Who Speaks For Africa, PDF

Essays in Geopolitics & Political Economy
Who Speaks for Africa?

Essays in Geopolitics & Political Economy By Muhammed Kamil
Table of Contents
1. Author's Preface .3 2. Who Speaks for Africa? .......5 3. Africa in the 21st Century: Vision and Geo-strategic Challenges 14 4. African Union Parties: A Political Imperative ..90 5. Afri 99 6. The Pan African Economy ..108 7. Africa's Automobile Industries Need Protection 110 8. Ideology, Constitutional and Institutional Theory .115 9. Alliance of Civilizations ..187 10. Kofi Annan's Wisdom, Chairman Mbeki's Vision .194 11. The NEPAD Debate 197 12. Rationalization of Regional Economic Communities 201 13. On the Peer Review Mechanism 203 14. African leaders should not burn their bridges, but the people must erect checkpoints 206 15. Responsible Diplomacy 209 16. Africa's Women 211 17. The AIDS Scourge: What to do? .219 18. Africas Muslim-Christian dichotomy and its problems .223 19. Picking-up and Mending the Pieces of the World 225 20. Open Letter to President Bush ..238 21. Implications of Bush Doctrine for African Union 245 22. The Americans are not the only ones who can tell foreign countries to change their leaders 248 23. By 2010 will there be a reasonable power balance or a hegemonic lock? .. 252 24. The Re-colonization Threat ..259
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25. Bush at War 265 26. Kudos to Jacques Chirac 283 27. Afghanistan: National Reconciliation an Imperative 285 28. China: The Stalemate of 1949 Revisited .289 29. The Question of Asian Unity .294 30. Islam and Modernization 298 31. Nigeria-Zimbabwe Balancing Act ..303 32. Sudan: Africas Troubled Heartland .309 33. Freedom of Expression, Publishers Responsibility & Ethics . 342 34. Do the Arabs have a legitimate right to any African territory? .345 35. Afro-Arab Relations: Analysis and Geo-strategic Challenges..352 36. Who and what is Osama bin Laden? 392 Appendix Constitutive Act of the African Union .. 396
Authors Preface
hile appreciating the value of Africans studying geopolitics from the core Euro-American perspective, we must consider that without an African nationalist perspective we are not likely to optimally serve our interests. Who Speaks for Africa?, a collection of essays in geopolitics and political economy, attempts to represent a consensual African perspective as indicated by the prevailing pattern of supranational cooperation and institutional development. I, in agreement with other mainstream Pan Africanists, see Pan Africanism as a practical means by which Africa may contribute to a more balanced world order in the course of improving its geo-strategic position; not an ultimate end in itself. This geo-strategic Pan Africanism, as first personified in the post-colonial Casablanca States alliance, which included Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Guinea, Libya and Mali, is not to be confused with the Afro-centrism that dwells on the racial concept of Black Africa. In the present era of globalization, where networking is a vital factor in power profiles, the concept of Global Africa seems an appropriate sequel to the Pan Africanism of the previous century; our new agenda of global penetration and networking for optimum potential realization, in tandem with African Union, embraces African unity, emphatically adding an assertive global interaction dimension. Everyday Africans move out of the continent settling and integrating in various countries on several continents, whereby our vision of the world grows more or less commensurately cosmopolitan. In this Global Africa matrix we see Mandelas ideal of a non racial rainbow society as Africas greatest ideological contribution to the modern world and variously dwell on its challenges and prospects particularly in the Sudanese, South African and African Union, as well as international contexts. The greatest obstacle to universal human fraternity, we argue, is disparity in national, racial and ethnic productive performance; hence, the ascendancy of Global Africa to
the higher levels of global value flows is essential to the erosion of racial chauvinism and attainment of a balanced world order. The essays also cover issues of religion, culture clash and ethnocentrism. Humanism we envisage to be the dominant, the victorious ideology in the 21st century. Already there is a momentous trend towards primary focus on human potential realization in economic development, political management and international relations; and we envisage in the coming decades ever increasing enlightenment to our multidimensional depth and the potential thereof for constructing a more ideal world. Our immediate concern with improvement of Africa's geo-strategic position, dramatically raising its power profile, is ultimately in deference to the broader goals of disarmament, sustained world peace and economic equity growth. My analyses of African issues largely revolve around the disparity between political behavior, in domestic, African continental and global contexts, on the one hand, and the Pan African vision as reflected in supranational treaties, on the other. Personally satisfied that Africa has defined in its supranational treaties a clear and noble direction, I am optimistic but nonetheless recognize the distracting despair and realization limitations that keeps us in a frustrating cycle of crises. The road of transcendence is steep and the world must appreciate the essentiality of enlightened African nationalism and Pan Africanism as inspirational, motivational and pragmatic ideological fuel for higher climbing. While this book is written primarily for Africas political elite, students and professionals, I am conscious of the need for the rest of the world to appreciate the contemporary Pan Africanist perspective. I envisage over the course of this century the concept of "International Cooperation" increasingly overshadowing the old, less intimate concept of "International Relations."
Muhammed Kamil, 2005
Who speaks for Africa?
his is a wide open question, but I think it wise to start from the point of what our best institutions the African Union, Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development Community, Community of East and Southern Africa, etc. theoretically represent in both detail and essence. After the treaty of ECOWAS was revised in the early 1990s, it became apparent that institutional development, at least in West Africa, had reached a point where Pan Africanists, like me, would best work within the system towards realization of what our leaders and states had agreed on. Then the African Union arrived with a similarly progressive Constitutive Act. Africa has spoken well in the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the subsidiary protocols establishing the Pan African Parliament and the Peace and Security Council. When read in the light of the AU and RECs (regional economic communities), the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD] document speaks (www.gov.za/issues/nepad.htm) of revolutionary measures to improve the continents geo-strategic position. Hence, Africa has arrived at a mature, a prudent vision of where it should be going. Unfortunately, there is not consistent reference and deference to these progressive instruments in the political behavior and pronouncements of Africans. Too many of our leaders, journalists and intellectuals appear to be habitually unmindful of them. Consequently, there is no chorus of firm African voices speaking to the world, though a few leaders of AU member states deserve commendation for their unequivocal Pan African values. From the criticisms leveled against these Pan African efforts it would appear that people do not always examine them objectively; some critics seem to see them as not radical enough, others view them cynically. But I think the AU, RECs and NEPAD generally represent a realistic approach, given the varying shades of opinion and disposition towards their Pan African bases and renaissance objectives, and given the obstacles to be surmounted. The vital point
is that there is a continental trend that aims at increasing Africas self reliance and redeeming us from neo-colonialism and this is consistent with the thrust of African nationalism dating back to the struggle against colonial rule. With the emergence of Obasanjo (Nigeria), Bouteflika (Algeria), Mbeki (South Africa) and Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal) on the leadership scene in 1999, Africa found itself with an initiative taking quartet. These four men, working in mutual cooperation, asserted themselves as the enlightened spokesmen for the continent. They were backed up by then ECOWAS chairman Alpha Oumar Konar of Mali and Ahmed Tejan Kaba of Sierra Leone and eventually managed to carry many other leaders along with them in their push for African Union and establishment of the NEPAD project. Against the post colonial background of equivocation in Pan African contexts, this was an outstanding development. The theoretical bases of the Pan African conglomerate, consisting of the AU [and its sector institutions], NEPAD and the RECs, joined by the political positions taken by the initiative taking quartet, can now broadly be considered representative of Africas best interest, despite disagreements from time to time among the four principle leaders and some prominent colleagues. As for the intellectuals and journalists, our relevance lies in being able to appreciate the theoretical bases of the Pan African conglomerate as well as the fact that it was brought about by our contemporary leaders in spite of their shortcomings and promoting the established [Pan African] agenda. Disagreements among leaders are inevitable, just as among intellectuals and technocrats. Occasionally, a leader widely considered a staunch Pan Africanist may lose his bearings and virtually capitulate to degenerative forces. Those sitting on their fences waiting, hoping, and even through subtle machinations encouraging Africa to fail, will always point to any weakening of the Pan African alliance as evidence that we are doomed to perennial misfortune. We recall that at the 1997 Marseilles conference on West African integration, one European referred to Africa as the graveyard of regional cooperation organizations. Yet, France, which had divided ECOWAS by creation of the West African Monetary & Economic Union (UEMOA), comprising Francophone countries, was hosting this conference which was supposed to mend the cleavages. In the history of imperialism
there are a plethora of such episodes and we can no doubt expect more of such things, if not worse, in the future. Perennially, the way forward is to seize upon failures as challenges behind which lie new and greater opportunities. Indeed, the establishment of UEMOA accompanied by francophone claims that they were more advanced than ECOWAS and its Anglophone constituents, prompted the then ECOWAS Executive Secretary, Lansana Kouyat, to push forward the idea of creating a second monetary zone in the region, comprised of states outside the CFA franc zone, with a view to in short order having only two currencies to merge instead of nine. By 2001, a West African Central Bank was established in Accra, Ghana, having as its members Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Failure for member states to meet the convergence criteria, copied from the European Monetary Union, is making realization of the goals on schedule impossible. Rescue from the technocrats and intellectuals offering fresh approach options would be appropriate in the premises, certainly not defeatist criticism. Ultimately, only the informed optimists can legitimately speak for Africa; only those possessed by a dauntless quest for the continents progress. As fallible humans, anyone of us can falter here or there; meaning, in the final analysis, it is not necessarily always a matter of who is speaking, but what is being said, the position taken. The gap between the Pan African treaties and the political economy behavior of individual African states is in large informed by the perceived conflict of interests between short-term petty nationalist considerations conventional wisdom, some might say and the long term goals associated with the continental collective. In a world where imperialist bribery (what the Americans now call diplomatic incentives) and intimidation (conditionalities) aim to maintain the geo-strategic status quo in favor of the North Atlantic vis--vis the Global South, Africans are no less vulnerable than ever to divisive tactics. A small country such as Sao Tome and Principe, that perceives its vital interests in petty national terms, entering into negotiations with Washington for accommodation of an American military base, without reference to the African Union or any of the regional powers, is singularly instructive. On the periphery, where African states dwell, we are conditioned to reactionary rather than proactive political behavior. In a world with no genuine moral leadership, the dwellers of
the periphery think mainly in terms of individual power and small money hardly enough to substantially improve the national condition. African critics of the international assistance flows to their countries call it band aid; it simply patches you up here and there. Having seen that its Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP and Enhanced SAP) aggravated poverty, even if they did in best instances improve macro-economic management, the Bretton Woods institutions are now asking African countries to submit PRSPs (Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers). In inviting public consultations on how to mitigate poverty, the Bretton Woods institutions expected governments and civil society organizations to collaborate under their supervision in preparing PRSPs. Aside from the external bases of many of Africas NGOs, which are in all the media depicted as representative of civil society, supervision [or interference as the case might be] by the IMF and World Bank raises serious questions about liberty of perspective enjoyed by the African economists. Indeed, a study jointly carried out by the two Bretton Woods institutions in March 2002 revealed that in preparing the PRSPs, national governments remain mindful of the World Bank and IMF policy criteria. The study acknowledged that even the NGOs argued that PRSPs incorporate structural adjustment policies that have consistently failed. This is perhaps an ineluctable situation, given that the Bretton Woods institutions principally represent the leading industrial nations that provide its funds. The ultimate logical question derived there from isTo what extent is it possible for Africa to represent its veritable interests in the arena of international political economy? How realistic would it be for even an independent writer and publisher, like M.K., to advocate a hard Pan Africanist line in dealing with the Bretton Woods institutions? The dilemma and the questions it begs seem to have been soberly addressed by NEPAD, a brainchild of the Pan Africanist intelligentsia that synthesizes the hard realities of imperialism with the imperative that Africa be proactive. Accordingly, the debates surrounding NEPAD often express perceptions that it has veered too far either right or left. This brings to mind the title and thrust of the book written by former Director General of the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs Dr. George A. Obiozer, Precarious Balancing.
Anyone seriously concerned with African development challenges should know that the civil society wants and needs optimum social services (health, education, sanitation, transport, roads, telecommunications, recreation and sports facilities, etc.) at minimum costs; but it must nevertheless be recognized that most of our people do not consider the relationship between their productivity value, the national productivity value, and the costs of delivering their expectations. The people who control the Bretton Woods institutions do not live with the pulse of the African population and are primarily concerned about macro-economic indicators: GDP growth, DFI, balance of payments, budget deficits and how to finance them. The bottom line however is that sustained macro-economic improvement would necessarily mean irreversible growth in the productivity value of the working class, with commensurate increments in their standard of living. This could only be achieved by sustained value added growth. In the modern economy value added growth is derivable from the services, financial and technology sectors, as well as manufacturing. Therefore these areas, along with the enabling infrastructure need concerted attention. International marketing of Africas traditional exports is usually controlled by established cartels that insist on receiving from the continent primary products, which they process in their home countries. The World Trade Organization, by objecting to protectionist policies in Africa, gives advantage to entrenched interests in the industrialized nations. The RECs, AU and NEPAD have been established with a vision of the requisite economic scale for utilization of the continents natural resources for sustained MVA increment; and also for the pooling of resources to strengthen the continent technologically and afford larger concentrations of African capital. The common African currency, with complementary integration institutions, would in theory preclude national currency devaluations resulting from trade imbalances between African countries. A common African currency is perhaps the biggest challenge for the technocrats and will require great economic ingenuity. The fact that Africas leaders have pursued this neo-Nkrumist model (i.e. based on private enterprise rather than socialism) to its present level is a sound basis for African hope. At least Africa has a
clear and promising direction laid out. As so frequently acknowledged, the problem is essentially in the domain of political will. One of the obvious prerequisites in this regard is a prevailing Pan African consciousness. In a continent with varying social visions informed by ethnic and religious values, a creative Pan African political design, incorporating political decentralization and local empowerment with open markets, and nimble continental institutions, is fundamental. From all indications, the framers of the African Union realize this and that had indeed been a major consideration in denying the Pan African Parliament legislative powers, restricting it for the time being to a consultative and advisory role. In geopolitics and political economy, Africa has spoken with the formation of Pan African institutions and plans. Invariably there will be debate on implementation strategies and timing, but the constructive value of such debates will depend on the strength of commitment to the African Union and its ancillary institutions namely the RECs and plans, particularly NEPAD. Shifting focus to the socio-culture and socio-political dimensions of the African sphere, we find a more intricate plexus. It is the compound damage in these realms that enervates Africas political will, distracts and perverts the African psyche. Caucasian imperialism in Africa sought to overwhelm the African with physical force while psychically fettering him with delusions of divinely ordained White supremacy. In the former they succeeded virtually everywhere; in the latter only a few communities and the African nationalist and Pan Africanist vanguards put up resistance strong enough to roundly puncture the Europeans boast that when two cultures meet the weaker invariably succumbs to the stronger. Actually, no where in the colonized world did the Europeans comprehensively impose their culture; a fact that gave enduring significance to Rudyard Kiplings poetic observation: West is West and East is East and never the twain shall meet. If the universal civilization idealists have envisaged should ever materialize, we would expect it to be rationally eclectic rather than essentially Western. Self-negation is unnatural and the psyche never ceases putting up resistance to psycho-cultural aggression. No matter how hard the
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Western capitalist sell, people in the Global South will usually make their own judgments about what cultural exports they will buy and what they prefer to retain of their own. People usually prefer their own languages, often prefer their own fashions but virtually everyone loves a an automobile from Germany or Japan. People love locally produced films, but Indian films are quite popular throughout the Global South. Even in Europe people listen to the Juju Music of Nigeria's Sunny Ade and the Mandingo music of Salifu Keita and Umu Sangari. This is globalization and it is culturally competitive. There is, above all, a common preference for modern things, captivating creativity and quality. Hence, Africa is challenged to brilliantly speak for itself in the global cultural market place. Samuel Huntington in his Clash of Civilization and Remaking of the World Order divides Africa into two cultural spheres: Islamic and Afro-Western; this is convenient packaging but not very neat. Culturally, Africa is at once extremely complex and fluid. However, professionalism increasingly provides common bases for cultural integration. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the armed forces, but generally the cultural impact of the professions, like health care, law, diplomacy, architecture, finance and corporate leadership is integrative. Those who represent Africa in global contexts are imprimis keen to be effective, whether this is construed by the musician as emphasizing his specific tribal roots or by the MBA as assertion of his corporate management culture sophistication. Yes, the factory worker, peasant farmer and local market trader are not so much focused on asserting themselves internationally and they, who are least cosmopolitan, constitute the bulk of the African population. Nonetheless, the appropriate challenge for us is evolution towards essentially middle class societies, equivalent in living standards to the North Atlantic and Japan. That means that the culture of modern industrial production, modern agricultural production, technology and professionalism must permeate our societies; but it does not necessarily mean prevalence of alienation and dispassion. We live in an era of rapid technological development and this invariably affects modes of production and nature of labor. While the in West an increasing number of people do their corporate work at home, Nigeria has sought to develop modern cottage industry production in consideration of the cultural proclivity to family production units.
However, while a competitive nepotistic culture may be economically and socially constructive; politics and the civil service require greater detachment, compelled by constitutional requirements such as identity concealing competitive examinations for civil service posts and compulsory horizontal spread in political leadership positions, as well as political and administrative decentralization. The African Union and Regional Economic Communities, by sealing African unity with supranational institutions and authority, open the way for looser governing arrangements to become viable in the republics. The African Union is intended to essentially be a geopolitical power conglomerate and a common economic market and monetary zone. For economic dynamics it requires intense competition; for political development it requires free flow of ideas and accommodation of political system and policy diversity; with minimum standards of course, as implied by the Peer Review Mechanism. The physics of political science demands tensile relationships between the center and the various tribal and ethnic homelands comprising the modern African nation-state. Democracy in African republics will invariably be centrifugal, but constitutions and statutes must provide efficient restraints, a political culture of compromises and balancing. Democracy necessitates constant dialogue between the population and elected leaders, facilitated by the information media and, also, regular visits by leaders to institutions and communities. The no votes in France and Holland against the proposed European constitution, despite the strong acceptance urging by their national leaders, has highlighted the need for the citizenry in member states to be more involved in and better informed about supranational institutions. As much as we may stress the legitimacy of the Pan Africanist elite and establishment in representing Africa, or the astute African globalization professionals, we cannot elude the fact that the multitudes with their multifarious, not necessarily clear and coherent expressions, constitute the real African voice. Therefore, for the elite spokesmen to retain legitimacy, they must dialogue perpetually with the multitudes. I think we are gradually moving past they stage of demagogic mobilization, though there is still quite a bit of that to regressive ends. What the Pan Africanist elite, especially those in government, must do
is perfect the art of dialogue so that we cultivate understanding and appreciation of the Pan African movement among the multitudes. Indeed, there are many practical aspects of the Pan Africanist movement, such as free trade and free movement of persons that petty traders and others from the ranks of the multitudes are keener on than the elites and bureaucrats. In the ECOWAS region there are various NGOs, representing the interests of petty trades, students and professionals promoting and monitoring the Community protocols on free movement of persons and goods and right to establishment. In the final analysis, achieving a broad consensus on Pan African supranationalism, involving both elites and plebeians, requires improving and expanding opportunities for human personalities' participation and benefit. Restriction of the Pan African Parliament to an advisory and consultative role is temporary. After five years PAP is supposed to assume supranational legislative powers. It would then be a major spokesman for Africa. However, PAPs legitimacy in the minds of the African people will, again, depend on the measure of consultation and dialogue it maintains with civil society. This raises the important matter of civil society organizations being formed in respect of the African peoples priority concerns, not based on possibilities for external funding. The old anti-colonial popular conglomerate of trade unions, industrial unions and teachers unions are still very much with us and no less relevant than ever; they are waiting to be joined by powerful consumer movements, voters' rights movements, expatriate citizens organizations, artist unions and other sectoral and general public interest organizations. It is with these organizations that leaders and the information establishment must consult and dialogue in order to attain a broad and progressive consensus that keeps Africa looking forward and dynamically actualizing our Pan African...or should I say, Global Africa, agenda?
Africa in the 21st Century:
Vision and Geo-Strategic Challenges

The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe...Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny, and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 - 1963) U.S. president
lthough about a third of the countries on the African continent have yet to ratify the Constitutive Act of the African Union, only one of the former Organization of African Unity (OAU) members, Eritrea, has rejected membership outright; and the AU, with strong commitment from the major states Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Senegal and Egypt, has become internationally recognized as a geopolitical alliance with an ambitious supranational institutional outlook. Funding commitments by the European Union and AU Commission president Alpha Omar Konars approach to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for peacekeeping logistics support defies President Bushs undermining visit to key African heads of state while the AU summit was taking place in Maputo. Proactive diplomacy has in a very short time moved the AU from the waiting room courteously awaiting Mr. Bush's arrival before proceeding to the Unions principal gathering into the international conference rooms. Although there continues to be bureaucrats, politicians and political strategists of the imperialist ilk who are not happy about the AU, the forward maneuvering of its leadership has within three years established the continental body as an irrefutable part of the international group of supranational entities and the principal representative of Africa.
Whereas the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was essentially an association of African states, the African Union is a veritable supranational entity, apparently a confederation in the making; somewhat of a continental scale replica of the 1975 founded Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), which with its imposing supranational character, consistent with its Revised Treaty of 1993 and the array of institution defining protocols thereof, became a model inspiring faith in the prospects for functional Pan Africanism. Actually long in the offing, let us say at least 40 years, the AU was conceptualized and embarked upon with a profound sense of history, referred to in its Constitutive Act. It is for its founding fathers, the African heads of state and government, a natural evolutionary attainment against a century background of striving for unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among the people of Africa and African States; it is moreover considered an ineluctable payment of tribute debt in respect of the heroic struggles waged by our peoples and our countries for political independence, human dignity and economic emancipation. For Africas cross border traders, bankers, manufacturers, capital market communities and independent businessmen, the AU is a hope for greater commercial latitude, income growth and long term expectations, much as ECOWAS has been. For our visionary academics and other quarters of the intelligentsia it is a welcomed new arena of intellectual challenge, presenting a stream of progress related problems waiting to be competently addressed. Africa thus moved into the 21st century holding a consistent vision, realized in the struggle against the array of repressive conventions constituting colonialism; a flowering vision that has since grown enhanced. What is that vision? What is the picture? Where would it lead? Essentially, we want to be an integral part of the modern, progressing world, on par socially and economically with the most advanced nations, to enjoy the respect and prestige as a continent that our hero Mandela achieved as an individual. We want to make great contributions to the advancement of mankind in all spheres: the arts and sciences, technology and industry, diplomacy and the humanities. By our ascendancy we believe racism might be expelled from the hearts and minds of men, for we are the last in the human race, even so much that we are challenged to have hope in the forests
of despair; and others who genuinely place hope in us indeed indulge lofty human ideals. We wish to vindicate all such hope with our continental emergence from the depths to the plateau. We must pursue ideals because they our in our souls, as W.E.B. DuBois would say. Yet we must confront the challenges before us pragmatically, efficiently, ever realistically. The African Union was first proposed by Ghanas President Kwame Nkrumah in the early 1960s; we were not then prepared for it but neither did we ever totally abandon the idea, despite the surfeit of destabilizing and retarding troubles we experienced and we had better accept having been the primary agents of our own woes. We envisage by mid century an Africa designed with asphalt highways and roads, passing through forests, farmlands and pastures, leading to prospering rural market towns and bustling metropolises with dynamic financial centres and suburbs featuring state of the art complexes of technology companies, research centres, social science institutes, military academies, and universities. We envisage cottage industry communities, utilizing the latest compact manufacturing unit technologies and heavy industry towns along the seacoasts, producing for the world and continent. Continuing in the mode of eclectic cultural evolution, our traditional nomad communities, having become ranchers, would be efficient meat and hide suppliers holding shares in packing and trading companies. We envisage an Africa where virtually every household has access to and is familiar with capital markets throughout the world, making money online. We hear African music on the airwaves around the globe and see our sports champions everywhere competing, our dramas and films universally enjoyed. We envisage an aesthetically attractive Africa, with efficient urban and rural sanitation services, ubiquitous sewage systems, town and city sidewalks, trees and lush landscaping and seemingly endless mosaics of fascinating architecture. We envisage human resource development oriented town and city planning and habitat: community libraries, museums and art galleries, family friendly parks that are cultural and recreation gardens. We envisage Africa by mid century self-sufficient in and exporting electricity, having viably developed its massive hydroelectric power generation potential; the continents desert regions hosting solar energy complexes that send power through an
intercontinental grid to Europe and Asia as far as the Pacific Rim, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and alleviating anxieties about their continual depletion. We envisage Africa as a major contributor to global health care solutions, having modernized its traditional medicine culture and fruitfully applied its human ingenuity to biotechnology research in the fields of health and nutrition. We envisage an Africa strongly positioned to hold up an intellectual property rights regime to the world that serves its interests as a nursery for plants possessing economic value and biotechnology utility. Our vision is towards a non-racial rainbow Africa, where people mix socially and maritally without taboos; where there is freedom of conscience, freedom of movement and political decentralization empowers people to enjoy the fundamental human right of developing their communities to reflect the values that inspire and motivate them to contribute constructively to society and humankind broadly. We envisage a noetically dynamic, intellectual Africa, where enlightenment radiates and renaissance blossoms; an African people that for the most part have risen to appreciate the efficiency of moral rectitude, have learned to discriminate between wholesome pleasures and debilitating indulgences. By 2020 the Regional Economic Communities would have linked, with their free movement of persons and goods provisions, facilitating actualization of the African Economic Community. Consistent with the ECOWAS precedent, self-employed Africans would enjoy the right of settlement in any country on the continent outside the one in which they hold citizenship. As demand may dictate, African countries with sectoral labour shortages would nonetheless accommodate migrant employment. Africa would be a single investment zone with thoroughly networked and integrated capital markets and single currency issued by the African Central Bank prescribed in the AU Constitutive Act. Perhaps the ECOWAS travellers cheque would by then be complemented by other such regional instruments as well as an AU travellers cheque. South Africa would have started producing left hand drive automobiles and its auto industry attained continental dominance while automobile importers, owners and others would have access to shares in her manufacturers and other manner of public liability companies through
the Johannesburg based Pan African Stock Exchange established in 2004. As a major producer of diamond and gold, Africa would have replaced New York as the global centre of diamond cutting and jewellery manufacture. The Pan African Parliament, its sessions televised throughout the continent and beyond, will no doubt by 2020 be as prominent an institution in Africa as the European Parliament in its domain, enjoying supranational legislative powers in collaboration with the Assembly of Heads of State and Government as the collegiate executive of the continent. The political perspective would have broadened substantially to be primarily continental in scope, with the tiers of national affairs being the arenas of finer detail. Although the PAP is not to have legislative powers for at least five years from its inception, functioning in the meantime as an advisory institution, it is the first institutionalized seasonally sitting continental assembly in Africas history. It promises to be a forum for Pan African thinking and policy conceptualization and to carry supranational consensus synthesis to new heights. Presently its members are selected by governments from their National Assemblies, but eventually Pan African Parliamentarians will be elected in their home countries by popular suffrage, giving it a direct supranational mandate, something that has never pertained in Africa to date. This, along with its eventual legislative powers, would certainly boost awareness of and interest in the PAP, along with increment of its influence and vibrancy. Certainly all of this requires adequate funding, in which regard Commission President Konar introduced at the 2003 Maputo Summit a $7 billion ten year vision plan. Institution of the African Union Commission, as successor to the OAU Secretariat, with former Malian president Alpha Omar Konar as president, the AU Peace & Security Council and Pan African Parliament, all prescribed in the AU Constitutive Act, are milestones for Africa. The OAU never once had a former head of state as secretary general; whether this precedence will be sustained remains to be seen, but having a widely respected retired member of the Assembly of Heads of State & Government gives the Commission optimum caliber leadership in terms of stature and affording a
collegiate relationship between the chief executive organ and the principal administrative organ. The AU Peace & Security Council is an essential strategic institution that is confronted with a wide field of concern. Actually it is not mentioned in the original Constitutive Act, which according to some inside accounts was a deliberate omission anticipating mixed reactions to the African Union from the North Atlantic power complexes. However, the Peace & Security Council, consistent with the AU Constitutive Act's stated objective to Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states", was established in 2004, with legal reference to the authority of the Assembly to determine the structure and functions of the Commission. As a component of the Commission it is headed by a commissioner. Its pilot mission is peacekeeping and diplomatic intervention in Sudans Darfur crisis, but ultimately it should be the AU liaison with African representation in the United Nations Security Council and serve as the administrative arm for upholding Assembly of Heads of State & Government decisions on any proposals to establish foreign military presence, such as bases, in the continent and other geostrategic concerns. We envisage eventually having an African Union foreign minister and the AU Peace & Security Council, personified by its ambassador to the United Nations, representing Africas 53 General Assembly members on the UN Security Council, occupying a permanent, veto empowered seat. Although initially there were from various quarters of the North Atlantic expressions of skepticism about the AUs ability to effectively intervene in Darfur and a Sudanese ambassador was quoted in the English daily, Sudan Vision, of the ruling exceedingly Arab biased National Congress Party, referring to the African Union as the Trojan Horse of imperialism in Africa, with proactive diplomacy, including appeals for funding to alleviate its admitted financial inadequacies in the premises, the AU and its Peace & Security Council, headed by Said Djinnit, over the course of 2004 and 2005 earned recognition as the power of Africa. The duo of retired Malian president Alpha Konar, the credible democrat, conciliator and visionary historian, at the Commission, and President Olusegun
Obasanjo of Nigerias astute and indomitable leadership as Chairman of the Assembly were definitive. Despite the advances made by the AU in gaining international recognition in the field of peace and security, and as legitimate representative of Africa through the Assembly chairman, the distance between the actual situation of Africa and the goals of the African Union may be construed by some to assess the AU as an unreachable idealistic proposition, not likely to sustain its initial momentum. Our lofty vision for Africa contrasts sharply with the continents rueful realities. We talk about the AU Commission continuing to be headed by a retried civilian head of state, but Alpha Oumar Konar at 56 was one of the youngest African heads of state in the continents postcolonial history to retire without being overthrown. Dr. Konar, a former history professor and museum executive, is one of the few African heads of state to retire in accordance with constitutional demand that a president not serve more than two terms. We have all seen how unabashed African presidents usually have the constitution amended before their second term ends to allow them stay longer. We wondershall Konar have to be succeeded as Commission President by his successor as president of Mali, Amadou Toumani Tour, assuming the retired general honours his predecessor's precedence. General Tour liberated Mali by overthrowing a 23 year old military dictatorship and ushering the country to a democratic constitutional order. However, it doesn't seem appropriate that a single country should produce successive AU Commission presidents. Zambias Frederick Chiluba, born in 1943 and retried as president in 2002, had to be widely urged against pushing a constitutional amendment that would have allowed him to serve more than two terms. Both he and Malawis former president Bakili Muluzi, also born in 1943, will practically be too old for the AU Commission president post by the time Konar must retire in 2011. Ghanas retired president Jerry Rawlings, a year younger than Konar, will also be over 65 by the time Konar would have served two terms as Commission prexy. Togos Edem Kodjo, well educated in France, often his countrys prime minister and secretary general of the Organization of African Unity during the 1970s when he was not yet 40, is perhaps one of Africas most astute gentleman politicians, but is getting on in years now. In any event, failure to sustain the Konar
standard at the Commission would be tragic for the AU. An exemplary leadership record at any of the Regional Economic Communities or in a top United Nations' system post would also afford one the stature and credibility to stand as a promising candidate for AU Commission stewardship. While the AU Peace & Security Council undertook its Darfur intervention mission as a pilot project, there were several other flashpoints on the continent and if the AU dared assume responsibility for simmering all of them it would certainly become overloaded to the extent that it would hardly be effective anywhere. Fortunately, the United Nations is bearing principal responsibility for protecting the truce in South Sudan and resolving the seemingly intractable Congo conflict, while ECOWAS and France tend to the stalemate between the southern based government and northern rebels in Cte dIvoire, with vital help from South Africa. ECOWAS, with support from the UN, has also been the principal intervener in the Liberian and Sierra Leonean crises. Actually, the RECs are part of the Pan African supranational institution conglomerate and even after the African Economic Community would have maturated they will no doubt continue functioning, as regional components of the AEC and AU. With Kenya as the stabilizing intervener in East African crises, acting through the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) and the East African Community, there is nonetheless need for extra-African involvement in settling intractable conflicts. Somalia and Burundi are also being helped towards conflict resolution and new democratic institution building by the UN. Africa appears to be getting more useful attention from the United Nations than ever before, but it remains to be seen whether this is a realism informed trend or substantially the Annan factor. It would be prudent to assume we are benefiting from the latter and proactively prepare for the postAnnan stretch. While different mixes of factors could lead to eruption of internal crisis, improving the quality of governance will invariably reduce both the incidence and gravity of destabilizing conflicts. The peer Review Mechanism was conceived as an initial convention for mediating correction of political behavior and policies likely to fuel crisis, but there must be deep analytical studies of African situations that give early warnings, cautions and proactive recommendations. In this
regard, the AU Commission need conventionalize collaboration with universities, policy institutes and research centers throughout Africa. These institutions and their post-graduate degree candidates should be encouraged by national governments to cooperate with the AU in addressing governance, peace and security concerns. The AU might contribute encouragement by symbolically honoring those whose works are added to its research libraries. While digital technology can greatly reduce costs by allowing smaller quantities of books to be printed or minted on CD, research, and when required high volume printing, finance might be solicited from philanthropists and budgets of prominent research institutes like the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. Indeed, we should create a system of private material support for the AU institutions and their work. Militating against our lofty vision and aspirations for Africa is the surreptitious aggression syndrome, whereby African leaders launch or support lethal plots against one another. No sooner had African states begun obtaining independence surreptitious aggression was activated as a trend. Those were Cold War days and from the struggles against colonial rule there had been indications of a bitter scramble for spheres of influence in Africa emerging, not only between the NATO and Warsaw Pact camps, but to some extent between the United States and former colonial masters Britain and France. West Germany, which had lost its African colonies upon coming out on the losing end of World War I, was also interested. As early as 1958, within weeks of having gained independence, Guinea under the leadership of Ahmed Skou Tour was the target of a failed coup attempt by proxies of France and neighboring Cte dIvoire. Over the course of his 26 year rule of Guinea, the ascetic but ideologically intolerant Skou Tour survived more than two dozen coup attempts, as well as an invasion in which West Germany was implicated along with principal perpetrator Portugal. Both neighboring Senegal, with Leopold Sedar Senghor at the helm, and Cte dIvoire, under the canny Felix Houphout-Boigny, were backers of attempts to topple Tour, but he was safe with Liberias Tubman and Sierra Leones Siaka Stevens, despite their governments being main refuges for Guinean exiles and immigrants. Tour, for his part, resented the surreptitious aggression syndrome and was never once implicated in an attempt to overthrow any African
government. Hence, producing evidence at the Accra 1963 African Summit convened to consider Nkrumahs African Union proposition, that the Ghanaian leader had been behind the assassination of Togos president Sylvanus Olympio, Tour in effect vindicated the pervasive apprehensions about Nkrumahs Leninist tendencies and inadvertently scuttled the original bid to establish the AU. Aggravating the situation and affording credibility to Tour's allegation was Nkrumahs unapologetic hosting and support of revolutionary movements, such as Union Population de Cameroun, opposed to the regimes in their countries. Nkrumah himself was toppled in a January 1966 coup traced to Washington. Aside from perennially molesting Skou Tours Guinea, Houphouts Cte dIvoire, along with France, was implicated at the trial of those convicted for involvement in the 1972 failed counter coup attempt to reinstall Ghanas deposed Prime Minister Kofi Busia. During the 1990s Libya heartlessly sponsored the maniac insurgency movements in Sierra Leone and Liberia that were as much preoccupied with maiming, torturing and sadistically killing as seizing power. More recently, Uganda and Rwanda have been ambitiously involved in factional and ethnic fighting in Congo Democratic Republic's eastern region, while Ethiopia's government has been implicated in discouraging stability in Somalia. When will this surreptitious aggression syndrome become past history? How effective can the AU Peace & Security Council possibly be in arresting this terrible phenomenon? Realization of our lofty vision for Africa hopefully depends on the AU's achievements in this regard. Open ended questions are raised and not convincingly answered by the often heard argument that Pan African integration, given the essentially ethnic nature of African societies, is not the road to African redemption. Are we going to revert to ethnic polities, as was proposed by the Boers National Party during the apartheid era in South Africa with the concurrence of Zulu chief Buthelezi? That does not seem a realistic proposition at this stage. Are we going to truncate institutionalized Pan African integration already achieved? That would certainly throw us into chaos and confusion, though it is not at all really likely. How great is the risk that further down the road diminishing returns lead to collapse of the institutionalized Pan African edifice?
African Union is not empire building but rather strategic conglomeration of nationalism aimed essentially at expanding immediate markets, facilitating greater capital formations and strengthening Africas power profile; it is also an intellectual collaboration to the end of providing brighter and higher vision and progressively improving the quality of governance. It is a political business plan involving multiple merging. With wisdom and dauntless will its chances of success should be no less than those of ExxonMobil, or Ford with its global conglomerate of automobile brands. What those asserting pessimistic arguments against Pan Africanism often forget is that there were immense pre-colonial African empires. The 15th-16th century Songhay Emprire stretched eastwards from Senegal on the Atlantic coast to Kano and southwards from Gao, near Malis border with Algeria, down to the fringes of the tropical forests of the Guinea Coast region. Songhay is the successor of Mali and Ghana, both of which covered much of what is historically called the Western Sudan, starting from the 9th century A.D. There was also Kanem-Borno, ruled by the Safewa Dynasty from the 9th century A.D. to the 19th, which at its peak extended from its capital in what is today Northeast Nigeria, westwards to the frontier of Darfur, northwards into Libya, including all of Chad, and southwards to the fringes of the forests that extend down to the Guinea Coast. Then the Sokoto Caliphate, throughout the 19th century covering Hausaland, which included parts of contemporary Niger Republic and North Nigeria; apart from Oyos colonization of Dahomey. Perhaps this heritage of Western Sudan empires, achieved before motor and air travel, telecommunications and Internet, somewhat informs the durability and steady progress of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) over the past thirty years (1975-2005), to the extent that we now have a Community Parliament, an Allied Armed Forces of the Community and a resolution by the Authority of Heads of State and Government to establish a West African government. Hence, from a historical perspective, the proposition of Pan African integration might not look quite the same from region to region. Given the trans-Sahara caravan trade legacy linking North Africa and Bilad Al Sudan (the Sahel region from Dakar in the West to Port Sudan in the East), for peoples of the Sahara and Sahel, whose governments have in fact formed a supranational community, Pan
African integration is very much a challenge to progressively build upon the past. However, the Southern African Development Community and Common Market of East and Southern Africa (COMESA) are not being absolutely outdone by ECOWAS; in certain aspects they are no doubt also pacesetters, especially COMESA with its ten member state free trade zone. If East and Southern Africa have no history of massive regional empires their mutual cooperation in combating white settler racism in the region has proved a galvanizing factor rooted in the 20th century. Despite the gravity of xenophobia, tribalism, surreptitious aggression, corruption and other such retarding factors, Africans are indeed growing and advancing and can be expected to continue thusly. The world is still very much a race of nations, each jockeying for a better position despite the disproportionate concentration of political and economic might in the United States of America. The progressive development of European supranationalism from a coal and steel union in the early post World War II years to a virtual continental confederation today clearly indicates that geo-strategic positioning is no less than ever the veritable game of nations. Twenty years ago the European Economic Community had started publishing combined statistics of its member states for comparative purposes with the United States and Japan. With a single currency and expanded membership, joining the previously divided east and west wings of the continent, the European Union today is pushing hard to keep apace with the U.S.A. and ahead of Japan, while everyone is perforce acutely conscious of 3.6 million square mile, 1.2 billion people Chinas unabated surging. During April 2005, China and India acknowledged the importance of strengthening their relationship, which they described as having a global and strategic character. Of late India has joined China as one of the worlds fastest growing economies. The two Asian nuclear powers stated commitment to proactively resolve outstanding differences reflects their appreciation of their rising geo-strategic status. Washington is equally keen to have India within its sphere of influence. There is a measure of truth in Henry Kissingers dictum that there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests, but as Eastern countries grow richer and more powerful, thereby strengthening their regional power bases and rationally less reluctant
to pugnaciously confront one another, we might expect them to become equally as committed to alliances between themselves as the members of NATO. In this ever competitive global environment visionary Africans are acutely aware of the risks entailed in aggravated marginalization on the periphery of the global power complex; for we are not simply confronted with a track race of individual nations as it were, but an intricate international system of volleying in which goals are variously scored in bilateral and multilateral, as well as unilateral, contexts. To be able to play this intricately complex volleyball at the major league standard common to the core Northern Hemisphere domains dominating the global value flows and power pitching, a nation must have first of all possessed in due measure and quality the veritable elements power and, then, it must have developed them into world class compound efficiency. In a world where, very much like in professional sports, the spirit of competition is dispassionate though substantially regulated, continental Africa, as now represented by the African Union, must focus on proactive and pre-emptive strategies to meander its way from the outer rim of the global power complexs periphery towards the core field of play. It is important for us to realize, however, that in this high stakes geo-strategic positioning contest, international regulatory regimes are typically tilted in favour of the dominant contestants interests. This implies imperative astuteness combined with composed dauntlessness on our part; reflected in both political and technocratic sophistication. It is not realistic for us to think in terms of Africa robustly bolting its way through the protective layers the core players have strategically encircled around themselves; nor is anything substantial to be achieved by reactive responses or reconciliation with the status quo. Conventional wisdom in the context of the prevailing conventions, which are indeed what Nkrumah and Ahmed Skou Tour called neo-colonial and imperialistic, will only dizzy us in the familiar cycle of reliance on ever lower bouncing primary product prices and perennial widening of the gap between the core positions and brink of despair where we Africans collectively dwell. The Global Overview: Networking, Creativity and Productivity
Looking at the Global Overview we see that efficient energy generation determines intellectual, organizational and physical development, as well as geo-strategic power advantages and disadvantages. As networking, flows and exchanges, in terms of quality and position enhancement properties, are dependent on volleying compatibility factors and no country, no matter how underdeveloped is totally left out of the game of nations, invariably networking, flows and exchanges between a high efficiency geostrategic position and an underdeveloped one result in exploitative exchanges. This is inevitable owing to the lower value production capability attending the underdeveloped countries and their limited ability to independently create value generating productivity. African countries offer cheap labour to attract investment; what is more, labour value is further depressed by high transaction and operating costs, due to various manner of inefficiency and disadvantage, including bureaucracy, infrastructural inadequacy, importation costs and often sub-standard labour performance as well. This results in suppression of labour quality improvement; as laborers and their households are often undernourished, trapped in impoverished environmental and living conditions and consequently given to despair, which frequently leads to alcoholism and drug addiction, apart from reckless hedonism and the sexually transmitted diseases that roam in the depression syndrome. The low contribution of African raw material production to contemporary industrial production costs in the modern economies, compared to labour costs, is not only a consequence of the [low] first price principle, it also reflects the negotiating and political power of labour in the advanced democracies; hence, labour there has increased its costs contribution dramatically over the past 100 years, whereas that of raw materials sourced in the primary product income reliant counties has commensurately decreased. However, in order not to allow the compatibility gap to widen to a point where no productive exchange is possible, since exploitative exchanges add value, the stronger geo-strategic positions provide compensatory exchanges (boosters, or aid, if you like) to the weaker ones; hence, the programs designed and offered by the International Monetary Fund and the various international cooperation institutions, whether nationally based or multilateral, to boost the capacity of the
underdeveloped positions for value flows with the core positions. We should not in our analysis indulge hard cynicism to say that there is absolutely nothing humanitarian or compassionate in the whole domain of boosters, but I think it is important to appreciate the fact that very rarely do true hearted liberals control a centre of power anywhere in the globes core complex. Perhaps it happened in Sweden during the years of Prime Minister Olof Palme (1969 to 86) he was mysteriously assassinated and the international community of plebeians has not to this day known who exactly did it. When Ralph Nader, who has perhaps done more than anyone else to modernize the public rights regime in the U.S., wins only 3% of the vote in a presidential contest with a right of centre Democrat and a far right, neo-con, Republican, the message should be clear for Africa that for a complex bundle of reasons Americas majority prefers proper maintenance of the imperialist status quo to a veritable new world order mission. Apologists for Western imperialism typically deny that there is any such thing in the world today; like Hans J. Morgenthau arguing that imperialism is manifest only when there is an attempt by a nation to force an advantageous change in the balance of power ante-. In recent years, no doubt owing to the way mass communications is taught, most African media personnel have excluded the concepts and terms, neo-colonialism and imperialism, from their thinking and vocabularies. As offensive as these terms in references to the Occident may have come to be, they were promoted in the African lexicon by leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and Ahmed Skou Tour, and picked up by people of your authors generation and Pan Africanist ilk, because they are essential to accurate analysis and appreciation of our relationship with the dominant powers. Yet, this is no time for insulting tirades and bombastic rhetoric. The essential challenge, the ultimate imperative, facing us is compound efficiency escalation. Thus it is not primarily a matter of what the imperialists are doing to us, but what we are doing for and to ourselves. In recent G-8 Summits, up to the 2005 Edinburgh edition, Africa has been a focus of attention and concern. For quite a number of years now, Africa has been supported at all the international forums concerning development financing and international trade by certain Western based and financed Non-Governing Organizations.
