Are African unions on their deathbed? Or is he already dead?
Today, many negative events define the African continent, raising questions about the existence and relevance of Africa's political leadership.
War, hunger, illness, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment, and many other disasters include infrastructure, health, education and technology.
The last time the AU was heard was in February during the election of the committee chair.
The contest pitted former Kenya Prime Minister Leila Odinga against Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Yousouf.
The campaign that led to the poll was a fierce issue that attracted global media attention.
On February 25, 2025, the contest witnessed the election of Youssouf as chairman of the new African Union Committee, replacing Chad's Mahamato Musa Faki.
Since the election, there hasn't been much heard from either the AU or its committee.
This silence comes among over 20 million children on the continent skipping schools as a result of a long domestic war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a military internal struggle in Sudan, a political hegemony in South Sudan, and a skirmish that consumes other lives in many West Africa and the Sahel countries.
Africa is a pathetic case. This is a continent where children die of starvation and malnutrition, and leaders steal from extremely poor people and their own resources.
Hundreds of African migrants travelling on overloaded boats each day are perished in the Mediterranean, seeking to travel to Europe in search of what they consider to be a better life.
Immigrants are fleeing persecution through Africa's oppressive regimes, poverty and poor health care.
Sadly, African leaders do not dare to confront these derogations and tragic events.
For a long time, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has been a strong supporter of more focused, self-respecting leadership in Africa, mourning people of continental humiliation and enduring with regard to economic alienation in the world's spheres.
Museveni's Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, has similarly expressed concern over the issue.
At the end of his administration, President Uhuru Kenyatta raised the issue at the international level, calling on Africa to take charge of its own issues and address the issues facing the continent.
In the first months since the general election on August 9, 2022, President William Root spoke out about Pan-African issues, including distressed migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean. However, he was significantly broken about the subject.
African AU and leaders chose to look the other way as the continent continued to glide further into misery, trauma and pity.
While most African countries gained independence over 60 years ago, the continent has yet to chart its own path in challenging global geopolitics.
African leaders still see from the periphery of despair in a global field where important decisions have been made and are being implemented, with widespread social, political and economic impacts of global importance.
For a long time, Africa has taken back seats on issues affecting its people and has left the western capital, and recently the Far East to resolve the issue.
However, African heads of state converge annually under the auspices of the AU to discuss the challenges and outcomes of the continent.
Oddly, the issue of illegal migration and control from affected countries is not a feature. Such problems are left to the West to find a solution.
It's time for Africa to rise. Leaders must change the AU from just a talk shop to a serious caucus of rational men and women to build a strong foundation for the future of the continent. au needs to wake up from that long sleep.
The author is a revision editor with people every day.
