African influencers, journalists, artists, cultural leaders, and policymakers have called on African Union (AU) member states to accelerate efforts towards a borderless Africa and full implementation of free movement across the continent.
The group in a statement by Africans Rising (a pan-African movement), made the call at a High-Level Influencers Forum on Borderless Africa held at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The meeting was convened to mark 141 years since the 1884–85 Berlin Conference.
The forum brought together 36 influencers, journalists, and artists from all regions of Africa and the diaspora, who signed the “Addis Ababa Influencers Declaration on Borderless Africa”. The declaration urges AU action on free movement, regional integration, and continental unity.
The statement quoted the Senior Advisor on International Partnerships at the AU Commission, Amb. Fred Ngoga emphasises the importance for regional integration to be people-driven.
“Integration is more than policy; it is about people experiencing freedom across their own continent. Influencers have the power to make this real for millions of Africans,” he said.
The Coordinator of Africans Rising, Mr Hardi Yakubu, urged African nations to dismantle the colonial borders that restricted mobility.
“We can no longer complain about what the Berlin Conference did 141 years ago when we have the power to undo it. We must begin to localise the borderless campaign,” he said.
Yakubu further said that Africans should not be paying in dollars to travel within their own continent, especially to Addis Ababa, the seat of the AU. The declaration was formally presented to the Ambassador. Robert Afriyie, Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the AU, commended the unity of purpose shown by the influencers.
“Difficulty is not impossibility. Justice is hard, but never out of reach,” he said.
Cautioning creators to use digital platforms responsibly, Afriyie said: “The device in your hand once filled an entire room. Use it wisely. When we own the narrative, we reclaim our power.”
Participants also announced the establishment of a Borderless Africa Fund, to support advocacy, awareness campaigns, and initiatives promoting free movement across the continent.
Grammy-nominated musician, Rocky Dawuni, encouraged African creatives to drive positive narratives. “Africa has the diversity and creativity to populate millions of new worlds, but our full potential remains unrealised,” he said.
The forum noted that only 32 of the 55 AU member states had signed the AU Protocol on Free Movement adopted in 2018, while merely four countries, Rwanda, Niger, Mali, and São Tomé and Príncipe had ratified it.
Participants pledged to use their platforms to advocate for the adoption of the protocol, affordable intra-African travel, visa-free movement, and stronger continental integration.
The statement said the event ended with a call to citizens to support the initiative by signing the Borderless Africa petition hosted by Africans Rising.
- Source: NAN