The efforts of these Western based NGOs in supporting Africas quest for debt write-offs and a fairer international trade regime can be construed as goodwill gestures from sympathetic people in the leading nations that should be appreciated by Africans with a concrete sense of moral obligation to work for higher standard governance and institutionalize transparency. When people are devoting themselves to our causes, let us never be petty minded by concerning ourselves so much with what we might perceive to be, or even actually be, their personal interests; rather, let us seize the opportunity to cultivate bonds of human solidarity and cooperation, if not fraternity; and this requires from us, above all, moral and ethical responsibility assertion. Ultimately, we must want an egalitarian, cooperative and fraternal world; and I believe that it is Africa, on the farthest edge of the global power and wealth periphery, where people endure the greatest and most widespread suffering, that must pave the way to a new world order by its ascendancy in enlightened, friendly mode. Should we make good use of the debt write offs in tandem with the array of opportunities afforded by contemporary technology no doubt we shall realize ourselves in a higher light and the world at large will certainly be obliged to come to terms with Africa in its greater esteem. Africa is at crossroads, where we will either summon transcendental strength and goodwill from our history of profound difficulties or grow ever more despondent until we end up utterly crushed owing to moral and psychological weakness. Now, after quite a number of years of prodding, after all the moral arguments and efforts that NGOs like Jubilee 2000 and Oxfam have asserted on our behalf, we have achieved one of our greatest post colonial victories: there are substantial debt write offs; what are we going to make of it all? Certainly we must not end up once again on our knees with shackles of debts around our necks, looted treasuries behind our backs and tide of problems soaring well above our heads. Whether Mr. Bush was just looking for an easy way out when he insisted at the 2005 United Nations General Assembly Summit that Africa must show improvement in the way it utilizes resources before America will commit the aid levels being requested is not so important for us, as Africans, to say; the point is that he has thrown out a legitimate challenge. Whether Washington shows good faith in event of our substantial resource management improvement is in the
final analysis not so significant for us as what we attain for ourselves. Let us take the debt write offs with genuine sense of appreciation to God, as well as our sympathizers, friends and supporters in this regard around the world, if not to the imperialists, and resolve to make the very best thereof. The ball is in our hands now, it is up to us to control it and pile up the points; because even our sympathizers and friends cannot write our development scenarios, nor conceive our visions. We must proceed to analyze our situation in the global setup and plan strategies for ascendance. As our fundamental strategic concern is improvement of value flows and we are already fairly well experienced in producing primary products and are accustomed to research and development work in this domain, let us emphatically consider prospects for networking and progress in the noetic value domains. Perhaps nothing potentially has more value in terms of high-level volleying and geo-strategic positioning than creative intellectual energy generation. In macro-economic terms, intellectual creativity, reflected in technology, services and cerebral consumption products, has surpassed material production in value added contributions, promising to progressively enhance its dominance over the decades of this century. Africa and the Third Wave The eminent American futurologist/philosopher, Alvin Toffler, predicted as the fourth quarter of the 20th century gained momentum, over the 400 some odd page course of his book, Third Wave (Bantam Books, 1980), that the Global North was moving into the postindustrial high-tech era and manufacturing would be outsourced to the Global South in pace with the growth of technologys preponderance in Europe, America and Japan. This scenario is now being played out to the extent that China in 2003 amazingly received $50 billion in direct foreign investment and a substantial proportion of the IT products consumers buy in Africa are manufactured somewhere on the Pacific Rim, though the brand names and technology are most frequently from those nations moving up from factory based economies to creative intellectual energy generation driven ones. At the end of his first term in office, former U. S. president Bill Clinton noted that when he entered the White House [in 1992] more
Americans worked in mechanical factories than with computers but only four year later the reverse was true. The term post industrial era is now commonly used with respect to the new evolutionary stage the leading Global North economies have realized. Comparing the ratio of financial service and technology companies to industrials in the current Forbes 2000 with the Fortune 500s of the 1960s, we can once again see the truth in former Fortune associate editor, futurologist Alvin Tofflers prediction that the industrial age at its apex would commence evolving into and be superseded by a postindustrial, high tech era in which the working class in leading North Atlantic economies ceases to be proletarians, becoming what he calls cognitarians, and low skill industrial production is outsourced to nations in the Global South. China, driven by a vision of eventual national greatness, was well prepared for this new era and today, strategically party to the materialization of Tofflers foresight, producers more than half the low skill input manufactures consumed in the United States; and has in the process of taking on a major mass industrial production role in the noetic value production led global economy, received more than a trillion dollars in direct foreign investment over the past ten years. The newly industrializing countries (NICs) on the Pacific Rim and India have also become party to this new international division of labour scene. In fact, despite lagging behind the Pacific Rim tigers in international market industrial product competitiveness, India has significantly raised technology value added to about 10% of its GDP, indicating the prospects for Global South models synthesizing Second Wave and Third Wave social and economic features into what I would call a high-tech age developmental mode; that is to say, it is inevitable that NICs assimilate and become creative in the technology fields while still emerging as industrial economies. China is no longer just producing garments, textiles and simple gadgets like flashlights; it has become a major manufacturer of computer hard-disk and other IT hardware. The big question for Africa is: where do we enter in this emerging scenario of postindustrial and newly industrialized countries? Ghanas Kwame Nkrumah first proposed an African Union in the early 1960s, emphasizing that industry, not agriculture, made countries great and pointing out that only a politically unified continent would afford Africans the economies of scale required to
make substantial industrial investment feasible. Nkrumahs thinking was shared other leading visionaries of his era: Egypts Gamel Abdel Nasser, India Jawaharlal Nehru, Cubas Fidel Castro and Algerias Houari Boumedienne. However, today, with the exception of South Africa, there is no industrial success story in Africa, no country prepared like China and its Southeast Asian neighbours to benefit from the post-industrial economies outsourcing of mass manufacturing. Considering that industrial production is no longer the principal determinant of a countrys economic power, let us venture into some new thinking in describing and analyzing contemporary African economies. Faced with the challenge of attaining High Tech Age Developmental Modes, to attain networking compatibility with the cognition driven societies, Africa, lagging extremely far behind technologically, must concentrate on optimum development of its human potential. The human person, let us bear in mind as we proceed here, is not in fact a human resource, mere instrument of economic utility. The human person is the centre of existence on this planet, the only legitimate and realistic object of economic, social and political pursuits; equally the temporal vicegerent of Infinite. To talk of human resources, regarding people in this organizational utilitarian context is alienating and degrading. The human personality is multidimensional and ultimately defines material relevance; we can realistically think and talk in terms of human personality development in organizational context, because there are involved in attainment of organized operational efficiency a host of human character requisites: cognition, concentration, mental and physical endurance, moral, emotional and physical discipline, ethical consciousness, empathy, mutual compassion, respect and respectability, etcetera, etcetera. What we are after is not simply human capacity building to design a website, repair a new BMW engine, or effectively follow the rules of mediation in conflict resolution; we are usufructuaries of Gods earth, our potentials and imaginations attuned to the constructive possibilities inherent in the biospheres design, building societies, shaping a world, creating what philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) designated the noosphere the biosphere as impacted by human noetic assertion, construction and development on earth.
Africa is objectively faced with the challenge of encouraging independent human potential development and aligning it with national and Pan African material progress, which in turn boosts the prevailing level of potential fulfilment, whereby we enter into an interactive human and material progress elevation dynamic. This involves focussing on the basic principles of human motivation and enabling the interactive dynamic of motivation with the material requisites for development. Human liberty to pursue individual potential realization is of paramount importance. Presently Africans are so much focused on going abroad primarily because they feel constrained in their own environments; constraints are both material and systematic. The material constraints will have to be overcome by the wealth generated from human performance quality and value; therefore systematic constraints to motivation need be studied, analyzed, particularly for their impact, and as much as practical removed. Bureaucratic procedures frustrating timely completion of education and active entry into the economy have no place in a socio-economic development environment based on the philosophy human development potential; government is obliged to play a catalytic role, facilitating independent initiative and self-improvement pursuit. Production, service and trade involving essential needs, such as food, knowledge, shelter, apparel, transport, infrastructure, recreation and occupation must be as convenient as reasonably possible; community development and relations must also at once proceed from and be aligned to individual development. Optimum standard governance is absolutely essential because corruption, irresponsible, unpatriotic, self-serving leadership frustrates civic consciousness, dampens community spirit and undermines, even destroys collective self-confidence. Nigerias failure to industrialize, despite having a population larger than most industrial countries and being a major petroleum producer, alerts us to the fact that the combination of economies of scale and natural resource wealth is not necessarily a panacea. There are a host of other factors that must be right. Nigerians complain about their countries severe lack of social capital: civic consciousness, social ethics and responsibility, credible governance and public safety. If the government puts up street lights today, expect them missing within a week. The massive rails alongside bridges are typically vandalized
along with every other manner of public property of value. Nigeria Airways bought new cockpits for its commercial airliners in 1998 only for the managing director to upon inspection find them gone. Suspension of the airlines technical staff for months brought no evidence to public light concerning this incredible theft. Armed robbers are so brazen as to take over whole streets in broad daylight, for hours at a time looting every car that happens to pass through; or vamp upon a bank with a virtual caravan of vehicles, blasting music, with hot pants clad young women, bandoliers strapped across their breasts, shooting into the air before beginning their operation by bulleting the bank guards dead. Why is this? Perhaps the common reasoning among Nigerias elite is that with so many people, if Nigerias wealth were to be spread equitably no one would have quite enough; therefore no pint in indulging idealism, whoever gets the opportunity to should fatten his nest as much as possible. Nigerians tend to be very family conscious, are ambitious for their children and have strong sense of family responsibility. Moreover, the colonialist hard done all they could to replace the traditional African communalist philosophy with individualism and indeed succeeded. Hence, with the excitement over the windfall of wealth derived from the emergent petroleum industry, individualism combined with myopic economic rationalism to produce a cynical elite self-serving mindset and culture of graft. Nigeria is verily not alone in this debilitating predicament; it is common throughout Africa and in countries where ambition and selfconfidence are not so pronounced as in Nigeria there is moreover the miserable collective and individual self-doubt syndrome, where despair inclines communities to fratricide and reckless abandon. Actually no African nation is altogether free of the self-doubt syndrome, but some are less, others more affected by it. How do we build social capital and collective self-confidence? With the self-doubt syndrome, where we despair of ever catching up with the North Atlantic, prevailing throughout most of the continent, the African Union has a great role to play. We read and hear in the news media of the African Union representing the 53 African nations in matters concerning Africas representation on United Nations Security Council, in matters concerning Sudan and so on; this reduces our perception of the power and significance gap width, not only
between us and the United States of America, but also in relation to the other power centres in the world. Collective self-confidence building is of fundamental importance to Africa at this juncture in history and efficient strategic manoeuvring by the AU can greatly improve our collective self-perception. Secondly, looking forward to the time when the Pan African Parliament and ECOWAS Parliament will be popularly elected and possess legislative powers, we would expect them to champion peoples increased empowerment, particularly regarding enhanced democratization of political systems and parties, independence of election commissions and judiciaries, making legal redress more accessible as an alternative to revolt and other manner of political violence, liberty to independently pursue ones potential development and accountability standards. The supranational parliaments should also be concerned with referral of cases to the regional and continental courts of justice. Currently ECOWAS has such a court and the AU Constitutive Act provides for a court with jurisdiction consistent with its continental role. We can expect other regional parliaments to emerge, serving in this vein. The regional and continental courts should ultimately play a very important part in setting Pan African standards of justice, governance and peoples rights. Civil Society organizations, in the course of being involved in condition improvement of society and its members should address issues concerning judicial independence and accessibility and by supporting complainants promote a culture of settling grievances by mediation and litigation. Strengthening legal recourse possibilities and effectiveness is a sine qua non for diminishing the inclination to armed revolt. In societies where vandalism, robbery and other wanton crimes have gotten out of hand, civil society might press for vigilante rights. This, we know, is a rather complex matter; experiences with vigilante groups have been a mix of desirable and undesirable results however, vigilante groups cannot well satisfy us in a social capital vacuum. Lobbyist at national and supranational levels need represent civil society organizations and interests groups, enhancing popular access to parliamentarians and spreading awareness on public issues. Definitely, there is a need for African Union appreciative information media, to intellectually interact with those in the corridors of power
and, in addition to informing, mediate between reality, the political class and the public. The problem of social capital deficiency is at once crucial and severe. Without social capital, particularly trust and civic consciousness, collective self-confidence will probably not be attainable. Yet collective self-confidence is a sine qua non for full potential realization, both individually and collectively. Humans being by nature multidimensional social personalities, no matter how great ones individual self-confidence appears to be, full potential fulfilment cannot be attained without the complement of confidence in society and humankind. Nothing represents the collective achievement and possibilities of Africans more than the African Union; hence, its success is of paramount importance for us. The AU should not permit itself to be alienated from the people in its member states to the extent that the European Union is seen by many to be; it should avoid inclination to excess in supranational power exercise, but rather cultivate a leadership by influence and heroism role. The Pan African Parliamentarians and regional parliamentarians, considering the philosophies underlying the institutions to which they belong, are expected to play leading roles in raising the political consciousness of Africans. They should be mediators between the status quo and the higher vision we must realize in order to optimally benefit from our human potential, the development of which is a sine qua non for national and Pan African ascendancy. Africa is today globalized, for Africans are everywhere; the continent is our base, the globe our intellectual, material resource, operation and networking perimeter; in which context national and Pan African development are opportune to receive resources from any part of the world and benefit from global networking. Africans are therefore the principals, Africa the habitat subject to our constructive noetic impact. Once asked by a journalist why he did not live in Africa, Nigerian born world class computer scientist Dr. Phillip Emeagwali replied that with fibre optic technology linking African clients to an extremely costly supercomputer in the United States, running development technology programs he had developed, he could do more for Africa than if he were physically on the continent; describing himself and
other Africans capable of benefiting Africa from abroad as telenationals. Dr. Emeagwali, others in similar proximity to Africa and all those African who have developed their potentials abroad and returned to serve the continent on the ground are evidence that what is commonly called the brain drain can result in highly valuable knowledge remittances and exchanges. Note that we do not transfer knowledge, because as de Chardin long ago observed, knowledge is interactive and procreative; thus it is actively exchanged in the global networks. In placing emphasis on human potential development Africas socio-economic planners must be concerned with three interdependent factors crucial to goal realization: institutionalized education, community environments and assuring opportunities for independent potential development pursuit. Regarding education, I have not ceased being impressed by a statement made by Rajab Bakari at a youth conference in Khartoum during June 2004, observing that Sudans education system turns out job seekers, not the very much needed job creators. In that connection, there is pronounced concern that Sudans National Congress regime, like many, if not most, others in Africa, does not encourage independent potential development pursuit. Commonly, uneducated women venture into the lucrative business of tea selling on the sidewalks; female industrial design student Riam Abdullah at Sudan University of Science & Technology designs an innovative kiosk for them, that is at once utilitarian and aesthetically interesting, which was displayed at the exhibition of her 2004 graduating class. However, there has been no official interest shown in Riams project; instead there is frequently the appalling sight of policeman driving the tea vendors from the sidewalks and destroying their utensils of trade. Khartoum is a much cleaner and better maintained city than Nigerias commercial capital Lagos, but while Lagos has much to learn from the Sudanese capital regarding sanitation, public safety, electricity and water supply, Lagos, despite the elitism pervading Nigerias political and economic landscape, is somewhat of a model of economic liberty. For all its deficiencies, Lagos, no doubt the wealthiest city-state in Nigeria and accommodating a tremendous informal sector, attests to
the validity of the theory of human potential development focus, even if in a rudimentary, post-colonial Africa flavoured manner. With perhaps 15 million people, or more, Lagos is a beehive of human activity. Liberal policies towards petty trading, cottage industry production and informal economic activity make Lagos one of the most exhilarating places in the world. Lagos appears to be one great big market. Apart from ubiquitous street trading, many residences in elite areas serve as both office and home, with business signs at their entrances. Street trading in areas like Agegee continues around the clock and one cannot sit thirsty in a public transport vehicle without offers from vendors toting plastic coolers stocked with ice cold bottled carbonated drinks, or plastic sachets containing either cold water or a hibiscus derived drink, Zobo. An array of cottage industry produced brands of sliced bread is every morning disseminated in the Lagos sidewalk markets. One sees posters plastered here and there offering courses in cosmetics and soap production and indeed there is a dazzling variety of locally produced soaps and cosmetics. Once a paper mill owner intimated to me that he had stopped producing school note books because it was impossible to compete with the cottage industry producers; taking this cue, I designed, produced and introduced by own, Great Nigeria, brand note book into the market, engaging commission agents for distribution. In South Africa the power COSATU is actively concerned about the informal sector causing industrial job loses by infringing on the companies product markets, but Nigerian circumstances with 130 million people demand a live and let live resourcefulness and inventiveness from all. While Nigeria is notorious for elitism, giving reason for former African Economic Commission Executive Secretary Adebayo Adedeji to remark in deploring the miserable failure of the countrys public services that private ownership of bore hole wells, power generators and security guards had unfairly become the norm, with two thirds of its 130 million people living in poverty, populism invariably breaks through elitisms barricades; and nowhere is this truer than in densely populated Lagos, containing over 11,600 persons per square mile. Writers and others wishing to publish books in Nigeria acquire International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) from the National Library. Stocks of ISBN numbers are replenished by the National
Library for any publisher honouring the condition that the library be given six copies of each published title. Lagos appears to have several thousand printing presses and one can conventionally hire a press, providing ones own paper and ink, paying the operators and machine owner per hour. Computer typesetters and lithographers are often business units distinct from the printers; so the publisher without a staff can have his typesetting done at a business services centre, make his plates at the lithographic shop, carry them to the printing machine he is hiring and keep possession of them after printing. However, if one likes he can print the conventional way, leaving the entire operation to the printing press management. New films, marketed primarily through video clubs, are released virtually every day in Lagos. There are literally dozens of studios and a highly competitive actor and actress scene, attended by an array of tabloid and celebrity magazines to project entertainers and artists, for better or worse, into the public psyche. The recording industry is no less exciting than film; but financial success in sports requires making way into to the international teams and circuits. Dramatists stick close to the arts departments in academia, yet the National Theatre, located in perhaps the citys largest park, features productions of the leading playwrights as well as streams of cultural shows. Nigerian artists are rarely rich, but in the absence of a breakthrough leading to greener pastures abroad they enjoy life persisting for excellence and recognized at home. Top performers, like Juju music legend Sunny Ade and Afro-Beat star Femi Anikulapo Kuti own their own nightclubs, where they regularly entertain. The artist owns an art gallery; the photographer a photo print business; the fashion designer a boutique and small garment factory, the computer engineer a clone assembly and repair workshop. No matter what your line, no matter how talented, in Lagos one should have a head for business if he or she wants to be successful. Individual proprietorships and partnerships can be easily registered at the Local Government Council; limited liability companies and public liability companies require procedures recommended to the Federal Government by the Nigerian Association of Chartered Accountants. With thousands of doctors abroad earning incomes sufficiently high to afford them considerable savings, Nigeria has over the years enjoyed substantial private investment in hospitals
and many, if not most of the most elaborate ones are in Lagos. No doubt the number of people creating their own jobs in Lagos far exceeds those employed in the civil service, companies and small businesses. The apprentice system of the enterprising Igbo ethnic communities involves a young man serving a store for two years, during which the shop owner feeds and accommodates him while keeping his earnings; at the end of the apprenticeship, the young man, who has completely familiarized himself with the business, which is likely to be either stationery, auto parts or construction materials, is settled, as they call it, whereby he becomes an independent proprietor in his own right. Those not having enough to open their own shop are customarily allowed to sell their goods in the shop of another who earns a commission thereby. Savings are commonly accumulated in cooperative deposit schemes based in the markets, wherein each month all the deposits collected goes to one of the cooperatives members. By this means traders periodically acquire bulk sums of money to invest in business expansion and improvement. These cooperative traditions among traders, in tandem with pervasive education ambition and almost commensurate facilities for learning, a strong public health service and quite considerable investment in private medical facilities, Lagos liberal business entry regime has resulted in this African metropolis being dominated by modern residential quarters and asphalt streets. However, we should not ignore the fact that lucrative government contracts, awarded at local, state and federal levels in the prevailing patronage system are a major source of income for Nigerians. There are salient inadequacies nonetheless, such as almost complete absence of public parks, scarce recreational facilities and few public libraries. The public transport system is no doubt one of the worse in the world; as neither government nor private investors are much interested in it; although the more lucrative inter-state transport business features adequate rolling stock of Mercedes and Volvo luxury buses. The city also has miserable water supply problems and suffers frequent power supply outages; all of which reflect human development deficiencies and sophistication want, as well as corruption fuelling material anxieties. Public safety, owing to rampant uncontrolled crime, is perennially at low ebb. For years
people noticed that while every Nigerian city or town had a welcome sign at its gate, the sign at the entrance of Lagos, flanked by enormous sculptures of two men dressed in local fashion, read simply: This is Lagos. In 1999 a welcome sign replaced the chilly warning, but Lagos is still very much Lagos. In most basic public services Khartoum is much better off than Lagos, apart from the Sudanese capitals richness in public parks and gardens and decent cafeterias for the common people; though it cannot compare with Nigerias cities for asphalted streets; but the point is that there is much for these two African metropolises to learn from each other; imaging the best of Khartoum and Lagos, for example, in a single city we can see very interesting prospects for improving the African human condition. Significantly, Sudans economic usage of fresh fruits is a microeconomic lesson. The country, and especially its urban areas have thousands of fresh fruit juice bars, offering a wide variety and even some medicinal beverages, like hibiscus (against hypertension) and the locally unique aradept (a malaria prophylactic). A fruit juice canning plant involving tens of millions of dollars investment could not possibly gainfully employ the number of people working in these small scale vendors, not to mention the thousands of individual proprietors. The vendors moreover provide a viable market for manual citrus fruit squeezers, plastic cooler containers from which the juice is poured into drinking glasses and handed across a counter and electric mixers for mango and guava juice; management and technical personnel requirements in these supply industry opportunities would probably well offset the diminutive human potential development profile attending the low skill levels required in fruit juice bar operation compared to a modern juice canning establishment. El Neilin Industrial Development Bank has been offering fast turnover shrinking partnership loans providing a fair portion of the $1,000$1,500 financing required to open a fruit juice bar in major urban shopping districts. A fruit juice plant would, by contrast, require consortium funding with long term payback; nor could it consume as much fresh fruit as the fruit juice bars. Above all, the fresh fruit juice is healthier than can products. Foreigners complain about the lack of beer and alcoholic beverages in Sudan, but breweries and distilleries supplying the entire national demand could neither economically
engage as many people as all the fruit juice bars, nor would their products be a boon to public health. Industrially, what remains is expansion of the cooler container industry and local manufacture of electric mixers. On the whole, the prospects for self-sufficiency, individual entrepreneurship, employment and local manufacturing provided by the fresh fruit juice consumption culture exceed in benefit what could be expected from industrial beverage production; though there is viable industrial production in carbonated soft drinks and fruit juices packaged in plastic bottles or wax-card. Without encouragement of independent self-improvement initiatives this naturally evolved micro-economic model would not have bloomed. We are not here unmindful of the need for proper academic study to test the hypotheses as well as an integrated analyses approach considering all inter-sectoral linkages. Sudans dairy trade, unlike the fruit juice business, is characterized by steady industrial production expansion that infringes on the traditional dominance of the market by independent farmers who wholesale their produce to grocers door to door. Here the variables are different from those in the fruit juice domain. Without a comprehensive study I would be hesitant to hypothesize where the public health advantage lies. Expansion of the industrial producers market increases their demand for dairy farmers produce, but some of the packaged products use powdered milk; therefore, in the absence of a domestic powdered milk industry, the net impact of industrial dairy product production on local value added could be negative. In any event, farmers no doubt make more money wholesaling their own milk from grocer to grocer than selling to industrial producers. Macro-economic analysis of alternative modes of production and supply provide the component data of macro-economic modeling, which in turn is vital to visioning exercises. A university might place an array of microeconomic analysis propositions on its theses list this year and next year organize a multiple participant thesis project to build a macro-economic model from them. Subsequently, the social science departments are challenged to study the interactive individual and social potential development and economic activity relationships with a view to national vision theses. In this way we might continually have comprehensively integrated, analytically developed macroeconomic models and national vision propositions. Macro-
economic models and vision theses then inform regional model and vision development. This approach could ultimately be more effective than the ECOWAS IMP data collection and analysis method. Benin Republic, across the border from Lagos, is one of Africas least industrialized countries but was ironically reported in 1998 by African Economy magazine to have zero unemployment, as virtually everyone not working under an employer was self-employed. In the absence of immediate higher opportunities, resort to small scale trading and cottage industry production is certainly more constructive than a life of idleness, crime or vice; moreover, such basic independent potential development pursuits as we find common in Lagos and Benin afford both individual and social conditioning to make good use of better opportunities when eventually they arrive. The socio-economic goal for Africa is to eliminate poverty whereby the middle class becomes the social base. This means that in addition to encouraging independent human development leading to socio-economic elevation, the remuneration scale of the proletariat must greatly heighten. The notion of attracting investors by suppressing African labour costs brings us statistical growth in Gross Domestic Product terms but very little actual development increment. South Africa, for example, has the most technologically advanced and industrialized economy on the continent, but its Black industrial workers have not attained the Western European standard of living generally enjoyed by white South Africans. Commendably, the ANC, which is aligned to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has embarked on an industrial renaissance plan with a view to reducing non labour industrial production cost by locating manufacturing sites closer to the raw material sources, with an efficient system of power supply and cargo transport. This is thinking in the direction of the contemporary European model, where workers have earned more as non-labour production cost proportionately decreased. In fact, Grameen Bank founder Muhammed Yunus' argument that development be measured by the per capita real income growth of the poorest 50% of the population proposes a realistic approach to African economic data keeping and statistical analysis. Africa must be careful to avoid the situation that has materialized in China, where massive foreign investment has led the country out of radically egalitarian
communism into income gaps between workers and the cognitive elite that imitate the Americans. In its 1997 Annual Human Development Report the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported that there had been an alarming spread of poverty in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe following the collapse of Communism. Yes, Africa already has such horrible urban and rural, rich and poor income gaps and in tandem with promoting independent potential development, unfair advantages that lead to extremely wide class disparities should be identified and checked. Recognizing that GDP growth, middle or high income status does not necessarily correspond with the level of human development, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has devised an index for ranking nations according to their level of human development and comparing this ranking with their GDP ranking in the list of the worlds nations. There is a pattern of petroleum and mineral producing countries having a significant gap between their Human Development Index and GDP rankings, reflecting the typical enclave nature of such industries and raising questions about the extent to which Direct Foreign Investment can be relied on to eradicate poverty in Africa. In the competition for DFI countries afford investors attractive incentives such as suppressed labour costs, tax holidays and unrestricted profit repatriation; thus, while the statistical contribution to gross domestic product may be significant, the actual benefits to the population are miniscule. Without extensive networks of indigenous owned feeder industries, sub-contractors and service providers, the trickle down income from the enclave economies into the various other microeconomies will be too limited to make a significant contribution to poverty alleviation. India's prominent environmentalist Sunita Narain highlighted the economic contribution limitations of state of the art industries in the Global South in response to a British journalist's remark about the need for her country's industrial sector to grow by 12-15% annually for the country to significantly reduce poverty in the medium term, by giving the example of one of the world's largest and most modern cement plants that employed only 400 people in a population exceeding 1 billion. Are we going to saddle ourselves with labour intensive, uncompetitive industries? Of course, for Africa the other part of the problem is that apart from extractive industries we receive a miniscule proportion of global DFI. Actually, we are at a
point of revisiting the essential economic philosophy of Adam Smith, that in a free market economy, resting on an ethical foundation, government would promote universal human development, whereby social equilibrium and prosperity would converge, as the population dynamically performs on the open field of opportunity subsequent Social Darwinist interpretations of Smiths intent not withstanding. The laissez-faire economic philosophy is more properly understood in terms of its recognizing the centrality of human performance and assumed convergence of economic interest and public benefit. Where the invisible hand [Smiths philosophy relies on] fails to produce this convergence the implication is that the system has been besieged by ethical faults. For Africa, it is not simply a matter of attracting investment in this era where developing countries and regions must at once industrialize and technologize. In a globalized economy, mindful of the horrible social capital deficiency in Africa, it is logical for us to promote freedom of enterprise on an ethical foundation that insist on optimizing equality of opportunity lowering the entry level for entrepreneurs, no matter how small scale they are; theoretically this would alleviate alienation while upholding the fundamental human right to potential fulfilment. In the final analysis, people, not machines, nor foreign investors, bring development; and for all the value of buildings, factories and roads, development is essentially evidenced by the capabilities, well being and sophistication of people. Considering the psychological importance of African Union success to the people of our continent, social capital and economies of scale, along with all the other Pan African objectives of the AU must be converged in improving our standing in the world, as well as our selfesteem. The coming of age of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) indicated that African leaders were aware of the continents need for economies of scale. Although, the trade off typically demanded between short-term interests and long term goals has too often sacrificed the latter for the former, widening of the per capita and national productivity value gaps between Africa and the rest of the world has kept the continents leaders committed to the goal of regional economic integration. The dire need to develop a modern infrastructure on the continent that would upgrade Africas competitive position in the international investment arena informed the New Partnership for African
Development Initiative (NEPAD), which emerged in tandem with the African Union. However, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) resolution making the region a single investment zone has not yet been emulated in Africa, although there is a capital market integration treaty, which was signed during November 2000 in Abuja, involving members of the African Stock Exchanges Association (ASEA). Also, there is a West African Stock Exchange based in Abidjan, listing companies from all the regions Francophone countries, which moreover have an economic and monetary union within the 15 member Economic Community of West African States. This union and its Central African counterpart, inherited from French colonialism, remain Africas most significant instances of economic and monetary integration. Yet, the Francophone states have yet to recover from the massive disinvestment they suffered during the 1980s. Worst of all, once model states, like Congo-Brazzaville and Cte dIvoire, have lost their political balance under the strains of economic recession. Thus, while industrial investment opportunities for the Global South are expanding in consonance with outsourcing by the high-tech societies, Africa continues to loose strategic ground vis-vis the rest of the world. Africa does not want to become a dumping ground for outdated, uncompetitive industrial technologies; if technology prospect intelligence informs us that innovative breakthroughs, particularly in the line of compact industrial units, are in the pipeline, we might strategically stall the industrial development process a year or two so as not to pointlessly invest in obsolescence. It is essential therefore that Africans take the lead in the industrialization and technologization quests. Africans cannot prudently rely on foreign investors to industrialize or modernize Africa; African stakeholders must take the initiative to get industrialization rolling in the continent, in state of the art mode. This implies that the Organized Private Sector (OPS) become a major political pressure force in advocacy of democracy, transparency, systematic periodic transfer of power and competent governance. With African stakeholders leading the way, foreign investors would see their risks reduced; moreover, the greater the equity of Africans in the continents economic expansion, the more we benefit from it.
In our technologized global village, there is no compelling reason for Africans to limit their income perimeter to the domestic economy, or even the continent; why not venture to earn on corporate share value growth and profits all over the world, operating online stock brokerages, offering opportunities in stocks and bonds, mutual funds and Real Estate Investment Trusts? Veritable optimization of opportunities for independent self-development implies universal access to capital markets, enabling Africans even in our villages to invest and earn in every lucrative part of the world. Domestic investment mutual funds at the Khartoum Stock Exchange for example are denominated in units starting from U.S.40 to $2 and $4; while Nigeria Stock Exchange offers Energy Investment Notes (EIN) at $12.00 per unit. Though elite African investors might buy and trade directly in companies like Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Toyota, Nokia and General Electric, the plebeians could be given virtually unlimited access to overseas capital market opportunities through affordably denominated mutual funds. Bring the capital markets to the workers and farmers, the petty traders and cottage industry sector; establish capital market departments in the banks, especially community banks, providing access to and enlightenment about domestic and global stocks. Beyond the broad range of capital market opportunities, there is tremendous scope in e-commerce not to be overlooked. The governor of Nigeria's Jigawa State brought experts in from Asia to conduct ecommerce training with a view to technologizing the trading sector. This was a great farsighted move, considering that landlocked Northern Nigeria has limited prospects for development in manufacturing owing to the cost of moving bulk cargo [of raw materials and finished products] in and out of the region. Though educationally the most handicapped part of Nigeria, the North's future, owing to comparative advantages of space, low crime rate and cultured elite, lies in weightless value flows, including creative intellectual productivity: research institutes and departments, software development, etcetera. E-commerce websites are the logical next step forward for the Somali hawala (trust based money transfer network) companies, some of which have already invested considerable sums in state of the art transaction software. Aggregate annual turnover of Somali hawala
companies, including business transfers as well as remittances to families and individuals, is about $1 billion. Major hawala companies do nearly $100 million in business annually, but the biggest hawala dealer, Al Barakat, doing about $5 million in business weekly, was without evidence, solely suspicion, forced out of business by Washington at the outset of its War on Terrorism appearing to almost have been spiteful revenge for the bad time American troops had in Somalia. In any event, having played the role of banks following collapse of the Somali state, the dynamic and proactive hawala companies, in looking forward to their niche in post-conflict Somalia, should not miss the opportunity to become e-commerce pacesetters for Africa. Capital integration has only recently, with the arrival of high-tech information exchange, become a prominent part of the African economic integration agenda. However, capital integration in the final analysis may take precedence over trade integration. First of all, capital integration could boost the political incentive to Pan African economic integration, as stakeholders increasingly have cross border common financial interests. In this way it could contribute to expansion of intra-African trade, because trading companies in low industrial base importing countries would have the opportunity to invest in companies, located in incipient industrial economies, like Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt, manufacturing products that they import; thereby sharing in the profits of their suppliers. South Africa, being at once the leading manufacturer and premier financial centre on the continent is taking the lead in facilitating capital integration. A grand win-win deal, capital integration with South Africa leading the way would facilitate profits earned in other African countries being invested in South African companies; thus while offering export markets throughout Africa to South Africa's PLCs, the PLCs could also be strengthened to expand their investments in AU member states. In this scenario we see South Africa, and also other emerging industrial economies with state of the art capital markets, growing while contributing to growth and development in sister African countries. JSE's trading system is based on the same technology used at the London Stock Exchange, facilitating world class transaction and settlement time.
