WHAT IS AFRICA? / WHO IS AN AFRICAN?

In the light of African unification, while referring to Africa, what’re we talking about? The: Geography, landmass, continent History belonging to a land of ancient and prominent civilization of the Nile Basin ,kingdom of aksum, the Nubian kingdoms the empires of the shale(kanem-bornu, Ghana, Mali and songhi great Zimbabwe and the kongo.Being part of the inhuman practices of the slave trade and colonialism.Culture, music, dance, eating, dressing stylePolitics: A land where its people have been fighting for liberation and freedom from colonialism and still against neo-colonialism, and luck of good governance.Economy; A land of abundant natural and human resources.Race, skin color, hairWho is an African the Diaspora, Arab Africa, Ethiopians, or Nigerians?

From my point of view…. yes it is the sum total of these component manifestations that gave birth to the AFRICAN IDENTITY; being part of the social processes of the continent (politics, economy, culture religion…) of the past, the present and the future. More importantly it is a sense of belongingness, brotherhood and sisterhood (solidarity), oneness, Africanism, pride, dignity, integrity, patriotism (nationalism)it is the overwhelming bond of emotions, beyond physical boundaries.

CommonalitiesBecause of the complexity and differences prevailing in the continent, the attempt to generalize and subsume AFRICA is difficult if not impossible.Similarities:·         Experience of European conquest exceptions: Ethiopia and Liberia ·         Level of economic development: similarity is reflected in ; GDP, the importance of agriculture to their economies, the place they occupy in the international division of labor ,terms of trade  is deficit  ·         Social indicators such as ;high level of illiteracy ,poverty, rural to urban migration ,civil war and strife ,low sanitation, lack  of clean water ,HIV/AIDS and other diseases ,extended family deterioration etc. exception ;Arab Africa and south Africa. Because of the problems of the economic structure they also exhibit similarities in their social structure: in terms of how society is divided? The important social groups.·         Pre-colonial history: Large parts of Africa before coloinalization were never associated with the process of state formation. There were around 500 independent states .The 54 states are artificial creations of the colonialists. Exceptions: parts of west Africa, Arab Africa ,Abyssinia·         Post-colonial history: large parts of Africa went through similar stages of political evolution: Inclination to turn to authoritarianism, collapse of liberalism, then to democratization. ·         Politicization of ethnicity.: how ,when and how does social ties based on criteria’s such as common language, territory ,psychological  makeup ,culture religion, myth of common ancestry become basis for political participation ,mobilization and action .

As I have mentioned, so many problems prevail, like internal disorder, cultural and economic dependency …………..you name them we have them. So from you’re point of view what is Africa and who is an African? Or are we just a bunch of fuzzy headed dreamers, utopians we are just dwelling on something that doesn’t even exist?