SOUTH AFRICAN VISIT
Barack Obama urges SA to prioritise unity of citizenry
Former US president Barack Obama said on Wednesday African governments should first unify their citizenry before considering an amalgamation of states akin to the US model. "Realistically, I’d settle right now for a unified Kenya or a unified Uganda or Cameroon," Obama said in response to a question about the merits of a "United States of Africa". "I’d start with: can we all get along just within the existing borders that we’ve got, and if we’re able to do that, then we can start having a conversation about pan-African unity." Obama was talking at a mostly unscripted event hosted by his foundation in Johannesburg on Wednesday, a day after he delivered the Nelson Mandela annual lecture. "The aspiration of unity is one we all should be striving for," he said, adding that "it’s hard to figure out why we’re so stupid" about racial and ethnic divisions despite common aspirations. Traditional tribal boundaries Many of the continent’s ills were the result of national borders that did not a...
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