is, to be emancipated from the shackles of political and economic control of Europe and America. Thus, we shall examine the concept, sovereignty to see if the concept, as it is used today, should be ascribed to contemporary Africa, or not. The BBC English Dictionary (1992: 1119) defines “sovereignty” as the power that a country has to govern itself or to govern other countries. McLean and McMillan (2003: 502) conceive “sovereignty” as: “…the claim to be the ultimate political authority, and be subject to no higher power outside oneself, or outside any nation with regards to making and enforcing decision. It is also the claim by the state to full self-government, and the mutual recognition of claims to sovereignty is the basis of international society. The concept could be also applied to individual when considering the individual autonomy as regards one’s control of his property, without being influenced by any external force other than himself. In the international level, sovereignty is considered as the basis for mutual exchange or recognition, and as well remains the foundation of international law, and the basis for legal equality. From the above definition, African sovereignty is completely ruled out during colonialism, as Pan-African movement sought for emancipation. Though, it was proposed, but not in existence. This was also the case during and after the formation of OAU. We doubt if the concept sovereignty was used at all during anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist. We still doubt if Africa has actualized her sovereignty despite the claimed of independence. Even the reality of African independence is still doubted. As it stands now, African sovereignty is an issue, and it is an urgent issue indeed. African Sovereignty in the World of Change At present, the world of change, so to speak, is more of the world of scientific and technological innovations, intercultural, political and economic exhibitions, which has led to the interdependence of nations. In this context, one wonders the place of African sovereignty. Little wonder the idea of globalization and digitalization have remain the central discourse in contemporary African society. So, as talk of African sovereignty, we also IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 79 consider African position in the world of science and technology, or better still, in the areas of globalization and digitalization. Other changes in the world are circumventing on the stated areas. Litter wonder Jake Bright, Akam and Kanza (2016), explored the seven trends that step up the continent’s digital future. Bright asserts that, “as African continent transitions from the margins to the mainstream of the global economy, technology is playing an increasingly significant role”. Thus, the concept of change is all encompassing. The term denotes either the negative or positive change. As said earlier in the introduction, the universe is always in the state of flux. The events of nineteenth and twentieth century’s, when Pan Africanism as an ideology flourished, is not the same today. The contemporary world has become a world of competition, and many nations seemed to have been left behind, and Africa continent is among them. The old concept of globalization has been followed up by a modern concept of digitalization. Globalization, though sounds as a new concept, is as old as its operations as observed in the activities of early political dictators or tyrants. So, the world of change, as it is sound today, is the world of globalization and digitalization, the world technological innovations and inventions, and the world of new ideologies. Even, it is the world of the survival of the fittest, which is championed by the waves of globalization and digitalization. Wang and Francisca, cited in Obijekwu (2017) assert that, though it is difficult to trace the origin of globalization, but as a political, cultural, economic, and social reality, could be traced to the month of May of the year 34 B.C.E, during the time of Alexander the Great (336-323). As a Macedonian War Lord, he used his array of soldiers to unify Macedonians and Persians into one kingdom with the aim of spreading Greek language and culture, which he believed was more superior to all others. So, this desire did not end there. It took another form around 1880s in the name of globalization. This desire to control the whole world cumulated to the partitioning of African countries by the Europe and America. This shows why the globalization of Africa took the form of colonialism with the intention of economic and political domination as well as the extermination of African personhood and identity. Regarding the current change in the world, it is preferable here to use the most current word like digitalization in relation to African dominance, rather than globalization as the case maybe. The fact remains that globalization is made applicable through digitalization. It is the digitalization of universe that makes the operations of globalization possible through the space satellites, etc. Information or rather, data digitalized in Africa, especially in Nigeria could be IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 80 accessed in America or any part of Europe without the consent of owner of information. We shall come to this later. To avoid ambiguity and confusion in the use of the terms, let us define the concepts. As we try to define the term, it is proper to note that globalization has no general definition. It is a multifaceted concept as it has politics, social, economic, and cultural undertone or components; it also extends to communication, science and technology, etc. As a result, globalization, till date, is still a