Pending the coming on stream of the African Central Bank stipulated in the Constitutive Act of the African Union, intra-African investment could be hindered by exchange controls that make settlement difficult. Initially, the Pan African Stock Exchange, a subsidiary of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), is expected to include listings from Ghana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe; however, capital integration is already advancing between Nigeria and South Africa through joint ventures as well as joint listings between the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSC) and JSE. Ultimately, it is in Africa's interest for African Stock Exchange Association members to have access to listings from all over the world for offering our people; otherwise we would be seriously slighted in the globalization of business opportunities. Reciprocal opening up to foreign investors is not adequately in Africas interest, because Africans generally lack the exposure to capital markets common in the North Atlantic and Pacific Rim; windows to stock exchanges in New York, London, Tokyo and other financial centres must be brought to Africas community banks, or brokerages established at the grass roots level. We must grow out of the simplistic resort to lotteries and other officially endorsed gambling schemes and rise to the sophistication of middle classes in the advanced countries, because we are aiming at progressing until our workers and farmers are living at standards at least on par with them. Theoretically, capital integration should ultimately make trade integration an incidental matter on the African economic integration agenda, because trade should be market, not politically, driven. African manufacturers would naturally aim to sell their products in the global market place, no less than in Africa. If African capitalists can continue forming strategic alliances with foreign leading brand owners, we could expect international quality standard industrial production to spread in the continents industrial sector. Capital integration means larger concentrations of money for investment in costly strategic and market demanded projects; thus also enabling larger African capital formations to attract and merge with foreign capital. Foreign investors might have realized by now that partnership with African counterparts is more promising than themselves carrying all the risks. The fight for transparency, rule of law and favourable
policies requires indigenous African political muscle; therefore, a strong organized private sector (OPS) is essential to improving the investment climate in Africa. During the Abacha years in Nigeria (1993-1998), political tyranny coexisted with unprecedented influence of the OPS on government policies. Each year, the OPS applauded Abachas budgets, drawn up by a Finance & Planning Ministry headed by a leading chartered accountant, because they largely reflected the consensus of the Nigerian Economic Summit annually held in November. The Nigerian Economic Summit comfortably included the chief executives of major foreign companies because the indigenous business community was strong enough to collaborate with them without fear of domination or undermining. Expansion of African capital integration with economic pacesetter South Africa playing the central role promises to strengthen Africa's capitalist community, which, given, in addition, capital market popularization, would give rise to Pan Africa equity capitalism, with strong base in the democratic forces, fit to confidently and to good advantage fuse with major trans-nationals. Historically, one of the biggest mistakes made by Nigerias federal government was failure to offer Nigerians shares in parastatals back in the 1970 boom years. By the 1990s era of privatization, private Nigerian capital would no doubt have substantially penetrated the parastatals, precluding the strategic concerns about foreign capital dominating important sectors of the economy like electricity, telecommunications and petroleum. This failure to facilitate citizens equity in parastatals has generally been the case in Africa. In countries such as Ghana and Cte dIvoire the result has been a recession of economic sovereignty and advance of neo-colonialism in the form of increased foreign control over the domestic economy. Beyond the broad range of capital market opportunities, there is tremendous scope in e-commerce not to be overlooked. Considering that income utilization patterns in Africa tend to low investment and savings levels compared to the Pacific Rim, capital market development is crucial for Africa. Transaction time should be world class and enlightenment is certainly required, but Africans, judging from response to some lucrative mutual fund schemes floated by local innovators outside the NSE in Nigeria, readily respond to wealth increment opportunities. One noteworthy result of Asian
prudence and frugality, compared to the proportionately high consumer spending and hedonistic disposal of African incomes is that returns on investment in Africa, which were higher than in Southeast Asia during the early 1970s, were by the 1990s much lower. Psychologically, a capital market interest culture in Africa, promoted by convenient access to domestic and foreign capital markets, would no doubt boost ambition and self-esteem. Presently, African income utilization patterns often reflect low ambition. Breweries, distilleries, tobacco companies and entertainment services are not only major recipients of African income but equally popular areas of investment. This preponderance of a hedonistic syndrome in Africa cannot be disassociated from the debilitating spread of HIV/AIDS, substandard industrial production and management, corruption and despair the latter no doubt a major factor in recourse to fratricidal and anarchic insurgencies. We want to see capital markets become a new cultural fixation in Africa, and banks offering investment as well as interests based financing and deposits. Apart from the fact that among the substantial Muslim population in Africa there is pervasive ethical reservation about participating in the interest based financing system; banks functioning as investment houses, as in Sudan, can be seen operating trading companies that buy, warehouse and sell financed agriculture production; which means they avoid the risks common to agriculture production financing in the conventional Western model banking system. Investment banks operating in the Arab countries and Malaysia also import goods for traders to sell on consignment basis, as well as investing in projects on a redeemable preferential basis which means they have first access to profits but it is agreed that the project initiator will gradually buy the bank out at the going share value rate. Such opportunities, if properly managed, should be attractive to all Africans and others in developing countries, not just Muslims. Lottery schemes, such as have been introduced in Mali and Senegal, may increase tax revenue, but reflect low national ambitions and perpetuate low horizons among the citizenry. This highlights the essential concept difference between the human potential philosophy of development and the national income increment philosophy. The lottery puts money in the government coiffeurs through taxes that may in the best of circumstances be earmarked for social services
improvement, but do not contribute to the sophistication potential development of the citizenry in the way that capital market exposure and involvement can. Of course, capital market earnings would ordinarily be taxed, providing governments perhaps greater increased capacity for public good investments than lotteries. Schemes that connect our best frugality traditions, such as the popular savings pools (Sou-Sou), with modern financial devices like mutual funds and Real Estate Investment Trusts, have greater constructive impact potential than low class gambling schemes imported from the Global North. There has to be social ambition upgrade cultural engineering in Africa, otherwise the degenerative cycles attending poverty and underdevelopment, having socio-cultural dimensions that extend into the political arenas, will continue unyielding. In proudly opening Union Trust Banks school fees savings scheme during May 2005, Bank of Sierra Leone Deputy Governor Fofana stressed the importance of developing a savings culture in Africa, noting that without it we would invariably continue in the dependency syndrome. Savings and investment are complementary, usually amounting to similar percentages of GDP; the correlation is more certain when banks operate investment deposit accounts and make working capital investments that draw on current account holdings; but generally, in developing countries we find a correlation between savings and investment levels, as has been very much the case in Southeast Asia where investments and savings were long sustained above 35% of GDP, even rising in some cases above 40%. One Western economist referred to the maiden post colonial generation in Southeast Asia as having worked heroically and lived frugally, saving money for their childrens education and a better tomorrow. Further integrated capital market development, the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) initiative, which proposes to modernize the continents infrastructures, and Pan African institution development, as in the RECs and African Union, are vital factors that require more concentrated attention and international support. Presently, the combined GDP of Africas 53 states is about $600 billion, which is only 4 times the amount of General Electrics 2004 sales and $150 billion less than the aggregate value of GEs assets. That is to say, Africas immediate market prospects are in the
global context of big business quite marginal. If medium and longterm human and material visions for Africa are not ambitious, they could under the circumstances invariably have no real impact, as we would be planning for the development and wealth gap between Africa and the rest of the world to further widen to our disadvantage. NEPADs focus on infrastructure development has been appreciated by the G-8 countries and throughout Africa, which is significant even if the former are not as forthcoming with money as they have the capacity to be. We wish to build our world on human potential fulfilment, yet in todays world not one can go very far when there is no electricity most of the time, as is the case in major Nigerian cities, not to mention lesser developed parts of the continent. Water supply deficiency also invariably militates against human performance and improvement quest. Admittedly, Africas telecommunications efficiency situation is rapidly improving. Sudan has done quite well in telecommunications and since installing prepayment electricity meters throughout the system, the National Electricity Corporation no longer has to chase payments and is expected to be perennially in a good cash flow position. South Africa is installing solar power to electrify Black communities left in the darkness of the 19th century. Its state owned electricity company, Eskom, in February 2005 unveiled a $50 billion plan to build the worlds biggest hydro-electricity plant at Inga Rapids at the mouth of the Congo River, generating 40,000MWs, three times the output of Chinas Three Gorges hydroelectric power works. The 2,900 mile Congo River is fed by some 10,000 streams that funnel into powerful rapids along its course. Eskom sees the Inga Rapids power station selling electricity to Europe. Hence the revolutionary prospects of Eskoms Grand Inga project are as great as the investment sum. Although we are looking forward to the entire African Union eventually being a single investment zone, at this point Grand Inga is the biggest direct foreign investment project, as well as most ambitious infrastructure project, ever undertaken in Africa and it is significantly being embarked upon by South Africa. Though raising such a huge sum of money seems daunting Eskom is convinced it enjoys the credibility to organize the required funds from private investors and the World Bank. African Development Bank, in its commitment, stated by current president, former Rwandan finance minister Dr. Donald Kaberuka, to support NEDPADs infrastructure
development agenda, is putting its weight behind Eskom. Mr. Kaberuka, who was elected by the bank's board of Governors its president last February, said he aims to make ADB the third pillar of Africa, alongside the AU and NEPAD. Estimates of electricity access in Africa vary, but indications are that less than 25% of the continents population live in electricity supplied homes; moreover, inefficiency results in frequent and often long lasting power outages in many parts of Africa. In some major cities it would appear that power is off more than on. Prior to commencing construction of Grand Iga, Inga 3, which is expected to take about ten years to complete, will be undertaken to supply power to Nigeria, currently suffering from one of the continents most inefficient electric power supply systems, and the rest of West Africa. President Obasanjo once remarked that when Nigeria solves its electrical power supply problem its economy will grow by 25%; perhaps he did not mean in a single year, but considering the dynamism and intense competition prevailing in Nigeria I can see a phenomenal 25% in two years materializing. However, we are still waiting for his 6 year-year old administration to send this singularly frustrating problem, which is largely supply and system administration related, into the dustbin of history. There is also a generation efficiency and capacity dimension to Nigeria's electrical supply misery that Grand Inga would address; but that is perhaps 15 to 20 years ahead; in the meantime, it seems prudent for Nigeria's National Electric Power Authority to seek a major infusion of investment capital from Eskom and allow the successful South African company to reorganize and lead its administration. Only Ghana and Cte dIvoire in West Africa are well fixed with electricity, the former supplying Togo and the latter, also, positioning itself for electric power export. The West Africa Gas Pipeline project, spearheaded by Chevron, a major American oil company that has already built a $563 million LNG plant in Nigerias Niger Delta, is intended to add power to Benin, Togo, Ghana and Cte dIvoire, likely preparing the coastal regions of these countries for long term growth and development. Construction of Grand Inga will follow the completion of Inga 3. While these massive construction works are going on in Western Congo, countries to benefit from Inga 3 and Grand Inga will be faced with the tasks of developing their delivery
systems and links to the grid. Congos Inga 1 and 2 already supply electricity to Zambia, Zimbabwe and parts of South Africa. Some environmentalists have voiced concern about ecological disruption, which is commonly a consequence of hydroelectric projects. This could make financing from Western sources complicated. We recall how Nigeria ended up in a court dispute with an Italian utility company after environmentalists in Italy had forced it to abandon an LNG based electric power supply project, whereby it backed out of a long term contract to purchase the bulk of Nigeria LNG Ltd.s production. By adapting a somewhat less efficient power output, run off river plant, in which water is siphoned off, channelled through turbines then fed back into the river, Eskom has sought to minimize ecological consequences. However, it remains to be seen what effect the typically single-minded environmentalist will have on prospects for Western backing of Grand Inga. From an African development perspective, I find the Eskom decision to sacrifice power in deference to ecological considerations prudent from all angles. If I may digress into the realm of philosophy for a moment, Russian marine biologist Mikail Kamshilovs observation, with which I concur, that the productivity of mans mind is a noetic manifestation of the biosphere, as man has a biological compound dimension, giving rise to the noosphere, recognizes the nexus structure of the cosmos. This, of course, alludes to an essentialist, rather than existentialist, world view. In this light, radical environmentalism, which insinuates existentialism, negates the centrality of man and the naturalness of progress. This is not the place to get into deep philosophical polemics, but pardon me to say that existentialism very much appears to be a 20th century European reaction against Judeo-Christian dogma, greatly elaborated intellectually, scientifically resting on the quantum theory, but illogical in the face of continual sprouting of science and technology, which is essentially a convergence of natural possibilities; not to mention the natural structure of the cosmos, with life giving earth at least one of its centrepieces. Apart from the ontological question, essentialism poses the utilitarian suggestion that there is a correlation between mans scientifically informed imagination and the real possibilities inherent in the cosmic design for scientific and technological development; whereas existentialism insinuates
coincidental relationships. The former I assess to be of greater motivational and confidence value to Africans. Let us invest in medical, scientific and technological research, let us pursue lofty goals of human and material development with confidence, even sense of certainty, that in the vast unknown satisfying results await our arrival. After all, it is such confidence in the good destined for us if we determinately strive that informed the motivations which have led to whatever significant achievements Africans have individually and collectively realized. On the relevance of moral rectitude to social stability and human performance efficiency, people as diverse politically as George Bush and Pat Robison, on Americas far right, and me, in the global centre, are more or less in agreement. As an African schooled in the struggle for universal equality, naturally I would not share the patrician Calvinist outlook on the world of the right wing Republican Party radicals. However, since neither right nor left has a monopoly on god or bad ideas and policies, rather than balancing through expedient compromises, we proactively loop ideas from across the political spectrum to arrive at an optimum mix to inform our ideological perspective. Philosophical perspective shall no doubt be a crucial factor in Africas performance over the course of the 21st century. In tandem with stress on human potential development, we place emphasis on human value appreciation. Here again, we run into a conflict between existentialism and essentialism: human rights has become an existentialist concept in its practical democratic evolution; human value, by contrast, is a logically informed implicative concept. Let us illustratively consider the ethical question of universal concern attending the possibilities of biotechnology. Which Toffler in Third Wave predicted would along with solar technology, marine technology and electronics lead the high-tech social economies of the 21st century although I believe we can all appreciate the need to refer to digital technology as a genre of its own. Of principal concern to all of us are the prospects of cloning humans. Leading physicist Stephen Hawking speaking at Washingtons White House during 1999 pointed out that given the newly acquired biotechnology knowledge would enable cloning of humans and ultimately the challenges will not be scientific but
moral. Warned he: Well encode our dreams and vanities and hubris. We clone ourselves, well custom design our kids. By playing Dr. Frankenstein, well have the chance to make miracles or monsters. With democratic and intellectual force the freedom to clone humans and equal rights of clones might be theoretically rationalized within the existentialist context of human rights. In December 1999, TIME magazine science reporter Michael D. Lemonick raised the question of the rights of anticipated human clone in an article entitled, Could a Clone ever Run for President? His conclusion: Sure, why not. Noting that any human born in the United States is legally eligible to be a candidate for president, Lemonick opines: The obstacle to President Clone will come if cloning has serious side effects. He does not believe that argument for denying clones citizenship will hold. Already there is master plan to clone a dinosaur from genes of extant birds. If we start from the premise of human value, from which legitimate human rights are logically implied, the proposition of cloning runs up against a formidable, perhaps ultimately impenetrable wall. Unlike the issue of abortion, which invokes strong individual liberty arguments and has sound moralist arguments on both the pro and con sides, cloning poses tremendous risk to the future of mankind; far greater than the major 20th century threat of nuclear volley. Were cloning humans to be perfected, apart from the psychological dichotomy between clones and normatively born human, armies of diabolical laboratory Homo-Sapiens could bring the horrors of science fiction to reality. From a human value perspective, cloning opens to door to replacement of human societys innate naturalism with a veritable synthetic world, which would inevitably, as Britains Professor Stephen Hawking warned, end up less biologically and morally controlled than the world known from our earliest ancestors to the present. Human value would thereby be consumed with even greater irreverence than was the value of free labour in the Northern parts of the United States during the slavery era in Americas south. Countries suspicious of human cloning could be expected to seek ways to keep cloned people as well as cloning technology out of their borders.
Not long after Dr. Ian Wilmots 1997 announcement that he had grown a female lamp at Scotlands Roslin Institute from a single cell taken from an adult ewes mammy gland, American physicist Richard Seed, widely regarded as eccentric, not only commenced campaigning for the right to clone humans but threatened that if he were not allowed to do so in the United States, he would seek cooperation from Mexico. President Clinton found Seeds insistence on being allowed to clone human so shocking, he berated the proposition as untested, unsafe and morally unacceptable; but against a burgeoning storm of advocacy in favour of cloning he could do no more than place a 5-year ban on federal funding for cloning. Meanwhile Seed was arguing: God made man in his own image. God intended for man to be one with God. Cloningis the first step to becoming one with God. Charles Krauthammer reported in a TIME essay that between 1994 and 98 a laboratory at the University of Texas had created headless mice and the University of Bath, headless tadpoles, both secretly. Having found the gene that produced the head, researchers deleted it and out of laboratory experiments with a thousand embryos four mice were spawned. Dr. Ian Wilmot had made 277 attempts before succeeding to produce his cloned ewe. Having no way to breathe the headless mice instantly died, but Krauthammer quite logically observed: .you dont have to be a genius to see the true utility of manufacturing headless creatures: for their organs perfectly useful, ripe for plundering. In other words, the goal of these research departments is to ultimately clone human spare organ stocks. Thus the moral issues attending biotechnology have already reached very serious proportions, concerning Africans no less than ozone layer damage. If the Internet could give rise to an army of fraudsters in such a short period of time, imagine what would happen if cloning technology starts getting into the hands of evil geniuses. An existentialist outlook, combined with our tendency, as Africans, to indulge a sense of helplessness in the face of issues beyond our immediate borders and grasp, will likely leave Africa swayed in the breeze of events; however, I would expect that a clear essential human value perspective would motivate us to actively participate in biotechnology debates, to place biotechnology at the top of our cognition development agenda with a view to gaining humanly beneficial, as well as economically lucrative, experience in this
promising field, that we would illustratively use to combat reckless scientific adventurism. Ultimately, mans natural point of departure is who he really is; in other words, is he merely a biological-biochemical exercise, breathing, consuming, excreting, desiring, sensing, eventually expiring, swept into oblivion by times dispassionate hands? Or is he a sacred trust of Absolute God? Id rather take the high road; actually Im sure that this is the wisest choice. Perceiving myself as a trust of Absolute God, a temporal vicegerent on earth, whose eternal consciousness prospects are implied in the sempiternity of existence and the logical necessity of existence being deigned and perpetuated by Supreme Genius, Absolute Capability, Absolute Efficiency, Absolute Efficiency in a word, God; I cannot elude with good conscience a profound sense of moral responsibility to usufruct to the loftiest ends. I am here personalizing because I wish not to preach, but actually this is distilled essentialist logic. Derivable from this logic is a sense of obligation to ones existence not to be left behind, to master and optimally utilize biotechnology, digital technology, marine technology, solar technology, the entire array of usufructuary tools, to justify his being, to realize the African Renaissance conceived in earnest. In distilling self-realization to its essence, we transcend ethnocentrism and racism, banal religiosity and materialism; we yearn for enlightenment and reasonable, productive comfort, self-esteem and vision; we dedicate our activities, mental and physical, to attain the simple life on these terms. In socio-economic context, we would in this vein envisage Africa, at the apex of its achievement, a neobourgeois realm; which for dynamics sake, apart from sense of moral obligation, we must focus on achieving this century. What do we mean by neo-bourgeois? In contrast to the traditional bourgeoisie, an elite on top of the proletariat and peasants, subjugated by the aristocracy, the neo-bourgeoisie is the major class; though we still might have levels analogous to what we now refer to as the petty bourgeoisie, the middle class and upper middle class. This was the model sought by Europes Social Democrats from the early years of the 20th century and substantially realized by centurys end. The widespread preoccupation with migration to the North Atlantic and Australia, the desperation with which Africans risk their lives under
perilous circumstances in hopes of landing in Europe, the ease with which we acculturate the comforts, conveniences and wonders of the industrialized countries life, such as fine automobiles, attest to how appealing to us are the images and taste of the comfort and selffulfilment opportunities attending life in Europe and nowadays, also the elite neighbourhoods in Africa. For multinational corporations, however small one starts in Africa it is wise to have a big long range vision. Market development in Africa requires increasing purchasing power. The bottom line is increased productivity value, implying that Africa must become a NICs zone. This requires reducing the non-labour cost contributions and increasing manpower remuneration. Implied herein is greater foreign investor commitment to the countries in which they operate. Currently, transnationals are typically instruments of imperialism, using their capital, technology and other advantages to exploit severely disadvantaged underdeveloped countries; though there are certainly exceptions, as the enlightenment level of large corporations various considerably. Usually transnationals register local subsidiaries, often with local partners or shareholders; hence, the transnational corporation becomes a conglomerate of companies in multiple countries. However, since its shareholders are mainly in the parent country and the board of directors and central management is also parent country based the conglomerate is indebted to whatever policies the parent country bosses perceive to reflect interests. Thus, Africans are challenged to penetrate the ownership and boards of transnationals operating in the continent. Given the marginal holdings and capital of Africans this proposition appears perhaps preposterous; but it is wiser to start building towards attainment of equity blocks in transnationals operating in Africa than resign to the imperialist status quo. From Nigerias domestic shareholders association, I can envisage, in tandem with online transnational stocks access for Africans, emergence of a Global Africa Investors Association, comprised of both mutual fund and individual membership, gradually establishing shareholders blocs in major transnationals operating in Africa. Strategically we would likely find ourselves concentrating investment in a handful of transnationals, the products spread of which could broadly address foreign Africas investment demands.
However, we should not approach the complex matter of industrialization dogmatically. Modes of production are changing. As Toffler predicted customized production is replacing mass production; Dell Computer, which makes each PC to individual customer specifications is a precise example of this. Also, in Africa, big industrialists in certain fields find it difficult competing with cottage industries. Apart from the efficient economy of dynamic cottage industries, Africans often tend to higher motivation when they are working for themselves and can directly relate their productivity to their incomes. Compact industrial technology with household operated production units producing for a franchise owner that manages marketing is likely to be the future capitalist mode in African countries like Nigeria, Guinea, Mali and Ghana, where people generally tend to be independent spirited and individually ambitious. The success of Muhammad Yunus Greeman Bank micro-credit facilitation inspired by and conceptually based on his observation that people are poor because they lack the means to pursue potential fulfilment, has shown the world that promotion of widespread small scale entrepreneurship can substantially accelerate the rate of poverty reduction. I wholly agree with Muhammad Yunus that each of us has more hidden inside us than we have had the chance to explore and unless we create an environment that enables us to discover the limits of our potential, we will never know what we have inside us. Dr. Yunus has persistently held this philosophy of economic development up before the Bretton Woods institutions and his success in helping to lift several million of his Bangladesh compatriots out of poverty by providing micro-credit opportunities has made a solid case for human potential realization focused development policies. As Dr. Yunus acknowledges, micro-credit alone will not eradicate poverty from our world; from an economic philosophy of universal human potential fulfilment we must attain a corresponding socio-economic culture, in which constructive creativity is allowed to flourish in both the policy domain and human activity. Human potential realization of a universal scale thus becomes the essence of national development; or in our case, continental (African Union) development. New technology has brought into the homes of people via personal computers a host of financial product and service novelties. New opportunities are also afforded to legitimate hustlers, who in Africa
constitute networks of informal middlemen and agents. A friend of mine, who has no personal computer of his own, nor an office, does his online financial market transactions in an Internet Caf and makes enough money to maintain two households, as a polygamist, and keep contented. A retired banker, he finds this no-capital investment way of operating ideal. The cottage industry mode of capitalism and online investment opportunities are natural complements, because each household business entity seeks various ways of hedging and income expansion. Only high salaried African families can rely on income from their employers; most households seek various ways of augmenting income from employment in government and private sector jobs. Not all African governments are accommodative of informal house based trading or of independent self-improvement efforts generally; provided governments do not take steps to stifle online earnings with high taxes, high Internet access rates and taxation authority intervention in Internet Caf business, the Internet could offer Africans a world legitimate earnings opportunities. Any philosophy of governance in contemporary Africa that negates the importance of independent self-development derives from a selfserving governmental syndrome; however, efficient tax administration is very necessary to manipulating income disposal to maximize productive use of income. For example, where government is unable to pave a side street, residents who join to do it themselves should have tax breaks awaiting them. Unproductive and wasteful public, as well as private, spending and the consequent inflated import bills constitute the root cause of inflation in Africa. Taxation polices, independent self-improvement opportunity and national, as well as community development goals should be linked and coordinated in public policy regimes to be mutually serviceable. To academia belongs the responsibility of developing suitable policy illustration modules; together with book publishers and media houses academia would also promote awareness and cognition of the modules; then, the relevant government functionaries would be obliged to familiarize themselves with the modules and effectively apply them. While we perforce focus on technology utilization, in tandem with human potential development, with a view to bridging the development gap between Africa and the leading nations, the adverse ecological and health conditions militating against our progress pose
particularly difficult fundamental problems that we cannot go without solving. Regional organizations dedicated to alleviating and solving such problems grew up over the course of the post-colonial era alongside supranational economic groupings. In West Africa, ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government ordered all regional organizations brought under the supranational institution umbrella, along with streamlining to eliminate effort duplication. The scope of these organizations includes rice development (West African Rice Development Association), groundnut affairs, pharmaceuticals, malaria, floating weeds and other ecological problems. In addition, the ECOWAS commissions have projects concerned with livestock production improvement, ecological problems, crop production improvement and desertification. Nonetheless, there appears need for further streamlining as well as an integrated problem analysis and solutions mechanism. For example, the problems of water, livestock production, conflicts between planters and herders, nutrition, health and political decisions involving them are all interrelated and therefore require an integral understanding and ultimately integrated solutions. Moreover, need for socio-cultural engineering is implied in these problems, especially when considered in integrated context. Indeed, awareness of this reality is increasing, though neither everyone, nor every government that should necessarily be in tune with the trend towards integrated analyses and solutions to Africas problems are on board. Invariably, Africas Solutions Profile affects investment and ascendancy prospects. Foreign politicians and academics often refer to Africas ecological and agricultural production problems as if they are insolvable and those of our technocrats trained in foreign faculties have shown too great a high propensity to concur with the pessimism. However, there are Africans in the Diaspora, like computer scientist Dr. Philip Emeagwali and CAD and robots expert Prof. Bartholomew Naji who are of determined mind to raise Africas Solutions Profile. The ecological and health problems realms are very complicated and indeed characterized by stubbornness, but in the final analysis it is quite logical that we place a veritable priority on attaining a rising Solutions Profile. Applied technologies are keys to improvement of Africas Solutions Profile; hence, there is need for the African Union a
continent wide accessible technology intelligence data base, as well as data bases on problems and solutions efforts, and promote interest in them, even among secondary school children. Every African should have a general idea of Africas problems and solutions efforts, as well as the global technology profile, to at least be aware of the current possibilities for solutions to our retarding and threatening problems. This is necessary to creating a culture of challenge tackling. As it was true in Nkrumahs days that industrialization was essential to national greatness, today a countrys technological profile is also of utmost importance. Modern industry involves advanced technologies that replace many low-skill and unskilled jobs and demand a higher concentration of engineers in factories. This is occasioning high unemployment rates in Europe, but America is compensating for industrial job losses with rapidly expanding services and technologies sectors. African countries where entrepreneurial drive is pervasive and strong would, as said supra, seek compact industrial technology and pursue global competitive advantage in goods that can be manufactured by small scale production units. Already, the mode of automobile production in Africa is to set up assembly lines then gradually replace importation of parts with parts from local feeder industries. This mode of production has reached an advanced stage in South Africa. Outsourcing of industrial production to the Pacific Rim instead of Africa is informed by the formers efficiency advantage. Politically the Pacific Rim presents a better stability profile than Africa; economically, they not only have larger and stronger domestic markets, the constructive involvement of Japan has afforded the region a world class management profile. Also making the difference has been strategic nationalism, whereby foreign investment is encouraged but long term, as well as medium term, domestic interests are served. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed had maintained that a combination of Japans positive role and strategic nationalism in Southeast Asia bred the Tigers. Said he of his countrys economic relationship with Japan: When Japan invested in Malaysia, it created jobs and wealth for us and enabled us to industrialize rapidly. Japan, of course, profited from its investments, but more than that we became one of Japans best markets. On proactively pursuing medium and long term strategic
national interests, Dr. Mahathir told his audience at the 1997 World Bank/IMF Review Series: Malaysia has become one of the so-called tiger economies by not listening to the media or the great financial wizards. We have in fact developed ourselves by doing the opposite of what the wizards told us to do. We were a commodity producer with only two commodities to sell. Without any skills in the manufacturing industry we decided to industrialize. And we were told that affirmative action to correct socio-economic imbalance was not fair and would not work. Our economic policy worked and created a fair society with no race riotsWe were told a developing society should not go into the automobile industry. We did and we have succeeded. Privatization was a new fangled thing when in 1982 we launched our privatization programme. Many developing countries failed in their privatization programme. We have privatized more than 400 government departments, companies and functions. We have succeeded and are still going. Describing the Asian foreign investment philosophy as prosper thy neighbour, he contrasted it to what he saw as the beggar thy neighbour foreign investment philosophy of the West, noting too: Japan Incorporated was condemned. We made Malaysia Incorporated our creed and it has helped our country to grow and prosper faster than most countries. Essentially, Dr. Mahathir, during his 22 years as Malaysias Prime Minister, synthesized a board room approach to governance with strategic nationalism. Human Resources development provided the foundation for material improvement and productivity value growth. The logic here is that a company does not keep underutilized or inutile people, but a country cannot retrench people; therefore, the country as a corporate entity must seek to optimally develop all its human resources, providing the catalytic conditions to enable adequate opportunities to be created for them to add value in sufficient measure to improve the countrys strategic position in the competitive global race of nations. Affirmative action to improve the domestic position of the indigenous Malaysian majority was in this context seen as upgrading the national flows exchange so that Malays and non-Malays, particularly the economically dominant ethnic Chinese, could compatibly cooperate and network. This is what affirmative action is essentially about in the
African National Congress South Africa, but unfortunately its detractors see it as an assault on their entrenched privileged positions. What Mahathir kept telling the West is that you only serve your short term interests and perpetuate for yourself anxieties about your long term security by exploitative exchanges with the Global South. He saw Japans strategy as quite prudent: invest in foreign countries to make them prosperous so that your investments continually grow. In noting that Africa does not have a regional pace-setter as Japan has been in the Pacific Rim, the late maiden Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Boubacar Diaby Ouattera urged that Africa substantially improve its attractiveness to investors so as to have them competing for opportunities, whereby we would be positioned to extract the best deals, select the companies appearing to have the best long-term outlook, backed by good records elsewhere in the world. In both economic and political strategic contexts, Africa must avoid becoming the sphere of influence of any one nation or region, no matter how powerful that nation or region happens to be. We envisage an African Union in which indigenous African capital plays a major role in partnership with foreign investors. Schemes to enable and encourage Africans to acquire equity in large companies are imperative and should be promoted in fiscal policies. Franchise arrangements that enable multiple private business operators to enjoy the benefits of producing and marketing name brands; and redeemable preferential investment financing, which the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Corporation undertook in Africa during the 1970s and 80s, that enables Africans to buy out original investors, either entirely or in part can be promoted by giving participating foreign investors lucrative tax holidays. We frequently encounter, in the press and academic discussions of Africas economic predicament, reference to the continents capital inadequacy, implying that a vision of indigenous capital dominance is unrealistic; however, apart from the fact that Africans have billions stashed abroad and it is expected that South African companies will invariably play a major role in the continents economic expansion, foreign investors are not at all likely to be committed to Africas long term sustained development unless led in that respect by African entrepreneurs; rather, they will continue to be primarily concerned with extraction of non-replaceable natural
resources. Streams of medium term capital involvement opportunities with good returns are less risky and would likely prove more attractive to foreign investors than long term high fixed assets investments that would eventually require refurbishing. The foreign investor preference for production sharing arrangements in the petroleum industry, whereby majority ownership transfers to the host country once the exploration investment has been recuperated, alludes to the validity this premise. Terms option offered for major infrastructure projects in Africa today often include Build, Own and Operate (BOO), Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT), Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT), Build, Own and Lease (BOL), Rehabilitate, Operate and Transfer (ROT), Rehabilitate, Own and Operate (ROO). This is friendly mix that at once offers foreign investors opportunities for long term ownership and management, as well as agreement on transferring the investment to the host country after earning an agreed fair return. Capital market operators have an important role to play in giving foreign investors streams of lucrative short and medium term investment opportunities that result in permanent business ownership for Africans. Africas prospects in the current global economic complex, characterized by four value added layers primary products, manufacturing, services and technology, depend on a host of factors. Generally important are adequate information usage, visioning, planning, policy design and administration and pooling of opportunities and resources (commonly referred to as integration). There is a vast array of subsidiary factors that reveal the extreme complexity and difficulty of the African development challenge. None of this is new and as we gain experience and knowledge the quality of our endeavours tends to generally improve. There are yet some dark spots on the continent, besieged by chronic crisis, as well as virtually pandemic maladies, such as self-serving politicians and public servants, lingering colonial perspectives of political management, want of political and economic ingenuity and, perhaps worse of all, paucity of social vision and efficient social direction. The Cuban revolutionary of the 1960s, Ernesto Che Guevara introduced the concept of achieving a new man into the Global Souths political challenge agenda; a new man who in social formation would build a
new society, a new world. The question of whether humans can evolve morally and ethically to appreciable extent has been variously raised and debated; but although the crimes and vices associated with the worst characters of the past still frequently occur and more hideous manifestations of human perversion and cruelty continue to be spawned in consonance with greater technological possibilities for evil, historical evidence does not confirm that mankind is incapable of moral growth. Ultimately, moral growth, moral education, should be entwined with progress opportunities in material matters. Our serious consideration of moral growth as an imperative is no doubt vital to success in the material domains. Africa today is like a child growing up with a host of personal, family and social problems, but nonetheless maturing though with some marked imperfections of character. Yet this is no strange story for humanity. Europe, with its centuries of chronic warfare leading up to the First and Second World Wars, had it worse. Power Profile The emergence of a consensus against Nkrumahs African Union proposition in 1963 was a tremendous setback when one considers the high volume of Pan African advocacy during the struggle to rid the continent of colonialism. In the parliaments of East Africa the debates on the structure of African nationalism in the post-colonial epoch weighed somewhat in favour of regional federation. In West African, Guineas Ahmed Skou Tour had resounding drawn applause at the January 1958 Inter-territorial Rassamblement Democratic Africain (Assemblage of African Democrats) in Bamako by calling on the colonies constituting the 1916 established Federation of French West Africa to declare unilateral independence and set up a federal executive and parliament. Patrice Lumumba, independent [Belgian] Congos maiden Prime Minister was a reliable ally of Nkrumah in the Pan African quest. The Casablanca states had formed under the leadership of Moroccos King Mohamed V to represent the Pan Africanist alliance, with Nkrumah as its principal organizer. Why did the first attempt to establish an African Union fail, nonetheless? Many observers have attributed failure of the initial bid to establish the African Union to apprehensions about Nkrumahs ambitions and Marxist-Leninist orientation. Fears pervaded Africa and the world that
Nkrumahs United States of Africa might end up a Stalinist type union of African soviet republics. Nkrumah appeared to believe himself destined to rule all Africa and at home in Ghana allowed a disturbing cult of personality built around himself. However, at the 1963 Accra State House Summit where African leaders decisively rejected Nkrumahs united states of Africa proposition, his principal rival, Liberias President William V. S. Tubman, leader of the comprador Monrovia States bloc, in countering the Ghanaian leaders vision, substantially enumerated, as an alternative, the priority areas of Pan African cooperation that would inform the establishment of the Economic Community of West Africa States 12 years later: trade, roads, telecommunications, air transport, disease control, research and socio-cultural exchange. Few African leaders needed convincing that Pan Africanism was a means of boosting their collective power profile, but none were really interested in relinquishing their just acquired power as head of state to become mere governors or provincial superintendents, as Nkrumism appeared alluding. Tubman, who had been president of the then 166 year old Liberian republic since 1944, told Nkrumah flatly that as the most experienced Africans leaders, neither he nor Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie should be expected to submit to him. Indeed, Nkrumahs MARXIST-Leninist indoctrination precluded realistic analysis of Africas political psychology and the strength of petty nationalism at that juncture; hence, while his vision of optimizing Africas power profile likely will have eternal impact, Nkrumah was an unfortunate failure as a post-colonial politician. Political scientists have often observed that the qualities to lead a liberation struggle and those required to administer the post-colonial polity are not all the same and one may happen not to possess both batches. Another maxim that fell on Nkrumahs neck was Aristotles caution that leaders should be students of philosophers but philosophers should not themselves be leaders. Nkrumah, who in his philosophical essays disdained Aristotle, was known to retreat almost reclusively into his reading and writing when political realities demanded greater intellectual and active attention from him. Aristotle had in fact noted that philosophers as leaders are prone to this very lapse. The ECOWAS Model
Twelve years after Nkrumahs African Union proposition was rejected by the majority of African states meeting at Accras new State House, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which was to endure and become the prototype for continental scale supranationalism, was founded in Lagos. Invariably, most leaders were sensitive to risks of finding themselves at a disadvantage in an economic community with disparate production and consumption capacities pertaining between member states. Nigeria, whose population was greater than that of all the other states combined, was spearheading ECOWAS along with Togo, one of the smallest countries but nonetheless focused on becoming a regional titan in services, such as transshipment, importation and commodity export. As market expansion for manufactured goods was among the principal motivations behind ECOWAS, the question of countries with larger manufacturing capacity exporting their products duty free to countries that had relatively little to export and stood to lose customs revenues became a central concern. A fund into which exporting states would deposit compensation fees was established to offset this imbalance. Compensation fund contributions tended to reduce the immediate benefits of regional trade, but the idea was to promote market expansion and improve manufacturing viability thereby. Spearheaded by the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce (FWACC), though ECOWAS was a revival of the residue of the Nkrumah-Tubman debate, it actually came about by virtue of the regional business community selling the idea to the political leadership; somewhat as the instrumental role played by Frances brandy merchant Jean Monnet in advancing the idea of European economic integration. ECOWAS, not unlike the EU, had a bumpy start. Tolberts Liberia had refused to honour toe waiver of entry visas for citizens of West African states, contending that his country, which then used the United States dollar as legal tender, would face an invasion from West African citizens seizing the opportunity to live in a dollar economy; though the CFA used by most of the former French colonies was actually in higher demand than the dollar throughout a good part of the region. Tolbert was nonetheless instrumental in settling the long standing political conflicts Guineas radical socialist president Ahmed Skou Tour had with Senegals President Lopold Sdar Senghor
and Cte dIvoires President Felix Houphout Boigny. From the outset, ECOWAS suffered from member state arrears in both budget and compensation fund contributions. In the early years of the Community, despite regular swipes at the regime of Ahmed Skou Tour and periodic coup dtats here and there, West Africa was relatively peaceful; then Libyan sponsored invasions of Liberia and Sierra Leone, with collaboration from Cte dIvoire and Burkina Faso destabilized the entire sub-region and cost Nigeria about ten billion dollars to settle. Though Mauritanias maiden president Mouktar Ould Daddah was a driving force in the creation of ECOWAS, under Maaouya Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya Mauritania acquired an Arab racist image and in 1999 announced its withdrawal from ECOWAS, to which it had made no financial contributions since Ould Daddahs departure in 1978. This was an unprecedented blow to the Community, requiring its map to be redrawn and a host of other identification changes. Psychologically, Mauritania quitting ECOWAS under the leadership of a man who was constantly in the news facing charges of slavery and other abuses of black Mauritanians insinuated Arab racism as a damper on the ideals of a non-racial Pan Africanism. Establishment of the Francophone exclusive West African Economic and Monetary Union in 1996 was another damper; but despite a rather confrontational approach of ECOWAS towards UMEAO, the latters Secretary General was persistently cool and rationalizing in dealing with the former. Significantly, Francophone countries in the late 1990s tended to have better contribution payment records to ECOWAS than Anglophone member states; thereby leaving no tangible basis for arguments that the Francophones were trying to sabotage ECOWAS. Ultimately, the Francophone exclusive grouping served as a challenge to ECOWAS to integrate the currencies outside the CFA zone with a view to the Community then having to merge only two currencies to achieve a uniform regional monetary zone. ECOWAS, now 30 years old, progressed towards fulfillment of its Treaty at a dilatory pace but has contributed substantially to networking between West Africans. It has over the years instituted regional institutions for coordinating and networking pharmaceutical control and development, disease control, rice development, bank
networking, environmental protection, small arms control and a host of others. The West African Enterprises Network, in addition to establishing a database to provide investment related information to the world, has floated several investment funds in collaboration with Diaspora Africans. An ECOWAS passport was introduced at the 25th Anniversary Summit and citizens of member states not only enjoy free movement throughout the community, usually crossing land borders with national identification cards rather than passports, they also enjoy the right to settlement in any member country, provided one is selfemployed. The Revised ECOWAS Treaty provides for an Armed Forces of the Community and ad-hoc military intervention commands, such as the renowned ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Group) that sustained intervention in Liberia and Sierra Leone for nearly ten years, restoring the military deposed democratically elected government in the latter and paving the way for democratic elections after 7 years of multiple front insurgency in the former. At its December 2000 Summit the Authority of Heads of States & Government, the Communitys highest organ, issued a resolution committing themselves to the establishment of a West African government, no doubt with a vision towards confederation. The Community has a Court of Justice and in 2000, the Community Parliament was established the first such body in African history. All this reflects the sense of inadequacy and powerless in the geopolitical arena motivating West African leaders to raise their power profile. With rotating chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, ECOWAS assured national leaders that supranational collaboration would enhance individual as well as collective status. This sense of powerlessness and preoccupation with improving Africas power profile is usually expressed in economic rather than geo-strategic terms; not to conceal real intentions, but because African leaders and our intelligentsia are for the most part concerned with socio-economic ascendancy with little interest in the arms race and capacity to nuclear strike. Although ECOWAS has not found survival and progress easy and has from time to time faced serious financial crises, as well as destructive political machinations, thanks in large measure to a treaty provision that requires decisions to be arrived at through consensus rather than majority vote, and the culture of civility attending
Summits, the Community stands as a major post colonial African achievement. The consensus principle has slowed down implementation of the progressive Revised Treaty but despite political machinations and lack of vision demonstrated by some leaders, ECOWAS provided both inspiration and hope for the ambitious African Union undertaking. The African Union proposition met from the outset with cynicism from predictable quarters, but as its power profile enhancement prospects were so enormous and evident, it was bound to be backed by those leaders having an acute sense of the geo-strategic positioning imperative attending the race of nations. Again, Arabism has threatened Pan Africanism, with the Arabist government in Sudan opposing, with backing from the Gulf Arab states, African Union intervention in its Darfur region, where the greatest atrocities of our times are perpetuated against indigenous black Africans. However, with the rise of the Sudan People Peoples Liberation Movement to power sharing capacity in Khartoum and the prospects of the Arabist being swept from dominance should there be free and fair democratic elections, assuming the South does not secede, the days of Arabism in Sudan appear numbered. Now there is absolutely no turning back, though the AU is evidentially fragile. African leadership, as reflected in our supranational institutions, is advancing the continents geo-strategic position, though our part of the world is still plagued with serious crises. Africans are not only paying close attention to the European Union and impressed by the model of the United States, we are growing determined not to be outdone by the Chinese. We do not envisage this century ending without the African Unions power profile being on par with the global principals. Elements of Power Twentieth century political scientists Raymond Aron and Hans J. Morgenthau rated national power potential based on the elements of power. Although the elements of power concept related to national polities, with the rise of supranationalism in Europe and Africa it could equally be considered indicative of the geo-strategic positioning potential of continental unions. Strategic potential factors have been variously identified by political scientists; but generally natural
resource wealth, large population, large territory and cultural homogeneity have been considered vital in this regard. However, the rise of resource poor Japan indicated importance of the noetic factor in power attainment; thus gene pool quality, which is at once a vital determinant in the level of noetic potential and a crucial factor in the way the other elements of power are developed, is invariably an element of power. What is power in geo-strategic context? Traditionally power was essentially measured in military might. Prior to the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the United States were considered the two super-powers, primarily because they were reputed to have the greatest military strike capacities. However, the standard of living in the Soviet Union was below that in most of Western Europe and even countries like Norway, Luxembourg, Holland, Germany and Japan enjoy higher standards of living than the United States. The prominence Japan has achieved, contributing about 15% to global GNP, despite having been militarily castrated as an outcome of being on the losing side in World War II, plus the ascendancy of Germany, similarly castrated, have introduced new concepts of power. Responding to an allegation that he said Germany should once again consider itself a great power, Germanys Federal Chancellor in 1999, Gerhard Schrder corrected the notion, suggesting a tamer concept of power: I would have never used the words great power because historically the term is such a negative one. He then went to elaborate how Europe at the threshold of the 21st century conceptualized power. Our partners across Europe like to see a self-confident Germany, not an arrogant Germany, a Germany that is predictable in its actions towards others. What we are talking about is a Germany that is ready to show a certain degree of self-confidence based on the fact that there is a healthy economy, but also based on a good fifty years of democracy. In other words, national self-confidence based on socioeconomic progress and good quality enlightened governance informs a comfortable power profile in modern Europe. Significantly, in reviewing the traditional concept of power as aggression or counter-aggression capacity, the Nigerian army, which is Africas largest, boasts that its principal objective is to prevent war. There is an element of defence in this, but more importantly Nigeria sees its military power not only as a deterrent to would be aggressors,
but more importantly as a strong strategic position tool in insisting on non-violent settlement of conflicts. Moreover, Nigerias military has been making considerable intellectual development investment in its officers. Although the late General Sani Abacha was not an intellectual he was a clever strategist. Nigeria and its southeastern neighbour Cameroon, which has a mutual defense treaty with France, were engaged in persistent skirmishes over the disputed Bakassi Peninsula, which the World Court in The Hague ultimately awarded to Yaound. France had military personnel in the disputed area and there were reports of Europeans in uniform involved in the skirmishes. The French President officially noted its preparedness to honour the conditions of its mutual defence pact with Yaound and ostensibly to intimidate Abuja, Paris sent a fleet of Mirage fighter jets on exercises in and off the coast of Nigerias western neighbour, Benin Republic, another former French colony having a mutual defence pact with France. Nigeria had long been aware of the strategic implications of being surrounded by former French colonies, especially as France, unwilling to come to terms with such a potentially powerful nation in Africa, had supported the Biafran war of secession in the late 1960s. To assure that Nigerian soldiers could communicate with their Francophone counterparts the military had been sending soldiers for French language studies since the early 1970s. When in the mid 1990s Abacha found his country being threatened by France he suddenly announced that henceforth French would be the second foreign language in Nigeria and should be taught throughout the country in schools at all levels. France was disarmed by its enthusiasm, immediately Paris cultural attach in Abuja began consultations with Nigerian officials on undertaking of this grand cultural influence project. To the next Franco-African Summit, held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Paris for the first time invited Anglophone leaders, including General Abacha, who was photographed in a warm diplomatic embrace with French President Jacques Chirac for all to see. Since then, Nigeria and France have remained on the best of terms. The day at the end of May 1999 that President Olusegun Obasanjo was first inaugurated as President of Nigeria, an article written by Senior Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute of International
Affairs Dr. Bola Akintinrewa, calling on the countrys first democratically elected president in 18 years not to fail to make Nigeria a nuclear power. I made a point of including the article, without comment, in the third quarter edition of West Africa & World Index, of which I was publisher and editor-in-chief. Dr. Bola, who earned his Ph. D. degree at Paris Sorbonne, is a mild mannered gentleman, a devout Christian and far from being a militarist, though a fervent Nigerian nationalist. His argument addressed to the incoming president that the nature of the current international system, in which the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council were the big bosses, was such that only nuclear powers were duly respected. At that time enlargement of the UN Security Council had already been mooted and Nigeria was very much interested in representing Africa as a permanent veto wielding member. As Nigerias current foreign Minister Olu Adeniji was then chairman of Africas nuclear non-proliferation forum, every professional at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and no doubt virtually the entire Nigerian intelligentsia knew that Africa had been by overwhelming consensus of its nations been declared a nuclear free zone. It was also common knowledge among the countrys intelligentsia that Nigerians have possessed the know how to produce a nuclear weapon since the mid 1970s. Actually, Africans are really not so keen on getting involved in the global arms race and as much as Obasanjo, along with so many of us, appreciated Dr. Bolas entreaty and recognized the good sense it made, the Nigerian president has not pursued nuclear strike capacity and we have not pressed him on this matter. Even after President Bush rejected the proposition of Africa having a permanent veto wielding seat on the Security Council and it became a dead issue for the moment, nowhere in Africa were there demonstrations advocating the continent upgrade its military might. With rising elite influence in the international system Kofi Annan as UN Secretary General, Condoleezza Rice as Americas Secretary of State, Ibrahim Fall as a Vice President of the World Bank and a list of other Africans who hold and have held top jobs in world, Africa has a definite stake in the global mainstream and therefore the continent logically seeks a friendly giant role in the geopolitical arena; discouraging militarism, encouraging humanism. We area aware of
the importance of strong militaries, especially to deal with insurgencies such as those Qhadhafis Libya help launch on West Africa during the 1990s, necessitating activation of ECOWAS Allied Armed Forces of the Community protocol; but apart from Qhadhafi no African leader has been obsessed with military ambition. As Africas power profile rises expect to see the African Union a strong advocate of effective arms control. Africans, in fact, incline towards neither militarism nor pacifism. Generally, Africa has no intention or vision of dominating the world and we certainly dont want to be dominated. Disturbingly, there is an awful lot of senseless killing in Africa and some tribal communities given to violence, an awful lot of sadistic criminals and a miserable history of maniac insurgencies; but apart from such tendencies being internally manifests, for the most part Africans simply want to live and let live; that is what generally makes good sense to us. Nuclear strike capacity is nothing less than madness. Since the devastating atomic bomb assaults on Hiroshima and Nagasaki there has been no nuclear attack. The hydrogen bomb, far more devastating than its atomic precursor, has never been used in warfare. Had a nuclear volley ever occurred between the former Soviet Union and the United States of America, the entire planet might have ended up contaminated with life ruining fallout. If India and Pakistan should go to nuclear blows the latter, we can imagine, will end up mercilessly decimated. On which nation is America going to unleash its nuclear might? North Korea? Iran? Washington is more interested in trying out on its victims all the new technology in its arsenal; nuclear weapons are virtually obsolete now. However, that no one can compel America to abandon its own weapons of mass destruction (WMD) arsenal is a problem the rest of the world must collectively address. Had Washington not armed Saddam Husseins Baghdad with chemical weapons the Bush administration would have had the batch of excuses it used to batter Iraq. It is just a matter of time before Africa, perhaps represented by the AU, will sit permanently on the Security Council enjoying power parity with the United States, China, Russia and other major powers; and ultimately I dont see being nuclear armed as necessary for us to attain that position. The old concept of power, subscribed to by the cowboys in the White House, regarded as rather crass by many Brits,
though Blair convinced a good many that it was in their strategic interest to tag along behind Washington, is fading, to be superseded by more constructive concepts. Once militarily castrated Germany and Japan are veto wielding permanent members of the Security Council, Africas eventual membership will clearly depend on its people power profile; to wit, the prevailing standard of living, technological development and its networking level. The prominent place of the Jews in the global power setup, a people, who number less than 15 million worldwide and have to themselves only a very small and terribly troubled country (about 8,000 square miles), illustrates the fact that in the high tech age networking has power over mass; and as earlier noted, there is a correlation between high level networking and geo-strategic positioning. The Chinese, in addition to possessing one of the worlds biggest land masses and dominating three major countries (China, Singapore and Taiwan), and also having a substantial presence in Malaysia, as well as some 2.5 million Chinese Americans, have numerous efficient business and services networks throughout the world. Africa, with its massive land mass, continental political and economic union, and peoples scattered throughout the globe, has the potential to rival the Chinese in the long term. Networking prospects, in addition to mass development potential, informs our shift from a Pan African perspective to a global Africa one. Networking power is truly peoples power; it involves people with a common bond and ethic using technology to gainfully move money, goods, ideas, information and ownership titles around the world. Global Africa consists of Africans in the Diaspora as well as all those at home on the continent; it spans numerous ethnic communities with varying ethics; moreover, Africans typically share an identifiable physical character. The principal common bond of Africans everywhere, whether citizens of the West Indies, the United States or Brazil, is the motherland; and it is predictable that the higher the power profile of the African Union rises, the more identification with Africa by those in the Diaspora will become psychologically attractive. This promises to raise the concept of Global Africa, with lucrative networking, to parallel the significance in Africa, not altogether dissimilar to Zionism paralleling Israel; although I dont see Global Africa so much as a cult. Perhaps there will invariably be those who gravitate towards cultish
networking; but it appears that the main trend of Africas intelligentsia has been to openly and sincerely interact with other people while retaining awareness of the imperative that Africans overcome their prevailing disadvantage in the world and raise their collective power profile. African networking quite prominently already exists; below the intelligentsia level, in the realm of traders, usually on an ethnic basis, which is not necessarily a problem, because there is virtually no limit to the number of networks that could be operated globally by Africans. My good friend Prof. Ahmed Shaibu Dan Fulani argues that ethnic competition in Africa creates dynamism. I agree with him and we both realize that to be constructive, ethnic competition must be contained in an environment politically and commercially regulated by a common ethic. At home on the continent, politically, there should be horizontal power spread conventions and efficient intolerance of violence; commercially, international legal standards, including integrity of the judiciary and fair competition laws, are necessary. Internationally, without an honorable business ethic no network can prosper. The fraud networks operated by Africans, usually Nigerians, only discredit certain countries and even certain tribes, to the extent that in the long term they are not likely to have the minimum credibility to network; unless there is a general eye opening and people realize that fraud is not business and when it is networked ethnically it invariably puts the offending ethnic group in the global spotlight as people to be avoided. African commercial scenes are sometimes characterized by what we might call ethnic mafias, wherein single ethnic groups dominate certain lines of business, like stationeries, auto parts, cigarettes, packaged foodstuffs, diamond, gold, etc. The control typically extends down from the importers to the retail outlets and petty traders on the sidewalks. In Guinea retailers maintain their tradition of cooperative importation to enable them fill containers and purchase in sufficient quantity to receive good discounts. Some African groups have good reputations abroad for integrity; others have become notorious for foul dealing; ultimately those who value integrity and maintain a common business ethnic will prevail. In certain instances, an African ethnic group can be found monopolizing trust of European commodity, diamond and gemstone buyers. In Lagos Balogoun Market there is a network of indigenous Lagosian traders supplying goods to
transshipment customers from other parts of West Africa and even some from Central Africa. It is widely known that if you give to any member of this network several hundred thousand dollars today with a shopping list, tomorrow at the appointed time one can expect to receive all his ordered goods or the unspent cash. This is how Balagoum Market has prospered for years. Irrespective of how ethnically exclusive or other closed a network is, invariably it must transact with other networks. The Balagoun Market traders network transacts daily with other ethnically exclusive networks from different parts of Africa, including Mauritania. In the broader global context, the Boer community of South Africa casting its lot with the African National Congress is a major historical opportunity, because White South Africans have penetrated global markets with their innovative technologies, financial services, investment capital and manufactured products. This requires a more sophisticated recognition of African identity; we are progressively transcending the racial implications of being African, moving towards a broader, more sophisticated concept of Africa, wherein a passport, race, an AU lapel pin, or simply a personal verbal introduction establishes one as an African. Certain companies we encounter on the international scene are known to us as African rooted; in the sphere of information specific websites cater to the African audience in presenting news, business opportunities and cultural values; or are African based with global orientations serving African interests, reflecting African perspectives. Raising Africas power profile invariably involves value networking in the services, including banking, property transactions, informal money transfer (hawala) and various manner of brokerage. Chambers of Commerce and African elite businessmen networks, like the West African Enterprises Network, comprised of second generation entrepreneurs from the region, are the rising pillars of Global Africa. Information networking is not only important to promoting Global Africas value exchange increment, political networking is ever vital for us. Africans, I want to believe, are generally too sophisticated to fall into the terrorism syndrome in reaction to political injustices. The Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement, while waging a guerrilla war against Arab imperialism, developed a strong support base throughout
the Western world and particularly among African-Americans. The African National Congress had for decades maintained strong support bases in the very Western countries propping up the now defunct apartheid regime. Liberation movements against Portuguese colonialism also maintained strong support bases in the NATO countries backing Portugal. This tradition has given rise to scores of pro-Africa lobby groups in the West, including the prominent, Washington based, Global Coalition for Africa. Advance of political networking is a priority for us; because as Africans strive to raise the continent and Global Africas power profiles resistance from reactionaries is inevitable. The political fortunes of Diaspora Africans are very important to Africans on the continent because their positions of power raise Global Africas power profile. I envisage Global Africa political collaboration in key issues on which we appear able to generate broad consensus: fair trade practices, fair employment practices, nuclear disarmament and arms control generally, prohibition again cloning human beings and new life forms and tight control on cloning technology. On the continent, greater networking is required to promote human potential development policies, to increase the dialogue and consultations between civil society and governments, as well as Pan African bodies such the African Parliamentary Union, the Pan African Parliament and regional bodies like the West African Community Parliament. Civil Society networking is also essential. We would like to see greater Diaspora African involvement in Western Civil Society organizations attending our continent. This no doubt requires greater civil society information exchange between Africans in the motherlands and those in the Diaspora, to generate mutual interest and concern. In the domain of education, there is much going on and much more to be done. From the African Studies Association in North America we should upgrade to a Global African Studies Network, making use of the Internet for virtually unlimited information and ideas exchange. Student and lecturer exchange, throughout the continent, between the continent and the Diaspora and throughout the Diaspora, is also important and should be more systemized and specific objectives oriented, consistent with Global Africas pursuit of higher a cognitive power profile.
