An argument could be made that, over the years, the African Union has been transforming itself from a “trade union of dictators,” as Yoweri Museveni once dubbed it, into an organisation in tune with the needs of Africa.

A few years ago, when Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso tried to use extra-constitutional means to retain power, the AU stood with the Burkinabe people.

This was something of a paradigm shift, for in the past, the AU and its predecessor, the OAU, would have thrown its weight behind the dictator.

As it did in 1979 when Tanzanian forces invaded Uganda to get rid of the bloodthirsty dictatorship of Idi Amin. Then the OAU held an extraordinary meeting at which Tanzania was roundly condemned for its action. The gathering of dictators accused Tanzania of violating a sacrosanct OAU policy.

That, by its action, Tanzania had violated the sovereignty of a member of the OAU. Murdering 300,000 people, as Amin had done, was not a violation of the sovereignty of the Ugandan people, getting rid of Amin was!

The AU showed its changing face once again last year when it threatened to send in troops to protect civilians in Burundi after Pierre Nkurunziza’s power-grab precipitated violence.

And at this year’s summit in Kigali, the AU proposed sending in troops to protect civilians in South Sudan as the rivalry between the tribal warlords, Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, plunged the country into another round of violence.

The AU has made progressive steps in other areas as well.

For instance, at this year’s summit, an AU passport that will enable holders to travel freely around the continent was launched.

Progressive as well was this year’s theme: Promoting the rights of African women. The AU, which had hitherto seen itself as the custodian of African customs, had come round to accepting that traditional beliefs posed the greatest threat to women’s welfare in Africa.

And yet, in another crucial sense, the AU seems to have never understood the underlying factors that either precipitate crises or impede African integration and unity or intra-Africa trade.

Take, for instance, the Burkina Faso situation. For many years, the AU knew about the Compaore dictatorship, but it failed to put pressure on the dictator to allow democracy.

This inability to see the link between dictatorship and political instability and violence seems not to have changed.

Dictatorship, by its very nature, weakens institutions and fails to create a system of values on which to build our societies.

Every effort and institution is designed to satisfy the megalomania of one man. When eventually the dictator leaves the scene, the country implodes into chaos and violence. It would, therefore, make more sense for any intervention to happen before the implosion: Putting pressure on dictatorships, applying sanctions, denying them moral and other support.

And yet we see the AU not only coddling but also giving moral and material support to Robert Mugabe and Teodoro Obiang Nguema. Is the AU waiting to intervene when the countries the two oppress implode?

Take again the AU passport. While this is a good symbolic act, it is impracticable because of the diverse economic and political contexts in the AU member countries. How do you allow free movement of people, say, between rich democratic countries and impoverished dictatorships? The movement of people would go one way.

Again how can there be free trade between countries with advanced manufacturing and transportation infrastructure and countries still stuck in the Middle Ages? Or how do you enact Africa-wide legislation across stable socially progressive countries and those wracked by violence or still governed by anachronistic traditional beliefs?

From this perspective, large symbolic acts such as the pan-African parliament based in South Africa or the AU passport will remain just that -- symbolic acts with little practical effect.

Africa is at a crossroads. We have a young, innovative, hardworking population no longer beholden to backward traditional beliefs and practices. We have economies that, if shielded from theft by politicians, could register double-digit growth rates.

We have huge agricultural potential that, if supported by intelligent policies, could make Africa the world’s breadbasket.

African societies are ready to move forward and achieve their full potential, but we still have governments that hold them back.

For the AU to remain relevant, it must fundamentally, not piecemeal, align itself with the forces and thinking that will unleash Africa’s potential, and not with those ideologies and forces that keep Africa poor and backward.