PAN- AFRICANISM A Historiographical Analysis

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to analyze some of the existing historiography on Pan-Africanism, its attachment to the continent and immense contributions to the birth ofOAU/AU in the wake of the 50 th anniversary of the latter for better understanding of theissues involved. Secondary sources on the subject were reviewed and analyzed critically.The analysis revealed that African historiography has suffered from several drawbacksand constraints including heavy dependence on western academia and methodologicalpoverty. Writers on the subject depicted the origin of Pan-Africanism, its growth, anddevelopment from their own perspectives. Many of them also seem to disagreeconcerning the definition of the concept, the Pan-African Congresses, the exact periodwhen it began, the conflict between Garvey and Du Bois, African Federation, Pan-Africanism in Africa, conceptual relations between Pan-Africanism and the philosophy ofNegritude and the regional groupings of independent African states. Despite somecompetitive, contrastive, and controversial views on the subject among writers, it isinteresting to note that they gave more consideration to the “Negroes” of the New Worldand the leading Pan-African personalities. Further, almost all the scholars appreciatedthe positive contributions of Pan-Africanism to African independence, and its becoming abrainchild of African Unity. The review concluded that it is very likely that Pan-Africanism will assist the fulfillment of the mission and vision of African Unity and willremain a cornerstone of African peoples’ pride for generations to come in a sustainablemanner. However, the attitudes of Blacks in different parts of the world towards Pan-African Movement were not studied properly.