The prospects of using technology, particularly IT, to network in pursuit of greater individual independence and group empowerment, to facilitate new sources of income and channels for investment, to enlighten and broaden our perspectives appear tremendous. However, down on the ground, in the traditional domains, as we have already here noted, hard challenges, which we can in nowise escape, confront us. Apart from agriculture, water and ecological problems, there is ever awaiting us the challenge of horizontal integration of Africas primary products for optimum manufacturing value added. Actually, the trading sectors in some African countries are quite dynamic and indigenously dominated; the weak sector is invariably manufacturing. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the mid 1990s introduced a regional Industrial Master Plan (IMP), which essentially sought to optimize horizontal, as well as vertical, integration. Implementation of the IMP required an appropriate database, which proved difficult to develop owing to poor response to questionnaires; but the concept of horizontal integration has been attempted in some major projects, like Nigerias $6 billion ALSCON (Aluminum Smelting Company of Nigeria), which integrated the Niger Deltas Liquefied Natural Gas for power with Guineas bauxite. Guinea bauxite reserves are estimated to constitute two thirds of the global reserves, yet owing to high power generation costs the country has never had an aluminum smelting industry. Unfortunately, the industrial failure rate in Africa is still disastrous. Huge projects like ALSCON, involving governments and major transnational corporations are prone to bureaucratic disputes and capital contribution defaults; while small projects often operate on tenuous margins and with unviable turnover. As we have already suggested, innovative new approaches to manufacturing, that viably suit the realities, are required; but that does not necessarily solve the problem of optimizing use of Africas primary products in African industries. The database building approach of the ECOWAS Industrial Master Plan is a starting point, but collecting data requires higher investment than ECOWAS could afford; hence the meager resources put into the projects gave virtually no returns. With expansion of Internet and lowing of telecommunications usage costs, contact and information exchange throughout West Africas and the continents industrial
communities becomes more convenient and flexible. In fact, some aspects of the ECOWAS IMP could be profitably undertaken by private concerns, such as identification of industrial feeder industries and commerce in industrial raw materials. Here, we have arrived back at the importance of capital markets, because regional and international capital integration, capital product innovation and also quick movement of investment capital from one company to another, infuse the investment scene with greater dynamism and make available increased volumes of capital while offering a broader range of investment opportunities. Governments must play a catalytic role here; which brings us back to the essentiality of human potential development as a philosophical basis of African governance and nationalism. Education. How do we conceptualize it? Is it essentially instruction; or as the French see it, formation; or cultivation? What ends should education serve? Is the public investment in education to be used preparing people for jobs; or to cultivate potential realization? Considering the practical needs of society, as well as the necessary practical aspect of human potential development, we cannot elude the need for education to embrace all these things. Instruction under discipline and the development of the inductive mental faculties are vital but so is deductive capacity development and enlightened, skilled personality formation. However, consideration should be given to capacity and talent imbalances within individual students; a student brilliant in letters but poor in mathematics, or vice versa, must find a channel for advancement in the system despite his aptitude deficiencies in certain areas. In this era of globalization and rapid technological advancement, it would serve both Africas national development and strategic networking purposes to adopt the Confucian collective learning philosophy referred to by Americas Bush Administration as No child left behind, instead of eliminatory mode, which not only lends itself to bureaucracy but perpetuates a provocative elitism, stifling development of social capital. It is expediently rationalized by a certain school of thought, which originated in Western African studies circles, that having an abundance of unemployed graduates puts political stability at risk. The same school of thought meanwhile advised it was wiser to invest in tourism, which provided simple low
skilled jobs, thereby increasing national income without overloading the public investment budgets. Nevertheless, leaving people ignorant, or half-baked, compromises the nations modernization and civilized development. Bona fide African nationalists never bought the image or visionas the case might be of Africa as a tropical paradise for European tourists, peopled with black servants, caddies and safari attendants under the repressive discipline of white capitalists or management contractors, while the bulk of the people remained glued to their farms, merely sustaining themselves as they had for centuries or raising cash crops subject to such dramatic value drops that some years cultivation would not be profitable. Whatever the costs, irrespective of the credentials flouted by those writing the economic logic, Africa is not to be regarded as essentially a micro-economic management challenge. For us, Africa is its people and their land, their resources and their potentials; these essentials of the African cosmology must necessarily be developed conjunctively. In formation, we are not simply moulding, the process is too delicate and sensitive to view so forcefully; rather we are cultivating well formed, largely rounded personalities. Optimally fine tuning, through database development and analysis, individual student requirements not only affords society the highest possible yields from public investment in education, it builds social capital as young people feel a sense of individual as well as collective of value throughout their formal education experience. Education is to promote an ever richer quality of social existence; contribute to making people conscientious citizens, more productive, more efficient, more accommodating or each other, more understanding; to more greatly appreciate ourselves as individuals, as neighbours, colleagues, children, parents, husbands and wives and acquaintances in public places. Africa is short on jobs; we are challenged to create jobs at a much faster rate than they are likely to be provided by corporate investment; especially in this era where capital intensive technology is more competitive than obsolete labour intensive modes. This point not only alludes back to our earlier discourse concerning freedom of independent initiative and potential development, here we are prompted to consider the rationality of education synthesizing discipline, practicality and creativity. Here the Internet offers vital
opportunities for students to learn publishing their ideas, engaging public discussion of their projects and ideas, to appreciate advice and critique concerning their noetic productivity; not to mention the Internet knowledge exploration facilities and the possibilities for one to ultimately market his or her noetic products. This interactive online social and global outreach culture becomes an integral part of the education process. Companies, in encouragingly responding to the student websites establish student relations departments, enabling them to interactively engage young people as they grow, affording the opportunity to collaborate with them in planning tomorrows world. Cultural Development Traveling through Africa one finds that most societies have eclectic tendencies; rather than inclining to either cultural capitulation or protectionism. There are instances where cultural capitulation to the West appears excessive and also where cultural protectionism has a retarding impact; especially on human value appreciation, gender equality and social modernization. Caste system perspectives are still prevalent in Western Sahel societies and female marriage choice rights continue to be suppressed in many of our communities. Competition between Arab and Western influences in West African countries tend to cause a reactionary cultural polarization towards protectionism on the right and capitulation on the left. This makes us vulnerable to Afro-Islamic against Afro-Western clash of civilization troubles. While Africans tend to demonstrate a natural tendency to eclecticism, socio-cultural engineering to encourage rational syntheses that serve our socio-economic development ends seems not a bad idea. A vanguard comprised of the intelligentsia and artists would have major roles to play in this. Literary, music, painting, drama and cinema themes, as well as journalism should stimulate thought and discussion on socio-cultural, and also, political issues; influence trends of thought and positive social change. Developing countries need strong cultural and social leadership, as well as high quality political leaders. We want to modernize but without alienation; we want efficiency and dynamic competitiveness, but in a sporting spirit, rather than ruthlessness. Agreed, there is already a plethora of alienation, ruthlessness and meanness; but we
should never resolve that any undesirable condition is hopeless. In many African societies religious leaders exert considerable influence; but institutionalized dialogue between sectarian leaders is vital to avoiding antagonistic theological proselytism and positions. It is important, however, that African governments be intensely concerned about the condition of artists and intellectuals, because if these people are left to wallow in the poverty and difficulties of the underclass, they are apt to become rebels. If they are spoiled or corrupted with conscience bribing patronage, they become decadent bourgeoisies or bohemians. Artists and intellectuals are best situated as creative workers and business people in their productive and marketing endeavors; their social contribution value warrants them being given good opportunities to develop and society is to be enlightened to appreciate them and pay critical attention to their productions. In Nigeria, writers are encouraged by a book launching culture, where institutions and prominent people buy at astronomical prices, typically donating copies to education institutions, public libraries and government ministries, which becomes societies reward for the intellectual contribution. Aside from attention to current issues, artists and intellectuals are socially obligated to promote an objective but proud understanding of our history and heroes. Western journalists and many writers on Africa have a tendency to get us to join them in denigrating our history and denying our heroes. Not long ago (in July 2005) I saw a very interesting exchange between a BBC Hard Talk journalist and the son of the late Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyas first president. The contemporary Kenyatta is now head of the party his father founded, Kenyan African National Union (KANU) and the BBC journalist was prodding him to dismiss his father as a harbinger of corruption. Yet Jomo Kenyatta was one of Africas greatest anti-colonial heroes. Either this young white man was ignorant of the essential Jomo Kenyatta, an author, peaceful liberation struggler who had nonetheless been framed by the British colonialists and sentenced to 9 years in prison, but yet upon becoming independent Kenyas leader earnestly rallied Blacks and the white settler population to join hands in building the new nation Harambee; or the BBC journalist simply lacked proper sense of decency.
Another interesting incident in this regard was the gross indignation Robin White and his colleagues at the BBC Africa Service expressed on air after Kwame Nkrumah won their African of the Millennium poll. Mr. White went so far to suggest that the African audience mistook the intention of the poll to mean that they should select the person who had done the most evil rather than good. The point is that Robin White and his British colleagues at BBC not only have no stake in the legacies of people like Kenyatta and Nkrumah, they have not understood and appreciated them as we have; and we are not so dull as to be unaware of their faults and misdeeds. Nkrumah, to my mind, despite his shortcomings and failures, certainly deserved to win the African of the Millennium poll, because our guiding vision over the post-colonial era, that has led us to the Regional Economic Communities and now the African Union plus NEPAD, was so profoundly enunciated by him that an indelible impression has been made on us as to what he taught and advocated and what we must relentlessly pursue and ultimately be. As Africans we must learn to understand and appreciate our histories within the context of inevitable human failings and shortcomings, highlighting positive contributions of our past leaders to help illume our way forward. Our intellectual cultural inclination is not severely critical like that of the Anglo-Saxons, although we share their language and subscribe to many of their intellectual standards. Our intellectual culture, reflecting on our best essayists, like Wole Soyinka, Franz Fanon, James Baldwin, Nkrumah, Nyerere, Ahmed Skou Tour and Ali Mazrui, is dialectical and poetic in prose. For us every life is a drama and no protagonist is all good or bad; but we intrinsically look mostly for the good. It is not our natural cultural inclination to keep the bad that great people did living, while burying with them their good. Verily, there are Africans, like the late Mobutu Sese Skou and Hastings Banda, whose legacies can expect unanimous endorsement of an infamous place in our history; we have our standards but could do without stupid intrusive suggestions as to who is a hero and who a villain. Skou Tour: the Hero, the Tyrant, title of the late Guinean presidents political biography reflects the duality attending many of historys great people; though the dialectics vary.
Heroes and a proud history, understood with enlightened realism, are vital to our collective self-confidence, our intellectual sophistication within the context of our historical experiences and present circumstances. Collective self-confidence is no doubt our greatest need as Africans; it is because we do not profoundly believe in ourselves, because our souls are plagued by despair we are so prone to fratricide, vandalism, corruption and self-serving ambition. This predicament poses quite a great challenge to our artists, intellectuals, academics and public policy makers concerned with these people and their work. African Personality Among Nkrumahs enduring contributions to our intellectual discourse is the concept of the African Personality. Consistent with his own orientation, Nkrumah conceived the modern African personality as cosmopolitan, dynamic, sophisticated, charming and engaging. He not only saw the African playing a vital role in world affairs, but individuals playing central roles wherever they applied themselves in the world. Nkrumah, envisaged an assertive African, internationally well connected and astute in awareness of current event and developments on the planet and knowledge of the histories of various peoples and civilizations. He wished the African admired and emulated; proudly representing a continent that was strong for peace, international cooperation and universal fraternity. Nkrumah demonstrated eclecticism in his different manner of dress, in the wide range of his historical and philosophical discourses, in his friends, confidents and associates. He retained the British lawyer Jeffrey Bing as his Justice Minister; his circle of intellectual associates in Accra included the distinguished 20th century Pan Africanists Dr. W.E. B. DuBois and George Padmore, American and West Indian born respectively; the English woman June Milner as his research assistant and a host of others from countries as varied as South Africa and Germany. Kwame's wife Fathia was an Egyptian and today their son Gamel Nkrumah is a leading Arabic and English language journalist. This cosmopolitism, he envisaged, was the making of Africa as the new frontier, the new challenge land for building a great human society. This vision, as well as its attending African personality concept, is still with us.
Today Nelson Mandela and Gracia Marcal epitomize the heroic African Personalities; as did the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior. Kofi and Lynn Annan, the worlds First Couple, epitomize the internationalist sophistication of the African Personality. Thabo and Mrs. Mbeki, Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Dr. Garang's wife Rebecca, all seasoned revolutionaries, represent the anti-colonial struggle and statesmanship pragmatic duality of the African Personality. African Union executives Alpha Omar Konar and Olusegun Obasanjo, celebrity sports legend Muhammed Ali, media queen Oprah Winfrey, Encyclopaedia Africana editors Professors Henry Louis Gates and Kwame Anthony Appiah, Nobel laureates Prof. Wole Soyinka and Toni Morrison, U.S. Senator Barack Obama, veteran diplomat Salim Ahmed Salim, long time OPEC Fund Director General, Nigeria's Yusuf Sayeed Abdulahi and all the other good willed achievers in Global Africa, including of course those unsung, are constituents of the African personality.
African Union Parties: A Political Imperative
uilding African Union is a creative process that requires Pan African intellectual and political collaboration, a synthesis of theoretical and practical political work. The AU proposition was not conceived by Nkrumah as merely an inspiration ideal, though there is utilitarian psychological value in such a great ambition; above all, African Union is a pragmatic undertaking and goal to allow African polities economies of scale; and, by integrating our resources and potentials, strengthen our elements of power profile and advance our geo-strategic position. This collaborative creative process would undoubtedly be well served by an alliance of political parties that appreciate continental integration, as well as political collaboration, as sine qua non for sustained national economic growth and social development. In order for Africa to optimally benefit from the appropriately conceived NEPAD Peer Group Mechanism, there must be Pan African standards of governance, which invariably require constitutional and legislated provisions corrective of the problems that have hitherto kept our polities retarded. Hence, the African Union parties are necessarily distinguished by their focus on systematic corrections, in addition to competitive drive for elected office. Circumstances do not occasion me to elude reiterating that Africa's political problems are in large measure constitutional. The incongruity and conflicts of interests attending Africa are inherent in our historically evolved circumstances and therefore require constitutional and institutional arrangements specific to their demands. The recent division of Cte dIvoire by rebel forces over North-South differences, the chronic sectarian violence in Nigeria and the civil war in Sudan that retarded the country's growth throughout its years of sovereignty and the intractable Hutu/Tutsi hostilities in East Africa continue to remind us that political structure adjustment in Africa is no less necessary than economic reform. Significantly, Nigeria is composed of several pre-colonial dynastic polities, including one imperial power (Oyo Empire, which effectively colonized Dahomey). Northern Cte dIvoire also has an imperial heritage under the
Ouattera family, whose exclusion from Ivorian nationality became a major point of contention in the North-South face-off. Sudan was able to finally reach its Comprehensive Peace Agreement by constitutional provisions that gave the country a two region structure and stipulated precise formulas for political office and wealth sharing. Narrow and myopic political perspectives in the face of internal regional conflicts have too often led to constitutional and legislative provisions that aggravate rather than ameliorate the problems incidental to the African heritage. We are in dire need of broader perspectives, higher visions, greater faith in our collective continental potentials; and it is essential that the African citizenry be everywhere enlightened to the pragmatic value of Pan Africanism as an expansion of scope and possibilities in keeping with the ever pressing need to enlarge economic opportunities and upgrade social conditions. The IMF prescribed Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) of the late 1980s and 1990s addressed the distortions and retarding effects of subsidy based economies, but failed to promote the economies of scale, capital integration and Pan African interdependence and selfreliance central to the African Unions New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) scheme, which essentially seeks to coordinate and integrate projects of the regional economic communities the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Community of East and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Meghreb States. With the emergence of regional parliaments and now the Pan African Parliament, the institutional framework is in sight to collaboratively work for Pan African political stability at the supranational institutional levels. The stage is set for the strategic entry of African Union parties, dedicated to bringing about the requisite objectivity, broadness of perspective and vision to efficiently address the political and economic problems attending our 53 polities. There is much for us to think about, discuss, debate, study, write on, table in seminars, workshops, forums, etc.; simplicity and expediency have tended to keep us grounded in the old cycle of recurrent interest conflicts, which are indeed human and natural; but we must be enable to transcend basic problems and rise to seriously confront higher level ones, such as Research & Development, intellectual property rights protection,
technology market penetration and global productivity competitiveness. It appears to me that if we strengthen supranational cooperation and institutions, we will have greater latitude for decentralization of power nationally. Given the persisting threats to the unity of major states like Sudan, Nigeria and Congo, it seems that the former premium on centralization, supposedly as a force of national unity, must begin to give way, to lesser or greater extent, to looser federal arrangements, which would accommodate comfortable measures of political sub-division self-governance within a continental confederation. In other words, African integration should attain a depth whereby national boundaries and powers are less significant, because economic and political opportunities are fluid and collaborative across borders. We should no longer be preoccupied with preserving cultural diversity, but rather with cultural eclecticism and evolution. The objective would be to realize an eclectic human culture that enhances efficiency of socio-economic endeavour. The African Economic Community demands dynamism, yet Africa's cultural heritage at its best is rhythmic, sociable and easy going; that is to say, we might satisfactorily aspire to a world class football, or basketball, team social culture, where we are playing fast, smart and efficiently with rhythmic finesse and enjoying it all. Although your author is certainly not an Afro-centrist, we cannot elude the fact that Africa is a tropical domain and our natural character does not incline to the European's coldness and dispassion. Drum beats are in our souls and our animation feeds on them. African Union proposes consolidating the scattered elements of power behind a continental geo-strategic positioning establishment that at once reflects a high-tech age African character and effectively advances the continents collective interests in the international arena. Indeed, there is a vision to these economic and geo-strategic positing goals shared among the main movers of the African Union and it is conceivable that existing political parties could converge, perhaps with some newly founded ones, to constitute an African Union focused democratic movement. Ruling parties of all governments that have ratified the African Union Constitutive Act are by implication pro-AU. It is important that we avoid a concept of AU parties and anti-AU parties but it appears
that political forces opposed to African Union are marginal; the AU party designation therefore implies stress on addressing the technical problems associated with implementing AU and REC treaty provisions. These would be parties, I imagine, for new generation politician-technocrats. If the African Union parties are to be legitimate in that they are offering the fresh thinking, the sophistication required to reliably address the challenges at hand, they would have to promote a more democratic theoretical basis for the African polities. This is particularly important in the context of the Peer Review Mechanism (PRM), aimed at upgrading the quality of governance on the continent. If the PRM does not go beyond election monitoring and critical analysis informed by conventional models of state structure and democracy, it will run high risk of being substantially irrelevant. Others may disagree with me, but I have analysed and assessed the current array of supranational institutions, treaties and programs to be promising foundations and guides for higher thought, objective deliberations and constructive action. The problems of implementation are largely technical. A primary example: a single monetary zone for the African Union, in alignment with a continental common market, would in market prospects give Africa vital characteristics of a single investment zone, which is extremely important for us; but there are steep technical challenges involved in realizing this goal and there must be undaunted dedication to arriving at veritable solutions. First of all, there must be conscientious political commitment and this is where the African Union parties become truly necessary. African countries tend to share many general problems in common, though the specifics may vary from republic to republic. Frequency of military coups, for instance, is an indication of inadequate state structures for guaranteeing popular empowerment. Nigerias first civilian government, one of the most democratically structured in Africa at the time, and it succumbing to a military coup dtat in January 1966, provides an instructive example. The evident election fraud and abuse of police power by the politicians implied a need for a bigger distinction between institutions of state and those of government, with referee powers conferred largely upon the former. The only state institutions were the President, the army and the courts,
but the latter became subject to political pressures from government, which was composed of competing political parties. As Prof. Ali Mazrui pointed out, corruption eroded the nascent democratic institutions at such a rate they had no chance to develop. The president, as the personification of the state, aloof from government, was only one man, with no authority over the military or police. Hence, when the government, composed of competitive political parties, was seen to have misused its referee powers, in both election contests and law enforcement, to an intolerable extent, the army, as the principal power of the state, intervened. The fact that there was first a mutiny is not as relevant as the final outcome, which was the Chief of Army Staff asking the cabinet to resign and turn over to him the mandate of governance. In Ghana too, the constitutional arrangement did not establish strong state institutions with referee powers, but concentrated too much power in the hands of the governing prime minister, later president, who represented the majority party. Nkrumahs full throttle uses of power were not extraconstitutional; the constitution failed to provide strong state institutions, distinct from those of government, that would have wielded crucial powers, such as dissolving of parliament and imposition of emergency laws, that had been assumed by the leading executive politician. The November 1958 military coup dtat in Sudan also occurred in a situation where there were no specific institutions of state to systematically address failings of the political class, even if it is true that the coup was a collusion between the Prime Minister and army chief. . Thus, to make the Peer Review Mechanism (PRM) constructively innovative, the first theoretical question, it seems, African Union parties would concern themselves with is the need not only to distinguish state institutions from governing institutions, but to arm state institutions with referee powers over and beyond those of government. General Parvez Musharraf has sought to do this in Pakistan, with the establishment of a National Security Council vested with the powers to dismiss an incompetent government; but it should be possible to employ democratic process in selecting the responsible members of state institutions, as well as electing governing officials. It simply does not seem reasonable that a only handful of people should represent the state; no doubt, as we have elsewhere said, an Assembly
of the Republic would better serve the purposes we seek, which are to provide a broad based state foundation institution with no governing powers, but armed with constitutionally prescribed referee powers, including access to authority over the instruments of violence and coercion to enforce them. Depending on the cultural and historical background of the polity, this Assembly of the Republic might be composed of elder statesmen, past heads of state, traditional leaders (including local monarchs), retired generals, esteemed academics, or whoever the people through constitutional provision contributions and democratic choice might prefer. This is new political thinking (see essay 8, Operating System Designing as a Political Function: Constitutional and State Institutional Theory), an innovation oriented school of politicians is required to elaborate and press for such dramatic constitutional and institutional renovation. Achievement of social and economic justice in Africa also requires fresh thinking. In the immediate post-colonial era, socialist and mixed economy (parallel state and private sectors) policies were embarked upon with a view to keeping social service costs within the reach of the ordinary consumer. Many African intellectuals had been impressed with socialist ideas, yet there was little inclination towards the Marxist models of the Soviet Union and China, which forbad free enterprise altogether. Hence, free enterprise economies, with certain areas of supply reserved for state enterprises, which often provided goods and services at subsidized prices, became the pervasive model. In conjunction with fixed exchange rates and import licensing systems established to control the volume of imports at those rates, African countries were carrying costs that in foreign exchange terms progressively exceeded their incomes. This led to inevitable currency devaluations, which spurred inflation, eroding purchasing power. External debts to finance budget deficits and imports worsened the balance of payments situation. First, the IMF encouraged such nonproductive borrowing, but loan service defaults gave rise to the fund revising their policy perspective. Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) were introduced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce consumption, reduce local production costs through currency devaluations and supposedly push the population to higher production. Those countries, like Rawlings Ghana and Sankaras Faso, that were able to enforce the discipline of frugality and hard work seemed to get
good results, but unstable commodity prices, combined with low rates of increase in human resource development spending ultimately reduced any gains to marginal proportions. The IMF prescribed removal of capital repatriation restrictions, supposedly to attract foreign investment. Here too, only Ghana among non-oil producing countries benefited appreciably, but foreign control of capital meant flight of profits with commensurate downward pressure on the local currency without corresponding increases in local salaries and wages. Fortunately, where governance was reasonably good, as in Ghana, infrastructure development offered certain improvements in the quality of life, but disposable income shortfalls common among the population also gave rise to deprivation and stress. This is the situation prevailing in the best African economiesnot counting countries like Botswana and Gabon, which have miniscule populations that live off diamonds and petroleum respectively; in the badly managed economies conditions are catastrophic. Ghana, which throughout most of the 1990s was the highest recipient of foreign investment among Africas non-oil producing countries, alerts us to the futility of allowing foreign capital dominance. Excessive reliance in foreign investment invariably results in widening the gap between Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Income, which occasions the "growth without [commensurate] development' syndrome. The centrality of the African Monetary Union and effective functioning of the African Central Bank prescribed in the AU Constitutive Act to sustained continental income growth and development demands that African Union parties recognize this as a priority area of concern and network the technocrats to concentrate on this challenge. Meeting the European model convergence criteria of single digit inflation and exchange rate fluctuation, with a stabilization fund to compensate for devaluations somewhat outside the determined range has not worked in Africa. In West Africa, Nigeria, which was expected to be the main contributor to the monetary union stabilization fund itself experienced currency value depreciation. Therefore, if it is seen that the EU model is leading us nowhere, a model that serves our purposes must be conceptualized. I had thought, for example, of floating an AU currency concurrently with existing currencies, or at least AU travellers checques. The latter has been done by ECOWAS, which, in
fact, maintains what is known as the ECOWAS Unit of Account with exchange rate fixed to the IMF Special Drawing Rights. Continental economic integration at this depth invariably raises political questions that the African Union parties must appreciate and take progressive positions on, while having identified technocratic solutions to inevitable adverse side effects. An obvious issue in this regard is free movement of labour; another is excluding AU member capital from the definition of foreign investment; meaning that all laws pertaining to local equity and ownership would accord African Union citizens the same preferences as local nationals. However, these are complex issues that, like other aspects of African economic integration, such as trade, require compensatory measures to preclude aggravating the disadvantage of weaker countries. In a Pan African investment zone South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Sudan, which have comparatively strong indigenous capitalist classes, would no doubt be the main beneficiaries. How then do we provide compensatory opportunities to weaker positioned member states? Definitely, Pan African capital integration would have to play a major role here, but it is a complex technical matter that requires first rate expertise. Tax administration is another vital area in this regard, because taxation policy, as can be seen in the advanced economies, is a handy toll of government intervention to influence income disposal patterns. Actually, African Union parties would be expected to lift African public policy awareness and understanding to higher levels, so that critique and disagreement are increasingly noetically expressed and emotionalism is outgrown. Analysts of the failure of the European Union Constitution to pass referendums in France and Holland noted that no votes were in substantial measure backlash to the public being left out of the EU deliberations and decision making processes. Apparently, the press has not been playing the role it should; or politicians have not been explaining what goes on in Brussels well enough for the general European public to appreciate. Perhaps, the European political culture involves to much favour trading for the politicians to be verily transparent? I think it would behove African Union parties and all others in the African political class to seek well informed analytical understanding of what happens in Europe and
what went wrong that brought on the French and Dutch rejection of the charters endorsed by their leaders. African integration has hitherto been retarded by deficient appreciation, on the part of both the public and political class, of its geo-strategic positioning value and there is certainly need for greater public awareness of what institutionalized Pan Africanism proposes to do for their lives and the future of their offspring; but equally, we could happily do without the diehard political culture where holding on to office and power is the overriding motivation. Pan African parties cannot claim supports for the AU as a distinguishing characteristic, because the AU enjoys wide and active support among African leaders; the AU parties must rise to a higher ethnic, commensurate with the demands of reversing Africa's fortunes and finding a bright future. If the AU parties become congregation points of technocratic-politicians who realize that for personal growth and objectivity retention it is prudent to move in and out of partisan politics rather than taking public office holding to be a psychological comfort, perhaps we would see incipiency of a veritable AU political culture, with all the high ethical, intellectual and efficiency implications thereby. During the colonial era in French West Africa, there emerged at Bamako in 1948 what became known as the inter-territorial African Democratic Assemblage (Rassamblement Democratique Africain). National branches had their own names, suffixed by RDA, such as Democratic Party of Guinea-RDA and Democratic Party of Cte dIvoire-RDA. Had it not been for certain African collaborators in Frances balkanization policy, the RDA would have formed the partisan bases for a fully integrated sovereign Federation of French West Africa. However, the precedence remains as a historical point of departure to be revisited and built upon in this era of actualized African Union.
