HON. DR. ABBAS AGABA: Uganda’s Independence and the Unfinished Business of African Unity

As Uganda prepares to mark 64 years of independence on October 9, naturally we look back with pride at the generation that fought for the right of Ugandans to determine their own destiny. Even when Independence Day should also be a moment of reflection, we must ask ourselves several questions in order to appreciate the sacrifice.

What did our forefathers imagine when they spoke of freedom? Did they see independence simply as the raising of a new national flag, the singing of a new national anthem and the replacement of colonial administrators with African leaders? Or did they imagine a continent whose people would eventually overcome the artificial boundaries that divided them and build a united, prosperous and peaceful Africa?

To me, the answer lies somewhere in the history of the African independence movements.

Uganda’s independence in 1962 was part of a much larger African awakening. Across the continent, Africans were demanding political freedom, dignity and the right to determine their own future. Leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta and Patrice Lumumba belonged to a generation that understood that the liberation of one African country could not be separated from the liberation and unity of the continent.

Nkrumah famously captured this idea when he argued that the independence of one African country had to be connected to the liberation of the entire continent. If this be the hypothesis, then the vision remains unfinished.

Independence was only the beginning.

We have made considerable progress since the early years of independence. African countries have established regional organisations, the African Union has replaced the Organisation of African Unity, creating a viable vehicle for the future of the organization even though the current leaders are shy to associate with the late Muammar Gaddafi who was the driving hand of the African Union ideology, and the African Continental Free Trade Area has created a framework for one of the world’s largest single markets. This is only a percussor to that the dream of a truly integrated Africa remains incomplete.

What was Independence without integration?

A young entrepreneur in Kampala may have a good product but struggle to reach a customer in Dakar. A student in Uganda may find it easier to access opportunities outside Africa than opportunities in another African country. A young innovator in Nairobi may have an idea that could transform lives in Kigali, Accra or Cairo, but face regulatory, financial or logistical barriers before reaching those markets.

We cannot claim to have completed the work of African unity while our people, particularly our young people, still find it difficult to move, trade, study, innovate and collaborate across the continent.

Political independence gave us the right to govern ourselves. The next stage must give Africans the practical ability to prosper together.

Uganda’s Pan-African journey:

This is where Uganda’s own post-independence experience becomes important.

Over the years, different Ugandan governments have contributed to the country’s engagement with the wider African project. Under the National Resistance Movement government, Pan-Africanism has been explicitly identified as one of its core principles, alongside patriotism, socio-economic transformation and democracy enshrined in its vision thus a prosperous Uganda within a strong and united Africa and identifies the pursuit of a common African market and the realisation of the African Union among its objectives.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has also consistently placed African integration at the centre of his political and economic arguments.

His Pan-African outlook predates his presidency. The NRM’s own historical account traces his student involvement in Pan-African and anti-imperialist activities in the 1960s, including his leadership in the University Students’ African Revolutionary Front.

For President Museveni, African integration is not merely a diplomatic slogan. His argument has frequently been that Africa’s fragmented national markets limit the continent’s ability to create prosperity, industrialise and negotiate effectively in the global economy.

That position was again evident when he assumed the chairmanship of the East African Community Summit in March 2026. He described the unfinished task of African unity as a central challenge and urged the region, particularly its youth, to focus on productive economies and stronger regional integration.

The question to ponder is how many Musevenis do we see in the leaders of Africa? Are there upcoming leaders of Africa (Uganda for that matter) well clothed with the ideology of Africa integration? Or they just want power to hold to their CVs that at one time they were presidents of their countries (In Museveni’s own words).

These questions matter because the journey from national independence to continental integration requires both political vision and practical economic cooperation.

The youth must inherit more than a slogan:

Africa is the world’s youngest continent. This is often presented as a demographic statistic, but it is much more than that.

It is a responsibility.

The generation that fought for independence cannot be expected to complete the work of continental integration on behalf of today’s generation. This responsibility is gradually passing to us and I’m not sure to what extent we are prepared for it.

The youth must move beyond being spectators to serious partners and actors with quest for African integration.

I have repeatedly challenged young Africans to think beyond the boundaries of individual countries and to embrace production, wealth creation and integration, especially the economic integration of the African market as one of the historical missions the youth should continue pursuing to completion.

That message deserves serious reflection.

The youth should not inherit Pan-Africanism merely as a chapter in a history textbook. We must make it a living project.

We cannot continue talking about Pan-Africanism only during conferences, anniversaries and political speeches. African unity must become something that young people experience in their everyday lives.

It should be reflected in the businesses we build, the technology we develop, the music and culture we share, the universities we connect, the markets we create and the partnerships we establish across borders. While we are happy to chat on WhatsApp and other social media, is what you are chatting adding value to regional and Africa integration?

A young Ugandan should not think of a young Ghanaian, Nigerian, Egyptian, Kenyan, Rwandan or Senegalese as a distant foreigner. We should increasingly see one another as partners in a common African future.

