Africa needs immediate unity, not gradual integration.

There are two schools of thought as regards African unity. There are those who favour an immediate union with one President, government, currency, and free movement of people. This is what Kwame Nkrumah, founding President of Ghana, wanted. He often said that seek ye first the political kingdom, and everything else will follow. For his ideas about unity in Africa, he was subsequently overthrown by America's CIA. This is also the route that was favoured by the late Libyan President, Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi had sought a single Union of Africa immediately, with a single President, currency, and military. Just like Nkrumah, Gaddafi too was killed by NATO, a Western military outfit. What angered Western proponents most was the issue of the single currency, as France has a strong hold over it's former African colonies and forbids them from using no other currency apart from the CFA Franc. What's more, Libya had 150 billion dollars in reserves, and this is one of the reasons why the West came after him.

On the other hand, there are those who favour gradual integration in the form of the EU. The European Union doesn't have a single President. However, it has free flow of people and goods, and most African Presidents see this as the pragmatic approach. However, critics would point out that African Presidents have created their own little fiefdoms, and wouldn't want to give up power for the greater good of the continent. In their defense, the African Presidents point out that even for the United States, unity did not come up fast. The United States of America began with the 13 former British colonies in 1776 and gradually, every state joined, bringing a total of 50 states from East coast to West coast when Hawaii joined the union in 1959.