Afri (A)
leading African economist, a man who had been a professor at McGill University, a director at the World Bank and was currently director general of a multi-billion dollar Global South focused development fund, in a discussion with me at a diplomatic dinner in his honour dismissed the proposition of an African continental currency as premature. African financial and monetary authorities, he said, had to get their information and reporting acts together before they could seriously venture into the mooted Afri project. As much as an African Union currency would have great symbolic value as tangible evidence in the everyday lives of people that the AU is real, there are important monetary control and economic development considerations behind inclusion of an African Central Bank in the Constitutive Act of the African Union; and adequate, accurate and timely information flows between the national central banks and their supranational master are essential to effective functioning in this regard. As African integration proceeds, with preferential intra-continental trade terms, intra-continental capital flows and movement of people, existing imbalances will be aggravated and new imbalances are bound to occur, giving rise to need for corrective intervention by supranational authority. The primary policy, regulatory and intervention institution in the premises is the African Central Bank and we verily agree with our esteemed economist that the ACB can only thrive in a sophisticated and dynamic information culture. If investors from South Africa, a $150 billion economy, start pumping capital into Togo, with a $2 billion economy and enjoy unrestricted profit repatriation rights, we would see the relationship between the two countries becoming rather neo-colonial, with the smaller one on the losing end. If investors from Nigeria, which has Dunlop and Michelin tire plants, were to take over the rubber plantations in Liberia and export the produce thereof for raw material in their countrys rubber consuming industries, Liberia could be left forever without the opportunity to add manufacturing value to its
natural rubber, which provides miserably low income for plantation workers. Invariably continental economic integration works in favour of the larger, more advanced economies, and this was recognized back in the days when the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was first being negotiated. To compensate low industrial base countries for loss of customs revenues owing to duty free imports entering from the industrially stronger economies Nigeria, Cte dIvoire, Ghana and Senegal, a compensation mechanism and fund were established, into which member states contributed a fixed percentage of the GDP. Observers often criticized members of the African Franc zone for the planning and interventionist role played by Paris, acting through the [French] West African Central Bank in their national economies, but studies continually showed that the economies using the common African franc generally were less likely to suffer foreign exchange crises and uncontrollable inflation than those with solo monetary regimes. The role of Paris, which would eventually be phased out, provided a valuable learning experience for African economists; but the collective responsibility of managing a transnational currency and enjoying trade and capital movement conveniences thereof would be useful to them and Africa, we might say, forever. While countries outside the CFA zone were continually troubled by the problem of moving money from one to another, the CFA circulated throughout most of the states in the former French colonial Federation of West Africa and Federal of Central Africa. When ECOWAS put a common currency on its agenda, member states of the Dakar headquartered West African Central Bank, with planning assistance from France, entered into an alternative economic and monetary union, Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa, which aggravated the Anglophones and provoked disapproving remarks in ECOWAS publications. However, the President of the Francophone union, Moussa Tour (equivalent to the ECOWAS Executive Secretary) responded to journalist Adama Gayes questions about rivalry with ECOWAS by noting that UEMOA member states had inherited a common currency from the colonial era and that for them the upgraded supranational institutional arrangement was a matter of reaffirming the criteria for better management of public
Who Speaks for Africa? - 100
finances in our member states, adding that they already had compatible administrative and legal regimes in this regard. West Africas British colonies also had a common monetary zone during the colonial era, but upon independence, Ghana instituted its own currency. When Lansana Kouyat became ECOWAS Executive Secretary in 1998 he, in appreciation of the fact that the Francophones already had long experience with a viable monetary union, which had naturally attained economic union dimensions, suggested that the West African countries outside the CFA zone achieve monetary union among themselves, whereby ECOWAS would be faced with the task of converging the two. Meanwhile, UMEOA had admitted former Portuguese colony Guinea-Bissau into its ranks and invited Ghana to join. This was an indication that UMEOA was prepared to absorb non-Francophone ECOWAS countries one by one, until perhaps only Nigeria remained outside. In such an event, Nigeria would then negotiate with the UMEOA/ECOWAS bloc a conclusive monetary and economic integration arrangement. I would agree with UMEOAs Moussa Tour that we should not perceive an UMEOA rivalry with ECOWAS; actually the Francophone grouping posed an aggressive challenge to ECOWAS to move faster. Indeed UMEOA had started out in the lead and was increasing its pacesetting gap. At the investiture ceremony of the West African Central Banks new governor, Ivorian Charles Banny in Dakar during 1996, where the establishment of UMEAO was officially announced, Senegals President Abdou Douf , reflecting ruefully on the demise of the colonial Federation of French West Africa, lamented that balkanization had taken the sweetness out of independence. Mr. Douf was not being sentimental; he was referring to the economic development ground he imagined lost as a result of abandoning at Paris behest the regional federation. That is to say, Pan African integration within the Francophone sphere was deeply rooted in the colonial heritage; thought Paris, as de Gaulle insisted, was not prepared to leave behind in West Africa a polity ten times the size of France. Nevertheless, supranational cooperation and institutional development among the African Francophones never ceased, which has not only given them an advantage over the Anglophone Africans in this respect, but has perhaps more importantly provided an evolving
model indicating the beneficial economic management and development facilities afforded by monetary and economic integration. Kouyat, as ECOWAS Executive Secretary, went effectively to work and by December 2000 the West African Monetary Zone, comprised of Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia, was fully planned and documented and its headquarters was established in Accra. Its task was to bring about a common currency among subscribing states within two years, whereupon work would begin on merging the two monetary communities within ECOWAS. The European convergence criteria were adopted: single digit currency value fluctuation against the benchmark U.S. dollar, single digit inflation and central bank borrowing from commercial banks not exceeding 0.5% of GDP. A stabilization fund was included in the institutional setup for offsetting the impact of national monetary regimes falling short of the criteria. All the countries were fairly stable and had good records of stability, except Ghanas cedi and war ravaged Liberias dollar. Nigerias Naira had during the General Abacha years from 1994 to 1998 proved more stable than both the French and West African francs and it was assumed that Abuja would be the rescuing contributor to the stabilization fund. However, with the return to civilian rule in Nigeria inflation suddenly got out of hand and between 1999 and 2001the Naira lost 90% of its value against the U.S. dollar. This threw the new West African Monetary Zone into a tailspin. First of all, Nigerias new finance minister was no match for Abachas Anthony Ani, who was a leading chartered accountant with world class standards and well plugged into the latest trends in economic management. When the leader of Nigerias labour movement began lecturing the country on proper development economics, the weakness of Obasanjos economic management team became apparent to all, including the president himself. In any event, the corollary is that the West African Monetary Zone is now (2005) looking forward to realizing convergence in 2006. It might seem paradoxical that while Ghana has since the 1980s been a leading recipient of Direct Foreign Investment among non-oil producing African states and was often referred to by the IMF as a good African economic management model, the country of 23 million
people with a $10 billion economy perennially suffered the most intractable currency devaluation problem, despite a 4.2% average annual growth rate in the period 1990 to 2001. Why was Ghana suffering unrelenting currency depreciation while economically stagnant countries like Gambia and Sierra Leone enjoyed exchange rate stability? One obvious reason was that the high influx of DFI in an economy that had an exemplary record of handsome returns on investment resulted in high foreign exchange demand for repatriation of profits. This put downward pressure on the cedi and in a tight inflation control monetary regime, the cost of production in dollar terms decreased with fall in the value of the local currency. This enhanced the countrys attractiveness to foreign investors, hence investments continued steadily flowing in, production costs in dollar terms continued falling with the depreciation of the cedi, while the living standard of the working class commensurately deteriorated; meanwhile foreign investors were having a feast. This of course is a simplified scenario ignoring other factors, such as imports, particularly petroleum, and also high non-performing investment in hydro-carbon exploration, which led to a parting of ways between President Rawlings and his high profile finance minister Prof. Kwesi Botchway; but the DFI factor, is for purposes of our monetary union discussion very pertinent. Hypothetically, were investments coming largely from members of an African Union monetary zone, there could still be movement of profits from the recipient country to the investing one, resulting in liquidity shortage, purchasing power erosion and deflation; but the African Central Bank, pretty much as the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States does, would intervene with directives and policies to alleviate the distortions. Major investing countries could be directed to reinvest a relieving portion of their profits back in the recipient economies and compliance would be seen in the interest of promoting a win-win situation, whereby increasing the purchasing power and raising the living standard of the recipient countrys population makes that country a better market for the products of your investments as well as your exports. Foreign investors from outside Africa, on the other hand, scan the global investment market for optimum yields to their home based shareholders and typically gravitate to where there is the best opportunity to bring home profits and increase their
companys share value. Hence, while we cannot realistically think in terms of doing without DFI from outside Africa, it would be prudent to optimize intra-continental investment. This duality of intracontinental investment and DFI, in conjunction with domestic and foreign capital market access, would ultimately occasion Africans greater equity in their continent and make the continent more competitive in the international investment market, affording accelerated growth. Ghanas reluctance to institute cost of living adjustment for workers commensurate with the cedis value decline was no doubt in the context of prudent fiscal management and informed by a strategy of optimizing investment and employment in the medium term before giving priority to raising workers standard of living. In a competitive international compelling standard living improvement against a downward value prone local currency may have not only slowed the inflow of foreign investment but provoked capital flight. Conventional modern monetary policy economic logic seems to have been succinctly summarized in the 1978 Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act amendment to the United States Federal Reserve Act. Therein the Board of Directors and the Federal Open Market Committee, which is concerned with bonds, are directed to coordinate monetary and interest aggregate growth with the long run potential to increase production; hence, production, as the Act notes, is key to employment and stable prices, as well as moderate long term interest rates. However, in the United States, the Federal Reserve Board, assisted by a Federal Advisory Council, Consumer Advisory Council and Thrift Institutions Advisory Council, carefully monitors economic indices in the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts covering the country, meeting quarterly to discuss analyses and decide on intervention measures, if any. The problematic ECOWAS experience in member states failure to meet the European model convergence criteria suggests that at the continental scale an intermediate intervention and nominal continental currency would be useful in positioning the African Central Bank to play an effective role in the continental economic and monetary integration processes. Procedures of issue and control in this regard would essentially involve regular specified national central bank reporting to ACB, an ACB accounting unit at parity with the
International Monetary Funds Special Drawing Rights (SDR), something which already pertains at ECOWAS, possible issuance of an African continental currency, which we understand is to be dubbed Afri, concurrently with existing national and regional currencies. Basically, this would involve a procedural schedule comprised of information exchange and, perhaps later on, actual supply and circulation of Afri notes or travelers cheques. First, in specified format monthly, or at least quarterly, reporting, to ACB, the national central banks would include the aggregate value of their circulating currency. ACB would translate the values into the SDR parity Afri for its accounting and database purposes. Hence, all ACB reports would be based on the Afri. Initially, there would nominally be a two tier currency system: the primary currency, which is the ACB control currency, and the secondary currencies, which are the national currencies, used as legal tender and for national accounting and database purposes. In each reporting period ACB would adjust in its database the Afri value currency and other aggregates of the national central banks. In keeping records of the aggregate value of circulating African national currencies and their movements, as well as other pertinent monetary and economic performance data, the ACB develops and maintains the composite African Union economic and monetary picture. With a Board of Governors composed of regional central bank heads, such as the CFA Franc issuing Central Bank of West Africa and Central Bank of West Africa, the West African Monetary Zone and other Regional Economic Community central bank representatives, the ACB would prescribe uniform of monetary and economic management standards, identify and evaluate problem areas, determine any intervention measures and play an appropriate role in continental and regional economic planning. Once the ACB, with its Board of Governors are prepared to act as the apex institution in a monetary management hierarchy that includes the regional and national central banks, it would assume the role as the sole primary issue bank; in which national and regional currencies will be deemed to have been authorized by ACB as free floating subsidiaries of the Afri. At this point ACB would establish the practice of debiting the regional and national central banks for Afri in the amount of their reported currency aggregates, set bond sale and rate guidelines and fix
interest rates. In consideration of the parallel existence of investmentprofit returning based finance systems, commonly known as Islamic banking, with the more conventional credit-interest charging finance system, a formula is used to determine corresponding rates of return to the banks and depositors and synthesize impact evaluations into a composite statistical picture. The African Central Bank hierarchy invariably involves demand for tailored software, including online communications between all the banks in the system, and appropriate hardware. Also, in the national systems, reliable and timely reporting and communications between the central and commercial banks and in the commercial bank networks are vital. The importance of regulatory regime enforcement and collective policy collaboration demand central bank autonomy throughout Africa and ceding regulatory ultimate authority to the ACB Board of Governors. Both adequate capital investment at all levels, including a state of the art African Central Bank headquarters, and professional competence are duly required. Proper planning is ineluctable and attainment time frames must take into consideration all the financial, logistic, political, administrative and personnel preparation variables. Circulation of Afri currency notes concurrently with existing national and regional currencies would involve the central banks buying Afri account credits, currency notes, or travellers cheque stocks to meet commercial bank demand for intra-continental cash commercial transactions. This would facilitate intra-continental trade letters of credit to be issued in Afri by commercial banks, as well as across counter commercial bank Afri note and travellers cheque purchases. Bureaus de Exchange within the regulatory system might also be given Afri note stocks for selling. To protect the Afri from international market forces, it would not be used in commercial transactions outside Africa. If a parallel market in Afri emerges, ACB would take appropriate measures to prevent the AfriSDR parity being challenged. Movement of the Afri notes from one country to another would be reflected in the reports submitted by the national and regional central banks to the ACB. However, spread of regional currencies would invariably curtail demand for Afri notes. If ECOWAS attains a common currency, Afri would probably have very limited demand in
the region and be mainly used as a nominal unit of account in trade letters of credit transactions with other regions of the continent. Considering the expected increased prominence of South Africa in the African Economic Community, the Afri would no doubt be of great commercial use even if regional currencies become common. It would also be a medium of exchange in facilitating payments in Pan African Stock Exchange transactions, as well as transactions under the integrated Africa Stock Exchange Association listings. In any event, the positive psychological and inspirational value of Afri notes and travellers cheques as tangible evidence of the African Unions presence in the lives of the population should not be discounted. Unlike Europe, where individual countries tend to have their independent sense of historical greatness and esteemed sovereignty, often symbolized by monarchs, as well as great achievements in arts, politics, sciences and sports, modern African, while not altogether barren in these respects, could nonetheless do with psychological boosters, such as an Afri would provide.
The Pan African Economy

August 2002
ceptics laugh at the idea of African Union, pointing to the fact that Africa is made up of poor countries, plagued with political and economic problems that serve more to frustrate than afford progress. Statistically, Africa has a larger economy than India with threequarters its population. Continental GDP in 1998 was $541.64 billion, given a population of 747.5 million. India in 1997 had a GDP of $382 billion with a population of 984 million. In terms of Africa wealth distribution, the highest level of development is concentrated in the North, among Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Morocco. South Africa, with a GDP of $133 billion, has the continents largest economy, followed by Egypt with an $82 billion economy. The highest per capita incomes are enjoyed by Seychelles ($6,420) with only 80,000 inhabitants, oil exporting Gabon with about 1.3 million inhabitants ($4,120), South Africa ($3,310), diamond exporting Botswana with 1.5 million inhabitants ($3,070), Tunisia ($2,060), Namibia with less than 2 million inhabitants ($1,940), Algeria ($1,550), Morocco ($1,240) and Cape Verde ($1,200) with a population of 400,000. The significance of these figures in the context of the AUs challenges is somewhat limited. The major questions at this juncture concern possibilities for capital integration and sustained high rate growth that affects the bulk of the continents 800 million people. The late Boubakar Diaby Ouattara rationally observed, while Executive Secretary of the Washington based Global Coalition of Africa, that regional economic take-offs, as occurred in Southeast Asia, require a pacesetter. In the Pacific Rim that pacesetter was Japan. The question therefore arises, what will Africa do in the absence of a strong economy as the Japanese to pump in investments with a view to expanding smaller regional economies to the end of providing
stronger markets for its goods and capital? Ouattara had suggested that Africa optimally diversify its trade and capital connections and that was the essential purpose of his endeavors to build a Global Coalition for Africa. Prior to the Asian economic crisis of 1997, Malaysia was aggressively investing in Africa, becoming the second largest direct foreign investor in South Africa and the third largest in Ghana. Now, Sudan has become a major recipient of Malaysian, China, Korean and Turkish DFI. South Africa is becoming a major investor in Nigeria and is sharing technology with the most populous country in Africa with a view to helping modernize its infrastructure. Meanwhile, Chevron, one of the American oil majors and Royal Dutch Shell are investing in gas supply and power in West Africa. Thus, we can see Ouattaras theory of optimal diversification of trade and capital connections burgeoning in practice. In certain fields, like technology and financial services, South Africa is, more or less, at industrialized country standards. In fact, South Africas banking system is one of the best regulated and stable in the world. Also, South Africa has an appreciable overseas investment portfolio. SA is not in a position to play the strong role in Africa Japan played in the Pacific Rim, but in the context of globally diversified connections, it is at least an African Union leader with invaluable offerings for the rest of the continent. A fundamental purpose of NEPAD is to provide the infrastructure development and promote the political stability to enable the African Union states to optimally exploit the global networks for capital and trade. Based on the regional economic communities plans of action, NEPAD at the same time connects into the continental integration process. Hence, the AU strategy can be summed up as one of optimizing global trade and capital transactions with Africa, while integrating the continental economies to enlarge their scale and make them more attractive to capital and stronger positioned in international trade. Technical problems, such as the basis for an African Continental Currency and inter-state capital movement pose major challenges, along with the seemingly intractable political crises dotting the continent; but at least there is an identified strategy and a vision bold enough to inspire our imaginations and hopes.
Africas automobile industries need protection

Published in The Journalist International, November 20, 2002
erhaps the most interesting thing about the automobile industry is that it involves a broad range of crafts and technology. Automobile production is an art, from the overall product design conceptualization, the styling details, engineering of performance and road manners, design and engineering of passenger accommodations, upholstery and painting, wheels and lighting; it is an art that challenges the imaginations and talents of an array of professionals, so that not only is a product offered to society, the skills pool of society is greatly enriched by the automobile industry. The automobile carries each discipline to the highest level and this is one of the main reasons leading companies invest so much in racing cars; on the race track precision and perfection in design are essential to optimum high speed performance. If any developing country should venture to field its own brand in the automobile market, invariably it would either find its pool of technological skills rapidly improving or the car introduced will not survive very long. Although there is no original African car in the global automobile field, various models from other parts of the world are produced on the continent. South Africa manufactures over 30 different models, including Mercedes Benz, BMW and Honda; Egypt, Nigeria and Sudan assemble commercial transport vehicles as well as passenger saloons. In Nigeria, sub-contractors manufacture a considerable number of components locally, to the extent that Peugeot Automobiles Nigeria claims a 504, for example, is 60% locally made. Sudan's Giad Automotive Industry has the same plan. Mercedes buses assembled in Nigeria also enjoy ever increasing locally made parts contribution. Automobile industries in Africa have faced various obstacles to their development. Volkswagen Nigeria closed down in the early 1990s after the Babangida government decreed that domestic importers should no longer receive merchandise from abroad on credit. Although this decree was imposed in view of the high unpaid external debt of Nigerias private sector and the government argued
that the solution was to optimize local parts contributions, it did not allow for adjustment time and being unable to pre-finance production, the nations automobile plants were plunged into a survival crisis. Volkswagen, which was partly owned by the government, pleaded with the military authorities at every available public forum, as well as officially, to no avail and eventually the company collapsed altogether. The large country that Nigeria is, government was reluctant to reverse its policy to save the automobile industry for fear of opening a floodgate. Moreover, full privatization of the company was on the governments economic agenda and while there was no lack of sympathy and concern about Volkswagen, the company was ultimately left to become the first major casualty of tough economic and financial reform measures. Government had tried to alleviate the stress placed on importers of manufacturing and assembly inputs by completely removing excise taxes obligations from locally manufactured (or semi-manufactured) products except alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, but with the automobile industry already suffering from lack of protectionism, Volkswagens ailments were simply compounded beyond retrieve. In Egypt, the Ramses series, based on the Fiat 124 first introduced in the 1960s, enjoyed complete protection under the socialist regime of President Gamel Abdel Nasser. Virtually all taxis in Egypt were Ramses and with imports from the West limited in those days and no used car market to speak of, the Ramses at least had ideal market opportunities. The Ramses has survived into the 21st century and has moreover benefited from the longevity of Egypts steel industry. In both Nigeria and Egypt, and now in Sudan as well, locally assembled vehicles have enjoyed compulsory patronage from government. However, in Nigeria there have been squabbles between state governments and automobile companies over importation of trucks and buses the equivalent of which could have been procured from domestic factories. State governments began to argue that in a free market economy they were at liberty to purchase from wherever they got the best deal; the bus manufacturers countered that they had not even been requested to submit bids. Meanwhile, within the Federal Government, such issues get stuck in the unresolved internal debate over privatization and deregulation.
When the impact of years of subsidized prices and currency exchanges finally began wearing down African economies in the 1980s, manifold devaluation of African currencies could no longer be avoided. Francophone Africas CFA, for example, which had been guaranteed by the Bank of France at a fixed rate to the French franc, was taken off the open market whereby third parties could no longer exchange it in France; the French Central bank, which perforce played a major role in planning Francophone African economies, would thenceforth only conduct CFA franc exchange transactions with the African central banks. Eventually, in 1995, the CFA was devalued by 100%. The francophone market had only begun to absorb Nigeria made vehicles, because the Nigerian government in consideration of the foreign exchange rate subsidies to import the knock down parts did not permit official exports. However, Peugeots smuggled through the countries porous borders were steadily increasing in numbers on the roads from Benin Republic to Senegal. Devaluations consequent to subsidy factor removals invariably reduced the African consumers possibilities for purchasing locally made vehicles, which increased in prices in consonance with the exchange rate depreciations affecting local currencies. This situation led to flourishing of used goods in Africa, everything from clothes, to cars, tires, spare parts, trucks and buses. Suddenly a common mans vehicle like the Volkswagen Beetle [produced in Nigeria] became unaffordable for those whom previously constituted its targeted market. Erosion of purchasing power from legitimate incomes only increased corruption, as those in position to allot or control economic opportunities threw ethics aside and disregarded norms and laws in order to at least maintain the standard of living they had grown accustomed to. Eventually, a new mindset, cynical and altogether self-serving, set in among the civil service, security forces and political class. Worst of all, the new culture of unabashed graft has been carried into the multiparty elections dispensation. Business operators were invariably swept into the syndromes of contract inflation, selling favours and privileges and conducting illegal transactions. This meant that while the purchasing power of the middle class professionals, such as university lecturers, lawyers, doctors and accountants, severely diminished, a growing class of rich people emerged, who could afford to import the latest automotive creations from the Global North Lexus, Mercedes S
Class, Lincoln Continental and Navigator, Jaguar and what have we. Hence, the locally produced cars found patronage only among government, where it was no longer absolute as before, and a few patriotic citizens who appreciated the need to support domestic manufacturers in their purchasing habits. We had been suggesting that Nigeria, for example, offer shares in Peugeot Automobiles Nigeria (PAN) to other ECOWAS members, whereby in purchasing the government saloon cars from the Kaduna factory, the West African governments would also be earning dividends for themselves. However, instead, the newly elected government in Abuja became infatuated with the new Peugeot 607 and while the Kaduna factory was upgraded to produce the new 406 model, all top government officials, formerly obliged to ride the locally produced 504 and 505 models, began zooming around in the low slung 607 imported by PAN from France indeed it is a beauty. If we are to be strictly guided by national economic considerations, placing reason over our passions for aesthetic masterpieces produced elsewhere in the world, the only excuse one should have for not buying the locally produced automobile is that it is too expensive. Hence, any vehicle that is more expensive than the one produced domestically, in each category (saloon car, mini bus, long bus, truck, etc.) should not be allowed into the local market, even if it is used. If that regime sounds hard, it is nonetheless realistic in national economic interest terms. However, there is a way out through the African Economic Community and regional economic community provisions of the African Union. Virtually any vehicle that the African elite might crave is produced in South Africa. Granted, in Lagos, where auto dealers used to sell several Rolls Royce cars a week and people can be seen cruising around in Ferraris, the super-rich would have to restrict their tastes somewhat, but given the economic and technological development of Africa at this point, South Africas offerings are quite reasonable. Moreover, all the automobile manufacturers in South Africa are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), offering car importers throughout Africa an opportunity to hold equity in the companies from which they import vehicles. The treaty signed in Abuja during November 2000 integrating the stock listings of all members of the African Stock
Exchanges Association brings this opportunity to car dealers in all those countries with capital markets. By 2003, South African were well entrenched in the Nigeria market. Protectionism is absolutely necessary if Africas automobile industries are to grow instead of falter. However, the concept of goods from other Africa countries being foreign should be replaced by implementation of the objectives of the Africa Union, whereby the continent is looked at as a single market and external trade refers to deals with concerns outside the AU. Investors throughout Africa should be encouraged to buy shares in the continents listed automobile producers, so as to spread the vested interests. Re-tooling to produce models newly introduced by the brand owner abroad is becoming an ever-greater problem for African manufacturers in countries like Nigeria and Sudan. Sudans Giad Automotive Industry introduced a new four wheel drive low end luxury station wagon at the Khartoum International Fair in January 2003, called Mehera and based on Nissans Pathfinder. Meanwhile, Nissan has come out with a stunning new replacement for the Pathfinder, Murano. Nigeria was somehow wise to have gone in business with a conservative car company like Peugeot. Nigerians enjoyed the 504 model, which first appeared in the late 1960s, up until the new millennium when the 406 finally took over. With Asian manufacturers, which rely substantially on the annual model change conditioned United States market, African companies like Giad will find it difficult to keep pace. Offering outdated models makes it more arduous to impose protectionist policies, because by doing so the psychological dimension of retarding consumer taste and product experience growth is added to choice limitation. This problem can only be overcome with higher earnings enabling the African producers to invest in keeping pace with the global scene.
Ideology, Constitutional and Institutional Theory Operating System Designing as a Political Function
Introduction: Ideology and Culture
n approaching this compound subject, Ideology, Constitutional and Institutional Theory Operating System Designing as a Political Function, we need imprimis acknowledge the art/science duality of politics, because political theory depends on practice of the art for legitimization and is moreover developed from the study of political practice. Hence, the intricacies of political science, as an intellectual exchange between actors and theorists, are invariably culture specific. The political challenge in contemporary Africa essentially involves upgrading the standard of governance to the ends of stability, social development and vastly improved geo-strategic positioning, whereby we are steadily moving from the periphery to the core of the global power complex. However, the compound force of idiosyncratic syndromes' gravity, in which our politicians are typically and variously subsumed, is in itself a tremendous challenge that all too often defies any progressive suggestions. During 1981, Samuel K. Doe, then Master Sergeant and a 29 year old semi-literate but cunning ruling junta leader, inaugurated a constitutional drafting commission chaired by Professor Amos Sawyer, dean of the Liberal Arts College at the University of Liberia, and composed of the best academic, political and legal minds Liberia possessed. They, in one year's work, did a marvelous job. To secure the independence of the judiciary they prescribed a judicial review committee to confirm presidential nominees for the bench. To protect the rights of citizens against abuse by public office holders an
ombudsman was prescribed. The president was limited to two four years terms, with stipulation that this article could never, under any circumstances, be amended. To decisively separate religion and state the draft constitution ruled out clergymen holding political office. Against a historical background wherein the republics first president, Joseph Jenkins Roberts appointed his losing opponent in the 1846 election Supreme Court Chief Justice, an ethical and gentlemanly multiparty political culture with an independent election commission was unambiguously elaborated. After receiving the draft constitution with expressions of profound appreciation, Head of State Doe saw that a constituent assembly was popularly elected to write the final version. The field of candidates in most constituencies included surviving politicians from the overthrown True Whig Party order and they, by popular preference, ended up dominating the constituent assembly. Why would the people vote back into office personalities of the ignominiously dethroned order? Because the deposed one party, oligarchic order thrived on the sons of prominent households and Liberians typically reason that the devil you know is better than the one you dont know. The chairman was a former cabinet minister from the old order, holder of a Manchester University doctorate degree in international relations, who made such provocatively critical remarks at the inaugural working session that public outcry caused him to immediately lose his job. However, he was replaced by one of Doe's kinsmen, a veteran academic turned politician who was one of the new breed oligarchs. We were watching a cunning game of musical chairs, in which the ambitious first chairman, who was ethnically and politically remote from the junta's cabal, had played unwittingly into the premeditated trap for him to stumble from grace. The splendid draft produced by the illustrious Sawyer Commission was no doubt doomed even before the constituent assembly's first sitting. In fact, when the new constituent assembly chairman opened the first session under his stewardship by proposing that the entire draft be thrown out, every intelligent observer in the world assumed he had been commissioned by the junta to sabotage the whole exercise in order to prolong military rule. By the end of the constituent assembly's obtuse surgical operation, the judicial review commission was thrown out
along with the stipulation permanently fixing an 8 year limitation on holding the presidency; two six year terms was the limit prescribed for presidents and extension by amendment not ruled out. The Ombudsman was scrapped along with every other democracy enriching provision. Even the provision prohibiting clergymen from holding political office was omitted, despite Liberia's long experience with an unholy church-oligarchy alliance. Actually the cabal was astutely far-sighted its own sinister interest. Samuel Doe ended up president, having been declared winner of the four party contest by an election commission he had appointed. Indeed, there was glaring evidence of fraud, such as photographs published in the daily newspapers of truck loads of ballot boxes being dumped in swamps. The two most popular politicians, Prof. Amos Sawyer, whose vanguard Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA) was stacked with intellectual heavyweights, and the ruling junta's former foreign minister, Gabriel Bacchus Mathews, were banned by Doe under accusation that they were socialists. The political mess that ensued ended some ten years after the blood bath attending the soldiers of fortune's rise to power, with President Doe dismembered at the hands of a savage Libyan sponsored insurgency but not before he had outraged the Baptist congregation of the late Tolbert he had slain by joining them, as well as the diabolical old order secret cults he had banned upon seizing power on April 12, 1980. Liberia, which became a sovereign republic in 1847has since descended into a flashpoint in devastation. What is the implication of an African republic established in 1847 finding itself one of the poorest, most unstable and least developed countries in the world at the end of the 20th century? Apart from the very obvious fact that Liberias political stability has fluctuated with its economic fortunes and the era of tumult coincided with decline of the iron ore mining industry, whereas during its brightest years this country of less than 3 million people had been the worlds largest iron ore and natural rubber exporter; Liberia has also suffered from its smallness of scale, which invariably resulted in its talented citizens converging in oligarchy and moreover dividing their interests between the country and the outside world, meaning that the talent growth of Liberias elite was attended by increasing and rather complex conflicts of interests. Hence, ultimately those conflicts, with more than a little
help from Washington, which resented the domestically vulnerable Tolberts independence in international affairs, manifest violently, igniting a cycle of revenge and gun toting adventurism. Limited political enlightenment, as attested to by the way the Sawyer Commissions draft constitution was disregarded, has also been a prominent factor in Liberias ill fate; and this has been quite typical of post-colonial Africa to date. Constitution inadequacy, one of the consequences of limited political enlightenment, has made military intervention not only convenient but habitual; thus, the continued dominance of African politics by soldiers of fortune and other manner of opportunists has frustrated altruists, progressives and visionaries, dimming our view of the future. As much as constitutional inadequacy has been a major factor in republic era Africa political failures, the other half of the problem is a compound of complex civil society, political culture and economic management difficulties, with limited scale opportunity scope generally aggravating volatile situations. Foreign intervention rarely helps, to say the least. African visionaries under these circumstances must be methodical, strategically astute, patient and persistent; otherwise they will end frustrated out of their wits. To be effective, the visionary political scientists/theorists in Africa must remain a perennial student, keen observer of the realpolitik, and a pragmatic, influential, plotter towards the higher vision. Aristotle called politics the master art, citing that its influences pervade every aspect of societal life. Politics has been described as the art of the possible, which could either mean accurately determining what can realistically be done or achieved; or what the factor manipulation artist can ultimately manage to do with power of mind and will. The quality of the art depends on a mixture of factors: the general complexity level of contemporary issues, political awareness and issues comprehension level characterizing the public, sophistication of political actors, statutory accountability and transparency standards and judicial recourse standards are principal determinants. In Africa, issues have always been very complex, as was seen in the ideological debates between Nkrumah, Tubman and HouphoutBoigny, but low political awareness has meant a high level of popular
ignorance with respect to the objective array and depth of issues, breeding a simplistic political concern and action culture that often accommodates semi-literates in leadership and legislative positions. Moreover, the sophistication gap between men like Nkrumah and Houphout and the bulk of the political class in their era occasioned dictatorship. In Nigeria's First Republic the political class was fairly well stacked with sophisticated personalities, but Britain's either careless or inept role in the constitution conceptualization exercises handicapped the country with inadequate constitutional arrangements that occasioned political regression rather than higher maturation. Leaving Nigeria without strong state institutions to preside over the intensely competitive partisanship, in which government was systematically submersed, led to institution enervating ruthlessness and corruption. Ghana too suffered from lack of strong state institutions, distinct from governing institutions. In fact, as much as simplistic political awareness was a common liability attending potcolonial republics, constitutional inadequacy militated against growth in political maturity and left the doors open for military coups. In search of constitutional adequacy, post colonial African polities have been undertaking second, third and more constitutional revision exercises; Nigeria, since beginning constitution writing in preparation for independence has undertaken no less than 6 constitution development projects and is likely to have more in the coming decades. Falling under colonial rule with no experience in republic governance and emerging with tenuous exposure obtained in the final years of primordial colonialism, African polities have had assorted experiences with foreign constitutional and governing system models, as well as ideologies, and this is reflected in the political variety in the continent today. The Marxists rationalized dictatorship of the proletariat as the purest form of democracy because it optimized economic equality, in accordance with the classical definition of democracy as rule by the plebeians, has strongly influenced political thought and system development in Angola, ruled since independence in 1975 by the fundamentally Marxist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Mozambique's long ruling FROLIMO at independence in 1975 adopted a Marxist-Leninist constitution, instituting single party rule and state control of the economy.
Ironically, the so called 'Free World", represented by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members, supported Portuguese colonialism and the remaining bastions of white racism in South Africa and Rhodesia, while the Communist world supported African liberation in these territories. With support from the NATO camp South Africa and Rhodesia, following Mozambique's independence, supported an anti-Marxist guerilla movement that apart from engaging the country's army concentrated on destroying the new governments infrastructure, education and other development efforts. Namibias liberation from South Africa was long frustrated by the NATO camp owing to Cuban support for Sam Nujomas South West Africa Peoples Organization. The late Dr. Jonas Savimbis UNITA was the NATO agent in Southern Angola, fighting both MPLA and SWAPO. The leader of Guinea Bissau's PAIGC, Amilcar Cabral, was assassinated in Conakry by imperialist agents following a failed imperialist sponsored mercenary invasion of Skou Tour's Guinea, the main support base of the struggle against Portuguese colonialism in West Africa. Nowhere had Africans received independence on a silver platter; despite their sacrifices for the colonial powers during World War II, everywhere Africans had to struggle for freedom from suppression by the Free World. Worst of all, colonial regimes, particularly those of the Latin powers, were typically treacherous and brutal in perpetuating their self-serving injustices in Africa. This is not to erroneously suggest that colonial administration was uniformly harsh; there was appreciable difference between corralling Africans in reservations in Zimbabwe and Lugard's Community of Interest policy pursued in co-opting the Fulani aristocracy in the conquered Sokoto Caliphate; but Northern Nigeria, which the caliphate became subsequent to British conquest, has not yet fully recovered from the comprador syndrome. While insistent on open African doors to its economic interests, the NATO camp showed no inclination to promote liberal democracy in Africa. Up until the end of the Cold War, totalitarian rule was the norm in Africa, generally encouraged by both Eastern and Western North Atlantic blocs. However, in all fairness, the socialist and Marxist oriented regimes in Africa were significantly more concerned with political consciousness development and popular empowerment, though within the context of the Leninist one party, state controlled
economy paradigm, than the westward looking regimes. Congo Brazzaville, which was the only unambiguously declared Communist state in Africa during the Congolese Workers Party era, saw its fortunes dramatically decline after abandoning Marxism. It the early 1970s Cong-Brazzaville, with a population of about one million enjoyed 99% literacy, a remarkable reading culture among its youth and a politically aware and active population. Marxist ideology had for all intents and purposes neutralized ethnocentrism. In the post Communist era, by the mid 1990s, illiteracy had consumed almost half the population and rival ethnic militias turned the country into a miserable battleground. Many countries, in both Africa and Europe, appeared to slip into an ideological vacuum in the post Marxist era, which was often tragically filled by rabid ethnocentrism. The parts that resulted from disintegration of the former Yugoslavia constitute the most salient case in point, but Brazzaville notably has slide backwards from a model African polity, in which errant leaders had been removed through mass strikes and demonstrations representing the of society organized sections, particularly the youth and labour unions, to one of the ethnically polarized flashpoints. The circumstances prevailing during the post-colonial period, up to the end of the last century, wherein ideological clarity and certainty had not been realized, and the major powers tutoring the rest of the world in politics were themselves being propelled into untried social, political and economic reforms by domestic democratic forces, occasioned stunted constitutional and institutional development in Africa. Consequently, conservative political thinking, fueled by the patronage systems and nouveau-riche syndrome, precluded serious constitutional review; moreover, we must admit that it took several decades of post-colonial African political experience for our academics to have a rich library of history to inform bright new ideas. South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) had close ties with the Soviet Union and South African Communist Party during its years of struggle against apartheid and has in the post-communist era, when it first had the opportunity to govern, worked on synthesizing the centralist state structure ideology usually identified with Marxism with free market capitalism and a social democratic income distribution philosophy. Nevertheless, under its provincial, rather than federalist states, structure South Africa was revealed by a World Bank
survey to lead the continent in decentralization and popular empowerment. South Africa's nine Provincial Assemblies are elected by proportional representation, whereby each assembly elects a provincial premier. Agriculture, education, housing, police (in part), tourism, regional planning, urban and rural development and welfare services are joint provincial-national domains; whereas provinces exercise exclusive control over culture, sports, recreation and various planning. Viewed against the historical backdrop of the apartheid regimes promotion of ethnocentrism and creation of independent Black tribal homelands, and given the commendable degree of local empowerment attained, we can see ANCs rejection of cooperative federalism in the interest of nationalist consciousness development, rather than a manifestation of Marxist centralism. Though the ANC's taking up the reins of governance in 1994 represented the end to the struggle against racist suppression in Africa, perhaps no other African political party had such a rich practical and intellectual experience as this durable one founded in 1912. During its years of struggle against the most inhumane systematic oppression on earth, ANC officials traveled throughout the world, interacted and collaborated with all manner of people, attended and taught in leading universities, and spent many years contemplating while in prison. This wealth of experience perhaps singularly prepared the ANC for the creative demands of governing post-apartheid South Africa. Marxist influences also pervaded the leading liberation movements in Zimbabwe ZANU and ZAPU, the former supported by Mao's China, the latter by the defunct Soviet Union. Although Zimbabwe attained independence with a democratic constitution mediated in London between the freedom fighters and Ian Smith's white supremacist clique, a mixture of Marxist totalitarian influences, politicization of economic opportunities and lingering modes of the repressive white administration subsequently nurtured oligarchy. Zimbabwe's freedom fighters lacked the long experience and wide exposure of their ANC counterparts and this is obvious from the prevailing denigrated approach to governance. Major constitutional amendments have not been groundbreaking; to wit, establishing a unicameral legislature and election of president by popular vote, instead of the majority party leader assuming the office.
