As Africa commemorates Afrika Liberation Day 2025, the voices of Pan-African scholars and activists continue to call for deeper reflection on the continent’s enduring struggles that transcend colonial timelines and challenge the very structures of division and disempowerment.
Dr. Sarah Hasaba, a prominent Pan-Africanist and regional coordinator for East Africa with the Pan African Federalist Movement (PAFM), reminds us that Afrika Liberation Day is not just a date on the calendar—it is a powerful moment for collective introspection.
“It is a day when we, as Black people, celebrate and reflect on our struggles—fighting against colonialism and working toward achieving independence from colonial powers,” she states.
Yet, the celebration is incomplete without an honest critique of the systems that persist today under the banner of unity. Dr. Hasaba draws attention to the African Union (AU), which, despite its symbolic weight, often alienates the very people it claims to represent.
“The African Union has not effectively brought about true African unity. It often excludes the voices of the masses, focusing instead on discussions among a few elites,” she asserts.
These sentiments are echoed by Ms. Alaso Olivia, founder of the Sankara Pan African Library, who believes that the continent is still struggling with the legacy of artificial divisions inherited from colonial rulers.
“The colonial masters managed to control us by dividing us. While we now have these boundaries, we must ask ourselves—what do they truly mean to us?”
For Ms. Olivia, true liberation must involve dismantling not just colonial borders but also colonial narratives that persist in education and consciousness.
“If we continue to hear teachers saying that John Speke was the first person to discover the River Nile, then that’s problematic because we all know people lived along its shores long before the white man arrived.”
Such perspectives challenge Africans to reclaim their history and reimagine their future—not as fragmented states but as a unified people. The spirit of unity that brought African leaders together in Addis Ababa in May 1963, as Ms. Olivia recalls, must be rekindled beyond ceremonial remembrances.
“The Afrika Liberation Day reminds us of our ancestors who, in May 1963, came together in Addis Ababa to unify Africa,” she says.
But this unity cannot be realised while visa restrictions still separate brothers and sisters across the continent.
“Why should I need a visa to go to Kenya or Congo, when those who introduced the ideology of dividing us don’t require visas to move freely within their own countries?” Ms. Olivia asks pointedly.
Afrika Liberation Day is, therefore, more than a historical footnote it is a living call to action. A call to rebuild, reeducate, and reunite. As we mark this day in 2025, the question remains: Are we willing to carry forward the vision of true liberation, not just from colonial rule, but from its lingering influence on Africa's governance, mobility, education, and consciousness?