body-container-line-1
24.05.2015 Press Statement

Aasu On 2015 Africa Day

24.05.2015 LISTEN
By All Africa Students Union (AASU)

On 25th May, every year, the world celebrates African Day. The Day is commemorated within Africa and amongst African Diaspora in order to encourage the rapprochement of African people and of African origin in view of acting together to reinforce African unity, promote peace and stability for the development and socio-economic progress of the continent.

As a reminder May 25 is a memorable date marking the signing of the constitutive act of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 that has become the African Union (AU) since 2002. Divided in 54 States on an area of 30million sqkm2, with a population of over one billion people representing 16% of world population, Africa is a part of the planet earth engorging enough natural and human resources capable of being transformed in real riches for the benefit of its inhabitants.

For those who have Africa and its future in heart, this Day should be an occasion for sober reflection and debate on the current political, economic and social situation of the continent, but also on the attitudes of the actors who manage the different sectors of African society.

Africa is still a continent confronted with serious problems that are hampering its collective takeoff towards its emergence. There is a real problem of democratic governance. It is a tiny minority of the ruling class that holds the quasi-totality of resources of the continent. There are practically no viable social distribution structures of the meager available financial resources amongst the vast majority of the people miring in an unimaginable misery.

The ideal of the fathers of African independence, to unite the continent and promote economic integration, has as the years pass become a nightmare if not a fare away dream hardly realizable. Africa is ever divided and cannot speak with one voice on a number of crucial subjects of continental interests.

The African continent is still engulfed in internal armed conflicts, civil and ethnic wars which are most of the time fuelled from outside with their cohorts of violation of basic human rights and the dilapidation of the natural resources etc.

It is important for everybody to understand that the establishment of real democratic system, good governance and independent judiciary are important principles to resolve the problems confronting the continent.

However its current positive economic growth, youthful and more and more well informed population and its immense natural resources make Africa the continent of the future if its institutions of learning are adapted to the reality, its structures of good governance and the management of its natural resources are upright.

The All Africa Students Union (AASU), on this important occasion of Africa Day, calls once more on African Leaders to materialize without any further delay the integration of the continent as that was the raison d’être of the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union (AU) and as it has been demonstrated times again that is the way to ensure its future.

AASU demands on the part of African leaders to exercise their political power within the framework of the law and the respect of the fundamental texts governing the management of the State.

AASU condemns any constitutional manipulation in order to enable leaders to perpetuate themselves to power as it is the situation in Burundi.

All for Africa integration!
Long live African Unity!
Awaah Fred
(Secretary General)
[email protected]/[email protected]/ +233(0)243101626

body-container-line