Western liberal democracy, which tends to favor the bourgeoisie, was encouraged in Africa by the NATO camp and Western media in the wake of the Cold War; but ironically, again, Bretton Woods institution economic bailout programs to curb balance of payments deficits and stabilize African currencies involved dramatic shift from subsidy driven to market driven economies that tended to deflate Africa's burgeoning middle class. While military dictatorships and one party rule flourished in post-colonial Africa, the individual wealth accumulation aspect of capitalist economic philosophy hardly missed a corner in the continent. The patronage culture attending regimes, whether reputed to be socialist or capitalist, occasioned a plethora of unproductive spending that drove the continent into an economic rut aggravated by alarming capital flight. Only Guinea's late President Ahmed Skou Tour and Tanzania's late President Julius Nyerere were truly committed socialist who after having ruled for more than two decades left office more or less as poor as they entered. Both Tour and Nyerere were prolific ideological writers in the socialist vein; both maintained one party systems and Marxist influenced state institutional structures. Tanzania under Nyerere was closely aligned to Mao's China, which stoically assisted the critically underdeveloped country in its infancy. However, Nyerere and Tour were politically cosmopolitan, dealing freely with the Americans, Scandinavians, Chinese, Russians and Cubans, quite in line with the Non-Aligned Movement they helped found. Tour's government throughout his 26 year rule of Guinea mixed Marxist, Islamist and Ba'athist features. Nyerere was a prominent member of the Socialist International, which included Western Europe's Social Democrats. Both Nyerere and Tour relaxed their orthodox socialist economic regimes near the end of their reigns. However, while with encouragement from a retired Nyerere Tanzania was able to develop a functional democratic culture; Guinea, abandoned to soldiers of fortune upon Skou's sudden death in 1984, has become one of the counterfeit democracies wherein the military usurper manages to get perpetually elected as a civilian. The question of whether Africans are capable of practicing Democracy has been raised in political debates. Kenyas liberation leader and first president Jomo Kenyatta, in his classic Facing Mount Kenya (1938) anthropological treatise on the Kikiyu nation to which
he belonged, presented a picture of pre-colonial African society as orderly, respectful and inherently democratic. Actually, Africa has historically been a continent of striking sociopolitical character variety; but this is perhaps true all over the world. However, it is no secret, as Kenyatta pointed out in his book that colonialism imposed totalitarian, unjust and cruel rule and leadership values on the African psyche. In the mid 19th century, for example, Liberia had a rather gentlemanly and principled democratic culture in which presidents were first limited to two-two year and then two-four year terms, producing 10 different presidents through democratic process between 1847 and centurys end. Although President E, J. Roye in the 1870s had to be forcefully removed from Monrovias Executive Mansion after refusing to vacate at the expiration of his mandate and his True Whig Party dominated Liberian politics throughout the first three quarters of the 20th century, Liberia continued this systematic democracy until the end of the Second World War. We are not forgetting the problem of settler rule and dominance here; the psychological and cultural gaps between the settlers and indigenes had made national integration difficult and President Colemans determined attempt in the 1890s to include the latter in the republican setup proved so disruptive Liberias Congress compelled him to resign; nonetheless, the point here for illustration is that Africans are not hopelessly indisposed to democratic governance as some of our people and cynical outsiders argue. The rowdy furniture throwing and fisticuffs that occurred in Nigerias Western Region Assembly during the early 1960s and the numerous other episodes of fighting and pistol brandishing in Nigerias state assemblies are indeed manifestations of political immaturity, but do not confirm Africans entirely and forever incapable of political behaviour and realization growth. The problem is that progressive constitutional and institutional concept and operational development require intellectual and emotional disposition to dialectical political culture. Iran, offering a theocratic democracy in which the popular will and pleasure are systematically restrained by reference to Islamic theocratic texts, inspired movements in Sudan, Nigeria, and Algeria demanding Islamic republicanism. In Algeria, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in 1990 swept municipal and provincial elections throughout the country and in 1992, after winning the first round of
parliamentary elections the party's second in command told the world democracy was atheism. In other words, they construed their democratically facilitated victory as a vote in favour of democracy's abolition. The primeval profile of the FIS alarmed Algeria's political mainstream, elections were cancelled and the presiding president abdicated in favour of a steel force ruling High Council of State, whose brutal president Mohammed Boudaif was assassinated via a bullet in the back of his head from the pistol of a bodyguard. The stiff resistance to the Islamic revolution and placing in abeyance the democratic processes provoked anarchy, resulting in destabilizing terrorism that has not since relented. Former President Ahmed Ben Bella had remarked in an interview with the magazine Jeune Afrique concerning the FIS phenomenon some months prior to the January 1991 elections that the country indeed needed moral reform, especially in political circles, but the Abbass Madani led Islamic Salvation Front was too primeval for the appropriate task of synthesizing moral redemption with continued modernization. Sudans National Islamic Front collaborated with the military in overthrowing a democratically elected government, instituting in 1989 a self-styled National Salvation Revolution; but in a rather oligarchic, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-Islamic sect country, the long-term result has been an Arabist military dictatorship, in a country that is the cradle of the essential African heritage, with superficial democratic trappings and an upstart crop of oligarchs. Sudan has only enjoyed ten years (1973-1983) without civil war since becoming independent in 1956, to date (2005). Reactionary political behavior, shallow and subjective political planning, conflict between nationalism, on the one hand, and religiosity and Arabism, on the other, has made Sudan, in the analysis of former Prime Minister Sadiq Al Mahdi, overthrown by General Al Bashir1989, "almost a protectorate" of the United Nations. The 2005 Interim National Constitution provides for a multiparty government in which the ruling National Congress Party takes 52% of the posts, diving the rest among w very wide political field. All seats in the National Assembly, as well as gubernatorial posts, are filled by party appointment rather than popular suffrage. The main hope of the country at this stage are the elections scheduled for 2008. This retrogressive state of affairs is in sharp contrast to Iran, which has proved to be a functional, if naturally imperfect, theocratic
democracy, changing presidents constitutionally four times since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. The political field in Iran is quite broad and the Islamic Republics constitution requires progressive transparency and accountability measures, also stipulating that all sessions the countrys National Assembly be televised. Public access to information concerning government operations is fairly open. Although Iran's constitution has been much criticized, and probably not well understood, by the Americans, its possess such utile innovations as clear distinctions between governing and state institutions, an ombudsman to seek legal redress against the government or its officials on behalf of citizens, a state inspectorate to monitor the performance of government and a judiciary clearly established as a state institution, over which government has no jurisdiction. The state is headed by a leader representing the apolitical, popularly elected Assembly of Experts, as a state foundation institution, and the government by a president. The head of state has authority over the armed forces and judicial appointments; thus state institutions are tangibly non-partisan, while government results from competition for a popular mandate, though there are officially no political parties. The role in screening candidates designated to the Guardian Council, a panel of legal experts, which is constitutionally mandated to advice Parliament on Sharia compliancy of legislation under consideration, has been a point of controversy domestically and internationally; however this is a matter that can be appropriately addressed by a constitutional amendment. No doubt the litmus test of any constitution is its ability to provide popular and stable government. In a country with numerous and in some instances sharply polarized political factions, Iran has since the death of Ayatollah Khomeini maintained a stable constitutional democracy, with hot contested elections and comparatively good voter turnout in the context of international levels. This is an indication that the system is well designed in terms of opportunities for popular democratic expression and tensility. What makes the Iranian Islamic state project more sophisticated than Islamic governance elsewhere? It no doubt has little or nothing to do with the Shiite factor, as opposed to Sunni Islam. This is not the place to go into theological debate between the two schools, but in
summary my personal view is that Shiism, apart from being an identity the Persians assumed finding themselves on the losing side of the philosophically minded Ali ibn Abu Mutallib in his conflict with the canny Ummayyid leader, Muwayyia ibn Abu Sufan, is a liability to the Persian intellect, which has been philosophically informed since ancient times. Apart from the Shiite dogma, which is essentially mystical and dynastic in favour of the descendants of Ali ibn Abu Mutallib and Prophet Muhammeds daughter Fatima, Irans constitution is based on the logic of the state as the land and people and institutions to protect their sanctity, while the governments purpose is to organize social, economic and political affairs for continual progress. The various articles of the Iranian constitution syllogistically relate to this premise, relying on the orderly and moralistic implications of Islamic monotheism as active guiding principle throughout. The ideological faults in the system no doubt derive from occasions of excessive deference to legalism as opposed to philosophy. Orthodox Sunni Islam, dominated by Arab scholarship, is pedantically legalistic and philosophy in the scholarly Sunni milieus is generally regarded as inherently heretical. If Sudans Islamic Revolution has failed politically for its negation of the multifarious religious and ethnic character of the African polity, Sheikh Hassan Al Turabis astute mediation between Islamic moralism and modern sociological realizations has made Sudan a pace setter in the Islamic world as a social model, the countrys severe poverty not withstanding. Females are now predominant on the university campuses, all of which are co-educational, while moral consciousness is theoretically incorporated into the academic process and has traditionally been central to family culture. Looking at the documented intellectual content of Sudans Islamic revolution and considering the philosophical and constitutional law content of Dr. Turabis post-graduate education in Europe, Sudan has at least in the sociological sphere been a beneficiary of philosophical contextualization of Islam. Philosophical contextualization of Islam was no doubt possible in Sudan, whereas it unimaginable in Saudi Arabia, owing to the pervasive Sufi [introspective] Islamic culture in Sudan, which has in fact produced a number of philosophy professors. Generally, I think that philosophy study is essential to intellectual development in Africa, and hence to optimum human potential
realization. Study of philosophy and history opens us up to the full range of human ideas and experience and accustom us to sophisticated reasoning as well as debating. Africa has unfortunately not reached the stage where ideas and books plays as important part in our lives and cultures as they do in Europe and the United States. It would even appear that the political influence of books has decreased in Africa, as the current generation of politicians and leaders hardly provide the intellectual output of the freedom fighter generation. Kenyatta, Nyerere, Senghor, Neto, Tour, Nkrumah, Kaunda, Nassar, all were published authors; Skou Tour, in fact, had 27 published volumes to his credit. Only Nigerias President Olusegun Obasanjo is a renowned author among contemporary African political leaders. Decentralization in law making under Nigerias federal constitution enabled popular will in most of the Northern states to elect Sharia advocates, who passed schedules of laws identified as Islamic. The laws and their sponsors are under the system subject to removal by the same popular will that empowered them. People should not be deprived of the social right to legally impose their cherished values on their provincial, state or local environments through democratic process, but I doubt that orthodox Sunni Islam legalism can serve the social development interests of modern Africa. The world has grown too sophisticated for that simplistic approach; people are today visioning social models, studying the sociological, psychological, intellectual, moral and psychic variables attending humanity; the relevance of doctrinal religion, I believe, has expired; relevant to our age are ontological and cosmological philosophy, embodying breadth and depth of logical implications. As for Islam, I dont believe that the concept of harmonious interactive life between people constituting the world in recognition of the Absoluteness of God was ever meant to be appropriated by certain ethic groups to their own realm and given sectarian personality. Quite to the contrary, I see this concept of harmonious interactive life for humans as a universal proposition and the reality of Absolute God as mathematically and scientifically ineluctable. The Quran is telling us that God is the essential reality, that virtue and morality are wise pursuits in human potential fulfillment, giving us an array of reverential practices for personal character or psychic development,
but flatly tells the world that there is no compulsion in any of this, nor does it represent sectarianism. Hence, I think that we are meant to live Islam as a fulfilling way of life, interacting with harmonious and kind intent towards all humanity, not make it a sectarian phenomenon, as it has unfortunately been commonly represented. Sharia, perhaps many of us know, simply means the path, the road or [these days] the street; or as the Quran specifically says, the high road. It is a philosophical concept indicating the choice direction in life; therefore, individual character and social culture are the building blocks of Sharia, while the intent of laws in this philosophical context is protection of the high road social culture. For example, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement did not finally agree to the continuation of the ban on alcoholic beverages in Khartoum in capitulation to the so-called Islamists; they knew that the countrys capital was one of the safest and most civil in Africa, apart from their concerns about the destructiveness of alcoholism in Southern society. SPLMs leadership in fact saw it in their peoples interest to keep them away from alcohol and began warning those brewing local liquor that they should in the community interest desist and find more socially constructive enterprises. Moral and ethical elevation of human conscience, pursuit of an optimally perfected human character and society, goodwill, high sense of human value and realization of the Perfect Absolute are universal virtues that it would be naive to try and sectarianize. In search of a durable and reliable ideology to fill the prevailing vacuum in African political consciousness and state motivational philosophy, let us focus on the object and usufructuary; to wit, ourselves. What are we? We are creatures of untold potential, innately conscious of good being preferable to bad. This implies our raison dtre is development of the potential within ourselves in harmony with that of our global environment to optimum good. There is no more appropriate title for this ideological philosophy than Humanism. Humanism has been defined as belief in a human based morality; a system of thought based on the values, characteristics and behavior that reflect the best in human interaction potential. However, Humanism was in the European Renaissance era commonly interpreted as antithetical to theism. Logically, if God is really God, with all infinite loftiness the term implies, there could actually be no
difference between humanism and theisms implications for us. All major religions have now evolved modern schools of thought reconciling humanism and theology. In Africa, there may be differences in levels of enlightenment between different schools of thought within a particular religious denomination, but seen in the best light our major creeds are not in contradiction with humanism. Of the two faiths of most concern to us in Africa, Christianity is in its best contemporary interpretations synonymous with humanism; Islam, as I understand it, is humanism, and humanism is Islam. Humanism implies popular empowerment as a fundamental condition of legitimacy for the state and government; and we should not in Africa imagine popular empowerment to be a radical step towards anarchy owing to deficient political economy cognition pervading the multitudes; on the contrary, popular empowerment begins with cognition as a basis of human potential development. Up until Samuel Doe slashed down Liberias True Whig Party order in April 1980, there had been a $25,000 property ownership voter registration requirement. President Tolbert naively responded to popular demand for removal of this throwback to feudalism with the excuse that the property clause was there to protect the state from irresponsible people being voted into power by the poor and uneducated masses. I dont know whether it ever occurred to the proponents of the property clause that it implied the poor masses were not just second class citizens legally, but moreover hostages morally; whatever the case, Tolbert's friends, neighbouring Cte d'Ivoire's Houphout and Guinea's Skou Tour had advised him that the property clause was morally obnoxious and politically perilous and indeed it was a major factor in the opposition to True Whig Party rule that culminated in the April 12, 1980 nocturnal bloodbath. Skou expressed the appropriate ideological picture for modern Africa in his classic proclamation: "The people are at once the object and instrument of the revolution." Being democratic has become virtually a universal ideal, but concepts of democracy significantly vary. Former Commonwealth Secretary General Emeka Nyankou once remarked in a lecture at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs that he did not consider such systems as that of the Democratic Centralism in the Peoples Republic of China veritable democracy. Libyas Qaddafi, on the other hand, in
advocating his Popular Congress system slams representative democracy as usurpation of the peoples power by representative who are apt to become self serving. During the early 1990s, TIME magazine sought to find our why Cubans were not revolting against Castros Communism and reported workers saying they would never again allow capitalism in Cuba, citing cradle to grave free health care, universal free education through university level, 100% employment and social and economic equity. As Qaddafi points out in his Green Book, how to best achieve democracy is the central political ideology question of our times. Objectively, and for analytical purposes, we might therefore venture classification of democracies into several sorts. It may be argued that Western bourgeois democracy becomes increasingly popular as an ever greater portion of the populations attain middle class income and social status; but decreasing voter turnout percentages might suggests that the central matter concerning the genuineness of Western democracy is not necessarily the widespread of middle class income and social status. In the United States voter apathy is no doubt in considerable measure related to the persistently widening power and influence gap between the middle class and the rich along with the powerful. As the neo-con phenomenon characterizing the Bush administration has shown, any politician who can perform the hat trick of combining popular appeal with patrician values, proudly extended into international relations, can mobilize the zealous minority at election time and maintain approving opinion pole ratings if given the historical opportunity to flaunt their hubristic patriotism in an atmosphere of anxiety about national security. Considering the obvious features of American democracy, it appears to be somewhat of an oligarchic-democracy at this point. While the Democrats, whose platforms continue to reflect a sense of ideological indebtedness to the Roosevelt New Deal legacy, are seen to lean more towards the Social Democracy [third way between capitalism and Communism] that has been one of the two major ideological forces in post World War II Europe, in actual practice America has advanced too far in the direction of plutocracy for retrieval by the conventionalist forces. No doubt, America needs a democratic revolution, but the poor presidential election turnout in favour of Ralph Nader, the man who has singularly done the most to advance
consumer and public safety rights in the U.S.A. , signals that either the revolution will have to grow up within one or both of the two domineering parties Democratic or Republican, or it will take at least a few more elections and administrations for these old parties to have left the majority of the people of the United States convinced that they have actually become dinosaurs. Perhaps part of the problem was that Nader is a muckraker without the Teddy Roosevelt rough- rider image required to compete with gunslinger Bush and the Democrats Abe Lincoln stature war hero. American politics is essentially an art/science of highly sophisticated balancing with tilts in an administrations favoured directions, whether big business and the Christian Coalition typically the constituencies of the Republicans, or organized labour and homosexuals in the Democrats camp, etcetera, etcetera. During the Clinton era, Charles Krauthammer complained in a TIME essay that anyone seen as particularly religious was regarded by the Administration as unsuitable for a top Washington job. After 8 years of the Democrats amoral liberalism, the Republicans stepped in for an 8 year stint with the Christian Coalition, Likud associates and big business lobby informing most of the ideological script. The human development debate has meanwhile been enriched with compassionate conservatism, epitomized, in this authors mind, by Mr. Bushs no child left behind proposition. The picture we here get is that Republican standard bearer George W. Bush envisages Americas economy in the coming years offering adequate opportunities for the nations population and everyone should have a fair chance at a decent job. Americas fairly open field for individual potential realization has resulted in great technological breakthroughs, in hardware and software that have accelerated national income growth to the extent that arrival at an epoch without a miserable underclass is by the optimist perceived on the horizon. There are yet great wealth disparities in America and some states are not doing so well compared to others, and not everyone believes this vision of America with a full potential realized population is worth banking on. Many Nigerians find the American system attractive. It was just a matter of time, from independence in 1960 to the constitution of 1979 that Nigeria replaced the British inherited Parliamentary system, with
government headed by a Prime Minister and a largely ceremonial head of state president, with the American presidential and federal model. Nigerians also naturally inclined to the American political creed of democratic pluralism, implying systematic ethnic and regional competition manifest as centrifugal forces. In American conservative democratic pluralist logic has meant that communities paying higher taxes receive proportionately greater public investment, meaning superior public services and infrastructure. This policy logic has particularly worked against African American communities, relegated to an internally generating cycle of poverty consequent to governmental neglect of a people with a heritage in chattel slavery and subsequent disadvantage perpetuated by racism and inadequacy of centrifugal force in the democratic pluralism setup. Nigerians belonging to the more dynamic ethnic communities and regions tend to share this conservative view of democratic pluralism, arguing against affirmative action to facilitate accelerated progress for educationally backwards communities and lobbying, even suing in court for greater control over their resources and generated income. However, irrespective of the side one takes in the national debates on affirmative action and resource control, most Nigerians, ethnically polarized as the country continues to be, appear to find democratic pluralism, with its competitive exercise of centrifugal force, natural. Each ethnic bloc is ardently determined to outdo the others and no one is inclined to lay down and cry for less Darwinian rules of the game they may cry for it standing proud however. The problems is that pride and acquisition inspired dogged competitiveness has proven ethically and morally un-guidable; hence Nigerian politics is prone to brutal ruthlessness. Acquisition obsession is nonetheless principal devil. The untamed competitiveness of Nigerians in fact defers only casually and expediently to ethnic allegiance. In retrospect it appears that there was nothing ambitious Nigerians most wanted from the colonialists than knowledge of accountancy; today business savvy is pervasive and while there are still ethnic mafias in certain fields of commerce, it is a widely held opinion in elite circles that multiple ethnic business alliances keep this otherwise ethnocentric country from scattering. The typical Nigerian character is too strong for any democratically competitive political party to adopt a consensus in favour of policies
to restrict independent development and potential realization pursuit. The problem of upholding to logical apex an ideology of humanism in Nigeria therefore lies in the un-guidable, untamable dynamics of the Nigerias raw ambition. Inter-ethnic marriages among Nigerias elite predate colonial conquest and amalgamation and have been occurring in modern time since the earliest days of independence; also, ethnic migration throughout the country has long been a prominent feature of Nigerias demography. Eventually, the low keyed advocacy for abolition of the indigene convention that effectively makes one, as a popular Nigerian female singer lyrically put it, a legal alien in his or her own country will gain force until full political rights in a state or local government are attained by residence. Whenever this might come about we could probably expect it to lead to some taming impact on the centrifugal forces, which currently are excessively fueled with ethnocentrism. Approximately 1 out of every 5 Africans is a Nigeria and Nigerians are conspicuously present everywhere on the continent, from South Africa to Egypt, from Kenya to Senegal; so we cannot imagine the intra-continental migration opportunities offered by African integration protocols alleviating Nigerias population density, which is no doubt a natural cause of the hardened, frequently desperate, individualism that defies ethical and moral regulation. However, Nigerians appear to be among the most religious and family life oriented people on earth; and no doubt it is this pervasive attachment to religion, or at least faith in God, that numerically and socially marginalizes those who are actually desperate and affords this 356,669 square mile country of 135 million people a prevailing congenial [if in instances somewhat rough] humanistic character. I remember in the mid 1970s, I was in an ECOWAS sponsored French course at Benin University in the Togolese capital, Lom, with a few hundred young Nigerian soldiers. They were generally a very friendly, jovial and interesting lot; but I still distinctively recall that in the Nigerian military an object is never passed from one soldier to another hand to hand, it is swiftly tossed and expected to be caught. A casual friend meets you on a busy street in Abuja in the late afternoon and invites you to the ministry she works to get a contract. Upon arrival the following morning, one finds himself being appropriately and respectfully connected until at the point of finally
receiving the supply contract you are told how much to charge and that 75% of the invoice amount, which has been inflated by 300%, is retained by your friendly patrons. Nigeria is wonderful but impossible. Really, that is to say it is an extremely complex and awesome social capital development and good governance challenge. Nigerias patronage humanism is African culture rooted, but owing to the fated distance between the natural Nigerian big heart and the systems capacity to make everyone smile, the system is typically regarded as an assimilated alien formality. Dont talk too much grammar means lets not waste our time with pretentious deference to the culturally alien rules and regulations. Wheres my cold water? This question commonly heard throughout West Africa is a reminder that the person behind the counter who has just served you on behalf of government is thirsty in the tropical heat and naturally requires perks that the poorly paying employing state does not provide. In our context it would be inhumane not to reach in your pocket and tip; even impudent of you waiting to be asked. Is it corruption or simply human appreciation? And what if you really dont have anything extra to give? You humbly apologize and in normative situations are politely forgiven. One shouldnt swear by stories read in Nigerias literarily smart and entertaining news magazines, but at least they are usually plausible. One told of the late General Sani Abachas finance minister approaching him in confidence with the sad words he had personal problems. Whats that?, the general asked. Im broke, the minister penitently replied. Whereupon the ruling strongman picked up the phone and called his son. Mohammed, Ani says hes broke, give him ten million dollars. We resented then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powells remark that corruption was intrinsic to the Nigerian culture because of the flippant way he put it; but everyone must know that patronage in the African and Asian tropics is a phenomenon transplanted from the traditional socio-political life to the offices of modern governance. There is no apology for political thuggery, vandalism and graft and Africa cannot advance with these obnoxious immoral burdens. I dont want to imagine that there are quick and certain solutions to this
dilemma; but appears that a basic step forward is adoption of the stategovernment institutional dichotomy in African constitutional culture: an apolitical state with adequate referee powers and administrating government with limited referee powers. General Murtala Muhammed, in his brief heroic tenure as Nigerias head of state in the mid 1970s gave the parastatal supply company monopoly on government supply contracts and barred it from entering the commercial market. Previously, the government supply company had been competing in the commercial market while supplying government, but private supply contracts were nonetheless awarded by government. Commercial merchants were complaining about the government supply company having an unfair advantage in the commercial market and the parastatal was so much enjoying this it was not particularly concerned about private contractors supplying government. The idea therefore was to eliminate the unfair competition posed by a duty free and privileged government importer competing against the private business community and also elimination of the contract inflation/kickback syndrome. Sir Ahmadu Bello, Premier of Northern Nigeria from 1960-66, who had matured in development administration competence during the years he spent in the colonial ministry of public works, was a strong advocate of government direct labor and administration of public works. Sir Ahmadu was a pragmatic man who considered total eradication of corruption an impractical ideal, but nonetheless maintained that by providing civil servants adequate incentives and pleasant working conditions, optimum performance potential realization could be achieved. Nigerians, he well knew will seek and find loopholes for personal exploitation of the best designed systems, but he insisted it was a matter of containing corruption rather than total elimination. Patronage is deeply embedded in West African socio-political culture and, borrowing Sir Ahmadu Bellos logic, it would perhaps be more realistic to provide transparent lawful accommodation of patronage in our constitutions and legislative stocks. Even Guineas late President Ahmed Skou Tour, who was known not to be interested in money himself, freely gave to others. The mentor of Skou, in this regard, the man who had made patronage a paramount virtue of the leader, was the Grand Sheikh of Kan Kan, Fanta Mahdi
Cheriff. Fanta Mahdi received vast amounts of money daily from people seeking his prayers and immediately distributed what he received as alms. Liberias President William Tubman (1895-1971) gave away several thousand dollars to petitioning citizens daily and every Sunday had lunch in the Executive Mansion garden with the battalions of handicapped beggars dwelling in Monrovia, after which he distributed among them weekly allowances. Tubman kept many adopted children in the president mansion, some of them sons of hinterland chiefs, taking responsibility for their upkeep and education. Cte dIvoires Houphout, known to already possess immense wealth at the time he became his countrys president in 1960, was another renowned patron of petitioners and kind adopter of children. Nigerias President General Ibrahim Babangida was so given to the patronage culture that critics referred to his administration as government by settlement. Settlement in this context means to make malcontents smile to the bank. Sir Ahmadu Bello, an ascetic like Tour, was also left a legacy of generous patronage of petitioners. Most of these leaders nonetheless presided over governments with good financial management records, which suggest they had patronage budgets. Provision for patronage might not only be legislated but incorporated into African constitutions with economic statistic based formula for determining budgeted amounts. Trying to outlaw popular and traditional cultural phenomenon only promotes alienation from the official system. The fortunate thing about Nigeria at this point is that for all its law enforcement and other systematic inadequacies, it is admittedly not constitutionally settled. Popular negotiation and promulgation of a constitution in which the military has no hand is currently at the top of the Nigerian national agenda. We have seen that in the Western countries standards of democracy gradually improved with prosperity and prevailing levels of education. Most Western democracies are substantially more transparent, more public opinion sensitive owing largely to polls, more graft proof and more prohibitive of practices that imply buying political favor than they were 50 years ago. Also the West has since World War II made great strides in human and civil rights, as well as social welfare and business regulation. In the light of the substantial improvements of democracy in the West over the course of the 20th century to date, we might fairly refer to African
democracies generally as "emerging democracies." Indeed, as our people become ever more experienced in modern governance, learning from past mistakes; as we are better able to afford such democracy enhancing practices as public opinion polls and early elections in event of crisis, the standard of democracy will in Africa gradually improve, even if some states continue to set the pace with others lagging behind. Significantly, the Peer Review Mechanism is the first supranational step towards minimum governance quality standards. Whether or not the patronage culture will ever verily become an anachronism in Africa remains to be seen, but in the meantime the pragmatic course is mediation between socio-political tradition and good governance standards. In Western democracies, there is a much greater volume of legislation than we usually have in Africa and a substantial portion of the politicians are lawyers. One like the energy bill U.S. President Bush signed in August 2005 is 1,724 pages long, requiring legislators and other concerned public officials to possess great comprehension and analytical capacities. South Africa's Parliament passes a substantially greater volume of legislation than any other African legislative body; yet in Sudan presidential decrees abound, the constitutional provision limiting the president to two five years terms has been ignored and the next round of general elections are scheduled to take place 8 years after the last polls in 2000. Today there are 15 heads of state who first came to power via coup or insurrection, if we count Congo Democratic Republic and Togo, where the late strongmen were succeeded by their sons; three countries where the original post-colonial leaders are still in power and one constitutional monarchy with an executive king. Thus, in reality politics in Africa often tends to be less of an art and more power posturing; though the instances of multiparty systems are growing and democratic institution development continues, however gradually.
Constitutional Inadequacy Constitutional inadequacy refers to the deficiencies in African constitutions that occasion political instability and the multifarious adverse fallout thereof. A primary political system problem from time
to time common in Africa is that governments can ignore or violate constitutions with impunity, even without challenge. This is not only a political awareness deficiency, but inadequacy in the constitutional design with respect to judicial independence and public responsibility, as well as the absence of institutionalized public rights defence against abuses by government. Litigation culture is no doubt vital to attenuating inclination to armed insurrection in Africa, because almost any issue legitimately broached by insurrectionists or rebels can be entertained in court. However, in the absence of independent judiciaries there is not enough confidence in the courts generally prevailing for judicial resolution of political grievances to become universally normative. Largely owing to an independent judiciary, more or less at the American standard, Nigeria's stability is maintained, despite its incessant political feuds and crises. States individually and in collective action sue the Federal Government in the Supreme Court and various civil society organizations sue the government in the public interest. Nigeria's presidents appoint Supreme Court justices but are not at liberty to dismiss them, which is the principle the American Constitution holds in this regard. A South African High Court ruling in June 2005 that popular Deputy President Jacob Zuma had a generally corrupt relationship with his financial advisor obliged a reluctant President Thabo Mbeki to dismiss his heir apparent. The court found financial advisor Schabir Shaik had given Zuma $178,000, allegedly received from a French company as an arms deal kickback. On the opposite side of the judicial independence row, over the past sixteen years the president of Sudans Supreme Court has been changed several times without reasons brought to public attention. However, as Africa appears to require a separation of state institutions from governing institutions, we might do better with heads of state distinct from heads of government, as well as judiciary and military officers commissioned by the head of state.
Democratic Collaboration Inasmuch as the game of politics has proved to be an all consuming endeavor for those in its arena, invariably compromising the
politicians objectivity and reflection, political scientist and political economist, as intellectual observers have vital roles play. Apart from affording expansive systematic study of and reflection upon politics, they are morally obligated to provide independent professional advice. However, it is important that political scientists remain above the fray and not assume axes to be ground. Some political scientists have gone so far in the scientific vein as to propose quantitative analysis as an empirical tool for optimum refinement of political theory; but the prevailing school of thought continues to emphasize the essentially artistic nature of the real politics. The statement of U.S. president George W. Bush to Washington Post journalist Bon Woodward, Im not a textbook player, Im a gut player, alerts us to the fact that at the pinnacles of hegemonic power political actors, though not indifferent to statistics and scientifically formulated data, still see politics in terms of what they believe they can possibly achieve as personalities against the factors of resistance. Perhaps nothing satisfies an ambitious politician more than beating the odds and causing the textbooks to be re-written. Therefore, the political scientist, to be effective, must appreciate the sheer artistry, the driving psychology and the intriguing interplay of staccato and legato dynamics in the political arena. Hence, proceeding from our ideological premise of Humanism, the first layer in our compaction of constitutional ideology theories is the Democratic Collaboration Theory, whereupon we seek the broadest possible collaboration from the population towards high level actualization of democracy. At the elite level this collaboration is among political actors and thinkers, working in league to progressively perfect the art/science of politics. Such collaboration is already conventional in the more dynamic occidental democracies and in some African countries, particularly Nigeria and South Africa. Both countries have already begun developing the private think tank culture and have a number of semiautonomous institutions for political scientists to study and develop theories and discussions concerning policy and constitutional questions. In Abuja the private think tanks present themselves under the label, policy consultants, which distinguishes them from the policy institutes sustained by government; and most of the academic communities on Nigerias university campuses operate consultancy
units that perform intellectual services on a contractual or commercial basis. Therefore, elite level collaboration among political actors and political scientists is not a new idea; we are merely giving it an academic identification for discussion purposes in a broader political theorization exercise. At the plebeian level Democratic Collaboration pertains to optimal political education of the population, principally through the educational system where students would be given a basic understanding of politics that would at least enable them to know enough to have a good idea about the extent of what they dont know; so that they ask probing questions and make perceptive observations. Secondly, through the news and public information media the public and the world must be afforded objective understanding of issues. This has implications not only for the manner and quality of education for media professionals; it requires government commitment to an enlightening information regime, as well as collaboration between government and the media to assure transparency, objectivity and sobriety with respect to public information Sobriety, which in Africa is often sacrificed for sensationalism, is very important in promoting a composed democratic disposition amongst the populace. Our ideological premise of Humanism implies an enlightened, compassionate and egalitarian approach to governance; it obligates government to promote the broadness of mind and depth of knowledge essential to political consciousness potential realization throughout the population. I find early twentieth century United States Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes in addressing the 1923 graduating class of his alma mater, Columbia University Law School has succinctly conceptualized the relationship between government and the people for democracy to thrive: Democracy must be its own savior, and security is to be found, if at all, not in the denials of the right to participate in the affairs of government, but in education, public discussion and self-imposed restraints of an intelligent and justice loving people. Apart from the relationship between political participation and patriotism inferred here, Justice Hughes (1862-1948) is also referring to the relationship between the fulfillment of peoples intellectual potentials to the point where they become enlightened, and sufficiency of social capital to attain national viability and sustain progress.
In the final analysis, The Democratic Collaboration Theory is needless to say applicable to all aspects of politics and political economy; all inclusive democratic collaboration is ineluctably the bedrock of democratic society. Reflecting on mankinds social evolution from antiquity to date, we see a progressive, if terribly gradual, historical movement towards increased breadth and depth of democratic collaboration. In this light we cannot honestly elude the fundamental necessity of Democratic Collaboration, in tandem with Humanism, ideologically informing contemporary African constitutions. As much as politics is a professional calling, qualifying politicians, and while everyone is not cut out to be a politician, nor does it seem desirable that everyone should be, the rest of the world can have important things to say, have vital roles to play in completing the governance matrix. The old 18th century conceptualization of fundamental rights wherefrom we derive our common ideas about freedom of speech, press, association and conscience needs a more profound rendering. Democracy is appropriately about, among other things, reciprocity of rights and obligations. Not only are we ethically bound to avoid torts, omissions of conscience and civic responsibility impact as social liabilities. Ideologically subordinate to Humanism, democracy is not an end in itself but a means towards optimum societal potential fulfillment, which invariably necessitates optimal individual self-realization. In conceptualization of liberalism and exercise of democratic choice each generation must appreciate, as Ahmed Skou Tour used to emphasize, their naturally ordained indebtedness to future generations, immediately represented by their children, grand-children and great grandchildren, to maintain a prudent social and economic order. In this light, both intemperate latitudinarianism and economic expediency are high risk prone with respect to posteritys social inheritance. In Europe the conflicting perspectives on society and environment, aligning the Greens and Christian Democrats on opposite sides, are part of the democratic debate; but neither is consistent. The Greens and their allies ethically argue for preservation of the physical environment, but incline to amoral social culture, raising the spectre of debilitating nihilism contagion; while the Christian Democrats were founded on a philosophy of rationally bringing Christian virtues to bear in a secular
political environment, but in their indebtedness to big business have been given to dishonest apologies for environmental disregard. Let us not in Africa imbibe this existentialist ideological incoherence. Not only does the African philosophical heritage, as manifest in our customs, beliefs and proverbs, generally promote consciousness of the link between past, present and future generations, social, economic and environmental responsibility to future generations is rationally moral, fundamentally ethical; otherwise, what would be our ultimate intentions for our children? The corollary here is that as potential fulfillment is indeed the most basic of all human rights; in addition to a keen balance of liberty and discipline with respect to conscience, speech and association, the polity requires an underlying rational ideological/philosophical ethic that links short, medium and long term progress pursuit to the concept of society as perpetual. Equity Equity has political, social and economic dimensions. Politically, ethnic, religious, racial and gender equality of opportunity, as well as universal adult suffrage, are fundamental to an equitable order. African polities often have a history of imbalance and discrimination, but in recent years serious attempts have been made to mitigate this problem, though we acknowledge that old ways die hard. African polities are comprised of naturally sovereign homelands on which colonial domination and amalgamation were imposed; post-colonial republics inherited the amalgamations of colonial conquest, but to lose sight of the naturally sovereign character of these ethnic homelands inclines mistaken conception of their rights. Contrary to the colonial militarily imposed imperative of amalgamation, legitimate nationalism in Africa must necessarily be cooperative. It is not so much a question of giving ethnic groups the options to secede; in this era of regional integration and African Union secession is irrelevant. It is pointless here to contrast positive with negative; the positive proposition of amalgamation is a fair accompli. There is no question of dissecting nations; however, willing and determined cooperation not compulsion must inform the terms of nationalism. In this cooperative nationalism the concept of majority and minority does not fit because implied
thereby is diminution of the status of smaller ethnic groups vis--vis larger ones. This cooperative perspective attending Americas founding Constitutional Convention in the late 1780s led to the bicameral legislature in which all states had equal representation in the upper house, while representation in the lower house of Congress was based on a population formula. However, owing to the fluid population movement from state to state the concept of the ethnic homeland did not pertain in the U.S.A.; rather, permanent residence was the sole condition for belonging to a state within the cooperative federal union. The Civil War in the early 1860s, which resulted from the Federal Governments refusal to recognize Southern secession, did not really violate the cooperative principle of Americas federalism, because protection of states rights continued to be a major issue in American political debates and states retained the power at the federal level of legislation and governance to uphold their rights; but President Abraham Lincolns decision to forcibly preserve the union and outlaw slavery affirmed that while the terms of cooperation were negotiable within the democratic political culture and system, to negate cooperation in order to maintain slavery was intolerable regression. For our purposes in Africa, and in the light of our philosophy of Humanism, this is to say that natural ethnic sovereignty within the perimeter of cooperative nationalist sovereignty is for purposes of equity and progress and should not be perverted to regressive ends, even if traditional culture informed. Cooperation is no doubt best sustained at the highest ethical, moral and humanist standards of interaction. Federal intervention in Southern states owing to civil rights violations continued up until the 1960s. Stress on the essentially cooperative nature of African nationalism need not involve constitutional provision offering any section of the country so choosing the right to secession, as in the 1995 Ethiopian constitution. Nationalism, ethnic and individual participation in the nationalist polity are legitimately cooperative; but while individuals are at liberty to change their nation-citizenship and nations may merge, or any of the supranational entities, be it ECOWAS or the African Union, may adopt confederation or federation status upon agreement of member states, the negative proposition of secession better be thwarted by AU insistence that recognition is not given to any new state as a result of partition.
The case of South Sudan is special because of the quasi-apartheid type Arabist regimes that have characterized the country with respect to racial equality since independence; but the situation in Sudan deserves application of the Equity Principle, rather than rewarding intrusive, obnoxious Arabism with indigenous African withdrawal, allowing the fountain of the African heritage (Kush/Nubia) forever annexed to the Arab world. Inclusion of regions right to secession in the 1995 Ethiopian constitution sparked demands from sections of the Oromo, the countrys largest ethnic confederation, constituting one third to forty percent of the population, that they have their separate republic. This has become a problem for Ethiopia, highlighting the imprudence of making secession a constitutional right. Political equity necessitates optimizing the number of people in each generation holding constitutionally stipulated leadership posts. If a president is allowed to remain in office for 20 or 30 years, he effectively monopolizes national leadership for a generation, excluding not only all others in his age group, but also in the next age set below. You have a man like Qaddafi, now in his late 60s, who has rule since age 29, to the exclusion of all who passed through the 29-67 age bracket for the past 36 years. In Togo, we now have a situation where Faure Gnassingbe Eyadma has succeeded his father, who after shooting his way to power in 1967 ruled the country for 38 years. This is monarchy; never-mind attempts to camouflage the reality with elections. Predictions currently are that Muammar Al Qaddafi will be succeeded by his now powerful son and Egypt looks at risk of being destined for a Mubarak junior act. Leadership is both a privileged right; if monopolized, the right and privilege are denied to others, thereby depressing the standard of equity. Socially, ethnic group freedom from abuse or insult, especially in the public information media or by officers of government; freedom from denial of public services or offers, such as house purchase or rental, land purchase and education institution entry because of religion, ethnicity or race; and freedom of choice in marriage, lawful association and travel are basic rights in an enlightened, Humanism informed polity. This is not to say that laws prohibiting ethnic schemes to acquire all the property and take over certain areas could find no constitutional grounds, because ethics and good will are
essential to Humanism; it is necessary, in any event, that laws provide ethical safeguards against use of constitutional or other legal rights to pervert the social spirit. Culture clashing, ethnocentrism and religiosity have gained momentum since the Cold Wars end, filling the inspiration vacuum left by the decline of ideology and infringement of inter-continental elitist capitalism on the space of African nationalism; the latter most saliently manifested in the sale of parastatals to foreign based transnational corporations. In the immediate post-colonial era we had Lopold Sdar Senghor, a Christian leading 90% Muslim Senegal, without religion being a major contentious issue in national politics; likewise in Cameroon, Muslim Ahmadou Ahidjo ruled a predominately Christian population. Both Senghor and Ahidjo ideologically and practically stressed national unity and free enterprise, although the latters highly patronizing approach, commonly called in Cameroon, politics of the belly, was more simplistic than intellectual Senghors cultivation of multiparty democracy. Both men voluntarily retired from office after some 20 years in power, but laying the foundation of Africas most durable multiparty democracy has reserved for Senghor a distinguished place in the continents history. Getting to the point, the inevitable question of whether Africa was more stable during the Cold War than now is academic; while ideology has greater cerebral development potential than ethnocentrism and religiosity, it has nonetheless been polarizing in Africa, suggesting that our ideologues have been myopically possessed. Perhaps the ideology of Humanism will provide a cerebral common ground, but its logical implications must be duly understood, elaborated and appreciated; especially in the domain of economic policy, where technology and academic research have vital places in formulation of policies efficiently aligning individual, community and national development. Humanism logically demands equity; its compound premise is comprised of human value appreciation and optimal individual, community and national potential realization. Any notion in the premise that certain people, or classes, or certain ethnic or racial groups, are inherently and irredeemably doomed with low potential, even if apparently verified by sociological studies, is not only an affront to humanism, an ideological negation of equity, but also no doubt wrong. I find wholly
consistent with the impartiality implied in the highest conceptualization of God the affirmation that He never made any race inherently superior or inferior to any other; that in entitlement to justice and equity He equally regards all His creatures. The constitution, as the program containing the political operating system code, in order to at once be democratically conceived and political art/science efficient, must have been informed by democratic collaboration; and the higher the level of this the greater the prospects for optimal potential fulfillment. The contemporary African constitution must transcend the simplicity of the 18th century bourgeois renaissance thinking that informed the superficial American and French Bill of Rights and rise to prescription of the requisites for an efficient egalitarianism, implying universal spread of middle-class facilities. After all, the root meaning of democracy is rule by the plebeians. The trickle down economic philosophy that rationalizes the need for concentration of massive capital surpluses in the hands of a proportionally small number of grand scale entrepreneurs for investment, job creation and growth is no longer defensible in this era of diverse investment and savings markets. For the contemporary African, having equity in ones country is not necessarily sufficient to enable full potential realization. If one is determined to branch out into the world in pursuit of full potential realization and his countrys policies become an obstruction, or are indifferent to this, he may come to habour some resentment and ultimately would not feel indebtedness to his country as having played an important role in his personal development, particularly at the higher levels. However, wise African government will impress upon their citizens the practical and potential development value of global perspective and experience, and place whatever facilities possible at their disposal to this end; also investing in networking infrastructure, such as databases and information exchange, as well as contact, admission and entry [to schools, jobs, professional associations and support networks]. Participants in contemporary African constitution development must have this vision of the globalized African informing their contributions. We must conceptualize Global Nigeria, or Global Ghana, Global Sudan, Global South Africa, Global Kenya and all the rest in the
context of both Global Africa and the greater global transnational proliferation of networks. The least required of the contemporary African constitution in this light is prohibition of laws and policies that restrict or frustrate expansion of individual, of popular, exposure and scope. A constitution may however go as far as stipulating state and government obligations to promote citizens equity the domestic, African Union and global economies. Perceptions of Humanism President William Tolbert of Liberia (July 1971- April 1980) once commissioned a book on Humanitarian Capitalism, in which the collateral existence of free enterprise and communalism in Africa was to be ideologically rationalized. As the principal research assistant and draft writer to Prof. Wilton Sankawolo, who was predictably selected to author the book, I was generally committed to the concept but felt the proposed title veered on sentimentality and was leery of political influences from the presidency ultimately imposing undue simplicity on what for us should have been a good opportunity to do some serious ideological writing. The theme, collateral existence of free enterprise and communalist values, was essentially not new; it was found in the writings of Guinean President Ahmed Skou Tour and Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah, distinguishing their pragmatic socialism, admitting small scale free enterprise, from the more orthodox Marxist models; even Houphout-Boignys mixed economy in Cte dIvoire subscribed to the same theme. Zambia's President Kenneth Kaunda was also prominently strong on synthesizing free enterprise with humanitarianism. In fact, Kaunda was the first African label to his ideology "Humanism". By the time Tolbert commissioned the book he had already realized considerable success in actualizing a marriage of capitalism and communalism in the rural areas through cooperative societies and mobilizing, as well as technically guiding, self-help projects. Thousands of farming families that theretofore were grounded in a subsistence economy suddenly had cash earnings averaging $700 to 1,200 per year. As senior research officer in the information ministry, working in collaboration with the public affairs bureau, I had the opportunity to closely observe and study this crucial phase in African
economic evolution, whereby families moved from the subsistence level up into the monetary economy, realizing improvements in habitat, health care and education. With proper guidance Africa had the potential to evolve dynamic rural cultures, including commercial centers and industrial parks. An important ancillary to the cooperatives were credit unions, into which substantial portions of farmers cash incomes were deposited. The idea was to acculturate the new arrivals into the monetary economy in virtues of frugality, prudence and self-reliance. Aware that progress and economic development pursuit could run into the rut of over-reliance on manufactured imports, while the countrys exports consisted mainly of primary products, Tolbert launched a rudimentary industrial revolution, involving building materials, agricultural machinery, food processing and packaging, motor vehicle accessories and rubber products the country was then a leading exporter of natural rubber. As one of modern Africa's most articulate and competent leaders, who nonetheless ended tragically, Tolbert's legacy provides some interesting insight concerning African political economy challenges. Despite the "mat to mattresses" revolution he implemented, there appeared five very important concerns lying further down the road. One, though President Tolbert was himself an unapologetic capitalist, his development policies lacked a long term vision for optimizing popular equity in the capitalist system. The idea of popular equity in the corporate and trading sectors as a political buffer against revolt against the system was only appreciated by a few of us in the governing system and unfortunately the pace of revolt inflammation was faster than mindset change, whereby Tolbert was felled like a common reactionary. Apart from the trading sector being dominated by Lebanese and Indian nationals, there were no effective schemes to attain Liberian dominance of at least retailing. Apart from the ethical necessity of citizens having a fair share of the equity in the trading sector, in a country where the extended family system pertains the broad benefits accruing to the population from the capitalist system would serve as security against the illusion of socialism capturing the popular imagination, as it was certainly doing in Liberia, with popular opposition politicians Dr. Togba Nah Tipoteh and Gabriel Bacchus Mathews leading the way. While it is true that the extended family system tends to put local citizens at a business disadvantage in Africa,
because family expense demands consume too great a portion of the income to allow proper management, the case of Nigeria, where foreign traders were banned from the retail sector and Nigerians required to own majority equity in all businesses in the country, demonstrated that when faced with the challenge, Africans can rise to the occasion. We cannot with certainty say that had Liberians dominated the trading sector, the riots of April 14, 1979 would not have resulted in destruction of commercial sector outlets; but at least in a small country of 2.5 million people and a high level of ethnic integration by African standards, there would have been substantial popular opposition to looting and burning. Significantly, the riots of April 14, 1979 did not touch Liberian residential areas, no doubt mainly because few areas are class exclusive. The lack of capital markets at the disposal of the public to offer popular equity in major government investments, such as the Organization of African Unity village, which after the 1979 Summit was converted to a high class expatriate and tourist resort, and the growing conglomerate of parastatals also increased the capitalist systems vulnerability. Some farsighted Liberian businessmen were selling the public shares in their enterprises, including a bank and people from all socio-economic levels were buying. The credit unions simply revolved loans, earning money on interest, but had no professionally managed investment opportunities at their disposal. At least the credit unions and cooperatives should have had the opportunity to invest in the Liberia Produce Marketing Corporation, which was very profitable and bought most of their produce. Generally, one of the greatest failings of post-colonial African economic management is that the public had not been given the opportunity to buy shares in parastatals; then when privatization was urged upon us by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the SAP regimes, a substantial portion of Africas state owned assets were sold to foreigners. Although, Nigeria has had a capital market since the late 1970s, the countrys privatization program ran into a rut because the market was not segmented, as in the [Arabian] Gulf Corporation Council states, to allow shares in parastatals, to be sold only to Nigerians, while there was popular insistence that the countrys strategic assets not be sold to foreigners. Actually, the value of major Nigerian parastatals like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that even if their shares were
marketed through Nigerians Only windows at the Nigerian Stock Exchange it would take quite a number of years for the public to buy a substantial portion of the equity. The current problem is thus rooted in the lack of vision during the 1970s; but aggravated by lack of appropriate national interest decisions during the 1990s. Now, we are waiting for decisive national interest policies to at least let Nigerians start enjoying exclusive right to buy shares in the remaining major parastatals. The second of the five concerns was the small scale of our industries and other businesses owing to market limitations and the Tolbert governments un-preparedness to institute integrated economic planning with its Mano River Union partners (Guinea and Sierra Leone); though the ultimate importance of this was realized and regional planning was introduced as a degree program at the University of Liberia. The Deputy Minister of Commerce at the time, Joseph Morris, a competent technocrat, argued that the proposition of introducing industrial specialization into the regional planning agenda at that stage was premature; pointing out that the concept of specialization pertained to large scale industries. Duplication, Morris explained, was inevitable at the low level of industrial development characterizing the three countries entering the union, because of primary focus on import substitution industries. Tolbert had his eye on a metallurgical industry, which he agreed to establish in partnership with the Romanians that would have opened the way for machine tools manufacture to feed small scale assembly units in the rural industrial parks. An African Development Bank survey resulted in a $20 million joint Libyan-Liberian investment in a glass container industry, making use of Liberias silicon sand and exporting to several other West African countries, as well as Cameroun in Central Africa. It was generally acknowledged that Union Glass, at which your author had the exhilarating experience of being part of the management team, was a model industry: a high-tech establishment erected to turn-key readiness by Germanys leading glass container company, using Liberias fortunate endowment of the three varieties of silicon sand necessary for commercial bottle manufacturing, upgrading the industrial skills of Liberian workers to an unprecedented level, not to mention the new management sophistication challenges; but unfortunately Tolberts political miscalculations and a subsequent era