Empowerment must lead to participation:

It is important, however, that when we speak about youth empowerment, we do not reduce it to political mobilisation.

Young people need meaningful economic opportunities, quality education, practical skills, access to finance, technology, markets and platforms through which they can participate in shaping the future.

The NRM government has placed youth empowerment within its broader socio-economic transformation agenda, while President Museveni has urged young people to move into productive sectors including commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services and ICT.

This is particularly relevant to continental integration.

A young person cannot meaningfully participate in the African Continental Free Trade Area simply because an agreement exists. They need a product, a skill, capital, digital access, information and a market.

Therefore, the next phase of youth empowerment must increasingly connect young people to the continental economy. While chanting so and so oyee, abeewo, no change or yes change, this young person must have something in their pockets from the economy to defend their sloganeering.

Our young entrepreneurs should be asking: How can I sell beyond Uganda? How can I partner with someone in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, Egypt or Ghana? How can technology help me access a continental market?

Our universities should be asking how to increase African student exchanges, research partnerships and innovation networks. This is the way our so called developed African economies should close the gap with the 3rd world Africa.

Our creative industries should be asking how African music, film, fashion, literature and culture can travel more freely across borders.

That is how integration becomes real.

Uganda has a role to play:

Uganda’s geographical position, youthful population, agricultural potential, entrepreneurial spirit and participation in regional institutions give it an important place in the integration conversation.

But the government cannot do this work alone.

Universities, businesses, civil society organisations, cultural institutions and, most importantly, young people have a role to play.

A Ugandan university student participating in an exchange programme with a university in another African country is contributing to integration.

A young entrepreneur selling Ugandan products in another African market is contributing to integration.

A filmmaker collaborating with colleagues from Senegal, Egypt or South Africa is contributing to integration.

A technology company building a service for customers across several African countries is contributing to integration.

A youth organisation bringing young Africans together to discuss peace, entrepreneurship and development is contributing to integration.

African unity is therefore not only something negotiated in Addis Ababa or Arusha. It is also built in our classrooms, businesses, communities and digital spaces.

Peace must remain at the centre:

There can be no meaningful integration without peace.

Africa’s young people have enormous potential, but they also live in a continent where conflicts, political instability, violent extremism and social divisions continue to affect millions.

Young Africans must therefore become agents of peace.

Our generation must reject the idea that ethnic, religious, national or political differences should make us enemies. We must learn to disagree without destroying one another and to resolve disputes through dialogue.

Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also the presence of opportunity, justice, dignity and hope.

A young person with access to education, employment, entrepreneurship and meaningful participation in society has a greater stake in protecting peace than one who feels excluded from the future.

That is why youth empowerment and peacebuilding must go together.

Africa and the Arab world: another bridge for our generation

While we preach African unity and integration, Africa is not the black man or woman alone, two thirds of the total Arab population are residents in the Africa continent. This means that the Africans and Arabs are linked tother a common garment of destiny. When we say African integration we mean North Africa, integrating with the West, South, East and Central African to form a common mass stronger than individual regions.

Why should Libya harbor tow governments and you leave this to the consideration of non- Africans yet their differences can be settled here in Africa? African integration means AU should equally take the lead in dealing with conflicts in the continent.

Geography, history, culture, trade and human connections have linked the two regions for centuries. Today, young people have an opportunity to give these relationships new energy.

There is enormous potential for cooperation in education, technology, agriculture, tourism, culture, entrepreneurship, investment and peacebuilding.

The future should not be defined only by what governments can negotiate. It should also be shaped by what young Africans and Arabs can build together.

This is why youth-to-youth diplomacy matters.

When young people meet across borders, exchange ideas, establish businesses, share cultures and learn from one another, they weaken stereotypes and build relationships that can last for generations.

For AAYC, this is part of a wider vision: a generation of African and Arab youth that sees cooperation, rather than isolation, as a pathway to peace, prosperity and development.

From independence to integration:

As Uganda celebrates 64 years of independence, we should honour those who came before us. But remembrance should not become complacency.

The generation that secured political independence handed us a foundation. It is our responsibility to build upon it.

But history will not be completed by governments alone.

The unfinished business of African unity belongs increasingly to the young generation.

We have the largest generation of young Africans in history. We have digital tools that allow a young person in Kampala to communicate instantly with someone in Cairo, Lagos or Dakar. We have a continental trade framework. We have universities, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and innovators capable of solving African problems.

What we need is the determination to connect these possibilities.

For today’s youth, Pan-Africanism must become practical.

Let us build businesses that cross borders. Let us exchange knowledge. Let us travel and learn from one another. Let us create technology for African challenges. Let us protect peace. Let us celebrate our cultures while respecting our differences. Let us make African markets work for African people.

Uganda’s independence was a victory for self-determination.

The next victory must be a continent whose young people are increasingly free and equipped to move, create, trade, innovate and prosper together.

That is the Africa we owe to those who fought for independence.

And that is the Africa we must build.

The author is the Secretary General, Afro-Arab Youth Council (AAYC).