“No one is truly free unless he can defend his freedom.” – Frantz Fanon

May 1963 – the year our fathers gathered in Addis Ababa to lay the foundation for a united Africa, to forge the dream of a continent liberated not only from the physical chains of colonialism, but from the deeper, deadlier grip of imperial subjugation. But over 60 years later, that dream remains shackled. We celebrate "Africa Day" in May, yet our people remain under invisible occupation – unarmed, unguarded, and exploited.

Africa, rich in minerals, oil, land, and labor, made a grave mistake: surrendering its right to arm itself, under the illusion of global peace. By binding ourselves to treaties that prohibit nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and even biological defense systems, we effectively outsourced our security to foreign powers – the same powers that colonized, carved, and continue to control us.

The Treaties That Disarmed Africa:

The Treaty of Pelindaba (1996). Signed: April 1996, came into force in July 2009

What it did: Declared Africa a Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ). No African country can develop, acquire, test, or possess nuclear weapons.

Irony: While African uranium fuels nuclear reactors and weapons in France, the USA, and others, Africans themselves are denied the right to develop nuclear capability — even for deterrence.

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) – 1993. Signed by most African countries in the 1990s

What it did: Prohibited development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons.

Reality: Western powers stockpiled and used chemical weapons in past wars, while we unilaterally disarmed under pressure. Our scientists, barred from research, are forced into foreign labs for survival.

The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) – 1972. Entered into force: 1975. Signed by most African nations in the late 1970s

Prohibits: Development, production, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons.

Context: As we disarmed, diseases were tested in African labs, and our population became guinea pigs for pharmaceutical empires.

What Have We Gained?

Peace? No.

Respect? Never.

Development? Denied.

Security? Absolutely not.

Instead, we are vulnerable to foreign aggression, dependent on Western defense aid, and our leaders are compelled to beg for protection even against local insurgents. Our resources – diamonds, gold, cobalt, lithium, and oil – are extracted under the watchful eyes of foreign corporations protected by foreign militaries.

Our people, till this day, are compared to apes by supremacist ideologues. African lives are cheapened in global diplomacy. Our history is distorted. And our future is exported.

Time to Bring Out the Beasts

In this month of May 2025, as we commemorate the May 1963 establishment of the Organization of African Unity (now African Union), we must also mourn the betrayal of true freedom. The OAU/AU was built on a dream of unity, but unity without strength is slavery in disguise.

We must:

Reassess and Abandon these disarming treaties

Invest in African military and defense industries

Train scientists, engineers, and technologists in weapons development

Forge strategic alliances with global powers that respect our sovereignty

Develop nuclear capabilities – not to start war, but to deter it

Without military strength, our diplomacy is hollow. Without deterrence, our sovereignty is a myth.

A New Doctrine: Peace Through Power

Africa must not seek war — but must be feared enough to never be attacked. We must not aim to destroy, but must be capable of defending. The time for polite petitions and passive protests is over. The time for action, innovation, and revolutionary courage is now.

Let every young African read this not as a call to violence, but a call to resistance — the kind of resistance that builds rather than destroys; the kind that equips rather than begs.

Let us honor our fallen heroes not with speeches, but with submarines. Let us remember our martyrs not with tears, but with technological arsenals. Let us celebrate our continent not by raising flags, but by raising armies that salute those flags in sovereignty.

Africa will not be free until she is able to defend her freedom.

By Onesimus G. Chedegar

Motivated Financial Operations Analyst | Credit Analyst | Mathematics Teacher | Expertise in Operational Management, Reconciliation, and Customer Engagement Greater Monrovia, Montserrado County, Liberia.