1960 has sometimes been called the Year of Africa, since in that year 17 African countries gained their independence from former European rule – 14 from France, two from Great Britain, and one from Belgium. Cameroon became independent on the first day of the year, followed by Togo, Madagascar, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. August will mark the anniversaries of nine other countries, namely Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Gabon and Senegal. Three more anniversaries will follow after this, namely Mali, Nigeria, and Mauritania.
Many experts view this as an occasion not so much to celebrate but rather to reflect upon and for this reason the international Catholic pastoral charity and pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN International) spoke to Father Apollinaire Cibaka Cikongo, a Congolese priest and Dean and Professor at the official University of Mbuji-Mayi. He is also president of the Ditunga Project and author of around 30 books and articles of theology, social commentary, and literature. He was interviewed by Maria Lozano of ACN.
ACN: 60 years after independence, Africa continues to suffer enormous conflicts. In fact you yourself remarked recently that they have been 60 years of failure that have turned Africa into the continent of violence. Is that not a very harsh analysis?