The State of the African Diaspora (SOAD) was proclaimed as Africa’s sixth region, having 350 million inhabitants but no borders. It is made up of Africans who were forced to leave the continent and reside elsewhere. The African Diaspora is unusual in that it has its constitution, government, parliament, ambassadors, and even action plans. One notable example is their efforts to have antiquities in France returned to Benin. Ebune George Ebisike, SOAD’s Minister of Trade (MoT) and Nigerian entrepreneur spoke with independent.ng about the State’s future, among other things.
Tell us briefly what the State Of The African Diaspora (SOAD) is all about. Whose idea was it?
There is a global distribution of nearly 350 million inhabitants of black heritage/descent; this makes the African Diaspora the “third largest country” in the world after China and India. It is key to note the biodata, which expresses that ahead of the United States (323 million), Indonesia (258 million), and Brazil (205 million), the Africa Diaspora is more populated. In the past years, it was not structured whilst having status as only a potential entity.
This is why a few years ago, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, current Chairman of the African Union (AU), mandated the incumbent Prime Minister of SOAD, Dr. Louis-Georges Tin to set up the African Diaspora bodies which are aimed at “giving substance” to the African diaspora in a tangible framework that can drive palpable development holistically. Thus strategic and systematic energies were mobilised to create the State of the African Diaspora (SOAD), which was officially launched on July 1st, 2018. With its constitution, government, parliament, ambassadors and action programs, the State of the African Diaspora is driven by the aims and objectives of strengthening Africa through the diaspora, and the Diaspora through Africa.
The person instrumental to the birth of SOAD was Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the African Union; the other is Dr. Louis Georges-Tin the current of Prime Minister SOAD.
What was the purpose of the formation? Has it been achieved?
Africa systematically needs by all means to structure its diaspora community by working closely with the motherland. The African diaspora is massively populated and has a remittance valuation to Africa amounting to US$95.6bn a year. Particularly owing to its massive diaspora population, Nigeria regularly receives the greatest remittance inflows (followed by Ghana, Kenya, and Senegal); conversely, South Africa is the largest sender of remittances to other African countries. Most people don’t appreciate the role of the diaspora in African investment and to build a perspective, the African diaspora supports the African continent in a multidimensional way. The diaspora provides Africa with financial, intellectual, political, social, and cultural capital inclusive of its man-hour valued time. The personal remittances received in Nigeria increased by 0.7 billion U.S. dollars (+3.59%) since the previous year. In total, the personal remittances received amounted to US$20.13 billion in 2022.
To throw further light, the number of Nigerians in the Diaspora with National Identification Numbers (NIN) has risen by 563.57 percent from 55,181 as of February 2022 to 366,164 as of February 2023, according to the National Identity Management Commission.
What is the relationship between SOAD and the African Union (AU)? Any rivalry or clash of roles between the two?
The Africa Union (AU) birthed SOAD to be independent and thrive based on its constitution while serving the mutual purpose of strengthening the diaspora through Africa and Africa through the diaspora. There is definitely no clash of roles as both organisations work very closely and collaboratively to bring partnerships, developmental footprint and growth across all spectrums to Africa and the diaspora.
The State of the African Diaspora (SOAD) is an entity sui generis, which means it is defined by itself, like the African Union, the European Union, the Vatican, etc. And as it is also a sovereign State, therefore, it does not need to be recognised by others to exist. It exists through its own constitution, its institutions and its actions. However, the State of the African Diaspora is not isolated, of course. Its leaders are based in more than 100 countries in the world, and SOAD has with the United Nations, the African Union, the CAFRAD, and many countries and kingdoms different kinds of connections, like cooperation agreements, mandates, or programs of action. Within Africa, there are five regions: North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa. In 2003, at the end of the AU Summit, the Heads of State declared (14 (XVIII) add:
“The African Union decides to recognise the African Diaspora as an effective entity contributing to the economic and social development of the continent.”
They decided that the Diaspora would be the “Sixth Region” of Africa, which now exists in the constitution of the African Union, and is a region without borders.
The State of the African Diaspora is not a member of the United Nations and did not ask to be a member of this organisation, but is working with the UN on different programmes.
