When thousands of Burkinabes stormed the streets of
Ouagadougou in a massive protest which saw the Country’s Parliament building go
up in flames and ultimately terminating the twenty seven year Presidency of
Blaise Campaore in the fall October 2014, the World and indeed Sub-Saharan
Africa was thrown aghast with thoughts of another impending revolution.
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| Burkinabes protesting in October 2014 against the quest of Blaise Campore to seek an additional term in office Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29948773 |
For
not too long ago, the
Arab Spring which emanated from North Africa reverberated the entire Arab
Middle East and ensured the downfall of three of Africa’s longest serving
leaders in Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi (42yrs), Tunisia’s Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali
(24yrs) and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak (30yrs); with the downfall of another of
Africa’s longest serving Ruler in Burkina Faso, there were fears that this
could trigger an ‘Africa Hamarttan’
across Sub-Saharan Africa.
In an apparent bid to stabilize the Burkinabe
situation, the Presidents of Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana under the aegis of
ECOWAS and The African Union flew in to Ouagadougou to meet with the Military
who had already filled the power vacuum, urging them to form a transitional
government and hand over power to a Civilian head within two weeks or face
sanctions. In a riposte to this demand, the Burkinabe Military leader Lt Col
Isaac Zida blurted that;
"We are not afraid of sanctions; we care much
more about stability,"
"We have waited on the African Union in
moments when it should have shown its fraternity and its friendship but instead
was not there,"
"It's unfortunate but it's not too late."
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| Burkina Faso's new Military Ruler Lt Col Isaac Zida welcoming Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to Ouagadougou for an AU/ECOWAS initiated transition talk Source: http://encomium.ng/president-goodluck-jonathan-arrives-ouagadougou-bukina-faso-to-help-facilitate-the-rapid-resolution-of-the-current-political-crisis-in-bukina-faso-on-wednesday/ |
The
African Union and its constituent regional bodies have always taken an ominous
stand when confronted issues of Military Coup d’états in African Countries, and
seemly take a sanctimonious stand in threatening and imposing sanctions.
However, it must be noted that the Africa Union was powerless during the Arab
spring and could not save its founder and self proclaimed King of kings of
Africa--- Muammar Gaddafi.
Originally
founded from the fusion of regional blocs and Pan-Africanist ideas of founding
fathers in Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Senegal’s Leopold Senghor, Nigeria’s Nnamdi
Azikwe, Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, Ethiopia’s Haile Sellasie, and Zambia’s Kenneth
Kaunda the Organization
of African Unity (OAU) sought to liberate the Africa from colonial rule.
After an initial successful manifesto, the OAU lost steam and relevance as the
founding fathers where all embroiled in instituting one party states and
stifling opposition groups in their domains. Governance in independent Africa
was served at mediocre level and not the excuse of leadership naivety could
sustain the seeming tyrannical rule of the Pan- African fathers in their
respective countries.
One by
one, they were all butted out of power by the barrel of the gun amid ensuing
economic and social chaos which subjected most African countries to Military
dictatorships and internecine civil wars starting from the late 1960’s. In all
these, the OAU maintained a figurative ceremonial existence even as its
regional power houses had no moral right to set sanctimonious standards--
Ethiopia was under the a Military dictatorship of the ‘Derg’
and grappling with a civil war, Nigeria was under Military dictatorship and
under sanctions from Euro-American
supranational Organizations, and other countries not under military rule were
apparently under civilian styled tyrannical one party states; Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire,
Zambia, Malawi being perfect examples.
On the
advent of the new Millennium in the 21st Century, the OAU rebranded
into the African Union (AU)
following after the European model of the EU (European Union); among all its
quest was that of good governance and this was instituted by the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and NEPAD
(New Partnership for Africa’s Development). This assured that with the
institution of multi party democracy in most Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, an improved development partnership
with other global supranational organizations will ensue. Buoyed by the tact
willingness of South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki, Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo, Senegal’s
Abdoulaye Wade, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Algeria’s AbdulAzeez Bouteflika, the
AU set sail on these notion and promises.
However,
this noble quest was called to question by unrest in Cote d’ Ivoire, Military
take overs in Mali and Guniea. Whilst all these were resolved, there has still
been an underlying inquest of the dedication to the sanctimonious demands of
the AU in constituent Countries as some long serving African rulers seek to
consolidate their grip on power as seen in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe (now
serving 34yrs), Angola’s Jose Eduardo Dos Santos (now serving 35yrs),
Equatorial Guniea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema (now serving 35yrs), Cameroun’s Paul
Biya (now serving 32yrs), and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni (now serving 28yrs).
Regardless
of the length of years in power, what is most important in leadership is the
administration of fairness, equity, justice and good governance with concomitant
development. After all, there are nations that do not have presidential/Prime
Ministerial term limits like the United kingdom, Canada, Italy, Australia etc, but
their citizens do have attendant freedom to decide their leaders.
Aside the
question of length of stay in power, African regimes are still bothered with
the question of administering development and good governance. This is the
major cause for civil agitation Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea etc and as
such, rulers of these nations do not have a sanctimonious say on how other
African countries should be governed.
From the
experience of the Arab spring in Libya, revolutions do not come cheap and
democratic governance might not ensure ‘unabated freedom’ as seen in Egypt
aside the Tunisian exception which is a rare occurrence. As another of Africa’s
long serving regime falls in Burkina Faso, it is insinuated that a political
quake might be in the offing for other long serving regimes in Sub-Saharan
Africa.
As usual,
the AU, SADC, IGAD
and ECOWAS
will always come to the fray whenever such political fallouts occur, but as
usual, their overtures might just be ignored until individual countries do the
needful—administer leadership through justice, equity, fairness with
concomitant good governance and development else it will be a proverbial kettle
calling pot black.
‘And why beholdest thou the mote that is
in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye;
and, behold, a beam is in thine
own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of
thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy
brother's eye’.
Matt 7:3-5 (KJV)
