The “integrated” new map of the East African Community (EAC) looks good. So good that one should wonder what took us so long to agree to shape it that way. The coming on board of Somalia to join Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan and form a single bloc is the right step in the right direction.
Congratulations to the Somali people upon joining up with other brothers and sisters to form one family of nations with similar aspirations, and thanks all East Africans of goodwill for supporting these “baby steps” towards uniting Africa as one continental bloc!
Before colonialism, Africa was one big “map”. There were no borders. Nevertheless, Africans were divided along feudal lines of small chiefdoms based on tribal inclinations. Now that we have been introduced to nationhood, bringing together peoples of different ethnicities to identify together (as countries), it’s easier to come together as a collection of nations making one large “continental country”, starting with regional blocs. There is already the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC), the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), etc. With EAC, it means that the midriff of Africa is connected from East to West. We need another bloc connecting North to South, and at that stage, the “United Nations of Africa” will be achieved.
President Yoweri Museveni has always assured us that the concept of Integration is possible as there are political, economic and social elements of commonality among the people of the region. I will not go into the intricacies of the ethnic shared bonds among Africans. President Museveni has severally retraced these interlinkages very articulately, on top of what we as the peoples of this region see for ourselves. I have been amazed to find similar words in Ugandan dialects and Congolese communities, even Zambian and Zibwambwean. Where languages differ, again, that’s a good thing because we remain connected by neighbourliness, and common wants and needs. All people need security, well-being, prosperity and progress.
While Somalia, like South Sudan, DRC, Rwanda and Burundi, was not part of the original EAC, common needs and wants necessitated that she come on board and strengthen the ground on which Integration is being built. Somalis may look a bit different from the rest of the East Africans, but that is just skin-deep. Their language may differ but that’s because they are situated differently and have in the past come under foreign influences that made their languages what they are today. If they come closer to other East Africans, the languages will start to mix and form one “great dialect” which will move us an inch towards our common ancestry and creation as human beings.
This is why people promoting tribalism and sectarianism along such differences are so mistaken and why they must not be accorded much attention. We have seen how much damage such divisionism has done to societies, some of them have disintegrated and others have been on the verge of collapse. If we can get all our people to look at the bigger picture of common interests, then Africa will celebrate unity in diversity and build on that for the prosperity of all its people.
By Somalia joining the EAC bloc, several benefits will be registered. One is that the Horn of Africa nation has been plagued by civil war and insecurity for decades. This problem has almost brought the sizeable country to its knees. Had it not been for the intervention of brotherly willing countries like Uganda, Burundi and Kenya (militarily, under the AMISOM arrangement), a catastrophe could have happened. Even then, much of the country remains under the control of “nonstate” actors that pose a danger to the entire region.
By joining the larger Community, the Somali leadership under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will see their people benefit from the security cover of the combined eight nation-strong security forces. Strategic security is of fundamental importance if Africans are to settle and work towards prosperity. A stronger security bloc will also dissuade aggressors from thinking of attacking any East African country because of the combined firepower at our disposal. Indirectly, this will promote engagement and dialogue for peace, since the small groups pushing the interests of a few will have second thoughts about using violent methods.
With Somalia on board, East Africa’s combined population is around 350 million (equal to that of the USA). This is a big market for goods produced locally, as well as an area of opportunity at a time when our young people have skills that they need to employ in the service of society. All people need markets for goods they produce, jobs, goods and services that they don’t produce or have themselves, a safe environment to live and work, infrastructure and other social services. The pursuit of these common interests should convince anybody resisting the idea of Integration to realise why their thinking is faulty and retrogressive in a highly competitive world where comparative advantages must be maximised. The magic is in numbers and areas of concentration of power!
So, what remains to be done? All East Africans should agree that the only way is to federate/integrate and prosper (together) or we perish (in isolation)!
The author is the Deputy Presidential Press Secretary
Email: faruk.kirunda@statehouse.go.ug
0776980486/0783990861
