Jake Sullivan, the U.S. National Security Advisor, is absolutely right.
The fundamental attributes of either national or regional/continental power–demography, geography, and natural resources–only matter to a particular but not full extent. Although Mr. Sullivan was discussing the United States, he might as well have been talking about Africa. After all, America’s growing population and abundant resources closely mirror what is happening in Africa. And even if the fifty-five Member States of the African Union attract less talent and investment than the United States does, the reality is that Africa’s unique circumstances have compelled and spurred innovation and reinvention.
Under the circumstances, we ought to ask: What are Africa’s unique circumstances? What is it that compels and spurs innovation and reinvention? This newspaper believes that Africa’s unique circumstances rest less on demography, geography, and natural resources and more on the ambitious hunger for regional integration. At the same time, while failures on the regional integration front hobble innovation and reinvention, these (failures) have failed colossally at curbing enthusiasm for connection and said innovation and reinvention.
Thanks to technological adaptability, young Africans have commercialized their online presence. They have collaborated and sold; many have moved from their parents’ or cousins’ retail services to the virtual space.
Then there is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
One of the best ways to understand the power of AfCFTA is to look at where today’s European Union was in 1951. Then, Europe’s regional integration infrastructure needed to be improved, and an African customs union had already been in place for almost half a century. And yet, in less than fifty years, the European Union demonstrated the efficacy of regional integration.
Given what we know about Africa’s capacity to leap from landlines to social media savvy, we ought to be excited about regional integration and what the AfCFTA can do if it garnered the resources to progress from a free trade area to a common market. As the European Commission and its precursor, the European Coal and Steel Community, demonstrated, successfully attracting significant American investment is a sure way to achieve economic prowess on the liberal democracy front. This is not to say that Chinese investment does not generate economic development. No. What matters here is that the AfCFTA could follow in the footsteps of the European Union – a functional common market that has managed to influence living standards throughout its twenty-seven member countries and beyond.
And as for Mr. Sullivan, he is right once again. The American public and private sectors have invested over US$ 3.5 trillion in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, clean energy production, biotechnology, and quantum computing. These are the things the United States needs to remain competitive. In the same vein, Africa must pivot away from its traditional assets and harness the true power of the AfCFTA; emulating the United States (and any other world power) by investing in the post-COVID ecosystem.
Dennis Matanda, Ph.D.
