The story of Africa Union is not the story of Africa

"Africans and Their History." Do you know that is the title Joseph E. Harris gave his 303 page book? Let us do the postmortem.

#1. Who is the author? An African? Let me help you, the answer is NO!

#2. Have you read the title very well? Underline the word, "THEIR."

#3. Must we wait for a foreigner to tell us our history?

You said no. But can I ask?

"Besides knowing the history of OAU which has metamorphosed into AU within time space, how many of us (Africans) truly know the history of this continent?" I will stake a wager that not even a fraction of professors of history.

You look at the school curriculum from upper primary to second cycle educational levels, all you see is the repetition of the same things:

the date AU was formed, Achievements, Challenges and if anything again, we rote learn the chairpersons from the days of Haile Selassie to date. 'Na lie?'

But the story of AU is not the story of Africa. If you haven't sat in a lecture hall at University of Ghana studying African History, then you are probably going to be a complete novice about the story of this continent. The height to which we are so oblivious of our own history is the common denominator for the countless challenges we are facing.

No country on this continent is ready to assimilate fellow man/woman from different part of the country because we think we are fighting separate battles. 'Massa', that's a big lie. The battle is for us all.

But since we lack the understanding of our own history we assume otherwise.

Africa is the richest continent. However, it has been painted black more than all other continents put together since creation. If the story of AFRICA can be well told than echoing the history of AU into our eardrums every day, the exodus of Africans to the homeland of our mockers in search of a greener pasture can be limited. Tell me it's not ignorance about the prospect of staying here that is increasing the penchant for going to other continents. Trust even the village idiot to be able to know this.

We must stop trumpeting AU history and trumpet the history of AFRICA, the land of our birth, where our umbilical cords were buried. AU itself hasn't done enough in projecting the image of this continent.

It's the recycling of old achievements. The same achievements I learnt about AU in JHS were the same I learnt in College.

'Nye bro', lets look at this very well. Do you think the agenda for the AU summits do change at all? Well for me I doubt. Maybe I have to follow Mr. President to the next one to see 'filifili', 'ditodito'. That's the only way I can undo my long held suspicion. If you ask me to tell you the agenda of the first AU summit to date, I can do that more than Prof. Allortey can solve equations in quantum mathematics written in hieroglyphics. And on the scale of 0-10, you will give me not less than 8.

It's all about the quest to achieve a United African State. The weightier matters are always left untouched. With their lenses adjusted a bit forward and relaxed on their noses they take cursory look at issues that are golden nuggets because they are the very cause.

Why should they talk about peace when some are worse than notorious for threatening Armageddon during election years?

Why should they discuss about poverty when like lump of sugar attracts ants, some attract it through bad policies and appalled leadership?

But wait even a minute. Which African leader will ever think of leaving the luxuries of his/her presidency to do that "unthinkable" thing called a United State of Africa? Robert Mugabe? (Apuutor!).

Jacob Zuma? (Puiiiii!) John Mahama? (Holalaaa!) Faure Gnassingbé?

(Hmmhmm). "Massa", forget. 'Power sweet African leaders'. If one person can hold onto power since independence and when his tenure of office was coming to an end he tactically called for amendment of constitution you expect him to give that sit to someone somewhere in the name of a united African States. Maybe not in their generation.

I'm even deviating from the subject matter.

Back on track now. My point is that we should tell the Africa story the Africa way. Those people will never see anything good about this continent. I can bet on that using my last hard earned depreciated Ghanaian cedi. The school curriculum must take care of our history; where we are from, where we are and where we have to go.

We have had enough about AU. Funnily, they give us holiday every year to commemorate its founding day. Well, like a nose, no matter grotesquely misshapen, everyone has an opinion and this is mine; I don't think we even need the holidays.

Lest I forget. Do you pay much attention to the screamers on the front pages of our dailies? Our African media 'kruaa' I don't know about their how far. They nicely craft the headlines about the wrongs on the continent and the goods are scarcely reported. Even that I guess is done apologetically. What do you think? Do you know some of our newspapers report stories from other part of the world before coming to write something at a column they mostly call "INSIDE AFRICA"? Mr.

Ken Ashigbe, 'I dey lie?'

Methinks if we will be celebrating this AU holidays, the media can do us good by devoting their airtimes to educate us and tell the stories- good ones of course- about Africa than much talk on AU because African History/stories is far far far different from AU history and we don't need that now.

We need to know about our history in order to take destiny into our own hands.

Divine K. Kpe Freelance Writer l Author l Speaker l CEO of Teen Age Build-Gh l Poet Email: divsonek@gmail.com