Hello World!

Welcome to the AfriKili blog. I am extremely excited to launch it! Over the first 7 days of this blog’s existence, I will introduce the Afrikili concept by posting 7 daily entries. At the end of this 7-day series of entries, you will have a clear understanding of what AfriKili aims to achieve and we hope that you will be empowered to join the movement.

Let’s get to work!

The term “AfriKili” is a contraction of Africa and Akili. The term “Akili” means intelligence in Swahili, the most spoken language in Africa, with an estimated 150 million speakers. Consequently, AfriKili stands for African intelligence.

Because Africa is the cradle of humanity, it has inherently possessed intelligence from the beginning. That intelligence is still present on the continent and that intelligence is spread in the diaspora throughout the world. AfriKili embodies a movement that wants to rely on African intelligence and heritage, to build a strong, unified, thriving, and prosperous Africa. This process must be endogenous to Africa and its diaspora. It cannot be imposed from the outside.

More specifically, this blog will seek to inspire movements and coalitions that advocate for the creation of a federal United States of Africa by focusing on three pillars: disseminate Pan-African historical knowledge, supporting Pan-African business initiatives, and drive Pan-African political action.

Over time, many Africans have developed sentiments of nationalism centered around current African nations and borders. We should remember that, not long ago, these same national borders that we are defending so proudly, were imposed on our great-great grandparents by colonial powers, without their accord.

Overnight, our ancestors were told that they belonged to new nations, as pawns without any rights. Natural interactions that existed between tribes, groups, and nations were forcefully severed, and new artificial borders were enforced by the power of the whip and devastating weapons.

Clearly, African borders were not drawn for the benefit of Africans. They were drawn during the scramble for Africa to help colonial powers carve and exploit the continent They remain shameful heritage of colonialism and, as the former Tanzanian President, Julius Nyerere said, “we need to renounce that shame.” It is time to realize that we have the power to extend our sentiments of nationalism to the entire African continent, and we must change the narrative.

Today, we take flight aboard AfriKili with the dream of reaching our final destination, the creation of a United States of Africa. Surely, the journey will be full of obstacles, resistance, and many will accuse those who join this movement of being utopian. Regardless of the challenges ahead, I am determined to give it my all. To quote Madiba Nelson Mandela, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Let us take flight together and let’s get to work!

AfriKili, African intelligence to build a new Africa!