Leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has renewed calls for a united Africa governed under a single president, one parliament, one currency, and a common military command.
Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference in Enugu on Sunday, Malema urged African leaders to discard colonial-era boundaries and embrace visa-free movement across the continent.
“We demand one Africa, we demand a borderless Africa, we demand an Africa with one president, one currency, one military command, with one parliament,” Malema declared to thousands of lawyers and dignitaries at the event.
The 44-year-old politician said Africa, with its vast endowment of diamonds, minerals, and other natural resources, has the capacity to build wealth and prosperity without dependence on foreign powers.
“We must unite against the forces that seek to exploit us. The land belongs to Africans, and the minerals of Africa must be returned to Africans. We have the capacity to create industries and process our minerals here,” Malema said.
He added that a single African currency would be stronger against the U.S. dollar, dismissing concerns about global pushback:
“We don’t care what Donald Trump or any other leader thinks of us. Africans must refuse to be subjects of others.”
Nigeria and South Africa as Drivers of Integration
Malema identified Nigeria and South Africa as central to Africa’s industrialisation and urged both nations to lead implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He praised Nigeria for standing by South Africa during the anti-apartheid struggle, noting that such solidarity must now extend to economic and political integration.
On Debt and Exploitation Warning against reckless foreign borrowing, Malema called for tighter regulation of loans from the World Bank and other international financial institutions. According to him, debt dependency undermines sovereignty and leaves Africa vulnerable to external control.
Xenophobia ‘Betrayal of African Unity’
Malema also condemned xenophobic attacks in South Africa, describing them as “a betrayal of African unity.” He insisted that Nigerians, Congolese, and Zimbabweans in South Africa are not to blame for the country’s economic challenges.
“Xenophobia is a sickness borne of poverty, inequality, and government failure. Africans must love themselves, not kill one another. Black people are not loved in Africa, and not loved abroad either, but we must learn to treat ourselves better,” he said.
Malema concluded by asserting that Africa’s salvation lies within the continent itself:
“Our salvation lies here, in Lagos and Johannesburg, in Abuja and Pretoria, in the hands of Africans who refuse to be divided.”
