Who Betrayed African Unity?



The Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was born in Addis Ababa on May 25, 1963, was envisioned as a milestone step towards continental unity and political independence. Its inception was galvanized by the Pan-African dream articulated by Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Haile Selassie, and other post-independence leaders. But barely four decades afterwards, the OAU was disbanded, and in 2002 it was succeeded by the African Union (AU) amidst accusations that it had failed to live up to its ideals. The question at the heart is: who betrayed African unity—the outside powers that sought to conquer Africa, or the African leaders themselves who undermined the vision of Pan-Africanism?


The Dream of Unity

The OAU was formed during a period of decolonization, civil wars, and Cold War rivalries. At the heart of the OAU's formation was the ideological showdown between the Casablanca Group, led by Nkrumah, which advocated for immediate political union, and the Monrovia Group, led by Nigeria and Liberia, which advocated for gradual economic and cultural cooperation. Nkrumah once famously cautioned:

The forces that unite us are inherent and more compelling than the imposed forces which seek to tear us asunder" (Nkrumah, Africa Must Unite, 1963).

But this militant Pan-African call was watered down into a compromise—the OAU Charter—which put respect for sovereignty and non-interference above everything else, effectively sabotaging the possibility of political unification.


Betrayal from Within: African Leaders

The OAU's greatest betrayal came from within its ranks. The majority of African leaders feared losing their precarious sovereignties and political control to a supranational organization. The principle of non-interference, enshrined in Article III of the Charter, became a shield for authoritarian regimes. Historian Ali Mazrui noted:

"The OAU became a trade union of heads of state rather than a vehicle for African peoples' emancipation" (Mazrui, Towards a Pax Africana, 1967).

This internal betrayal was witnessed in the OAU's inability to act decisively in crises such as the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), Idi Amin's rule in Uganda, or the Rwandan genocide of 1994. In each of these cases, sovereignty was prioritized over human rights, betraying the ethical vision of African unity.


External Betrayal: Cold War and Neocolonialism

The betrayal of African unity was not only internal. The Cold War heightened fault lines, with African states aligning with the Soviet Union or the West, fragmenting Pan-African solidarity. Walter Rodney argued that:

"African unity was repeatedly undermined by the machinations of the imperialist powers who favored a divided Africa to a unified force" (How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, 1972).

Western and Eastern blocs poured money, arms, and influence into African countries, making the OAU a theatre of proxy wars rather than a platform for continental consensus. This external meddling ensured that Pan-Africanism remained an unrealized dream.


The Missed Opportunities

The OAU did achieve its major milestones: supporting liberation movements in Southern Africa, combating apartheid, and making an African Union possible. But the betrayals, both internal and external, overshadowed these advances. To borrow a phrase from Adekeye Adebajo:

"The OAU was torn between lofty Pan-African rhetoric and the sobriety of fragmented national interests" (Adebajo, The Curse of Berlin: Africa After the Cold War, 2010).

Failure to go beyond the nation-state form to a continental federation is what rendered Africa's unity rhetorical, never institutionalized.


Conclusion: Who Betrayed African Unity?

The OAU experience demonstrates that African unity was betrayed by a conspiracy of forces. African leaders themselves, clinging to power and sovereignty, reduced Pan-Africanism to ritual meetings and nothing more. At the same time, external powers exploited Africa's disunity, maintaining the continent's dependency and divisions. To this extent, the betrayal was both internal as much as external.

The lesson remains with us today: short of a revolutionary commitment to collective action, the dream of African unity will continue to be an elusive dream. As Nkrumah steadfastly argued:

"Unite we must. Without unity, there is no future for Africa" (Africa Must Unite, 1963).


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