When the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was set up on May 25, 1963 there was a load of hope among many African leaders. Many countries were still having teething problems experimenting with independence.

Africa at that time had some heavyweights such as Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt, Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere and Sekou Touré of Guinea, to name but a few.

They inspired hope and were very zealous in their belief that a united Africa would unlock the continent’s potential and propel it upstairs, to seat on the table of nations on equal footing with the former colonisers. How wrong they were.

It all began with in-fighting among the giants, elbowing each other for domination. The feuds were then fueled by the fact that it was at the height of the Cold War: the USSR was pulling on one side and the US the other.

African countries had to choose sides and that signaled the beginning of the end. The two superpowers started fomenting trouble on the continent; coup d’états followed one after the other.

The idealistic Pan African Movement was sidelined; it lost its relevance and influence. Progressive leaders were either overthrown or assassinated; others succumbed to temptations to amass wealth primitively, systematically looting their countries. The dream of a united Africa started to fade.

Today, we are seeing the revival of the dream; the OAU was replaced with the African Union (AU) in 1999 and for close to two decades nothing came of it. It was still the same old, directionless organisation.

Today, there is some hope. With the adoption of the continental free trade area agreement, liberalisation the airspace and the steadily growing of free movement of people, there is reason to hope that maybe now we are on the right track.

This week has been dedicated to the Pan African Movemen which will culminate with the Africa Liberation Day. It is a week to reflect and keep the candle burning.