January 28/2022/ENA/  The 35th Ordinary session of the African Union (AU) is a defining moment for Africa as the continent wants its voice to be heard globally, former Kenyan parliament deputy speaker Farah Maalim said.

Speaking to ENA, the former deputy speaker stated that the summit has come when Africa has many pressing issues as a continent.

“ It is a defining moment for Africa as it wants its voice to be heard globally. And the continent  is not begging anybody. Africa is asserting itself as a continent with more than a billion people and more untapped  resources as well as the youngest population.”

Thee 35^th  ordinary session is therefore highly anticipated to pass bold decisions for the betterment of the continent, Maalim stated.

According to him, the summit is coming at a critical juncture for the heads of states and governments in the continent that would enable them to think inwards instead of outwards.

Elaborating on this point, the former deputy speaker noted that there are currently tremendous pressure from some countries of the Western world against some AU member countries that  desire to impose neocolonialism.

Africa should have the courage to manage such interference, the Kenyan deputy speaker stressed.

“Africa should be bound basically to go back to itself like the founding time, the very original time it was founded in which the heads of states have got to be thinking inwards instead of outwards. Inwards in the sense that to think inside Africa like inter-Africa trade, African solutions to the problems that the continent is facing.”  

The speaker also underlined that some of the Western powers are still seeking more exploitation of untapped African resources and they are reinforcing unwarranted interferences, adding that “Africa needs now to come together and say no more.”

He further said, “ The Western world particularly wants to change regimes and they want to put their own people on us. So Africa needs now to come together and say no more. I think that is a very powerful message and it has been taken by fortunately also the millions of Africans who live in the diaspora that see exactly what the true nature of the Western white is.”

Accordingly, the former deputy speaker believes that the 35th Summit of the African Union has to be seen as an important event for leaders of the continent that are going to settle African problems and register a lot of success to accelerate all-round regional integration.

Maalim also urged every African head of state that comes to this assembly to stand up to be counted and not to be apologist for Western interference.

 

The summit of the Union is going to be held at its headquarters in Addis Ababa after a series of virtual conferences due to the outbreak of COVID-19.