WDC (8/9/14) – During the Pan African response to the U.S.-Africa Summit, Dr. Leonard Jeffries stressed that the Washington Summit was driven by a clear interest of the United States of America to dominate Africa as part of the new scramble for the re-colonization of Africa. He highlighted African and African Diaspora nations and communities who are under duress by major global powers to the point of allowing the domination of these economies by foreign interests. He especially emphasized the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) as the most important and dangerous agenda to promote the U.S. domination of Africa in the 21st century.
Both the Africa Summit and YALI were first recommended by key Washington Africa policy advocates such as Mel Foote of the Constituency for Africa to President B. H. Obama after he became of the President of the United States. To most leaders in WADU and the Pan African Movement, both the Summit and YALI have come with a great cost to African people. According to Dr. Jeffries, YALI is attracting thousands of the best minds of Africa to be under the direction of the United States government. Over 500 of the best minds he said has been trained to take over Africa and another 1,000 are in the pipeline to control the direction of Africa. Additionally, over 50,000 youth across Africa have been identified by the U.S. government as potential leaders to promote American agenda in Africa.
Also during the meeting, Minister P.D. Menelik Harris pointed that the most important agenda for Africans is for a Union Government, not the AGOA economic agenda of the Obama administration for the corporate takeover of Africa. The economic success of Africa he stressed is dependent on a strong Union government. He explained that the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was first pushed by Mike Williams, a former leader in SNCC, to promote economic trade with Africa similar to the successes of China, Mexico and other regional powers in the world. However, the trade bill came under attack by both the leaders of the left and right of American politics but was rescued with the help of the Black Church, particularly against the then powerful conservative Trent Lott of Mississippi.
Minister Menelik who helped to spearhead the Africa Trade bill with the support of the Black Church and the full support of African leaders including Zimbabwe, called the bill on the eve of the 21st century an unprecedented opportunity for fair trade, over the past slave trade, to unleash Africa’s industrial power in the 21st century. The launching of Africa Trade Bill also coincided with the launching of the United States of Africa and was seen as a win-win for Africa to accelerate the economic empowerment of Africa. Presently, only Nigeria, South Africa and Angola have mainly benefited from the bill. Menelik added that the U.S. and EU attacks on Africa were to destroy the Union government agenda for Africa’s economic empowerment. Menelik stressed that the attack on Africa in 2011 by Obama causing chaos across Africa was the deadliest blow to Africa since chattel slavery and colonialism and all major agreements with foreign powers must be rejected until Africans are able to establish a Union Government.
At the close of the WADU meeting on the Summit, the WADU Secretary General urged the mobilization of Africans across the world to restore the priority for a Union Government of Africa. Menelik declared that the Obama 2015 AGOA bill without a Union government is a major threat to Africa’s liberation in the 21st century and that this will lead to more genocidal wars. He also urged WADU to work with other organizations to build a Garvey Centennial Action Task (GCAT) Force of about 100 leaders in every nation and State to help mobilize Africans culturally, economically and politically to transform the African world. Further, he urged all to give special support to President Mugabe and the people of Zimbabwe as the shining examples of Africa’s greatness even while boycotted by Obama.
The forum was also hosted by Nana Yaa Farika and comments were made by Dr. Rosalind Jeffries and Queen Mother Dr. Blakely. Finally, you can also advocate that “Africa is not for sale” as Dr. Blakely insisted on with each African, business, political and youth leader she met at the Summit. WADU will host a Marcus Garvey Centennial Forum in New York on August 22, 2014. For more information, please contact http://www.wadupam.org/.
