Sirte Conference: 24 years since the establishment of the African Union

 Sirte Conference: 24 years since the establishment of the African Union By Abdulwasiu Hassan 24 years ago - on September 9, 1999 - African ...

 Sirte Conference: 24 years since the establishment of the African Union

By Abdulwasiu Hassan

24 years ago - on September 9, 1999 - African leaders gathered in the city of Sirte in Libya for an important event in the history of the continent, in which a building was established to achieve common goals.

At that time, the Organization of African Union (OAU) is the one that unites the continent which has different countries, people, politics and culture.

The Sirte conference is the foundation of what the world knows today as the African Union (AU) - an organization that was officially launched in 2002 to replace the OAU as a major unity among African countries and their peoples.

As a result of the meeting in Sirte, it was agreed that the continent needs a new organization that is suitable to deal with the challenges that are being faced at that time, including fulfilling the goals of some of the countries that are not directly under the colonial rule.

One of the steps taken by the AU is to ensure that most African countries have signed a free trade agreement in 2018.

Another thing that African leaders want to see at that time is the development of politics and society in the continent.

The trip went on

Even though the AU is walking on the path that its founders set it on about 25 years ago, analysts believe that there is still work ahead of it.

One of the steps taken by the AU is to ensure that most African countries have signed a free trade agreement in 2018.

The main reason for this agreement is the promise to lift millions of Africans out of poverty and increase their income by 571 million dollars, according to a study by the World Bank.

The study also shows that African countries trade more between themselves and with other countries than they do between themselves.

Commentators gave examples of such information that there is a need for the AU to give more efforts in many areas.

"The truth is that we have not made any progress that we want to make," as Mahmud Jega told TRT Africa, who is a famous Nigerian journalist.

“We expect Africa to be similar to the African Union by now – economic integration perhaps with a common currency; perhaps with one passport so that immigration between the countries will not require a visa, and other means of cooperation," he said.

He pointed out that although some parts of the continent such as West Africa and South Africa have tried to unite the regions, there are not many proposals to be made.

"To some extent, the Arab region of Africa has tried to unite. But the unity of the entire region? In fact, there is still a lot of work ahead," said Jega.

Professor Kamilu Fagge of Bayero University in Kano has the same opinion of Jega.

"When the OAU changed to the AU, it was expected that the AU would be more successful in history than the OAU, especially on the issue of African unity," he said.

"The way the situation is organized is that the AU was wanted to be like the European Union. Except

after that political agreement, it did not establish the unity of the people as people thought," he said.

Coup and instability

The continent has been mentioned in recent days in world news due to the coup d'état in some countries and the instability, where there have been coup attempts and coup d'états about 10 times in the continent since 2020 until now.

At the same time that this wave of coups is spreading, observers in Gabon believe that there is a need to give more effort to prevent the change of government that is being done without following the rules of the constitution.

"How the AU will prevent a coup and ensure peace in the continent is the biggest challenge today," as Jega explained.

"There have been many coups - in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Sudan and now in Gabon - it is a sign of concern that is related to other problems.

"These include economic problems and poverty in the continent and the fact that democracy has not taken hold of the continent as it should."

Jega explained that democracy goes beyond holding elections from time to time

in many African countries.

"Almost all the countries where elections are held - be it Kenya, Sierra Leone, Niger or Gabon - there are allegations of fraud and corruption, ignoring the opinion of the community, etc.," he told TRT Afrika.

The removal of the mandate of some elected politicians in Africa is a sign of ignoring public opinion, a situation that observers believe the AU should take a stand on.

Professor Fagge stated that there is a need for the AU to use diplomacy to address any leader or civilian or vice versa who has ideologies that threaten democracy.

"I think there is a need