Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Way to go Ibrahim
The initiative by Mr. Ibrahim is laudable. It is time we started looking for solutions from within the African continent rather than continue to depend on the west for support. Mr. Ibrahim's initiative will be a better incentive for African leaders to perform well. To agree with him, THE DAY THAT AFRICA WILL NO LONGER NEED FOREIGN AID WILL BE THE HAPPIEST DAY OF OUR LIVES. WAY TO GO IBRAHIM MAY YOU RECEIVE BACK MANY MORE FROM THE POCKET THAT YOU TAKE OUT THE PRIZE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
The Tragedy That is Darfur
"An Efficient and Effective African Union for a New Africa," reads the motto of the newly re-organized Organization of the African Unity-The African Union. Some of the ideologies behind this re-organization were the spirit of Pan-Africanism as a starting point for the continent to find its place in the world. An analysis of what the African Union has achieved in the years that have gone by does not show quite an impressive picture. Whether the Union is living up to its motto of being and efficient and effective organization for a new Africa is a matter of personal opinion.
In my opinion the African Union risks falling back into oblivion of history as just another form of human fellowship without a mark on the face of the earth if the present generation of leaders does not do something about Darfur in Sudan. What started as a political wrangle has degenerated into a humanitarian tragedy with women and children being raped and killed each passing by. As always the whole world is crying for the (western) international community to do something about the situation. The leadership in Sudan has not shown interest in ending the massacre of its own people. While fellow African leaders are burying their heads in the sand another Rwanda is underway on the continent. Opposition the United Nations' efforts to send a peace keeping force into Sudan, Al-Bashir says any country that sends troops into Sudan will be regarded an intruder and the action will seen as a hostile move.
The talk about Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance will not yield any fruit if leaders on the continent continue to turn their back on the Sudanese tragedy. The failure by the AU to initiate real action at its recent heads of state meeting has been big disappointment to peace loving Africans. The AU's recent press statement through its Peace and Security Council-Sept 4, 06 is so mild and does not seem to recognize the human catastrophe that is Darfur. The Council casually talks about a transition of the end of the AMIS mandate in Sudan and the coming of UN peace keepers as if it is a hand over of night shift between two train drivers. It does not give the Sudanese leadership any conditions or sternly remind it of its obligations to the safety of the Sudanese. This is a wake up call to the leaders of the continent to come out of there deep slumber and take up issues with their Sudanese counterpart if indeed the AU is to live up to its motto of being an efficient and effective organization for a new Africa. Africa has looked up to the west for salvation for a long time. We have swallowed its medicine and it has hurt our stomachs. It is time we solved our problems by being responsible and answerable to our brothers and sisters on the continent. If the African Peer Review mechanism is just an economic white elephant, the AU will remain in pages of history books without a real impact on the lives of people that the organization vowed to ameliorate.
In my opinion the African Union risks falling back into oblivion of history as just another form of human fellowship without a mark on the face of the earth if the present generation of leaders does not do something about Darfur in Sudan. What started as a political wrangle has degenerated into a humanitarian tragedy with women and children being raped and killed each passing by. As always the whole world is crying for the (western) international community to do something about the situation. The leadership in Sudan has not shown interest in ending the massacre of its own people. While fellow African leaders are burying their heads in the sand another Rwanda is underway on the continent. Opposition the United Nations' efforts to send a peace keeping force into Sudan, Al-Bashir says any country that sends troops into Sudan will be regarded an intruder and the action will seen as a hostile move.
The talk about Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance will not yield any fruit if leaders on the continent continue to turn their back on the Sudanese tragedy. The failure by the AU to initiate real action at its recent heads of state meeting has been big disappointment to peace loving Africans. The AU's recent press statement through its Peace and Security Council-Sept 4, 06 is so mild and does not seem to recognize the human catastrophe that is Darfur. The Council casually talks about a transition of the end of the AMIS mandate in Sudan and the coming of UN peace keepers as if it is a hand over of night shift between two train drivers. It does not give the Sudanese leadership any conditions or sternly remind it of its obligations to the safety of the Sudanese. This is a wake up call to the leaders of the continent to come out of there deep slumber and take up issues with their Sudanese counterpart if indeed the AU is to live up to its motto of being an efficient and effective organization for a new Africa. Africa has looked up to the west for salvation for a long time. We have swallowed its medicine and it has hurt our stomachs. It is time we solved our problems by being responsible and answerable to our brothers and sisters on the continent. If the African Peer Review mechanism is just an economic white elephant, the AU will remain in pages of history books without a real impact on the lives of people that the organization vowed to ameliorate.
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