The Sunday News
Feature Lungile Tshuma
THERE is something very different in African leaders of the past and the new generation of leaders. The only striking similarity of course is that they are all Africans and little more. African statesmen President Mugabe, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela and Samora Machel, Kenneth Kaunda and Joshua Nkomo had some something in common — that of founding a free Africa and emancipating its people.
These are the undisputed African leaders whose vision for Africa remained that of cutting the umbilical cord which connected Africa and the developed world. Africa, to them, was and is supposed to realise its potential and be both economically and politically independent.
The spirit of unity and togetherness prevailed when in May 1963 the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now African Union (AU) was formed. Ghana had attained its independence in 1957 but Nkrumah did not highly celebrate the development as his aim was to ensure that the whole continent become independent.
The spirit of Uhuru was carried on and passed to a generation of leaders that followed the icons who formulated much of what Africa is now politically. But with the passage of time the revolutionary parties were in some countries replaced by the so called democratic movements. That was not bad, but it changed the whole political discourse in Africa.
Most of the democratic parties that emerged in post independence Africa lacked the real or original political ideology that carried the revolution and the result was that the revolution in some cases was hijacked before it achieved its purpose.
The new generation of leaders save for just a few, were quick to make peace and befriend the former colonisers who were fought by the revolutionary icons. They were therefore given templates to run both their politics and their economies and the result was that the colonists continued getting what they wanted from Africa with the help of those leaders.
In other words Africa remained politically independent but economic imperialism persisted.
The continent has been punctuated by betrayals, hopelessness and bootlicking as some of the African leaders are going against the vision of a united and respected continent.
In July 2012, Malawi reeling under economic pressure and obsessed with donor funding refused to host the African Union summit which was going to be attended by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
The then country’s leader Joyce Banda said a visit by Bashir would be “frowned upon by Malawi’s international donors.”
Bashir is on the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s wanted list for allegedly orchestrating genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
South Africa shocked the AU member states when she voted in favour of a UN resolution to attack the then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The voice of reason has been mainly coming from few African leaders who include President Mugabe who have been pushing for African leaders to unite against the whims and caprices of the exploitative West.
“It is not surprising that there are leaders who seem not to abide by African principles,” said a local based political commentator Professor Bhekimpilo Sibanda of Lupane State University, adding: “If we look at the vision that was taken to establish the African Union, it is then possible to have a united Africa which can speak with one voice. However, the major problem in Africa is colonisation. Most Heads of State are still worshiping their colonial masters and as a result they will listen more to their colonizers than their fellow Africans.”
Recently, controversial South African politician Julius Malema came short of calling his former President, Nelson Mandela, a sellout when he addressed Oxford University students. This was not surprising especially coming from Malema who is known for being inconsistent and eccentric at times.
Fiona Forde in her book An Inconvenient Youth depicts Malema’s true character of being pompous, flashy and living luxurious life. In public Malema pretends to be a saint and a poor villager.
Botswana President Ian Khama is well known for attacking African leaders. Khama has been a vocal critic of Bashir and characterised his regime in Khartoum as, “resorting to conflict, human rights violations and crimes against humanity to achieve his disgraceful and discredited agenda” and he went on to claim that that Bashir’s “failed leadership is like a cancer in his country.” One therefore wonders why African leaders are so fond of washing their dirty linen in public.
Political observers, however, said the mantra by Khama of claiming to be a super democrat is nothing but seeking favours from the Western countries.
It is an open secret that Western countries only associate with Africa or developing countries when they want to amass wealth and when they are done, they dump them.
Some of the African leaders are known to sing and dance for their supper, begging the question on whether African leaders are really proud to be Africans?
A Bulawayo based political commentator, Mr Dumisani Mpofu said African leaders don’t trust each other. He said trust is important as it was going to cement a strong relationship which cannot allow outsiders to destabilise the continent.
“The question should be where does African power lie? With the way new African leaders behave, their power is derived and detected by European leaders. If you look at the Rwandan genocide, it took European countries to interfere. The so called independence which most African countries claim to enjoy is a myth as most of these African leaders are controlled by the West,” said Mr Mpofu.
“Africans leaders don’t trust each other and that is very problematic because it gives room to enemies or colonisers to destabalise the continent. If you look at trade, African countries trade more with the West than among themselves. Sanctions which were imposed in the country by the West were not going to be effective if Africa had cultivated a culture of trade among them.”
In 2003, the trio of Olusegun Obasanjo, Thabo Mbeki and John Kuffor Presidents of Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana respectively prevailed upon Charles Taylor to step down as the Liberian President.
Taylor stepped down and was given an asylum by the Nigerian government which also assured him that his life was safe and secure.
However, the promise never stayed long as Taylor was later taken to the ICC and this action cements the notion that he was “betrayed” by some “trusted” friends.
The first civilian governor of Kaduna State -Balarabe Musa was quite succinct on the Taylor saga in his reaction when he said “it was obvious that there was a conspiracy between Nigeria and America to bring Taylor to Nigeria in the first place. It is the same conspiracy that has played itself out with Taylor’s attempted escape and his subsequent arrest.”
Dr Chris Kwaja a programme associate at Global Rights: Partners for Justice in Nigeria, in his paper titled The Day Charles Taylor Was Betrayed, says all and sundry celebrated when Taylor agreed to step down as the Liberian President as the country had not known peace for some time.
In trying to resolve local crisis without the aid of outsiders, it was agreed that the three African leaders should lead a delegation to solve the crisis.
“The Nigerian President who was the ‘Chief of Party’ in the whole process was quick to state in clear terms that Nigeria cannot be harassed by anybody for whatsoever reason as far as the Taylor issue was concerned. For some of us, that was a bold and courageous move by an African leader. The implication is that, we have come of age and that, the problems of Africa can be handled by Africans,” writes Dr Kwaja.
However, that was not the case. That marked the beginning of betrayal. Just like the Judas kiss which was used to betray Jesus, the hug which Obasanjo gave Taylor when he was stepping down as Liberian President, was a passport for keeping him for ICC.
“Our minds are quick to go back to 2003 when Obasanjo and Taylor hugged each other under the watchful eyes of the world when the deal sealed for his exit from Liberia,” remarks Kwaja, adding: “Both men claim to be serious and committed born again Christians. They must have something in common with Judas Iscariot and his master and Saviour, where the same hug was used to show friendship and solidarity as well as betrayal.”
Obasanjo who prides himself as a great statesman should not dare do so because his work in the continent, mainly the way he turned against Taylor is appalling.
True to the adage, when two elephants fight it is the grass that suffers, with the way Africa is divided and politics of bootlicking Western countries being the order of the day, ordinary Africans are the one who suffer the most.
