"Proudly AU-frican Thursday":Let's Hear from You!

Hello!

It's been a while since we discussed some African affairs; I guess at this time of the year, many other thoughts have taken over--and not without reason!

As I write this from a rainy Ghanaian capital of Accra, I cannot help but feel optimistic that after the rain comes the sun.

Africa is beset with numerous problems, but we must and will overcome. If we ever want to make the African Union a one of the people, all of us need to bring pressure to bear on our GOVERNMENTS, who will, in turn bring pressure to bear for AU matters at the international fora of the UN and regional economic communities.

Just because it's not easy does not mean we cannot do it!

A couple of weeks ago, I dictatorially proclaimed THURSDAY as "Proudly Au-frican" day.

I am proud to have THREE identities: Ghanaian first, West African second, Au-frican third.

What about you? WHat are you proud of about Africa today?

Proudly AU-frican!

Look through the blogosphere and you'll notice that while a lot of people write about Africa, rare is the blog that looks at citizenship of the African Union. To that end, I would like to introduce you to one here: http://african-union-citizen.blogspot.com.

If you are on Facebook, you can also join the "I am an African Union (AU) Citizen!": http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70453161507&ref=ts.

Also join the AFRICAN UNION page on Facebook here: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Addis-Ababa-Ethiopia/African-Union-AU/54117436963?ref=ts. You don't have to be a member of Facebook to follow updates there.

On that page, you'll see that there are a number of questions I have posed about the AU, and making it REAL for Africans. These include:

1. Are people tired of hearing themselves being referred to as African? Have you tried calling yourself an "AU-frican"--as in a citizen of the AU countries?

2. What have you experienced today that made you proud of being an AU-frican?

3. Is an AU FBI conceivable? Can we have an African interpol, an ECOWAS/SADC/COMESA/IGAD?etc,...FBI??

4. where are the African diplomats on Facebook? If they're not Facebook shy, are their emails working ok? What is the AU position on technology on the continent?

5. Can AU countries ever have a position on international trade? Ever thought how juicy it would be to have 53 countries negotiating against even the almighty EU of 27 countries?

6. ECOBANK is originally a West African bank that is now Pan-African, being represented in Eastern and Southern Africa as well. Where are the other African banks?

7. What are the biggest African currencies on the continent? CFA? Naira? Rand? Shilling? The others?

8. For the average AU-frican, it's so costly to travel on the continent. Airlines are costly, and visas? Don't even mention them! Some AU countries don't even want to grant them to their compatriots? What's with that? What are some of the ideas to counter this?

I hope you will be able to pass the word round.



Thank you!

AFRICA CAN--MUST-- UNITE!
http://african-union-citizen.blogspot.com