By Madi Jobarteh
For over six decades, African leaders have stood at podiums in New York, passionately demanding reform of the United Nations, particularly its powerful Security Council. Year after year, the same speeches are delivered, the same promises made, and yet nothing changes.
This tired script has become a ritual; a hollow tradition that produces no results. Since the 1960s, Africa has pleaded for a permanent seat on the Security Council, citing the continent’s size, population, and role in global peace and security. But these calls have fallen on deaf ears. The truth is stark: the UN is not built to serve Africa’s interests, and those who control its levers of power have no incentive to share them. The time has come for Africa to stop begging and start building.
The futility of the UN reform argument
The UN Security Council is a relic of World War II, designed to preserve the dominance of five victorious powers: the US, UK, France, Russia, and China, each with veto power. The structure was never meant to be democratic or fair. It is an exclusive club that thrives on inequality and imbalance.
For decades, Africa’s 54 nations have been told to “wait,” to “negotiate,” to “find consensus.” Meanwhile, conflicts rage across the continent, decisions are made without Africa’s input, and interventions are dictated from outside. Continuing to plead for inclusion only reinforces Africa’s dependency and weakness on the global stage.
If the last sixty years have taught us anything, it is this: UN reform will not happen because those who benefit from the status quo will never willingly dilute their power. Africa must therefore stop asking for a seat at someone else’s table and instead build its own.
The African Union as the future
The African Union (AU) was created to be more than a talk shop; it was envisioned as the foundation of a united, powerful, and self-reliant Africa. Yet today, it remains underfunded, politically fragmented, and overly dependent on external donors, almost all of whom have their own agendas.
Instead of channeling its diplomatic energy into begging for UN reform, Africa should redirect that energy into strengthening the AU. This means financing our own institutions rather than relying on foreign donors to fund over 60% of the AU’s budget. It means building a unified African security mechanism as proposed by Nkrumah in 1963 to handle conflicts on the continent without waiting for UN peacekeepers. It also means establishing strong continental governance structures that can protect human rights, uphold democracy, and curb corruption, as well as developing Africa’s own trade, economic, and technological partnerships that place Africa’s interests first. In short, Africa must treat the AU not as a symbolic club, but as a vehicle for continental sovereignty.
These ideas are not new. One just needs to go back to the speeches of Africa’s founding leaders such as Nyerere, Nkrumah, Ture, Selassie, and others who made tangible proposals for a united Africa back then. Better still, go back to the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action or the 1991 Abuja Treaty for the economic development of Africa. These blueprints had laid down tangible roadmaps which, if Africa’s leaders and their technocrats had followed through, today Africa would have been the world’s topmost economic powerhouse!
Africa has what it takes
Contrary to the narrative of helplessness often pushed by external powers and the corrupt leaders and technocrats on the continent, Africa is not poor. The continent is immensely rich in natural and human resources. From vast mineral reserves to fertile lands, youthful populations to innovative entrepreneurs, Africa has all it needs to thrive except the political will and unity to harness these assets.
The idea that Africa “needs” charity or foreign aid is both false and damaging. The question must be asked who created the crises of poverty and exclusion in the first place, for which aid would be required? Why are “donors” themselves not upholding human rights and democracy to deal with the autocrats and their corruption to prevent the crises of poverty, exclusion, and violence? This is a question that requires conversation. Too often, external aid comes with strings attached, fostering dependency and undermining self-reliance. True partnerships should be based on mutual respect and shared benefits, not paternalistic handouts. After all, the fact is no one is a donor to Africa. Never.
Instead, Africa has been THE Donor to everyone else over the past 500 years to today. What the US, UK, EU countries and China and Russia make out of Africa annually – through both fair and illicit trade – is more than the so-called aid they give to Africa! The figures are in the open! The Industrial Revolution in Europe and the wealth of America are built primarily out of the enslavement and colonization of Africa for which they have never been held accountable: Dispossession. Extermination. Forced Labour. Enslavement. Rape. Sexual Violence. Occupation. Dehumanisation. Apartheid. War Crimes. Genocide.
Breaking free from a colonial mentality
Africa’s obsession with UN reform reflects a deeper psychological challenge: a colonial mindset that seeks validation from outside powers. By constantly demanding inclusion in global structures that were never designed for us, Africa’s leaders inadvertently reinforce the very systems that marginalize us. As long as African leaders prioritize being recognized by the UN and the rest of the world over building genuine continental strength, Africa will remain a junior partner in global affairs. It is time to break this cycle.
A call to action
Africa does not need the UN, the Commonwealth, La Francophonie, FIFA or WTO, etc. as they are currently constituted. This is not to say that Africa should isolate itself from the world. On the contrary, Africa should engage globally but on its own terms. That means negotiating as a united bloc, setting clear conditions for cooperation, and prioritising the interests of its people above all else.
The first step is to stop wasting diplomatic capital on an impossible dream of UN reform. The second step is to invest that energy into building a truly sovereign and powerful AU. Only then can Africa speak to the world with one voice and command respect. The world needs Africa more than Africa needs the world.
For too long, Africa has been a spectator and victim in global affairs, reacting to decisions made elsewhere. The time has come to take the stage, not as supplicants, but as equal players. The UN will not save Africa. The world will not hand over power out of kindness. If Africa is to rise, it must do so by its own hand.
The only obstacle to Africa’s development is the very leaders and their technocrats in charge of the institutions of governance and development in the various countries of the continent. Thanks to their inefficiency, corruption, colonial mentality and myopia, these elites have maintained a weakened and subservient Africa to any and every foreign nation just to serve their selfish interest.
Therefore, African presidents taking the podium at the UN headquarters pontificating about UN reforms and Africa’s place in the Security Council should be told that they are serving no purpose other than entrenching the weakness and disrespect of Africa. They are wasting the time and dignity of Africa. What these presidents need to do is to pack up and walk away from the UN and focus on the AU and the African people!
A better, more democratic and prosperous Africa is possible without the UN and the rest.
