A Civil Society Think Tank, “The Pan African Dialogue Institute (TPADI) has called on African leaders to embrace Pan-African consciousness in their dealings to foster patriotism and stem the tide of corruption ravaging the continent.
The president of TPADI, Dr Effiong Joseph Udo who made the call on Friday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital during a press conference ahead of the forthcoming International Conference on Dialogue and Pan Africanism and the celebration of 2024 International Africa Day regretted that many Africans and African leaders have a lukewarm attitude towards Pan Africanism.
He noted that many African countries, including Nigeria, do not even remember to mark International Africa Day saying that the institute would sponsor a bill at the National Assembly to domesticate May 25 as Pan Africa Day in Nigeria.
Udo stated that no African leader who has pan-African consciousness would have the mind to loot his country’s resources and take same to foreign countries for investment.
He said the Institute would float an executive education programme in pan-Africanism targeting politicians to instil in their consciousness the need to be patriotic and promote African values devoid of corrupt practices.
He also called on stakeholders and policymakers to make deliberate efforts to resolve African problems using African solutions even as he encouraged them to discard the mentality of over-reliance on external assistance without believing in their capacities to proffer solutions and help one another.
He said, ”We are seeking to reverse the mentality that Africans are not capable of helping themselves and solving their problems. We want to reverse that culture of dependency on external assistance that unfortunately still prevails on the continent. Pan-Africanism calls upon Africans to draw on their own strengths and capacities and become self-reliant and patriotic.
“We want to see doctors, lawyers, politicians and everyone to be Pan Africanist in their orientation to have that consciousness, respect for human and environmental dignity, love in diversity as encapsulated in Ubuntu philosophy.”
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