In 1963, 33 African leaders convened in Addis Ababa with a shared vision—One Africa. One army. One currency. One voice. Sixty-two years later, that vision remains an unfulfilled aspiration.
Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao delivered a powerful and impassioned speech, highlighting Africa's inability to realize the dreams envisioned by its founders. She reflected on the ideological divide between the Casablanca Group, which advocated for immediate unity, and the Monrovia Group, which favored a gradual approach, proclaiming:
When the Casablanca Group was defeated in 1963, Africa lost its pivotal moment.” During her address, she posed a challenging question to Africa’s leaders and youth:
Why is it that we have yet to achieve even the most basic goal of visa-free travel for Africans within our own continent?
She shared a vivid example from a border market, where women on opposite sides were unable to trade tomatoes due to visa restrictions, describing the scenario as “insane and ridiculous.
Addressing the continent's intellectual and political stagnation, she passionately stated:
We have been miseducated. Our educational system must be revised to embrace Pan-African ideals.
Dr. Chihombori-Quao also took aim at global institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, and the UN—established in the aftermath of Europe’s tribal conflicts in 1945—arguing:
These organizations must be dismantled. We have no place within them.
She criticized African ministers who continue to travel to Washington to receive directives on devaluing their currencies and increasing borrowing, remarking:
“And they obediently respond, ‘Yes, master.’ They don’t push back. Loans that have been repaid countless times are still counted as debts. When will we awaken?
Regarding stolen African artifacts, her words were candid: “Our ancestors’ remains reside in European jars, not classified for repatriation but rather treated as ‘trophies of conquest.’ If we must destroy our heritage, let it be by our own hands—not theirs.
Dr. Chihombori-Quao concluded with an impassioned plea:
''We must reclaim our dignity, transform our education, dismantle the shackles of neocolonialism, and unite—not tomorrow, but now.”
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