Repositioning Pan-Africanism for Human Security in the 21st Century

Africa in the 21st century is still troubled by myriads of problems. These problems include neo-colonialism, modern slavery, ethnicism, racism, xenophobic attacks, environmental degradation, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, war, famine, terrorism, conflicts, etc. All these problems gravely impede human security. Human security is more than military or national security and refers to all that constitutes the good life and makes life more abundant for the people. Human securities include the access to food, portable water, education, good environment, human rights, etc. Resolving and combating these problems will require concerted efforts on the part of many if not all African nations in the continent and Diaspora. Some of these problems cut across national boundaries. Problems like terrorism, illegal migration, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, xenophobic attacks, etc cut across national borders. Though Pan-Africanism may have waned in strength it can be repositioned to harness African cultural and historic values to combat its contemporary problems in the 21st century. A hermeneutic method will be used to interpret the meaning and import of Pan-Africanism and human security. A critical analytic method will be used to discuss the issues. The paper finds and concludes that Pan-Africanism can be re-positioned to enable Africa combat the problems facing her.