of mafia style governance led Liberia into devastating tumult, costing ECOWAS member states several billion dollars on peace and stability restoration efforts. This is very instructive, because Tolbert was not a run of the mill treasury looting tyrant; he was a hardworking, development conscious, internationally well exposed and intellectually respectable leader, independently wealthy, frugal and achievement oriented. He was actually good intentioned, most of us believed; but nonetheless, fundamentally serious political aptitude lapses and miscalculations not only led him to being slain in a coup, with his widow subsequently telling Liberians that on her way out the back door, she saw a white man in military uniform wearing a green beret lead Liberian non-commissioned officers into the room where her husband was slain; but the fortunes of a whole nation and to considerable extent even a region, suffered from the fallout of his tragic fate for more than 20 years thereafter. Thirdly, despite Tolberts firm example of frugality and disciplined entrepreneurship, materialism and, most especially, hedonism in the capital city and mining concession area towns was infecting the rural youth and drawing them to the urban night life. Tolbert was certainly aware of this and was not happy about it, but the prevailing urban social culture preceded his era and was too deeply entrenched for him to change. Referring to Liberia's youth as his "precious jewels, Tolbert seemed more concerned than most of his compatriots that children should grow up in what he called "a wholesome, functioning society". Yet, there were no constitutional provisions to obligate the nation to this lofty concept. Tolbert was futilely trying to bring about his "quit revolution" with advocacy in the absence of ideological constitutional guidelines and ancillary legislation. How far can a contemporary non-sectarian democracy constitution go in establishing moral standards? Moral questions are usually highly controversial, while moral consistency among politicians is rare. Furthermore, in this era of emphasis on revenue, dispassionate economic logic is ever increasing in force, while moral courage becomes rarer. Though an ordained Baptist minister and former president of the Baptist World Alliance, known to be a teetotaler, President Tolbert, bowing to the amoral economic logic of his finance minister junior brother, Steve Tolbert, proposed to the Liberian
legislature legalization of gambling. This provoked outrage from all his colleagues in the clergy, as well as the majority of Liberians, and incited fisticuffs on the Liberian Senate floor, where the bill gained the majority vote required for passage. Tolbert, however, surprised and pleased the nation by vetoing the bill, saying it had become obvious to him that the majority of Liberians were against it. He subsequently took Methodist archbishop Benny Warner, leader of the popular opposition to the gambling bill and one of the presidents severest critics, as his vice president. This choice seemed a great idea, but Warner proved too vain for the post. That of course is beside the essential point that, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt posited while on the campaign trail to the White House in 1932, the chief executive office of a nation is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership. For all Tolberts virtues, Ive never heard anyone say he ended badly because he was a prude; he was in a time and place that demanded a veritable moral giant and didnt quite reach the saving height. Suffice it to say that Tolbert was not the only African leader to be a classic exhibit of the struggle between passion and reason for dominance in mans character. This is contemporary Africa: Africa is a continent besieged with moral degeneration but hopefully looking for salvation. Yet moral standard stance in politics is difficult to maintain, because the political arena is packed with amoral rationalists and in a democratic political culture moral issues typically fiercely divide public opinion, thus tempting even the natural moralist to inconsistencies. Fourth, Tolbert highlighted the limits to which a country could be justly ruled under a powerful businessman or, I should rather say, business family. A presidents pro-business policies in such situations are invariably construed by the public as self-serving. As Tolbert, the son of Liberias most successful early 20th century businessman, was the countrys largest farmer, the urban population often saw his rural development policy regime, which included higher farm product prices, as designed to fatten his own coiffeurs. From the earliest days of the Liberian republic there had been political interest differences between the planters and urban dwellers and this is widely a feature in post colonial African polities, which is often reflected in variant partisan voting patterns. However, if the president or other powerful national leaders have vital business interest which are active during their tenure in office corruption is insinuated; in most modern
democracies there are legal barriers to public office holders being simultaneously active in business. Conflict of interests, too often insufficiently addressed by African constitutions and laws, contradicts the Equity Principle, which implies political fairness as well as equitable distribution of wealth. That he was slaughtered in a popular coup dtat by non-commissioned officers, believed to have been sponsored by the CIA, reflects the African distaste for leadership by prospering business tycoons in an inflationary environment. Fifth, the country was living on credit; particularly overdrafts at the Bank of Liberia, largely financed by its parent, Chemical Bank of New York, and defaults on credits from Britains Overseas Credit Guarantee Board, which closed the line on Liberia the day Tolbert's government fell. People were living in a bubble bound to burst: conspicuous consumption, unabashed extravagance, compulsive hedonism. The upper class were the main beneficiaries of over spending financed by credits, but the poor who most severely suffer the deprivation fallout of economic mismanagement are the principal victims. The Equity Principle implies balance of payment regimes that do not reflect excess consumer spending and low capital expenditure. It is important for the public to have basic understanding of economics so that people can know whether national resources are being properly used. We can see that in Sudan, for example, for the first time in its post-colonial history a trade surplus was achieved in 2000, owing to commencement of petroleum exports; but in subsequent years the country reverted to a trade deficit. Looking at the high expenditure rates, 25-30%, on machinery & equipment imports in the Bank of Sudan annual reports one would assume that expansion of the national production capacity was accounting for a quarter to nearly a third of imports, whereby in a few years we would expect either dramatic increase in locally manufactured import substitutes or MVA exports, or both. However, upon inspection of the machinery & equipment category we find that it mainly consists of consumer hardware, such as home electronic goods, electrical appliances, etcetera. Hence, in the absence of clear distinction between consumer spending and capital spending the independent information media, not to mention the public, cannot make proper analysis of the continual trade deficit. Is it a result of capital expenditures intended to improve the balance of
trade in the medium term, or inflationary nouveau riche consumerism? The corollary is that to sustain communal values in Africa, a premium must be placed on both Democratic Collaboration and Equity, maintained by democracy enhancing public enlightenment, frugality in consideration of the economic requisites for overcoming national poverty, enterprise in pursuit of optimum productivity and human potential realization, and egalitarian statutes that optimize economic liberty. In the constitutional realm this implies principles of equity defining democratic collaboration, safeguards against oligarchy and what Nigerians call "money bag" politics. Indeed, this is in contemporary ideological context a social democratic bias and rejection of patrician ideals. It's an open ideological debate, but in a continent where failure of the capitalist "trickle-down" theory has left the overwhelming majority of the people in pitiful poverty we must at least get 50-60% of our people into the middle class before there can be any legitimate association of patrician ideals with democracy. To sustain enterprise there must be growth and expansion, which implies sufficiently large capital and buyer markets; in a world where Africa is at a competitive disadvantage in industrial production and services, disciplined development of our human resources is imperative and no doubt requires a socially consuming ethic. To quote Max Weber in his thesis, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: The earning of money within the modern economic order is, so long as it is done legally, the result and the expression of virtue and proficiency in a calling. Drawing attention to human disposition towards self-aggrandizement, Weber argued: The impulse to acquisition, pursuit of gain, of money...has in itself nothing to do with capitalism...One may say that it has been common to all sorts and conditions of men at all times and in all cultures of the earth. In other words, and from all I know I must agree, materialism and conspicuous consumption are human failings that are incidental to, not inherent to in capitalism. However, "isms" tend to extremism and for too many capitalists, capitalism implies a socio-economic system in which making money is paramount. This is the ideological bent of neopatriciates. Charity is nonetheless claimed as a patrician value; and, instructively, our tragically departed President Tolbert was in many
respects quite patrician and this was reflected not only in his intellectual affinity for the concept of humanitarian capitalism, he often spoke, annoyingly to some of us, about not neglecting the unfortunate members of our society as if the downtrodden were a small minority. To assure that no one ever forgets that the overwhelming majority of the African people live in impoverished households and communities, economic equity must be institutionalized within the free enterprise system, not left to charitable sentiments, which could under adverse circumstances erode. Even if it should be that some people are perennially kind hearted, one who suddenly falls ill should not have to go to neighbors, friends or into the affluent neighborhoods appealing for money to attend his clinical condition. The Equity Principle visionary African leaders have been advocating implies, among other things, ethical use of personal resources with respect to family progress needs such as education, housing, clothing, health and nutrition, wholesome recreation, travel, savings and investment. The problems of hedonism and crass materialism cause excessive amounts of money to be spent unproductively and non-progressively, which also fuels corruption and social injustice, especially in low income households. Considering the development challenges facing Africa, our constitutions need be very explicit about family law standards with a view to protecting children from being economically oppressed and exploited by parents and adult society generally. Today there are in our continent unfortunately more than 2.2 million AIDS orphans, mostly consequent to parent indulgence of the syndrome of reckless hedonism almost pandemic in Sub-Sahara Africa. Social Engineering Some Liberian labour syndicate leaders argued that industrial workers endure a lot of frustrations and pressures and therefore diseases derived from alcohol and sex should not be excluded from group health insurance coverage. This highlights the complexity of the contemporary African social scene and makes social research essential to democracy. We are focusing on Humanism as the appropriate African ideology and humans are ineffably complex. It is easy to
distinguish constructive social behavior from the destructive; but we cannot simply condemn, for example, those given to the pervasive syndrome of reckless hedonism. The philosophy, the ideology of Humanism demands that we approach the problems of society and individuals clinically, determined to cure and remedy. Cte dIvoire had incorporated in its first constitution an Economic & Social Council, headed by a president, and ranking third in importance among governing institutions, behind the executive and national assembly. The concept of such a council was subsequently adopted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and later the African Union in the two latter instances it is an Economic, Social & Cultural Council. In the AU Constitutive Act it is stipulated that the Economic, Social & Cultural Council is an advisory body comprised of social and professional organizations in member states. In this era of civil society organization proliferation, we can expect the scope and depth of the various Economic, Social & Cultural institutions to expand commensurate with intellectual enlightenment and problem complexity prevailing in our societies. Certainly social, economic and cultural research entities have very important roles to play in providing studies and data relevant to constitution development as well as policy and decision making. At the national level, modern democracy should aim to provide enlightened governance and socio-economic progress. Insight into the variables attending fundamental questions regarding the relationship between male psychology and economic policy in contemporary Africa, such as the extent to which African males prefer working for themselves as opposed to employment in factories and whether it is in the social interest to put less money in peoples pockets and spend more on social services, is vital to optimizing both the quality of democracy and social welfare. If we are to attain cognitive democracy in Africa, social psychologists and other social scientists must be mandated and given the opportunity to carry the public along with them in their intellectual realizations; this is a primary role for the public information media and should be included into a broadened concept of the media as a development promotion tool. Social engineering requires willing positive response; thats what makes it different from the coercion associated with extremist Islamic revolutions. Social engineering is in fact an appeal to the popular
conscience and rationality. It is more than just scheming social application of study conclusions and recommendations; public discussion, debate and appreciation of study derived propositions are vital to authentic social engineering; not only because depth of realization is essential to sustained positive public response, but participatory public response to study findings moreover provides indispensable study data development. That is to say, social study for social engineering is open ended in being progressive. Social engineering as such is essential to social equity, because it would not be fair to anticipate that any sector of the population will be left behind; it is also part of the Democratic Collaboration imperative, because engaging people in the social study and engineering processes enhances democratic participation, as well as data quality at the cognition level from which political office holders and public administrators are obligated to inform their policies, strategies and methods. The Equity Principle speaks of an all inclusive, comfortable and constructive African socialization, seeking universal human development. This implies that while the state and its institutions are fundamental constitutional concerns, the constitutional development perspective must be Human-centric; that is to say the provisions of contemporary African constitutions must revolve around the human potential realization imperative and be informed by integrated theories of social, economic and political development. This is not to suggest impractical welfare policies, or mandatory Puritanism, or idealistic intellectualism. Though child and women's equity in family income must be considered very important, the basic point here is that social research is required to avoid policies and methodologies that fail to strengthen family life culture. We are aware that the quality of social studies in Africa is often compromised by inadequate resources; and this is true of our academia generally. We are also aware that the press and commercial entertainment media often make negative contributions, aggravating and retarding Africas social and political problems, rather than contributing to socialization and political maturation. In any event, universal human development must be pursued with realistic strategies and plans. The press and entertainment media, as vital participants in socialization, must be addressed by the social engineering work. Governments' Draconian handling of press
excesses appears to have inclined journalists to a rebellion syndrome, which disables the public information media from playing an optimally constructive role in socialization. Globally, intellectuals have been disdaining the press as reactionary and as African American author Jerome Miller put it, 'bereft of any public responsibility.' This is a problem that needs attention in the education institutions where journalists are trained. Also, the failings of the public media are no doubt inevitable in the face of poor quality political leadership, which tends to inculcate in journalists, foot shoulders of the Fourth Estate of the pen, which is supposed to be mightier than the sword of the Lords Temporal and more enlightening than the dogma of the Lords Spiritual, a rash and messianic selfrighteousness. Practicable Humanism Generally, I think socio-economic development strategies should aim to imprimis optimize the number of productive people, while simultaneously increasing per capita productivity value and addressing social welfare by assuring and building on a foundation of decent family care responsibility. As business profits are generated the policy regime should influence their utilization towards expanding production horizontally (number of productive people and organized units) and vertically (per capita output value). Investment in social welfare, such as health and education facilities, for the productive population might be promoted through taxation policies, social development funds and other appropriate devices. Cottage industries, independent traders, and earners by all the various legitimate means pertaining in contemporary Africa already have thrift nets and organizations at their disposal waiting to develop in consonance with the groups of people using them and should not be stunted or disbanded by legal obstructions. Regulatory measures should rather be protective of participants and demand improvements in quality of administration. Practicable humanism in Africa requires of government a catalytic role supportive of constructive initiatives and encouraging creativity. Civil Society Organizations are meant to be the coherent link between public interests, government and the mass media. In a
democratic environment civil society organizations, representing consumers, health care concerns, labour, petty traders, parents and teachers, etcetera, are positioned to influence political party platforms and providing the grassroots support bases of parties. In countries like Nigeria, where apart from the National Labour Congress, civil society has had very little influence in the political arena, leaving party politics power in the hands of cabals and charismatic, often wealthy, kingmakers, a civil society revolution is long over due; whereby public interests would become conventionally the dominant factor in politics, from choosing and voting to governments administrative and policy obligations. Also, civil society organizations have a void to fill in providing coherent public interests representation to the news media. We have been promoting the idea of developmental journalism in Africa and, at least in Nigeria, the federal information ministry has periodically held seminars to this end. However, developmental journalism cannot maturate in Africa without organized civil society providing a fair portion of the media content. In aligning independent self-realization pursuit with the broader public interests there are invariably a host of policy and practice debates that inform Democratic Collaboration. We are in a historical, social evolutionary process of acculturating democratic instincts, reflexes and behavior; we aim to attain the prevailing decorum and civility that raises our civilization profile; coherent and professional representation of public interests is vital here. Hence, mention and role definition generally of civil society organizations in African constitutions is essential to insinuating the optimum structure of the democratic processes. Thereby, propositions to limit the force of civil society organizations would be constitutionally and culturally outside the political arena. We are certainly aware of the ambiguous role of foreign elements in Africas civil society organization domain. Foreign interests using civil organizations to project their own agendas prompted former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings, who was generally quite accommodative of European and American NGOs, to point out their increasing irrelevancy to his peoples actual progress needs. During the 1990s, when the concept of civil society represented by NGOs began emerging in African political affairs, we found a mushrooming of local organizations tailored to European and American funding
interests. Then, the gradual shift of donor funding from government to civil society; it appeared as if hungry graduates were being co-opted by the imperialists to subvert African nationalism. Looking at the African civil society organization scene today, there are many lapses. In Sudan, for instance, it was obvious from the time a peace agreement between the Khartoum government and Southern freedom fighters began materializing that a strong legal rights advocacy community would be necessary to fight for the rights of Southerners and other victims of Arab racism, to acculturate people to fighting for their rights through legal channels rather than resorting to armed rebellion. However, this obvious and very important need has not attracted the interest of foreign NGOs or donors. In Nigeria, the Europeans and Americans financed local legal action NGOs during military rule because the country already had an advance culture of court battling, with charismatic, high profile lawyers and organizations capable of compelling the outside world to deal with them on their own terms. This highlights the great importance of African citizens identifying their own civilization elevation needs and independently initiating relevant civil society organizations; then seeking outside support with their visions basic agendas already in tact. The consumer protection dimension of human rights has been a neglected concern in Africa. In neglecting the importance of consumer protection, we simultaneously ignore the relationship between consumer satisfaction and domestic economic competitiveness. This is to say, if locally produced goods fall short of consumer human rights standards, they would not be internationally competitive; and if we allow sub-standard imports into our domestic markets we accommodate unfair competition that could involve cheap junk from abroad taking market share away from better quality local manufacturers either now or in the future. Inclusion of consumer protection at the fore of the African human rights agenda is sine qua non for a viable independent human potential realization policy regime, considering that socialization is the most vital part of individual self-fulfillment. Actually, when we talk of humanistic capitalism in the most realistic terms, we envisage, as Max Weber elucidated, a marriage in the human character of virtue, efficiency and productiveness. This multidimensional conception of human
development, involving productive skills with high conscience, ethics and social morality, should not for a moment be forgotten; because we should not be interested in Gross Domestic Product increments unaccompanied by a higher civilization profile. We already in Africa have this tendency to equate improvement of the human condition with acquisition of money and material worth; this narrow and shallow perception of life has too often been reinforced in our relationships with the developed countries and Bretton Woods institutions; but there are pockets of anarchy throughout Africa, such as ghettoes thriving off ant-social activity, political thuggery and unpoliced robber zones, which drag down our civilization profile. And in this regard, I think we would be looking more to Japan, South Korea and Singapore as standard bearers than the United States and Latin America. Politics and economics in the real world cannot be separated; political science and economics as academic disciplines must be ultimately synthesized in Political Economy. Political Economy, academically defined as the study of the way in which economics and government policies interact, is in practice the politics of economic policy, as well as the economic considerations in political policy. However, study of economics and the social sciences, if it is to optimally serve human potential realization, must be guided by a comprehensive social vision and world view; perhaps we might attain our objective in this light by introducing into academia an all inclusive field of Social Philosophy, embracing political economy, applied economics, sociology, political science, social psychology, history, ethics, legal philosophy and metaphysics (including ontology and religion), enabling graduates to enjoy an integrated understanding of nation building. African Renaissance as Social Philosophy Democratic collaboration between civil society, the institutions of state and those of government facilitates social philosophy actualization and defines renaissance. However, we make here several assumptions. First, that the civil society organizations are democratically structured to adequately represent the broad interests to which they are obligated; secondly that their perspectives as well as
memberships are integrated; wherein, for example, in respect of everyone being a consumer, legitimate consumer rights are regarded fundamental human rights that take precedence over narrower interests, such as labour. Third, that all concerned are in the ideological realm of humanism, wherein all higher human interests are ultimately linked in the service of potential realization, socialization and social progress. Fourth, ultimately, apart from top government officials, virtually everyone is a member of civil society because there is no one who hasnt an individual civil society identity outside the institution or corporate establishment in which he or she serves. Perceiving harmonization of interests between civil society and capitalist corporate establishments involves a process of enlightenment, drawing on historical experience as well as Humanism ethics. For historical lesson, perhaps nowhere has the folly of failure to grasp the natural compatibility of civil society and the petroleum transnationals been more profoundly illustrated by events than in Nigerias Niger Delta. The Niger Delta, which has for several centuries been involved in the international economy from the 17th to 19th century as a major slave source, then subsequently as a leading palm oil supplier, and since the 1960s a leading hydrocarbon producer, is, nonetheless, a scene of excruciating poverty and dehumanizing underdevelopment. Against slavery there were revolts and European repression of African entrepreneurial initiatives in the palm oil trade culminated in colonialism. Leaving the oil rich Niger Delta behind in social and economic development while outsiders prosper from its natural resource inheritance has resulted in unrelenting sabotage of production operations, vandalism of oil pipelines and other facilities, terrorist assaults targeting oil industry officials and guerrilla warfare. These revolting acts have cost the oil industries hundred of millions of dollars that if spent on development of the host community would have occasioned a sense of partnership and mutual benefit. Moreover, the exploitation in the Nigeria Delta has spawned human rights crises reaching international attention and caused American companies like Exxon-Mobil and Chevron to be subject to municipal boycotts at home. This is what we call penny wise and dollar foolish. The petroleum industry has been gradually realizing its mistakes and has been acknowledging with hindsight that learning came the
hard way, but the bitter taste of the past lingers and scenes of miserable deprivation continue confronting the eyes of the Niger Delta people each morning, around the clock; while the state governments in the region battle the Nigeria Federal Government in court for a higher percentage of the income from their hydrocarbon contributions to the national economy, secessionist guerrilla warfare rages in the region. Ironically, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo Asari, leader of the Ijaw ethnic homeland guerrilla action, is son of a prominent Port Harcourt judge. When the author first met Mujahid in 1992 at a West African Muslim youth conference in Lagos, he was a young fellow of 19 or 20, tall and husky, quite strong-headed and defiant, though respectful of those from whom he felt he stood to learn. Having known fairly well several leading revolutionaries from the Nigeria Delta, though not the literarily brilliant and famous Ken Sara Wiwa, I observe that their penchant for secession is not so much owing to obsessive ethnocentrism as it is a defiance of blatant injustice and inadequate recognition. There was prevalent among the Niger Delta youth of the 1980s and 90s, to date, simply an uncompromising radicalism equal to the avaricious predation of the petroleum transnationals and their Nigerian compradors. They grew up under military rule in a polity inherited from colonialism and retaining irrelevant assumptions about majority rights over the minority; and, regarded as minorities, they have not seen significant improvement of their local environments and circumstances since the era of civilian governance commenced in 1999 to alter their political perspectives. Young men like Alhaji Mujahid were moreover encouraged in their contempt for the ruling establishment by the military regimes unethical practice of buying off radicals with lucrative contracts and cash gifts. The revolting integrity deficiencies attending civilian politics have kept the rebels at odds with the system to date. Nigeria, a country with 130 million people, is, somewhat unwittingly, at risk of disintegration and becoming an unbearable refugee burden on Africa and humanitarian crisis load for the international community consequent to conflict of perceived interests between the petroleum establishment, to which is ostensibly aligned most Nigerians outside the petroleum producing zone, and the people of the oil rich Nigeria Delta the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Perhaps owing to the prevailing Nigerian concept of, and apparent preference for, pluralistic democracy as a contest of centrifugal forces, the idea of harmonizing interests never gained currency, talk less of commitment. This competitive centrifugal force concept of pluralistic democracy lends ethical and moral legitimacy to secession movements; while also informing a might is right mindset in the majority communities. I was once taken aback in Lagos when a young man joked with the lady behind the counter that he would one day be president of Nigeria, when a middle aged gentleman standing near indignantly interjected, Are you not an Ijaw? Yes, the young man replied. Youre a minority, the man, apparently a Yoruba, charged, Forget about ever being president of Nigeria. The words were bad enough, but the spontaneous and presumptuous manner, the sense of natural right in the way he said it were most disturbing. One also hears in the expressions of Nigerian ethnic attitudes a stubborn machismo, a readiness to fight rather than cede ground. In Sudan, such attitudes are expressed by government officials referring to the perceived prior rights of their assumed Arab-Islamic exclusivity and they must know that this frontal association of Arabism with Islam in Africa is for many of us abhorrent. In any event, such pugnacious pluralistic reasoning is a problem for Africa generally, but tends to be fueled by oil. Who are the rightful owners of mineral resources in Africa: the colonially amalgamated state or the peoples in whose homelands they are found? To rationally answer this question we must refer to the goals of modern Africa, the requisites for attaining them and the implications of our naturally communal humanity as Africans, as well as the imperative cooperative basis for legitimate and equitable nationalism. However, lets start from the latter. We reiterate the natural sovereignty of African peoples over their traditional homelands, which can in no wise be legitimately abrogated by the brutal impositions of colonialism or the subsequent nationalism assumed and informed by the colonial inheritance. Yet, in pursuit of our potential realization goals, living on our homelands as neighbours to other homelands, in a vast continental expanse of contiguous homelands, in respect of our communal humanism, in this wide world of competitive geo-strategic positioning, we rationally welcome the amalgamations afforded by colonialism as opportunities for progress;
so much so that we have consensually advanced towards consolidating African supranationalism. If we can attain a general coming to terms with the reality that the only legitimate basis for nationalism in Africa is willing, mutual and negotiated cooperation of the traditional homelands, the next progressive course for civil society of mineral rich communities to take is negotiation with the constitutionally mandated tiers of government (local, state, national, or whatever) and appropriate corporate entities for development of their resources, with fair return to all stakeholders. I can see this necessitating a Pan African association of oil producing communities civil society, which would negotiate with an appropriate oil industry representative body standard production sharing formula criteria to guide all specific contract negotiations. The basic principle of interest harmonization between all stakeholders, renaissance as the underlying social philosophy and the socio-political ideology of humanism would inform negotiations and agreement; whereby an equitable share to the natural resource owners would be assessed commensurate with the progress value of their resources to the outside world. Price is crucial here. As I am writing, October 2005, a barrel of benchmark crude oil is going for more than $60. This is great for petroleum producing communities and countries; but we must bear in mind that crude oil, like other natural mineral resources, is a raw material and manufacturing value will be added in refining it for the market. Given the industrial development challenge facing Africa, in keeping with the principle of local owner communities retaining an optimal portion of their products value, it is important that African Union and Regional Economic Community planning provide strategies for strengthening the position of oil and other mineral producers to establish and viably operate finished products export capacity. That is say, raising consortium capital from African sources and plugging into African markets will strengthen Africas economic power profile, which implies generally strengthening our bargaining position. Actualizing renaissance as a social philosophy of humanism is equally a matter of economic power as moral will. In the case of petroleum, the most difficult situation is when a local community claims entitlement to reserves and production in their countrys territorial waters. This Nigerias oil producing states did at
the beginning of the countrys Third Republic. In international law territorial waters belong to the sovereign nation as a whole and under the jurisdiction, in defence and other administrative matters, of the central government. However, when there is a sense of being involuntarily incorporated into an amalgamated colony and postcolonial polity, as is common among the people of Nigerias Niger Delta, the view is that by natural right they should own their homelands, including the adjacent territorial waters and decide the terms in which they enter into any amalgamated national union. However, international law in this case currently sides with the Nigerian federal governments exercise of sovereignty over all the federal republics territorial waters. In any event, the territorial waters will be internationally recognizing as belonging to the countries to whom length of internationally recognized coastline they are adjacent. When Thabo Mbeki first started talking about African Renaissance all over the world while deputy president to Nelson Mandela, he called for a rejection of bourgeois materialism; if as South Africas president he has been particular about not upsetting the economic status quo it is obviously in deference to the risks of destabilizing the investment dependent economy with radical policy shifts; but this difference between ideological advocacy and practice, which is common in politics, does not necessarily mean that he or anyone else in a similar position has lost sight of the Equity Principle. Radical approaches to renaissance or revolution, as the case might be, tend to negate the essentiality of strategic planning and maneuvering. While it is hard to imagine any leader in post apartheid South Africa losing sight of the equity principle, even if he were blind; no leader could verily advance towards renaissance and the socio-economic goals informing Humanism without volleying with the hard realities of neo-colonialism. Whatever the compromises, however slow the realistic pace, we cannot afford to become ideologically discouraged and sidetracked by the actual difficulties faced in national economic management. Yet, Brother Mbeki had seemed rather emphatic about the quality of ascetic values associated with Nyereres ujamaa (family-hood) endeavor in Tanzania. Nkrumah had likewise argued in his classic book Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism that revolutionary states could give foreign investors equal concessions and possibly better returns than comprador states, but the essential
difference was that they pursued their own independent vision and made constructive use of their gains in the national interest. In this light, I couldn't imagine any African constitution go the extreme of proscribing foreign investment as did Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution constitution; we have a healthy concept of mutual interest satisfaction reflected in our conventional reference to stakeholders, but ultimately the optimum mode for Africa is strategic position improvement focused maneuvering. Constitutional Philosophy Perhaps the statement of constitutional philosophy that is at once most oft quoted, succinct and profound, as well as fundamental is that of 18th century American revolutionary political philosopher Thomas Paine: A constitution is a thing antecedent to a government, and a government is only the creature of a constitution..A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government. In the light of Paine's principle, each time the French rewrote their constitution they established a new republic. In the process of decolonizing Africa, constitutions were drawn up to provide the legal foundations for the new sovereign polities. In Nigeria, between 1953 and independence on October 1, 1960, 3 different constitutions were negotiated by representatives of the regions that had constituted substantive pre-colonial states. Like the French, each time a new constitutional order was introduced a new republic was proclaimed. However, the main event determining proclamation of a new republic was return to civilian governance after years of military rule. In the case of the Second Republic, introduced in 1979 after 13 years of military rule, there was a new constitution, distinctive in many ways from its independence predecessor; most significantly, instead of the earlier four-region structure, in which each was headed by a premier and the federal government by a Prime Minister, and there was a single chamber Parliament, the American model was introduced, comprised of states with an executive president. Although the constitution commission was set up by the military government and it was then head of state General Murtala Muhammed who suggested the American model, the Nigerian public generally seemed satisfied with the drafting work done by the
countrys leading legal luminaries. In 1983 the military deposed the civilians once again, leading to the 1991 constitution in which the military government had a heavy hand in designing; thus it encountered a great deal more legitimacy challenges than did the 1979 version. Generally founding constitutions and the African republics they established suffered from the negative political culture characterizing colonialism. Virtually everywhere they colonized the British promoted tribalism. However, unlike the British who left behind several multiparty democracies upon departing, all post colonial Francophobe republics started life as one a party state. Tribalism appeared to have been a substantial factor in the failure of Nigerias First Republic and also in the stability in other former British colonies that in several instances resulted in one party rule being established. Francophone countries were notorious for coup dtats. Independent Nigerias maiden constitution permitted regional parties in national politics, with the result that the Northern Peoples Congress formed the countrys first government, with the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun as a junior partner. NPC leader, Sir Ahmadou Bello, an heir of Sokoto Caliphate founder Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio, remained in the Northern capital Kaduna as regional Premier, while his deputy Sir Abubakar Tafewa Balewa went to Lagos as Federal Prime Minister. The result was truly disastrous. Sir Ahmadou began manipulating politics in the southern region of the country, provoking a mass of resentment that culminated his being slain by Southern officers, along with Balewa and other allies. The commanding officer of the military, General Ironsi, a Southerner, called the assassins mutineers, arrested them and took in hand the reins of governance. Six months later he hadnt brought the mutineers to justice, while appearing to use martial rule to consolidate tribal hegemony. One fine morning he was arrested by Northern soldiers and shot dead. Soon there was a civil war. Nigerias 1979 constitution required a presidential candidate to win with a broad national vote spread and regional parties were ruled out. This didnt actually prevent tribal politics because owing to migration the major tribes were well represented in parts of the country outside their homelands and as late as 1999 the Alliance for Democracy (AD) was controlled by a leading tribal cultural group,
reserving the party chairman post for someone outside the tribe for window dressing. However, the election results showed that Nigerians favoured genuinely national parties. The philosophy underling Nigerias 1979 constitution was corporate federal nationalism; that is a unitary nation with decentralized administrative and legislative powers, with matters of collective concern managed by a central government. The 1999 revised edition of the 79 constitution brings the state governors and federal executive together, along with former heads of state, in the National Council of States, which is presumably the most powerful body in the land, with a view to making executive administration more cooperative and collegiate. However, in de-emphasizing the cooperative nature of Nigerian nationalism we permit retention of reference to minorities and majorities in the political lexicon. The constitution Nigeria had started life on was actually an incompetently conceived though appropriate attempt at cooperative nationalism: providing four regions, more or less reflecting Nigerias pre-colonial political configuration; each headed by a premier and having legislative assemblies, wile at the center there was a Prime Minister and Parliament as well as a Governor General, later converted to a non-executive president. However serious design flaws prevented the basic concept of cooperative nationalism from attaining viability in a working model. The purpose of a constitution is a philosophical issue that is more conceptual in nature than ideological or institutional. In the 2005 Kenyan constitutional debate, the conceptual question of whether a constitution should be very specific about election procedures and parliamentary representation or should just provide broad guidelines for institutional and administrative structures, leaving the details to Parliament. Kenyas modern political foundation was no doubt influenced by British political culture, where there is no composite document identified as a constitution, but the constitutional function is more or less filled by Parliament and judicial precedence. This had tended to promote in Africa a constitutional culture that offers substantial executive prerogative, such as the power to dissolve Parliament and emergency powers; also, from the British influence we get this notion of a constitution at most providing broad outlines, leaving the particulars to Parliament. However, the Kenyan public
decisively rejected the Wako Draft constitution in a November 2005 referendum, citing ambiguities, over concentration of power in the president and illegitimacy of the drafting process, which involved no elected delegates. From the philosophical concept of a constitution as essentially a legal and political system structure guide, the rise of professionalism is confronting us with the proposition of the constitution as a politys operating and management system. In modern politics, for all the dynamics, like in sports, rules define the game. A constitution, the concept of which as a written document gained currency in the late 18th century upon the American and French revolutions, is essentially a political operating system. The American constitution, which materialized during 1787 and 88, was drawn up over the course of very extensive and at times heated discussion and debate between some 55 delegates from the thirteen former British American colonies that had ten years earlier combined forces in a revolution to win independence from the English Crown. Whatever philosophical dimensions the contentious issues took were fundamentally rooted in questions of equity; yet so much stock was placed on those equity and judicial related issues that there was considerable opposition to the proposed federation. Nevertheless, the American constitution was painstakingly negotiated and incorporated establishment of the three primary branches of the federal government the executive presidency, the legislative congress and the judiciary charged with interpreting the law and passing judgments thereupon; and also established the sphere of federal government authority, including its powers in respect of the states. Thus young America was given a definitive political operating system, which very importantly incorporated provision for amendment. It wasnt until 1791, three years after the initial ratification of the constitution, that the Bill of Rights, in philosophical spirit identifying the freedoms and liberties that the federal government was obliged to uphold with respect to U.S. citizens and the states, comprised the first ten amendments to the fundamental law of the union. Only in the second half of the 20th century did the philosophical spirit of the Bill of Rights grow in its interpretation by the United States Supreme Court to oblige the states comprising the union to enforce it in respect
of their residents, particularly African Americans in legal status, one is a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state in which he lives. However, these important constitutional developments came in the midst of crises rather than as a result of response by state and federal governing authorities to political scientists analyses. Until this moment, despite the predominance of middle class living standards in the United States, there is still a preponderance of patrician, conservative WASP and macho values that mask a genocide agenda against African-Americans; the fact that annually thousands of emigrants from the African continent settle in America not withstanding. America has evolved from a no-party system under George Washington, who warned against the dangers of parties, saying that they kindle the animosity of one part against another which Qhadhaffi also contends in his Green Book; to a one party system in the first half of the 19th century, to the dominance of only two parties by the turn of the 20th century. Over the course of this political alignment and ideology evolution, American politics has become intriguingly complex but also very narrow in perspective and overly committed to Republican (patrician) versus Democratic (liberal) ideological imperatives, though in actual executive administration there is usually a measure of compromise that makes actual governance relatively centrist. In recent years management concepts have been applied to all fields of administration, whereby today we talk of disease management, conflict management, political management, etc. Systems analysis and design have become integral aspects of management in the computer age and indeed it has greatly enhanced management efficiency and prospects over what normally pertained under the Organization & Methods study mode associated with manual administration. An important characteristic of System Analysis is that it is ongoing; no sooner is a newly designed management system commissioned, analysis resumes with a view to further refining it. Given the political challenges facing contemporary Africa, considering that our polities are in crucial stages of development during this Information Technology age, perhaps we should seize the times and apply the system analysis and design approach to constitutional development, rather than patronizing
conservative thinking that tends to render constitution amendment exercises reactionary rather than dynamic.
Religion Following upon the heels of the American Revolution, was the French Revolution, which was a terribly messy and bloody ten year transformation from some three centuries of absolutist monarchy, culminating during 1799 in a constitutional republic led by the dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte. French philosophers, particularly Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), had played an important role in calling popular attention to the illogical nature of governance by virtually absolutist royal prerogative and decree and, also, by promulgating the concepts of natural rights and liberties. Although Rousseau died before the revolution started, his classic political treatise, Social Contract, philosophically asserted the logic of democracy over the royalists claim to divine right. Significantly, the philosophers and their intellectual collaborators redefined Frances political vocabulary to serve the educational and motivational ends of the revolution they sought; that is to say, from a contemporary perspective, they redesigned the systems analysis tools employing rationality rather than doctrine. While the Renaissance philosophers rejected religious dogma as presented by the Bible and Church, they rationally upheld the primacy of God, making a distinction between the theistic outlook of the church and the deistic perspective of philosophy. Thus the Religious Neutrality Principle was adopted for the republic. Even among illiterate Africans rational belief in God is normative. We live by the congruence between human nature and our environments that provide possibilities for social relations, food, water, habitat and progress. Atheism is alien to the Africans natural intelligence. Acquired beliefs reflect freedom of choice and conscience; therefore they should also respect the freedom of conscience to differ. Belief in God Almighty is the common denominator in Africa and should provide the rational point of departure for philosophical realization, including moral values and crime control.
Failure to adopt the Religious Neutrality Principle has resulted in chronic civil disobedience, entailing untold loss of lives and property in Nigeria. Upon entering a Nigerian government office, one can know the religious persuasion of the person behind the desk by the religious decoration around the room, or the Christian music blasting from the radio. Journalists are typically advocates for their religions, to the point of insulting other religions, which has provoked tragic rioting. Foreign missionaries are very instrumental in promoting this religious fanaticism in Nigeria and spreading the idea that religious tolerance entails enduring insult and aggressive proselytizing. In contemporary context, freedom of religion has been superseded by freedom of conscience, a concept which preserves the individual right not to be molested by proselytism and imposition of religion. It is quite necessary that Africa generally adopt the freedom of conscience concept in lieu of the anachronism, freedom of religion; because aggressive assertion of religious faith has become both a political and social problem for us. Expressions of sectarian faith would best be confined to places of worship and prohibited in the public sphere. We must cultivate a rational noetic culture, even if some of us are not prepared to understand and appreciate our religions in rational terms. It is imperative that African constitutions and legal regimes be appropriately amended to displace the outdated and problematic concept religious freedom with freedom of conscience. Secularism is variously conceptualized as religious neutrality of the state or a political expression of agnosticism; for Africa it may be either, but against the background of our prevailing Theo-centrism it is actually the former.
Moral Imperative Consistent with our realization that God is the author of all things, it should be recognized that life is a moral challenge; for logically God would not be God if He did not create man for the highest good; but since we are advocating freedom of conscience, which includes civil respect for atheism, let us consider the relationship between moral discipline and socio-economic efficiency. Can we imagine that humans are typically qualitatively better off in a family troubled by
vices individual members indulge than one virtually free of vice? Are vice and moral indiscipline indulged by public officials factors in corruption? Is there a relationship between moral insensitivity and crime? Is there a relationship between morally insensitive public entertainment and role models and depreciation in moral and ethical values in a society? Is there a relationship between moral insensitivity and income distribution inequity? Is there a relationship between moral insensitivity and vandalism and other symptoms of social capital deficiency? Can we blame people for crime when statistics have shown a high rise in it commensurate with laxity of moral controls and depreciation of moral discipline generally? What is governments measure of responsibility in the premises? These questions are vital to our formation of public policy regarding public decency, family law, vice control, criminal justice and crime control. Today, Africans cannot be proud that through reckless social behavior we have occasioned the spread of the deadly HIV/AIDS disease, whereby we are begging the world to finance the consequences. With the already mammoth development challenges facing the continent, allowing ourselves to fall into this HIV/AIDS mess to the extent that over a third of the adult population of some African states are infected and the infections in the sub-Sahara region of the continent are advancing at an average of 10,000 persons a day, and then having to divert resources away from progressive developments to finance the consequences of our social mismanagement is grossly dishonorable; and we must face that fact. The world is expressing sympathy with us while laughing behind our backs; after assessing the cost of combating HIV/AIDS in Africa at astronomical sums, the international community turns around and throws us peanuts. Only Uganda, among the countries hard hit with HIV/AIDS resorted to moral reform and has been the only country to substantially reverse the HIV/AIDS spread rate, though Kenya has recently claimed it's making progress. HIV/AIDS spreads in a reckless syndrome that features alcohol, narcotics, money squandered on night life, prostitution, low economic productivity, marital infidelity and child abuse. Outsiders encourage Africans in this self-destruction by pretending empathy, to the extent of dignifying prostitutes with the label commercial sex workers and promoting rubber prophylactics, which we import, as principal
remedy. At the 9th International Conference of the Society for Women & AIDS in Africa (SWAA) the representative from Namibia noted that in her country having a host of paramours was for men a social status symbol. The commonly proposed rubber prophylactic solution may perhaps lower risk of infection but only encourages perpetuation of the reckless syndrome in which Sexually Transmitted Diseases spread. A cure can be found for AIDS tomorrow; but if that would only fuel perpetuation of the reckless syndrome in all probability another such disease will eventually surface. As all Africans recognize the family as the fundamental social unit and building block, would it not be reasonable that family law in Africa give legal teeth to wholesome family values; uphold the dignity of family members by giving them recourse to the courts if any family member persists to interact with others with senses impaired by alcohol or drugs? Is it not reasonable that women and children be protected from physical abuse by men with impaired senses and enjoy legal right to an equitable share of nuclear family income? Also, in respect of human dignity, is it not reasonable that people in the streets and other public places be protected from molestation by those with impaired senses and also from imposition of tobacco smoke into their environments? Moreover, small children in Africa need legal rights protection against careless exposure to cigarette smoking. It should not be forgotten that alcoholism, tobacco smoking and narcotics adversely affect one's offspring. Do we in this light settle on natural selection or insist on the universal right to optimum self-realization? In the latter case we would invariably find ourselves considering a batch of controversial options, in the former we accommodate parental selfishness at the expense of innocent, victimized offspring and society. The deeper we go in pursuit of moral justice, the more complicated the options are apt to become; this is the nature and challenge of Democratic Collaboration. As the central figure on earth, humans must have a high sense of their own value and purpose. The Democratic Collaboration and Equity Principles intend to promote universal self-fulfillment; Religious Neutrality intends to replace conflicting doctrines with rational values that promote elevation of the general human condition. In a Federal system, legislation reflecting religious values by democratically elected state or local representative assemblies, as in
Northern Nigeria, not only falls within the principle of Democratic Collaboration, it moreover addresses the fundamental human right of a community to shape its environment in accordance with its values. However, expressing such legislation in sectarian terms, or enactment with sectarian references may prejudice rational assessment of them and alienate people outside the sectarian community. In a Federal system, legislation reflecting religious values by democratically elected state or local representative assemblies, as in Northern Nigeria, not only falls within the principle of Democratic Collaboration, it moreover addresses the fundamental human right of a community to shape its environment in accordance with its values. However, expressing such legislation in sectarian terms, or enactment with sectarian references may prejudice rational assessment of them and alienate people outside the sectarian community. Legislatures would appropriately advance such legislation in deference to the Moral Imperative, with elaboration on how it contributes to their social vision and the fundamental values underlying that vision. Sharia, which means the straight and proper road, is not simply a penal code; it is a virtuous way of life that if followed conscientiously and acculturated by the population will result in very few violations of the law, especially laws involving corporal punishment. Translating the concept of Sharia to English we are talking about Traveling the Moral High Ground. It is a philosophy of life, recognizing the Moral Impetrative, encouraging humans to optimally fulfill their potential for moral elevation. Sharia is not the exclusive purview of Arab theologians, as some would have us believe; it is a universal concept that can be expressed in any language on earth; that can be rationally conceived by any society. Conciliation and Nationalism The Conciliation Principle is of paramount importance in bringing about Democratic Collaboration, Equity and Religious Neutrality. Political and psychological maturity requires social and political acceptance, as well as efficient management, of differences. All societies give rise to various opposing ideological and political camps, apart from natural differences in race, ethnicity and clans. We should not suppose that even social integration, whereby ethnic groups would
become synthesized, would relieve Africa of opposing camps and perspectives. Economists may become divided over economic policy, factiously rallying the public to their different positions; politicians may become divided over issues of decentralization, with divisions between the population in the premises. Thus conciliation and antagonistic conflict preemption are philosophically vital to Democratic Collaboration; moreover, conflict resolution is a social science imperative not to be regarded as ad hoc. The basis of Conciliation is mutual respect and distinction between private choice and general public good. With mature public spirit and consciousness, with appreciation of the Moral Imperative, people of different religious persuasions, different cultural backgrounds and different local culture environments can Democratically Collaborate with Equity for the collective good of the polity and Pan Africa. As much as conciliation is necessary to develop a good constitution, it must also be built into the constitution with such emphasis as to have definite cultural impact. Modern societies, such as England, today often have laws against inciting ethnic and religious hatred, though they are not always seriously enforced; as can be seen in Northern Ireland, where the Protestants continue to obsessively molest Catholics. In Nigeria and Sudan, where laws against inciting hatred are seriously needed, the press is full of religious and ethnic affronts and sometimes outright insults. Conciliation requires a public ethics code that keeps religion, race and ethnicity in the national background. For example, Sudanese governments or politicians, or the press, defining their multi-ethnic, multiracial, multi religious country as Arab and Islamic is provocative and a denial of Sudanese nationalism. In such an atmosphere, the government has no moral authority to stop racial or religious insults because it has provoked them by insinuating the irrelevance of certain sections of the population to the national identity. Conciliation is based on all inclusive nationalism. Nationalism is the natural religion of the nation; national identity is the primary identity of the citizenry. African is a collective political identity of all citizens of African Union member states; it does not deserve racial association because the continents citizenry is comprised of people with roots from various parts of the world, in addition to indigenes of Africa. Since Africa is believed by archaeologists to be the cradle of mankind, it
seems appropriate that it also be the home and place of return to anyone in the world who so chooses to take up roots here. The racialist concept of Africa had been opposed by early African nationalists and Pan Africanists such as King Mohammed V, Kwame Nkrumah, Ahmed Skou Tour, Ahmed Ben Bella and Gamel Abdel Nasser. In Africa, the Arabs, Turks, Indians and Caucasians are part of the continents rainbow. Nelson Mandela prescribed the social future of Africa with his post-apartheid declaration of a Non-Racial Rainbow Society for South Africa. In incorporating the Conciliation Principle into contemporary African constitutions, Mandelas nonracial society ideal is an imperative. This ideal should also be extended against tribalism, but it does not negate the legitimacy of cooperative republics because ancestral, or historic, homelands are geographical bases of natural sovereignty, that in contemporary Africa are circumstantially obligated to negotiate cooperative republics with the other homelands joined together in the colonially amalgamated nation-states. The circumstances of the obligation are not only international recognition of the colonially derived nation-state, for there have been post-colonial attempts by North Atlantic powers to divide the very states they created; of utmost importance to us are the collective obligations to improve our geopolitical, geo-strategic power profiles and upscale our economies. The State Governments in Africa are usually led by political parties and are of partisan character. However, the Equity Principle demands limitations of partisan powers in favour of all inclusive national interests. It was seen during Nigerias First Republic that the ruthless rivalry between political parties went so far that the ruling party began using the police, armed forces and election machinery to sustain its dominance; the only neutral force representing the state, which was the military, eventually intervened. This lesson in history and others that followed, highlight the need not only to distinguish between state and government, but to cloth the former with sufficient referee powers to regulate partisan politics and curb partisan excesses. Had Nigeria an institution similar to Britains House of Lords, composed of traditional rulers and elders having no partisan
affiliation, who had a constitutional mandate to follow specific procedures to curb partisan excesses, the countrys protracted era of military rule might have been avoided. As military rule has precluded, or at best severely compromised Democratic Collaboration, the Equity Principle has never in African been properly adhered to while soldiers were at the helm of affairs. However, since African politicians have tended to excesses that compromise democracy and equity, it becomes necessary for the state to have a popular identity distinct from partisan government, as well as adequate referee powers. All African societies have traditional leaders and now there are many elder statesmen, retired military officers and luminaries to constitute State Foundation Assemblies, or the Republic Assembly. In prescribing the Republic Assembly and conditions of membership, the constitution must elaborate procedures for it to intervene in partisan politics in crisis situations. One possible arrangement could be that the Republic Assembly is personified by a President of the Republic, elected by its members for short durations like two years, while government is headed by a Prime Minister. The Republic Assembly might also appoint a secretariat to manage its affairs and an inspection unit to inspect and monitor the performance of the executive and legislative branches of government. Judicial appointments, public prosecution, government auditing and military commissions could be the preserve the Republic Assembly. In this setup the Attorney General would by an officer of the state rather than the government. The Legislative Assembly might be concerned with legislation, approval of ministerial appointments, policy consultations with the Council of Ministers and enforcement of governing ethics and criteria. To enhance the Equity Principle and strengthen the states referee powers, there is need for a popularly elected Ombudsman, who receives and represents in the courts cases brought by the public against government or any one of its officers. In a federal system, each state might elect an Ombudsman in addition to the National Ombudsman. However, it does not seem appropriate that candidates for the office of Ombudsman should have partisan political backgrounds. No doubt Ombudsman candidates should come from the judiciary. The Referee Theory informing the idea of the Ombudsman is that the Equity Principle would be compromised if political operators are allowed influence or control over public grievance
institutions or the judiciary. In this system of distinction between state and governing institutions, public cases against institutions of the former might be referred the supranational courts, such as ECOWAS West African Court of Justice or the African Unions Court of Justice. Democratic Collaboration and Equity require adequate representativeness of government positions with respect to geographical spread (horizontal spread), social strata (vertical spread) and political parties (diagonal spread). This may be achieved by constitutionally prescribed formula. Horizontal spread is not strange to African political practice. Sierra Leone, during the Siaka Stevens era (1968-1985), had a triumvirate presidency with a first and second vice president in addition to the president. Sudan currently has a similar arrangement, requiring the the president of the autonomous Southern region to be the first vice president, while other disaffected regions are also demanding VPs in a collegiate presidency. Cte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Togo have executive presidents as well as prime ministers. Although the arrangement never materialized, Nigeria's constitution drafting commission in 1994 had prescribed 6 political zones for the federation and a federal executive consisting of that number of offices: a president, 2 vice presidents, a prime minister and 2 deputy prime ministers, rotating from zone to zone term by term. During the early 1990s Niger adopted the French constitutional arrangement whereby the president and prime minister share executive functions, with the former being the principal representative of the state, director of international relations and boss of the prime minister. The arrangement, which provides for the prime minister to be the head of the party with a majority in the National Assembly, had never proven difficult until the president and the prime minister happened to be from different parties. This situation, which French President Jacques Chirac called "cohabitation", occurred when the Socialist won a majority in the French National Assembly while Chirac, representing the neo-Gaullist, retained the presidency. The French managed it begrudgingly but in Niger, when President Mahamane Ousmane of the Alliance of the Forces for Change had to cohabit with National Movement for a Developed Society Prime Minister Hama Amadou, the government became deadlocked, provoking a military takeover.
