My Speech to the 5th Pan-African Congress in Accra, Ghana.
Greetings dear Comrades!
Following the footsteps of the apostles of our independence struggles, making the journey made by Kenneth Kaunda, Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta, Patrice Lumumba, and other leaders of our national liberation struggles, we are today here in Accra, Ghana on a pilgrimage to come and renew our faith in an idea that has refused to die, that will never die since it was born in the early 1900s. This is the idea of Pan Africanism.
This is the idea of uniting our struggles and our peoples against colonialism and neocolonialism, imperialism, discrimination, and marginalisation of Africans wherever they may be, and for political, economic, and social self-determination – sovereignty. Kwame Nkrumah is with us here today. He is very much present here today. He lives in us, and he will always be with us in these struggles.
Our strategic objective is the eventual unification of Africa and all Africans. But this unification of Africa is impossible without total independence, without total sovereignty of our nations. Colonies or neocolonies, bantustans – nations that are controlled by others, nations led by puppets of imperialism can not give us the unity Pan-Africanism is seeking.
Meaningful regional integration, which truly benefits our people and not just transnational corporations and imperialist nations, is not possible without first regaining our sovereignty and substantially increasing patriotism in our nations. When neocolonial nations unite, that unity only benefits the neocoloniser. We saw how neocolonial states were nearly mobilised and unleashed on the Sahel to fight, and blockade nations struggling regain their sovereignty, national honour, and dignity.
These countries – Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso – need our support and need our solidarity. They are under attack.
Again, as it was in the beginning after the triumph of the October 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, we have no alternative but to turn to the Russian people for help in defending our sovereignty, our independence and our right to development. And as it was after the triumph of the Chinese Revolution in 1949, we have no sensible alternative but to seek the support and solidarity of the Chinese people to defend our sovereignty, independence and our right to development.
Let’s also not forget the support and solidarity that has always been extended to us by the Cuban Revolution. Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution’s support and solidarity, even these very challenging times, can not be ignored.
Without pause or improvisation, let’s unite to struggle for our sovereignty, national honour, and dignity on our way to a United Africa.
As per the lyrics of the Zambian national anthem,
“Africa is our own motherland,
Fashion’d with and blessed by God’s good hand,
Let us all her people join as one,
Brothers under the sun.
All one, strong and free…”
Aluta continua!
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party [Zambia]
M’membe should have been born in those centuries when communism was fashionable.
His language connots out of style social political dispernsation. Bolsheviks, how does this relate ro our today lives?
Pan Africanism yes, but language only on paper!