Africa Must Not Become Foreign to Itself, Lumumba Warns

Renowned Kenyan scholar and statesman Prof. PLO Lumumba has cautioned that Africa risks undermining its Pan-African ideals if countries continue to treat fellow Africans as foreigners across colonial borders. He made this statement during a keynote address titled ‘Africa Must Not Become Foreign to Itself: Xenophobia, Pan-Africanism and the Future of African Belonging,’ at The Bridge Club in Lagos. Lumumba emphasized that the contradiction between the continent’s call for unity and the hostility African migrants face in other African countries threatens the vision of a united continent.

Lumumba described xenophobia as an ideological contradiction, stating that Africans who were once divided by strangers had learnt to regard one another as strangers. He said, “The great tragedy of African xenophobia is that a people once divided by strangers have learnt to regard one another as strangers.” He stressed that Pan-Africanism will remain an unfinished promise for as long as an African can cross a colonial border and suddenly cease to be regarded as a brother or sister. Lumumba recalled that African leaders, including Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere, had championed continental unity and declared that colonial boundaries were artificial divisions that should not prevent Africans from coming together.

The scholar cited the treatment of Ghanaians in Nigeria, Nigerians in South Africa, Zimbabweans in Johannesburg, and Congolese in other African countries, saying continental brotherhood often collapses under the pressures of nationality, employment, and economic competition. He mentioned that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents the continent’s commitment to integration but noted that the experiences of African migrants often contradict that ambition. Lumumba emphasized that Pan-Africanism should not be limited to diplomacy but must be reflected in solidarity among ordinary Africans.

Lumumba distinguished between xenophobia and the right of countries to regulate migration, enforce immigration laws, and control their borders, noting that Pan-Africanism does not mean open borders or immunity from the law. However, he warned against blaming entire nationalities for unemployment, crime, and pressure on public services. He said, “The danger begins when legitimate concerns acquire a nationality.” Lumumba linked xenophobia to Africa’s economic challenges, including the export of raw materials, dependence on imported finished goods, weak industrialization, and the failure to create enough dignified jobs for young people.

The scholar cited historical examples of xenophobic incidents, including Ghana’s 1969 Aliens Compliance Order, which displaced hundreds of thousands of West African migrants, many of them Nigerians, and Nigeria’s expulsions of 1983 and 1985, which forced an estimated two million people, including about 1.2 million Ghanaians, to leave the country. He also referred to attacks on migrants and the activities of Operation Dudula in South Africa, expressing concern that African migrants continue to face hostility despite the support African countries gave South Africa during its struggle against apartheid.

Lumumba noted that Afrobarometer surveys show a majority of Africans support freer movement across the continent in principle, while a substantial number prefer fewer foreign job seekers in their own countries. He said the struggle against xenophobia could not be separated from the need to address Africa’s development challenges. Lumumba emphasized that a continent that creates too few jobs will continuously generate political temptation to fight over the jobs that exist.

In conclusion, Lumumba stressed that the border must cease to be the place where Pan-Africanism ends and instead become the place where Pan-Africanism is tested. He urged Africans to recognize that national identity should not undermine solidarity among African people and that a healthy patriotism can coexist comfortably with Pan-African solidarity. Lumumba’s address highlights the need for Africa to uphold its Pan-African ideals and work towards a more integrated and inclusive continent.

Key points

• Prof. PLO Lumumba warns that Africa risks betraying its Pan-African ideals by treating fellow Africans as foreigners across colonial borders.
• Xenophobia is an ideological contradiction that undermines the vision of a united Africa.
• The struggle against xenophobia is inseparable from the struggle for African development.