While Pursuing the Bigger Picture, It Is Indispensable to Focus on Local Concerns

The overarching objective in Africa is to develop a single political and economic community that enables and facilitates the aspirations of Africans. Such aspiration is not only for the creation of a unified African but also for the resolution of the majority of socioeconomic and political obstacles that have held us back. In particular, protecting the “mode of production” and increasing the population’s access to benefits is of paramount importance. As essential as it is to progress toward the ultimate objective, it is equally crucial that urgent, local difficulties be resolved as quickly as possible. Some of the necessities that will not give us time to address more extensively are the level of deprivation that exists within our communities. In order to effectively address these challenges, it will be necessary to reconcile a number of divergent points of view and develop a coherent strategy.