Marking Africa Day on May 25:
Growing up in Sierra Leone in the 1980s and 1990s, the buzz around Pan-Africanism was loud and intoxicating. From classrooms to community halls, the dream of a united Africa: proud, self-sufficient, and unapologetically itself, was a recurring theme. The movement, often fueled by charismatic leaders, revolutionary poetry, and anti-colonial rhetoric, promised a continent liberated not just from physical domination, but from mental and economic dependence.
But despite the idealism, I wasn’t convinced. To me, it all felt too theoretical, too disconnected from the lived realities of African citizens struggling with basic needs and political instability. I noticed that, over time, the romanticism faded, especially among the youth. Today, Pan-Africanism doesn’t carry the same momentum, at least not in its ideological form. Yet, beneath the surface, its spirit may still be alive, manifesting differently in this generation’s pursuit of dignity, ownership, and agency.
The Aid Problem
For decades, aid was seen as Africa’s bridge to development. Billions in donor funds poured into health, education, infrastructure, governance, and now climate change mitigation. Yet, paradoxically, while aid helped save lives and plug emergencies, it also fostered a culture of dependence, encouraged corruption in some contexts, and weakened the very institutions it sought to strengthen. Often donor-driven priorities overshadowed home-grown strategies, and short-term project cycles replaced long-term vision. Africa eventually became the world’s laboratory for development experiments.
However, a turning point could be the recent bold decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to cut (or review) aid to a number of African countries. While controversial, this move could inadvertently pose a critical challenge to the continent: What if aid suddenly stopped? Could Africa survive, or better yet, thrive?
Instead of panic, I believe this moment should spark a powerful reckoning. The withdrawal of aid need not spell disaster for African governments. It could be a wake-up call, an opportunity to wean the continent off dependency and embrace a path of self-determination, self-worth, and sustainability. Africa must not be a charity case; it must be a partner, a producer, and a pioneer.
What the continent needs now is not more aid, but more agency, more investment in systems that are designed, owned, powered, and monitored by Africans themselves. That is how development becomes sustainable and dignified.
Thankfully, a quiet revolution is underway.
Across the continent, a new generation of Africans is embracing a different mindset, one that doesn’t romanticize the past but reclaims the future. It’s a shift from dependency to dignity. From foreign solutions to local innovation. From waiting on change to becoming the change.
African Solutions in Action
In West Africa, Sierra Leone is quietly rewriting its public service narrative. Through the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), the country launched civic tech solutions to improve governance and public service delivery. From real-time data dashboards for education and healthcare to digitally-driven monitoring systems, DSTI has become a hub of homegrown innovation, empowering citizens and policymakers alike to make informed decisions based on local realities.
In North Africa, Morocco is leading the continent’s green energy revolution. The Noor Solar Complex, one of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plants, symbolizes a bold national shift toward renewable energy. It reduces dependence on fossil fuels and demonstrating how Africa can lead on climate innovation with its own resources.
In East Africa, Kenya’s digital economy is thriving thanks to a robust ecosystem of startups and financial technologies. M-PESA, now a global case study, has transformed financial inclusion by enabling millions to save, invest, and transact securely, without relying on traditional banking infrastructure or foreign capital.
In Southern Africa, Botswana stands out as a beacon of responsible governance. Long before it was fashionable, the country insisted on managing its diamond wealth independently, negotiating fair terms with multinationals and channeling revenues into education, health, and infrastructure. It is a model of how Africa’s abundant minerals, if judiciously managed, can fuel self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on foreign aid.
In Central Africa, Rwanda offers a compelling story of institutional rebirth. From the ashes of conflict, the country has built a state that prioritizes homegrown policies, data-driven governance, and women’s leadership. Today, it ranks among Africa’s cleanest, safest, and most digitally forward economies, by betting on itself.
These examples are not isolated wins. They are part of a broader movement of self-determined progress, and they thrive best when supported by institutions that believe in Africa’s potential. And this where I think institutions like United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group should come in: ‘partnering for progress’, and development.
Who Must Lead the Way?
A self-determined Africa requires coordinated leadership from all segments of society, from government to the private sector, media, education/academia, security sector, judiciary, and young people including women.
Governments must adopt transparent, citizen-focused policies rooted in national context, not external pressure.
The Media must amplify truth, hold power to account, and promote stories of African success and innovation.
The Private Sector, like UBA Group, must be bold in financing local enterprise, backing African ideas, and integrating regional markets.
Law Enforcement and Security Forces must transform from being instruments of oppression to protectors of peace and human rights.
Education Systems must evolve from rote learning to skills development, critical thinking, digital fluency, patriotism through sustained civic education.
Judiciaries and Parliaments must safeguard justice and accountability, ensuring laws serve the people, not the powerful.
Young people, including women and people living with disabilities, must be engaged not as future leaders but as leaders of now, empowered through access, mentorship, and trust.
In the words of Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, one of Africa’s most passionate Pan-African voices: “Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed.”
His speeches continue to echo across universities, conferences, and community spaces, not as mere rhetoric, but as calls to action. Lumumba challenges African leaders to shed mediocrity, reject neo-colonial mindsets, and embrace their moral duty to build a continent worthy of its potential.
Only when all these forces work in concert, across borders and sectors, will Africa’s future be not just self-determined, but unstoppable.
Reflect and Act
Therefore, as we mark Africa Day 2025, it is time to reflect positively and take action. Let us celebrate not only how far we have come but also how clearly we can now see the road ahead; a road paved not with dependency, but with deliberate purpose, partnership, and pride.
Africa does not lack resources; we have lacked the confidence to prioritize and maximize them. We do not lack talent; we have lacked the systems to nurture and retain it. But all that is changing now.
With each solar panel lit in Morocco, each mobile payment in Kenya, each digital reform in Sierra Leone, each fair mineral deal in Botswana, and each policy breakthrough in Rwanda, the continent is showing that a self-determined future is not a dream but a decision.
Meanwhile, the world may still view Africa through the lens of what we need. But it’s time we see ourselves through the lens of what we already have, and what we can build together. This is not about going it alone. It is about standing tall, looking within, appreciate and value what we have, and moving beyond aid into a future defined by Africans, for Africans.
Pan-Africanism may not be trending today, but its soul, the call to self-belief and collective progress, is very much alive. And if we nurture it with wisdom, humility, and action, Africa’s self-determined future will no longer be a dream. It will be our daily reality.