confusing word, and could only be understood if one understands the operations of the world power as they make use of multinational institutions, to achieve their aims and objectives in the name of globalization. This is why till date Africa is still a sufferer. Fisher, cited in Wang and Francisca (2008: 49-61) conceive globalization as a process by which nationality become increasingly irrelevant in global production and consumption. From definition given by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), globalization involves: Increasing integration of economic around the world, particularly through trade and financial flows, movement of people in form of labour, and knowledge as regards technology across international boards, thereby turning the world into a global village (51). The truth remains that beneficiaries of globalization are those nations that have something new to contribute to it, while those that have nothing to contribute to the flow of globalization will ever remain perpetually slaves and continued to be dominated politically, economically, socially, and culturally. If a nation is suffering this fate, then, where lies its sovereignty? Definitely, other powerful nations will be determining both her political, social, economic and cultural decisions. Despite the situation of African sovereignty within the framework of globalization, the idea of digitalization in Africa becomes another issue in the world of change. Digital is an opposite of analogue (manual), and digital operations has to do with the numbers 0 to 9, and in the usage of “1 and 0” or “ON and OFF” buttons for operation. These buttons are used to control the devices that make the activities of globalization possible and easy. It makes accessible all information, data, etc., stored into the system or devices used in making the world a global village. Digital systems record or transmit information in the form of thousands of very small signals (BBC Dictionary). And most of these devices are not manufactured in Africa and installed by Africans, especially the sophisticated ones. As a result, they are not under the control of Africa and Africans. Often, they are installed by the expatriates IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 81 from Europe and America, who are meant to protect their individual interests, and that of their countries of origin. Through this means, they directly or indirectly manipulate their host countries, and secretly tap information from them. The argument is that when a nation loss its vital information, and has no political and economic power to control it due to over dependent, obviously there is clear indication that the country has lost her sovereignty. Currently, technological revolution (digitalization revolution) is the most recent invention in the scientific and technological world. Professor Klaus Schwab cited in Akam and Kanza (2016) once states that digitalization is “a transformation unlike anything humankind has experienced before”. He states that, while the theme of technology dominates any discussion on the digital revolution and the way it could transform Africa, we must not lose sight of its cultural aspects. To this end, Iyanda, in Akam and Kanza (2016), express that “Africa doesn’t just need a digital revolution – it needs a cultural one, too”. In is quite interesting to note that this same digital revolution could also resurrect cultural renaissance. The fact remain a pan-Africanism has existed even before the emergence of digital revolution, and its use in business transaction across the border, but this was seriously hampered “unimaginative and rigid archaic laws”. The question remains, how does it affect African sovereignty? With globalization and digitalization, enemies are made, and rivals or competitors are no longer distanced from each other. With this, enemies are brought together or very close. This strengthens domination of other nations. As a result, the weaker nations and the vulnerable countries are still under the shackles of colonial control. The question, “where is African sovereignty?” still remain unanswered. All these are what AU as well as the proposed United State of Africa (USA) should be looking at. They should to see that Africa fit-in in this world of change. Africa needs to reposition its sovereignty in all ramifications. Conclusion In this paper, we made effort to examine some of the objectives of Pan Africanism, and at the same time to find out if these objectives (like achieving African independence, unity and sovereignty) have been actualized in Africa. To this end, this work began with conceptual clarification, by which some of the words like, Pan Africanism, sovereignty and change are examined. It also examines the impact of Pan-Africanism (or Pan-African movement) towards African independence, unity and sovereignty. The question of globalization and digitalization as they affect African sovereignty are also analyzed. It is IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 4 No 4, October 2018. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 82 clear from the foregoing that African continent is still a sufferer till date. This work argues that the objective(s) of the African intellectuals in the formation of Pan Africanism, which led to the formation of OAU, and later AU is yet to be achieved. It concludes by calling on all Africans and African leaders to revive and work for common good so as to realize the lofty dreams of African liberators for a better Africa, especially in the present scientific and technological advancement. Africa is our continent, and we must be proud to be Africans. Reference Althusser, L. (1971). 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