Saturday,
January 31, 2015
Folks, the 24th Ordinary Session
of the African Union (AU) Assembly of
Heads of State and Government currently going on Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has
provided two interesting developments worthy of our attention. This year’s session
is on the theme “2015: Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development Towards
Africa’s Agenda 2063.”
1.
AU
Chairman
The Zimbabwean President, Robert
Mugabe, was elected head of the continental to replace Mauritanian President
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in the rotational position for one year. (See: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31057151).
2. Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF)
The
African Union backs plans for a West African task force of 7,500 troops to
fight Boko Haram militants. Four of Nigeria's neighbours—Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger—have
agreed to contribute troops to the task force.
Speaking after AU talks in the Ethiopian
capital, Addis Ababa, Ms. Dlamini-Zuma said the Multinational Joint Task Force
(MJTF) would have an initial mandate of one year.
She said it would conduct "military
operations to prevent the expansion of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups'
activities and eliminate their presence".
The plan is now expected to be submitted
to the UN Security Council for approval, according to a BBC report.
MY COMMENTS
Even before the
news about President Mugabe’s new role sinks, Amnesty International has bared
its teeth, expressing concern at the choice his choice. In a veiled message of
calumny, AI is challenging Mr. Mugabe to turn attention to human rights issues
on the continent, an indirect attack on his own records as far as his handling
of Zimbabwe’s affairs is concerned. (See
more at: http://www.myjoyonline.com/world/2015/January-30th/mugabes-election-causes-stir-amnesty-international-charges-him-to-address-human-rights-concerns.php#sthash.mMaqmDC2.dpuf).
Taking on Mr. Mugabe won’t
solve any problem, even though human rights violations shouldn’t be tolerated
anywhere in the world, particularly when it comes to hardcore politics. The
truth, though, is that human rights violations occur in all forms in many other
parts of the world, involving even the so-called giants of democracy, which
Amnesty International barely draws attention to or criticizes the way it focuses
on happenings in Africa. Hypocrisy of this sort won’t wash with us.
Now, to the theme of the AU
session, “2015: Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development Towards Africa’s
Agenda 2063.” What is that? Africa’s Agenda 2063? Why 2063 in that far
distance?
The problems facing women in
Africa are known and all it will take to tackle is a firm po0litical will,
commitment, and drastic changes in the habits of mind and attitude. For far too
long, issues regarding women’s development or well-being in patriarchal Africa
have been politicized and worsened instead of being solved. The3 structures
that support discrimination against women are too firmly rooted in the system
and cannot be dismantled to give women a welcome reprieve unless the men ruling
the continent do better than they’ve demonstrated so far.
The only female President
(Liberia’s Sirleaf Johnson) is already overshadowed and her influence is not
being felt. What guarantee is there that the so-called “Africa Agenda 2063”
will even be pursued with the purposeful tenacity it requires to materialize? A
mere political hot air being blown by these African leaders. Charity must begin
at home first. Let them in their individual capacities initiate moves in their
countries to begin uplifting standards for women before spreading it to the
entire continent.
There are many other issues to
comment on, especially this Multinational Joint
Task Force against Boko Haram. It is difficult to accept at this early stage
what exactly this military band will be able to do that the Nigerian
Establishment hasn’t been able to do to date. The mandate is not yet spelt out
for us to know where exactly it will be based to operate in Nigeria or whether
it will have the free hand to enter Nigerian territory at will and do whatever
it deems as necessary to clamp down on Boko Haram.
Funding and the
issue of logistics also come up for comment. Will the AU single-handedly
support this task force or go panhandling in the international community to
support this cause. How long will it take for material support to be garnered
and the contributing countries provide troops needed for the operations? I am
concerned that the individual countries may run into difficulties (although
Chad has so far proved that contributing troops to such projects shouldn’t be
difficult).
Considering the
various AU or United Nations military initiatives in many parts of the
continent, I wonder what exactly is being aimed at. The AU has troops in
Somalia and the UN has contingents in South Sudan and Mali, all pursuing an
agenda to bring about peace in those volatile regions of the continent. We are
even not talking about the contingents still in Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia. Now,
it is the turn of Nigeria. Is the AU spreading itself too thin without
calculating the impact?
The explosive
situation in these regions of Africa cannot be tackled with piecemeal measures
or half-hearted politically motivated initiatives. That is why we will continue
to blame those short-sighted African leaders in the 1960s who shot down the
Great Osagyefo’s innovative advocacy for the establishment of an African High
Command. A man of foresight, indeed.
We note with
much anxiety that West and Central Africa have become too much of a hot bed and
that goings-on there have negatively affected the people and painted a sordid
picture of Africa. Why is it so, when these parts of Africa are known for their
huge material and human resources that the world needs and which should by now
have been used to uplift living standards but have rather become the catalysts
for mayhem? None of these trouble-prone countries lack anything but effective
leadership to turn things around for the good of country and citizens. Why are
we in this part of the world so limited?
Now, we will see
how the AU pursues its goals to give Africa a better image. It has for far too
long been dormant and irrelevant. If it is now waking up from its sleep to face
reality, it should do so decisively. Otherwise, it will remain the talk-shop
that it has constituted itself all these years.
I shall return…
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