From Chains to Renaissance: Ambassador advocates for Haiti's full membership of the AU

Haitian Ambassador Jean Robert Pillard spoke passionately of his longing for his island nation, “Africa’s first daughter”, to one day take her rightful place – not as a guest, but as family – among the member states of the African Union (AU).

Delivering his keynote address at former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo’s 89th birthday celebration on Thursday, Pillard argued that geography should not preclude Haiti, a Caribbean island, from becoming a full member state of the AU.

“When I first met President Obasanjo during UNGA week in New York, our conversation turned quickly to the destiny of Haiti and her rightful place within Africa’s family of nations. He shared how he had long championed a greater role for Haiti within the African Union’s Sixth Region; a visionary and generous proposition. 

“I expressed my admiration for his foresight, but reminded him, smiling, that when I had earlier spoken of my essay on Haiti and the African Union, and lectures I’d given on our shared destiny, he told me I had not gone far enough. So, it was only fitting for me to return a favour. With respect and candour, I told him, ‘Your Excellency … you have not gone far enough either’,” said the ambassador referring to the country’s membership of the AU’s Sixth Region – a category for the global African diaspora community – as not enough.

The 23-year-old AU’s Sixth Region was established to take advantage of the “treasure trove of talent, skills, and resources” possessed by the millions of people of African ancestry spread around the globe to “create a win-win situation for everyone”, as the continental bloc’s website puts it. It is a formally recognised structure within the AU, sixth after the continent’s five physical regions – North, South, East, West, and Central Africa.

Ambassador's 55th AU state dream

Pillard said he and Obasanjo challenged each other “as sons of Africa” to help “honour the fullness of our family” by bringing home Haiti into the AU family, providing Africa’s first daughter with a chair instead of inviting her as a visitor.

“I shared how I had traced my ancestry to over 27 percent Nigerian and expressed that Haiti should not be framed as diaspora, for diaspora implies voluntary departure. We did not voluntarily leave Africa, we were taken. Yet Africa never left us. She lived in our drums, our faith, our refusal to bow.” 

“I told His Excellency that I dream of Haiti becoming the 55th State of the African Union, not  as symbolism, but as the restoration of truth. He asked, “But how can that be, when Haiti is in the Caribbean?” 

“I answered: “If geography defines belonging, then what of Hawaii and Guam within the United States, or Martinique and Guadeloupe in the European Union? What of Madagascar or Cape Verde islands - not tethered to the mainland, yet fully African?” 

The 89-year-old former soldier and president – who insists that he is “retired, but no tired” – nodded in agreement and said what the ambassador was talking about sounded to him like the Global Africa Enlightenment.

Pillard described Haiti as “small but vast in history”. The island nation of about 12 million – mostly descendants of slaves from Africa – was the first black-led nation to gain independence from colonial rule and enslavement in 1804 following a revolution that began in 1791.

About the man of the moment, Pillard said the celebration held in Abeokuta, the capital of the south-western state of Ogun, was not just about celebrating a birthday but a legacy.

“At eighty-nine years young, President Olusegun Obasanjo stands as a living bridge between eras. A son of Ogun State who became a father to a continent.  

“From the fires of independence to the unfinished journey of Pan-African unity. From Abeokuta to Addis Ababa, from the barracks to the United Nations, he has been many things:  a soldier for freedom, a farmer for the future, a diplomat for peace, and above all, a servant to Africa’s soul.”

Obasanjo, 'a great believer in democracy'

Obasanjo was widely praised in Nigeria for his service, leadership, and dedication to democracy and national unity.

A section of the People’s Democratic Congress (PDP), described the former president as “a great believer in democracy”, noting he was the first military head of state to voluntarily hand over power to a democratically elected administration.

“As the pioneer presidential candidate of our party and the first President of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, you played a pivotal role in consolidating democracy and stabilizing our republic at a critical moment in our national history,” said the PDP in a statement on Thursday.

At the birthday celebration, the Haitian ambassador rounded up his moving speech with his poignant argument that geography should not keep Haiti out of the AU family.

“Colonialism sought not only to rule bodies, but to rule memory. It obscured what we once knew; that we had already declared ourselves free.

“It suggested that geography defines belonging, and that because Haiti lies in the Caribbean, she is somehow not African. But accepting that logic is accepting the cartography of conquest. The separation of geography was their strategy. Reclaiming our unity is our endurance. 

“The tragedy is not only that we were enslaved; it is that the memory of our freedom was buried. The Global Africa Enlightenment is not an invention; it is a remembering; the restoration of a truth Africa once declared: that we are not children of violence; we are inheritors of vision.”