The Sunday News
When a child is born, there is joy and happiness, not just for the parents of the child but also for the whole village, because a genealogy has been expanded. When the child grows up, the whole village partakes in teaching the child what is right and wrong, what is expected of a man and what is expected of a woman, and so forth. When that child does well, the whole village boasts.
It is in that same vein that Africans have all found solace and pride in the attitude of President Robert Mugabe, who has never minced his words in speaking against the ills perpetrated by the West on Mother Africa, and has also continued to pressure the United Nations to listen to the wishes of Africans as equal members of the institution. President Mugabe belongs to a true generation of liberation stalwarts who fought hard for the emancipation of the continent from the bondage of colonialism, and is one of the elder statesmen in the continent who still holds the ethos of African hood with high esteem.
That is perhaps the reason why after finishing his term as Chairman of the African Union, he was elected Rapporteur of the AU Bureau for 2016, keeping him in the leadership of the continental bloc for yet another year.
This was an indication that African leaders are happy with the leadership of His Excellency, and they have learnt a lot from him, and still believe there is a lot of wisdom they can tap from our President.
President Mugabe will have been on the AU Bureau for three years by the end of 2016, having been elected to the body in 2014 when fellow African leaders made him their First Deputy Chair. The AU Bureau steers the bloc’s activities and comprises the Chair, three deputies and the Rapporteur. For 2016, the other members of the Bureau are Deputy Chairs Benin, Rwanda and Libya.
And on taking over the chairmanship, President Idriss Deby Itno of Chad conceded what a tough job it would be to emulate President Mugabe. His first words on taking to the podium were: “It is not an easy task to succeed His Excellency President Robert Mugabe as you all know. I doubt that I have the words, that I have the language, the frank and direct language, nor his capacity. But we will try and do our best. He (President Mugabe) served his term with passion and determination and has attained the objectives that he laid out.”
This was after President Mugabe gave one of the most memorable addresses to the AU Assembly at the 26th Summit of Heads of State and Government in Ethiopia. And before he used his renowned wit, attention to detail and fiery passion to good effect in his speech, President Mugabe also received plaudits for his leadership from AU Commission Chair Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. She praised the historical contextualisation he gave proceedings during his tenure, his political acumen, towering intellect and the dose of humour with which he eased things along.
President Mugabe also made the world listen to Africa once again, declaring that African countries will not hesitate to walk away from the United Nations if Westerners continue to block efforts to reform and democratise the organisation. UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-Moon sat at the high table with President Mugabe, and nodded as the outgoing AU Chair passionately spelt out the travesty of denying African countries equality in the comity of nations.
“We will fight for our own identity, for our own integrity and personality as Africans. We are Africans. If we decide — and we shall certainly do so one of these days — that down with the United Nations, (then) we are not members of it. Others are real members of it, we are artificial members of it. We can’t continue to be artificial members of it. How can only a handful of people (dominate the Security Council)?”
The AU’s common position on UN reform as captured by the Ezulwini Consensus demands at least two permanent seats with veto power and five rotating seats on the Security Council. Britain, China, France, Russia and the US are the current veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council. China and Russia have been open to discussing reforms, as have emerging powers like India and Brazil who also want to sit on the Security Council.
While some African leaders are not keen to criticise the UN or Western countries because of aid they get to power their economies, President Mugabe has remained true to his word and speaking on behalf of all Africans, no matter what the outside world thinks.