In 2021, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations created The Permanent Forum of People of African Descent. The Prime Minister of the State of the African Diaspora, Dr. Louis Georges-Tin wrote to the UN authorities to recommend his Minister of Home Affairs, Mrs Alice Nkom. In 2022, Mrs. Nkom was appointed as one of the 10 members of the Forum. Therefore, the State of the African Diaspora has a direct connection with the Forum and the Human Rights Council and contributes to their programmes of action.
What has been the reception of African leaders to SOAD individually or collectively?
SOAD has been very well received by African leaders and institutions. It is key to express that relationships across several sectors of human and economic development have been established and are also currently being formed to expand the impact on Africa’s much-needed developmental footprint. Recently the SOAD Minister of Trade, Ambassador Ebube George Ebisike wrote to President Tinubu of Nigeria to recommend that Nigeria come forward to be credit rated for the first time by African Rating Agency (ARA) setting a new precedent for other African countries.
SOAD is in a firm collaboration with the African Rating Agency (ARA), which is a highly reputed, independent and sovereign entity working across Africa in accordance with the African Union and its charter. ARA offers its services in the six regions of Africa, which are inclusive of the African Diaspora. ARA agency expertise is such at cutting-edge given it uses the same principles as Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch, but includes other features, that are totally unique and of immense value to the client being rated. One of them is the Social Responsibility regarding History (SRH).
But not much has been heard about SOAD. As the Minister of Trade (MoT), what do you think is the problem, the lack of legitimacy?
SOAD has been working quietly to entrench its footprint across Africa, building gradually and steadily the much-needed institutional frameworks and cooperation across African countries, their individual state governments, inclusive of the private sector. So SOAD has never had a problem with legitimacy. It needs to plan, strategise and execute programmes and collaborations which are unfolding every day within and outside the African continent and you will definitely be seeing more of its presence at events and projects of all kinds across technology and space development, housing (Smart Cities), infrastructure, farming/food security/agribusiness, tourism, finance, trade, youth development and more.
Tell us about your functions as the MoT.
The Ministry of Trade at SOAD is vested with the huge responsibility and focus of shaping trade, commerce and investment between SOAD, individual African countries, their state governments, and global institutional and private organisations across the world. The SOAD Ministry of Trade is currently working on events on its own and in strategic partnership (like the Afrofuturetech Festival to hold soon and endorsed by Lagos State Government).
SOAD Ministry of Trade is also working on conferences, training, development of its Chamber of Commerce and unique programmes to bring development, jobs, entrepreneurial growth, trade exchanges and new sustainable paradigm opportunities for all Africans at home and abroad.
SOAD has established partnerships with the United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Development Goals (UNASDG), London and the partnership is geared towards providing investment finance for different infrastructure and developmental projects as well as empowerment funding for the African citizen to better their access to finance and wellbeing.
Currently, SOAD is overseeing through the Ministry of Trade the signing of the UNASDG Convention and Treaty with the Nigeria Government and other 54 African countries to open all the above-mentioned new doors of opportunity. SOAD works also while signing a cooperation agreement with the new Nigeria Administration that just took office on May 29th.
What’s the bigger picture for SOAD, what does the future hold?
SOAD has a mandate and picture to aid the rise and forward leap of Africa through programmes that will consistently lift millions of Africans and the collective low-income population of Africa out of poverty and needless penury by 2063. The goal is to grow entrepreneurial wealth, aid the breakaway from energy poverty, achieve food sovereignty, and ensure seamless movement of indigenously manufactured African goods and services across the continent’s viable marketplace whilst entrenching fluid collaboration of academia and industry, the genius of African minds and action through the framework of Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to pull-off wealth creation and redistribution in the continuum. By this sustainably keeping Africans empowered going into the future.
SOAD is driven by the ethos of Pan-Africanism and the need for Africans to become independent, non-aligned and frontier-witted at all times. Where Africa first works for African growth unhindered of foreign influences, meddling and all forms of enslavement. All impediments that truncate our collective well-being at all times must be forever eradicated by all strategic means necessary.