Nigeria's 1994 constitutional commission had proposed that the ruling sextet be elected on one ticket, assuring that all had a popular mandate and were members of the same party. In Cte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Togo the president appoints the prime minister and can equally remove him. In France, if the prime minister and president are members of the same party, the latter appoints and may remove the former; but if it is a cohabitation arrangement the prexy must put up with the PM no matter what. The Niger experience has cautioned Africans away from allowing cohabitation; thus the most democratic way of implementing horizontal spread at the chief executive level is to have the principal ruling colleagues elected on the same ticket. However, this has never been done in Africa with such a large number of principals. Currently, Nigeria's presidential tickets going into multiparty elections are comprised of only a president and vice president. In any event, the ruling partisan ticket put before the electorate by constitutional prescription should not ignore the need for separation of powers and institutions of the state from those of government. Nowhere in Africa is the concept of the state as distinct from government held. Nonetheless, it appears that there must be a major breakthrough in African political thinking in this regard if we are to verily build enduring, stable polities. While spreading executive governing offices horizontally and vertically, possibly diagonally as well, we must also attain the principles of state foundation institutions with ultimate referee powers and virtually no actual governing powers, governing institutions with limited referee powers and popular assessment institutions that play a collaborative role with the state and government in enhancing government performance, while reserving the right to engage state institutions for legal action against government whenever there arises an otherwise irreconcilable disagreement. If we are considering a Republic Assembly that biennially elects a president as personification of the nation-state, horizontal spread might be achieved rotationally. Moreover, both horizontal and vertical spread might be incorporated into the Republic Assembly's Secretariat, which we might dub Secretariat of the Republic, and the inspection and monitoring unit (State Inspectorate), which might even have offices in the various ministries and other important offices of
government. However, any such units would be subject to the Democratic Collaboration principle and be competent to advise and counsel government in improving its performance rather than necessarily policing government. Diagonal (political party) spread might be achieved in the governing executive by compulsory coalition government based on a proportion of votes formula. Horizontal spread can be easily achieved if the Council of Ministers is composed of elected Members of parliament as is the case in most European countries. Each MP Minister invariably represents a different constituency. This is also an inducement to voters in the constituencies to vote for capable candidates who are qualified to represent them in the Council of Ministers as well as Parliament. Although the Americans will argue that forming the Council of Ministers from the Members of Parliament does not allow separation of powers as in Washington, it certainly provides government that is more representative of the popular choice, rather than allowing governance by political insiders and bureaucrats who have no voter mandate. The Kenyan constitutional referendum of 2005 provided an unprecedented show of cabinet ministers and half of them openly and in successive public rallies opposed the president's endorsement of the constitution, calling for a no vote, which the electorate ultimately delivered. It is also observed that ministers in Kenya, enjoying popular mandates from their constituencies keep the press informed on their demands to the president as well as his response to them. This is high level democratic practice and a model for the rest of the continent at this stage of our political development. In federal arrangements, which are likely to become increasingly common in Africa, there would be a host of additional considerations in respect of the State Foundation and Spread theories. First of all, it becomes necessary to introduce and appreciate the Elasticity Principle, which is essentially a physics of political science theory maintaining that adequate tensility is necessary in the power and governing relationship between the central government and political sub-divisions in order to reduce the risk of breakage. This theory runs contrary to conventional political thinking and tendency in Africa, which is apprehensive that elasticity encourages separatist inclinations and regard autonomy a breach of nationalism. Particularly today, in
the presence of the African Union, the African continent, in having supranational institutions, is becoming increasingly confederate, which in effect makes the idea of secession commensurately irrelevant. Supranationalism also obscures the notion of "breach of nationalism", because we are now finding ourselves increasingly in a Pan African political formation. In the present situation, as can be seen from the North-South conflict ending Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan, autonomy with equal opportunity for national leadership actually proves to be a prescription for cooperative federalism, in which horizontal power spread and equality might be efficiently attained. Given State Foundation Institutions, as distinct from governing institutions, autonomous regional governance would optimize decentralization of power on a strong, in-dissolvable, nation-state foundation. In this case, it is governance that is federal, but the Republic Assembly would be unified and biennially rotate its presidency from one autonomous region to another, similar to the rotation every five years of kingship in the Malaysian Federation. National state institutions, such as the courts would, would not bear "federal" identities, since only the government is federal, while the republic is unitary. Thus we might have Republic Courts and a domestic intervention branch of the armed forces, analogous to what the Americans call National Guard and the French the Gendarmerie, to enable the Republic Assembly to exercise its ultimate referee powers mandate if necessary. Also, horizontal spread of Secretariat of the Republic posts would be constitutionally prescribed. The Secretariat might be headed by a Secretary of the Republic, who would administer the day to day affairs of the Republic Assembly and its ancillary institutions. The role of the Secretariat would include attention to matters and requirements related to the judiciary, armed forces, Ombudsmen, State Inspectorate and the all important national performance assessment institution, which we might call the High Civil Council. The High Civil Council would be comprised of representatives from civil society, such as organized labor, the organized private sector, professional academia, students, the information media, artists, petty traders, etc., to deliberate with leading government representatives, perhaps quarterly, in televised sessions, on the national situation, particularly
regarding government's performance in implementing plans, programs and campaign promises. However, the Republic Assembly, as a nongoverning entity, would not participate in these sessions, though civil society might have other institutionalized means for dialogue with the Republic Assembly concerning state institutions, such as the courts, armed forces and ombudsmen. This arrangement might well suit Sudan if its survives the South's referendum on separation scheduled for 2011. No doubt the East, Darfur and central regions, such as the Nuba Mountains, would have to be given autonomous governing status equivalent to the South's and their leaders incorporated into the horizontal spread of wealth, as well as federal government and state foundation institution leadership, for Sudan to inspire the volume of hope from its disparate communities to survive in one piece. Since Republic Foundation Institutions are apolitical, if they are constitutionally mandated to provide horizontal spread in leadership and membership is either selected or elected by constituencies throughout the republic, there would be no point in fragmenting them; hence the unitary Republic Foundation would in effect allow for optimization of the elasticity principle, which would in any event be actually limited by the functional imperatives of national economic integration, free movement and settlement of peoples and national participation in international organizations, forums, conferences and sports. Alliance politics at the national level might moreover facilitate unity of purpose among politicians from the different autonomous regions and bring about horizontally spread diagonal (partisan) allegiances at the expense of strictly regional allegiances. This would be quite a healthy development, in which national partisan alliances on policies of governance at all levels (national. regional, state, and local community) would give rise to ideologically, rather than ethnically, based politics. Although these general principles and state institutional theories are alien to African political management practice, they might be useful to Africans as we strive to improve our standards of governance and administration. No one model can fit all, but I think members of constitution drafting commissions should look to improve upon and tailor fit these ideas rather than negate them.
In this era of unprecedented business competitiveness, modern organization development revolves around the themes of perpetual analysis for persistent or periodic improvement and dynamism, to optimally efficient ends. In many countries, particularly in the Global North, government ministries and agencies also use system analysis and designing as tools of efficiency optimization. The expensive question is however: how can system analysis be introduced into constitutional and state institutional designing to an effect analogous to corporate and bureau management? Constitutional drafting, at its best, continues to be the political delegate attended process that it was over two-hundred years ago and this is of course consistent with democratic principles. To stress the technocratic competence imperative in derogation of the popular mechanisms of constitutional promulgation, such as the constituent assembly and referendums, would steer us away from democratic development towards dictation by elite presumption. To avoid such a regression while giving due respect to the democratic processes of constitutional reform, re-writing, amendment and development it is necessary for the political scientist communities in Africa to imbibe and promote the idea of system analysis and design as political functions and suggest precise ways for experts in this art/science to technically interact with and advise constituent assemblies and voters in constitutional matters
Alliance of Civilizations
he Alliance of Civilizations initiative suggested by Spain and Turkey and adopted by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (Reuters, July 14, 2005) in the wake of the July 7, 2005 London transport system bombings proposes a veritable way forward for humanity; however, it is important that everyone appreciates what is entailed therein. We have been talking for quite some time about a dialogue of civilizations; the late Ismail Al Faruqi in the early 1980s initiated a dialogue of the Abrahamic faiths Christianity, Islam and Judaism; invariably dialogue is central to development and maintenance of an Alliance of Civilizations, which is certainly a better idea than Clash of Civilizations. Unfortunately, the Clash of Civilizations idea has been widely imbibed and no doubt the global terrorist war that Islamic extremists have launched against the West is in part inspired by such cynicism. Former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami once cautioned while in Australia that for legitimate dialogue to take place between Islam and the West, the latter would have to engage the affirmative Islamists, because only they could truly represent the Muslim world. The Muslim world is obviously no monolith; from Turkey to Arabia, from Iran to Malaysia, from Conakry to Kano we find ourselves in distinctly different manner of Islamic realms. Nonetheless, I think what Mohammed Khatami envisages is a synthesis of Sharia and liberalism that results in moderate affirmative Islam; because many of us share this vision. Despite the obnoxious Arabism and militarism, Sudans mainstream Islamists have in the social sphere liberally applied Sharia with commendable success in terms of healthy male-female relationships, education, professional development, entertainment, arts and gender equality. This idea of a liberal Sharia has also been advanced in Western academic circles and it would be in the interest of Islam-West dialogue for those in the West who appreciate this concept to be involved in the Alliance of Civilizations institution building that must come about if we are really going to achieve substantial goals.
I am not sure that the United Nations can do it alone because of its quasi democratic power structure; given the great edifice of misunderstanding between Islam and the West, with historically flammable issues like Israel and Palestine, considering the open wounds in the relationship between these two quarters of humanity, I think we need a liberal democratic dialogue environment, with institutionalized administration. We might start with a dialogue mechanism between the European Union and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which is the principal forum of Muslim world consensus at the moment; but from there I think we should move towards institutionalizing the Alliance of Civilizations as a great non-governing organization. We need in this monumental dialogue and solidarity endeavor people who are wholly committed to an alliance of civilizations, who are sensitive to the material and emotional issues involved, who appreciate the need to astutely elude power politics if we are going to attain our fundamental humanitarian goals. I might add here that terrorism, particularly suicide bombing, like guerrilla warfare in the early 20th century, is in strategic context the equalizer of the weaker protagonist. Governments with their conventional armies assert their power in their perceived interests and terrorists counterattack with desperately innovative methods. Suicide bombing, as it occurs daily in Iraq, has a concocted Islamic justification, no doubt using people who are convinced to kill themselves for a dubious cause because they cannot psychologically cope with life on the worlds real terms; in Palestine its an ultimate expression of nationalist survival instincts; in London and New York suicide terrorism were Clash of Civilizations attacks. In all, it has become a culture of popular Muslim warfare against the West and even against Muslim political rivals. We cannot realistically think in terms of annihilating this terrible culture, as Messrs. Bush, Rumsfeld, Sharon et al had been advocating; we must rather proceed to lead people away from it and this requires a sincere and good-willed cooperative global effort. We can still remember Donald Rumsfeld boasting about carrying the war to the terrorists at a time when there was no real evidence of terrorism in Iraq; then, some two years later, when the American public and Congress began challenging the administrations Iraq
military engagement policy over the steadily increasing number of post-combat casualties caused by the emergent terrorist culture there, he started suggesting that the insurgency (Washingtons euphemism for terrorism in post-elections Iraq) was invincible in the medium term. This highlights the adventurist nature of Washingtons aggression against Iraq. Current Secretary of State Condolezza Rices advocacy of reaching out to the miserably disgruntled Sunni Muslims in Shiite led Iraq is a sensible approach, although she was on the team that bull headedly invaded. Nevertheless, I think that positive developments resulted for IslamWest relations from the course of events in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, the wine drinking Muslims Americas press boasted about as their nations preferred leaders lost out to the list of Ayatollah Sistani, with Islamic Propagation Party leader Ibrahim Jaffari becoming Prime Minister; and he, as a pragmatist committed himself to cooperating with Washington and they had no other alternative but cooperate with him. It was a great day when U.S. Secretary of State Condolezza Rice said in Baghdad that together we are going to show the world that Islam and democracy are not incompatible. Out of this American military adventure of dubious intentions the world stands to gain a new and progressive chapter in relations between Islam and the West. Prime Minister Jafarri appears to be the ideal type Muslim for dialogue: an affirmative Islamist with a high sense of moral responsibility in respect of humanity and the future of the world. This also appears quite true in the case of Afghanistans Hamid Karzai. When an Arab News journalist asked him about the problems of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism, and he replied that they are two entirely different things, adding that he is a fundamentalist, but not an extremist, the carpet of illusory perspectives on the Islamic world was pulled out from under the Western media and political bureaucracies. The West must and should deal with Jafarri and Karzai on these mens own terms if we are to seriously pursue an Alliance of Civilizations. Unlike Erdogan, their counterpart in Turkey who should be lauded for introducing the Alliance of Civilizations idea, they are not under pressure from military forces to in effect deny Islam; they are not trying to enter the European Union, but they obviously appreciate that the bitter course of events in their countries has led to
an unprecedented opportunity for attaining an enlightened relationship between the Islamic world and the West. I believe the Islamic world needs to evolve modern societies that are not alien; that reflect our own creativity, higher evolution of our best traditional values, eclecticism with respect to the best ideas and values offered by the various domains of humanity; neither cultural protectionism nor cultural capitulation can serve our purposes; both are reactionary and at conflict with natural reality. People cannot comfortably live from generation to generation in a straight jacket but neither can they live healthily and progressively without self-restraint and discipline. Rationality, I maintain, is natural and a coming to terms with reality; in the Islamic context I see men like Jafarri, Karzai and Malaysias Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmed Badawi representing natural realism. They are affirmative Islamists, pragmatists and moderates. In the latters case, he is challenged to promote Malaysian nationalism in its Islamic, Chinese and non-Islamic traditionalist dimensions, which requires delicately balancing different cultures and philosophies, giving a fair measure of deference to the indigenous Muslim majority. Similar challenges also confront Muslim leaders in Africas predominately Muslim polities with substantial non-Muslim minorities. In such instances, Islamic values must be expressed for public purposes, particularly in matters of legislation, in rational rather than dogmatic theocratic terms. For example, in penal questions we should be talking in terms of zero tolerance and public safety rights taking precedence over deference to criminals rights, instead of references to theocratic texts. In finance, affirmative Islamists should be arguing the economic utility of banks as investors rather than lenders. In insurance the debate is between the cooperative system, which tends to make insurance an interesting investment only for banks and large corporations with great insurable assets values, and conventional profit motivated insurance business. It must be born in mind that moderation is relative to the poles of extremism. Islamic leaders that the West may regard as moderates are seen through our affirmative Islamic eyes as capitulators. The middle ground for us is between the capitulators and the protectionists. We are humans, we want to dance and sing, we wish to be fashionable and we have natural romantic inclinations, but also prize elegance and
dignity, subtlety and modesty we are accustomed to a discriminating contrast between private and public behavior. We prize social order and respectability, which implies chastity out of wedlock and marital fidelity. For us the issue is not the headscarf, all the leading Western fashion houses are designing for us headscarves; for us its between the headscarf and the veil, between the black chador and the various colorful fashions that beautify and give distinctiveness to our somewhat prudish public presence values. However, I think things in this regard should be as in Khartoum where I live; if a woman wants to go to the extreme of covering her face, which probably less than 1% of the metropolitan areas women [voluntarily] do, its up to her; if you want to be out of place with a mini-skirt, thats your choice; but the overwhelming majority of women are into the elegant Sudanese Islamic and dignified African fashion scenes and seem to be enjoying their creativity in these veins. People love music, popular recording artists can be heard in the public transportation vehicles, weddings are celebrated with splendid performances by singers and bands; people dance for hours in their respectable traditional manner. There is hardly any inclination to freakiness or obscenity. Yes, there are schools of Islam that reject music and dancing; but there are also Sufi rituals that invariably involve drumming, chanting, singing and dancing. I believe that all these different interpretations of Islam should respectfully coexist, but extremists at the protectionist and capitulatory poles too often make this impossible. The Islamic world cannot modernize without tolerant societies that accommodate both protectionist and capitulatory extremist tendencies with a liberalism that trusts natural gravitation of the vast majority towards a moderate affirmative Islamic center. It is essential though that the political culture at the center be strongly nationalist, otherwise it would not have the requisite gravitational pull on the popular will to neutralize the extremities. Although the governments of Jafarri and Karzai are heavily dependent on Washington at this juncture, and came to power under the protection of Washington, the natural sense of nationalist integrity these two leaders have demonstrated affords them popular support. Many Muslims see the governments in Iraq and Afghanistan as American puppet shows. To my mind this is imaging that Washington
can be the ultimate determiner in human destiny. Washington had its plan; some leaks indicated the Pentagon had a scenario of an American general ruling Iraq for some 20 years after conquering it, using the historical example of Japans post-World War II punishment as a reference precedent. Whatever the case, God had his own plan; Washington never wanted things to work out the way they did with Ayatollah Sistanis list of candidates coming out on top. Sistanis people, by allying with the Kurds and pragmatically cooperating with Washington, changed history in Islams favor. The Sunni/Bathist terrorist insurgents are manic reactionaries in the premises, with no agenda other than a nihilistic civil war. The fact that both Iran and Afghanistan have popular democratically elected governments that are affirmatively Islamist, yet moderate and conciliatory goes to say that an Alliance of Civilizations incorporating Islam and the West must avoid infiltration by those who are paranoid of Global South nationalism, because healthy expression of our nationalism is not only vital to our self-respect, integrity and political stability, it is the fountain of goodwill towards the rest of the world. The West no doubt very well knows this; that is why they put leaders on their strategic interest payrolls to make them capitulatory. However, this only discredits such leaders, while precluding formation of an affirmative Islamic center and fertilizing the soil for proliferation of extreme protectionists like Al Queda in Iraqs Jordanian born Zarqawi. Granted, there are very complex situations in the Muslim world, such as the anachronistic monarchial regime in Saudi Arabia, the obsessive Arabism psychologically debilitating Arabized Nubians in Sudan, the pervasive confusion of Arabism with Islam and what some non-Arab Muslims, like myself, regard as imposition of Arabism on Islam; but while these troubles may be specific to the Muslim world, let us not forget that every part of humanity incessantly experiences unsettling conditions, which essentially constitute the challenges of life. Christian evangelists in Africa often construe the resistance of Muslims to attempts to convert them to Christianity as stubbornly protectionist. What is Islam? Islam is essentially a moralist, iconoclastic monotheism, confirming the absoluteness of God and purity of his intentions. I assess Islam to be the philosophy of God that
demands our active ingenuity in applying its precepts to a dynamic, complex and fluid world. Enlightened Muslims are not protectionist; iconoclastic monotheism, which Muslims share with Jews, is to us the ultimate state of awareness and moralism is a satisfying challenge to personal discipline and self-fulfillment. We dont subscribe to Sharia necessarily because its ours; Sharia is simply the choice path of life, comprised of values that give us selfconfidence and optimal sense of human value. To give Sharias values legal teeth and shape our environments with them is a fundamental human right because such exercise enables us to genuinely appreciate life and constitutes our primary motivation to constructively contribute to our nations and the world at large. When we see Muslims behaving like Kamikaze, be sure that they are oppressed and cynical, actually to the point of nihilism; they are reacting to their tormenting sense of powerlessness with decimation. In many respects all of us in the Global South are oppressed, but for those convinced of the purity of Gods intentions, oppression is a challenge to rise to the heights of one like Mandela. Oppression inspires in us the ideal of universal human fraternity because that implies an end to oppression. I would very much like to see my brother, Dr. Kofi Annan, focus on the Alliance of Civilizations pursuit in his post-UN career. I must say here, that the African intelligentsia is generally proud of Dr. Annan and I personally would like to see him play a leading role in human affairs after retiring from his present post; I think this Alliance of Civilizations initiative is the ideal project to engage his talents. I pray that Nelson Mandela, historys greatest diffuser of racism, will be around to also play a leading role in this noble project. Perhaps even George W. Bush, after retiring from the presidency in 2009, might see fit to also get involved. Khartoum July 14, 2005
Kofi Annans wisdom, Chairman Mbekis vision

Published in The Journalist International, July 2002
midst various disquieting statements from African leaders at the recent official transformation of the Organization of African Unity to an African Union, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annans advice will hopefully be retained by us all as the crowning words of wisdom. The Ghanaian born global diplomat, pointing to the vast size, economic underdevelopment, debt and legacy of war plaguing the continent, cautioned: To build a successful union in such conditions will require great stamina and iron political will. However, the character of this essential tour de force must be as sensitively diplomatic as Mr. Annan has been in the conduct of his onerous job over the past six years. The press portrayed our new chairman, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, as emphatic about the intervention mandate of the AU in countries where security and peace have become outstanding concerns. Indeed, this is an important aspect of the AU, but in talking about it stress is best placed on the diplomatic prerequisites that must necessarily precede any armed intervention, which Chairman Mbeki did in fact emphasize in his speech launching the new union. The African press in particular must be very vigilant and careful about giving the best interpretations to our leaders discourses. The leap we have just taken is tremendous, the stakes are unspeakable; all hands must necessarily be on deck. We would expect the AU to be more dynamic and insistent in its interventionist diplomacy than the OAU had ever been because of the supranational ideology underlying it. Let us not ignore the AUs vulnerability to being cast as a party to conflict by the Western imperialists and from there they would proceed to accentuate internal resentments and disagreements. The present case of Madagascar is a handy example of this possibility. The unyielding position taken by the AU could lead to Madagascars long-term estrangement from its sister states, while foreign powers scheme to use Antananarivo as a rally point for dissenter states. Senegalese President Abdoulaye
Wades breaking ranks to recognize the government of Mr. Marc Ravalomanana is proactive and constructive, especially coming from the leader who was most intimately involved in mediation between the claimants to the Madagascar presidency. On the ideological teeth of the AU, President Wades taking exception to the peer review mechanism, whereby the Assembly of Heads of State and Government may call any of their number to order on human rights and other democratic issues, calling it impractical, appears a pragmatic caution from an old democrat who happens to have recently been elected in one of the continents most exemplary democracies. We cannot propose to stamp out tyranny and its derivatives in a season, however intolerable it may all be to the enlightened. There must be a calm and nagging insistence, the stamina and iron political will that Brother Annan talks about, with caution not to provoke adverse reactions and camps from within resolved to sabotage, derail the AU. As much as I believe that President Wade is committed to all the best things for Africa and is particular about maintaining his democratic credentials, I think he realizes that he is in a position to call for caution on this point without provoking accusations that he has an inimical personal agenda to protect. Some of us may remember that it was to quite an appreciable extent the perceived ambition for power and Leninist tendencies of the dean of post colonial Pan Africanism, Ghanas Kwame Nkrumah, that facilitated the suppression of his African Union proposition in the early 1960s. With some member states yet to ratify the AU Constitutive Act and controversy over some aspects of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), it would be utterly nave for anyone one of us to gloat in this monumental supranational victory. We must not lose sight of the fact that when African leaders met at the Extraordinary Summit at Sirte, Libya, to consider Leader Ghadaffis proposal of African Union, the basis of discussion was the need to accelerate implementation of the African Economic Community (AEC) treaty. While there is no questioning the centrality of good governance to sustained and accelerated socio-economic development Brother Annan also emphasized this, it is fair to surmise that material success by the group of states enjoying
reasonably enlightened leadership will serve as the greatest impetus to constructive evolutionary or revolutionaryas the case might be movements in those countries languishing in retrogression. Emphasis at this point needs to be placed by the AU Chairman on the challenge of a single continental currency, as nothing else would have at once such practical and symbolic value. The European Union approach of macro-economic convergence criteria has virtually proved futile in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) attempt to form a currency zone between Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Gambia and Liberia. Perhaps, we should look seriously into the prospects for an African Continental Currency issued by the AU central bank to circulate concurrently with the various local currencies and used for interstate travel and trade. Another thing we expect Chairman Mbeki to be concerned with is the integration of capital markets and capital. South Africa makes over 30 different models of saloon cars and could conceivably become the principal supplier of cars throughout the continent and no doubt by enticing importers in countries like Nigeria and Cte dIvoire to buy shares in his countrys auto manufacturers listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, this goal can in the medium term be achieved. We continue to reiterate that capital integration is essential to economic integration, because trade will invariably gravitate to where the best bargains are, but the very fact of the transnational corporation based in a metropole and contributing to its GNP indicates that capital flows continue to reflect political and racial allegiances. The Asian example of high savings rates facilitating high investment rates, above 35% of GDP, is a challenge to African Union leaders. To achieve the AEC objectives embedded in the AU, emphasis on capital accumulation and management cannot be wanting. Popularize the capital markets, export South Africas high financial and banking system regulation standards to the rest of the continent; this will not only reduce NEPADs dependency on external funding, taken seriously it will lead us to new socio-cultural horizons in terms of the way we dispose of our incomes, visualize the development prospects of our societies and continent. What we want is for the ordinary African to see himself as a stakeholder not only because the future livelihood of himself and his family is tied to the well being of the country, but also because he has a portfolio of share certificates that
either earn him dividends or incur losses. Mr. Mbekis country is also leading the way in this regard, given the unprecedented level at which the trade unions have bought into the equity market. In the final analysis, there are identifiable cultural indications behind the way we dispose of money and the post-colonial legacy of political excesses. Mr. Mbeki had spoken of the need for cultural reform before, while he was Deputy President, and I would caution him not to loose sight of it. Enhanced professionalism and productivity value increment are ineluctable targets for Africa that necessarily set the parameters for any official cultural engineering at either the national or supranational levels. There must be a vision of the African personality of which Nkrumah spoke, of the African Union socio-cultural scene. This is where the statesmen and women must engage the intellectuals, the philosophers, the writers. Again, Mr. Mbeki has been rightly focused, because it was he who in past years projected the concept of African Renaissance. In essence, that is what the African Union is all about.
The NEPAD Debate

July 2002
A legion of African experts and scholars confronted the prime movers of the New Partnership for African Development, Presidents Thabo Mbeki, Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdoulaye Wade and Abdelaziz Boutefika in Johannesburg towards the end of June and the exchange seemed not very productive, but it at least was an eye opener. The debate centered on the questions of liberalization and globalization, as opposed to welfare state and isolationist policies. The curt retort attributed to President Mbekis spokesman Bheki Khumalo, Ideology and slogans dont feed people. That has been the problem in the past, suggests more time and accommodation of detailed analysis and discussion between the initiators and the critics was needed. We should, nonetheless, expect this in the future because NEPAD cannot succeed with an array of internal opponents aligned against it. There were naturally concerns that NEPADs promise to open Africas doors to foreign investment and products will lead to accentuation of neo-colonialism, but, on the other hand, the contention of the NGOs, supposedly representing the civil society, that African governments should provide their citizens water irrespective of whether they have the capacity to pay for it or not while ideal does not speak of the fundamental issue of productivity value. Obviously the initiators of NEPAD, four of Africas most credible nationalists, designed the ideological framework in the context of partnership, which invariably meant assuming the language and policy guidelines current in G-8 circles. If these four gentlemen cannot succeed in balancing the interest of Africans with those of the foreign investment community, I personally dont see whom at this point can. Hence, I think it would be counterproductive to resist their efforts; what is needed is a great deal of constructive dialogue and Pan African support with a view to optimizing African input. Our four frontline leaders have indeed been emphasizing all along that NEPAD is essentially a Pan African initiative. It is certainly true that ideology does not feed people, whether one is waving the old banner of African socialism or the new fangled
pennant of global capitalism. NEPADs proposition of sustained annual 7% GDP growth will no doubt require a bundle of foreign investment that could very well translate into large volumes of profit repatriation, perpetually putting downward pressure on the local currencies, weakening purchasing power of the bulk of the population while fattening transnational corporations and the local comprador class. Perhaps, if we shift the emphasis from GDP to GNP, and we are talking about sustaining a 7% or better annual GNP growth, we might get a perspective balance between the globalists and the welfarists, who are essentially concerned with the material well being of the ordinary African. As of 1998, Africa had an aggregate GDP of $541.64 billion and GNP of $523.986bn; only South Africas GNP exceeded its GDP. Focusing on GNP gives us a Global Africa perspective, necessarily proactive, that makes networking among Africans around the world, in commerce, technology input and capital movement, an essential part of the continental development quest. The central issue in macroeconomics let us not for a moment forget, is productivity value. Africa is poor because of the low market value in global context of its productivity. The contemporary global economy from the G-8 perspective is the post-industrial economy, wherein intellectual productivity claims the highest value and manufacturing is increasingly farmed out to the Global South countries, particularly those on the Pacific Rim like China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Thus the Intel designed processor and Microsoft Windows in your computer are the intellectual property of American firms, but the hardware is typically made somewhere in the Pacific Rim. Poor backwards Africa is still priding itself in crude oil, unrefined gold and uncut diamond exports, or cocoa and coffee beans. During the colonial era, exploitation was epitomized in the export of Africas raw materials at low prices and the importation of finished goods made from those materials at prices considerably higher than what consumers in the metropoles paid. The economic development challenge immediately confronting postcolonial Africa therefore was MVA (manufacturing value added) increment. Now intellectual property is the most valuable asset class in the world economy and Africa has not yet made substantial headway in MVA. People like Obasanjo, Mbeki, Wade and Bouteflika are presumably aware of this and that must part of why
they are not keen on welfare state policies; it is not always simply a matter of kowtowing to the Bretton Woods institutions, Africans must be challenged to produce the value of what we consume with surplus for savings and investment; though we must agree that without water and sound nutrition people would not even be able to stand erect. For NEPAD to be strategically implemented at the continental level, the institutions of the African Union should be in place. The Pan African Parliament, Commission and Specialized Technical Committees would facilitate NEPAD matters benefiting from institutionalization of discussions and analyses. The African Central Bank and African Investment Bank would also have vital roles to play, while the Executive Council, composed of ministers of foreign affairs, would mediate between the submissions of the technocrats and the decisions of the Assembly of the Union, composed of heads of state and government.
Rationalization of the Regional Economic Communities

July 2002
n a recent interview with allafrica.com, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States, Dr. Muhammed ibn Chambas noted that the regional economic communities (RECs) are the fundamental units of the African Union as well as the planning and implementation forums for the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). Actually, when the proposition of African Union was reintroduced in Sirte, Libya in September 1999, there was a general understanding that the RECs would be brought together in accelerating implementation of the African Economic Community (AEC) agenda. However, the RECs were formed rather haphazardly as there is too much overlapping, which also demands countries to maintain contribution obligations to more than one simultaneously. In West Africa, there is both ECOWAS and the francophone exclusive Economic and Monetary Union. In East Africa, there is the revised East African community comprising Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda; there is the Intergovernmental Development Authority (IGAD), to which, in addition to the East African community members, there are Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan. All of these countries, along with Egypt, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and Malawi belong to the Common Market of East and Southern Africa (COMESA). Then the Southern African states are joined with South Africa in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Then the Sahara and Sahel States include members of COMESA, the Economic and Monetary Union of Central Africa and ECOWAS. Libya, which hosts the secretariat of this grouping, also belongs to a Maghreb grouping with Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia and Algeria. The haphazard way in which the RECs grew to their present proportions reflected the lack of a single supranational grouping encompassing the entire continent, which could provide direction and coordinate their activities. The OAU had in fact fallen behind the growth of the RECs, especially when it is considered that ECOWAS,
for example, had shortly after the Sirte Extraordinary Summit of the OAU resolved to establish a government of West Africa. Now the situation is different. The African Union is designed to be a strong supranational entity composed of the RECs. Hence, it seems reasonable that everyone concerned start thinking about rationalizing the RECs so that there is no overlapping and the contributions demands on states are reduced, not to mention improved focusing. It would appear that COMESA states belonging to SADC should be excused from COMESA, but since there is a free trade agreement to which more than half the membership belongs, SADC would be rationally obligated to enter into a free trade arrangement with the East African States. This would be a merger step in fulfilment of the AU strategy of bringing about continental integration through integration of the RECs. The East African grouping would include those members of COMESA not in SADC, while IGAD would become redundant. In West Africa, there has been a running resentment in ECOWAS of the exclusively francophone grouping, but because the latter, comprising eight states, has a common currency, a project is underway to merge the other currencies in the region into a single currency and then converge the two currencies. This would pave the way for integration of the West and Central African economic communities, since the francophone states in the two domains already use essentially the same currency. The gains made by pairs of RECs, like those of East and South, and West and Central will go a long way towards continental integration. Then the Sahara and Sahel States, should not necessarily be closed down, because it has achieved the first institutionalized integration between countries of the Maghreb with East, Central and West Africa, since its members are assembled from the four regions.
On the Peer Review Mechanism

July 2002
frican Union Chairman Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, in pointing out that the NEPAD Peer Review Mechanism (NPRM) was formulated with input from the OECD experience, draws our attention to the fact that this is nothing new in international cooperation. Verily, it makes good sense for countries aligning their destinies, as Africans states are now doing in the African Union, to institute mechanisms for maintaining standards of performance that will facilitate the best possible results, the highest possible returns for all concerned. The liberal way, moreover, in which the mechanism is supposed to work should establish from the outset an enlightened approach to dealing with problems that arise in the political management sphere of any member state. South Africa, Chairmans Mbekis country, fortunately has a politically sophisticated leadership that grew up in one of the 20th centurys most tried political movements, the African National Congress that led the struggle against apartheid. The smooth transfer of ANC and national leadership from President Nelson Mandela to President Thabo Mbeki after the former had served only one 5-year term impressed all Africans who wish to see modern political development on the continent. However, it is a fact that there are countries of vital importance to the success of the AU, like Libya, Egypt and Togo, that have yet to grasp the vision of a modern, globally competitive unified Africa this failing is implied by the unending tenures of their leaders, which is a throwback to monarchy times. Actually, it would be better for such leaders to have installed themselves as kings and established constitutional monarchies as in many parts of Europe, as well as Morocco. In any event, this ineluctable reality requires a tactical approach to peer review; otherwise it could have the negative effect of disrupting the AU in its infancy and dooming NEPAD. It is not a question of saying that we must at all cost avoid business as usual; we must come to terms with the fact that progress in the Pan African context must necessarily proceed as an evolutionary process. Radical liberal revolution will invariably disjoint us.
That said, your writer, with all due respect for the opinion of the men who constitute the Assembly of the AU, especially our chairman, wishes to caution against involving people and institutions who are not part of the AU citizenry in the peer review mechanism. For this reason, it should properly be an AU rather than specifically NEPAD device. Granted, it is voluntary and no state is compelled to submit to its offices; but with Europeans, Americans and others involved in it, the peer review mechanism would be at great risk of becoming an avenue for the imperialists to fuel their division schemes. This could lead to people who have solid African nationalist credentials in many respects, but fall short on democratic practices, being sanctioned, while compradors, who pretend to be democrats are promoted. If they are true to character, the imperialists will attempt to do this and there will be African resistance the Commonwealth case involving Mugabes Zimbabwe is instructive here. There could also very well be stooges; that would throw us in crisis. Let us bear in mind that the expected external partners of Africa show no indication of making materially substantial contributions to NEPAD, while already Western sponsored NGOs constitute a threat to African nationalism, too often functioning more or less as paid agents of the imperialists. We might find that in the long run what we gain by uncompromisingly serving our own Pan African interests is considerably more than the peanuts the Group of 8 is offering NEPAD after all, what is $6 billion? South Africa, Libya, Nigeria and Egypt can together match that in addition to whatever would be expected from them as part of the AU members contribution. Is it not exclusively Africas development with which NEPAD is concerned? I am not saying that we should reason as isolationists; I have always believed that our mentor Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had intended Pan Africanism as a means to raise Africa to a status on the global stage where it could credibly become the champion of universal fraternity. The point is that it was not until Mandela became president of South Africa that a head of a multiracial state talked with official sincerity of a non-racial, rainbow society and it is clear til this moment that it is still left with Africa to champion the fraternity of mankind; the North Atlantic, though there are many loveable people and some leaders deserving our respect, is still possessed by the mentality of imperialism, which the Sharon, Bush, Blair trio are
carrying to a neo-fascist conclusion. With Israels neo-fascist foreign minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for his countrys admission into the European Union, Africa must be cautious. The outside world is becoming like a minefield, anywhere you step you are more likely to get a limb blown off than get across in one piece.
African leaders should not burn their bridges, but the people must erect checkpoints
Published in The Journalist International, October 25, 2002
ome days back, we wrote in this column an article, On the Peer Review Mechanism, in which we supported the AU taking it over from NEPAD and excluding participation of external power representatives. Therein we made two essential points : Verily, it makes good sense for countries aligning their destinies, as Africans states are now doing in the African Union, to institute mechanisms for maintaining standards of performance that will facilitate the best possible results, the highest possible returns for all concerned, and .with Europeans, Americans and others involved in it, the peer review mechanism would be at great risk of becoming an avenue for the imperialists to fuel their division schemes. Certainly, we would not like to hear Chairman Mbeki standing before the world saying such a thing. A small controversy is stirred by the ANC and ominous percentage points are shaved off the value of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the rand starts sliding. Nor would we encourage Presidents Obasanjo, Bouteflika and Wade to talk like that. The imperialists are extremely sensitive to being told the truth by Africans; thus one of the diplomatic skills we expect of our leaders is that they should be able to as much as possible avoid situations that compel them to call outright a spade a spade. African leaders should not burn their bridges and most of them are indeed responsible enough to know this. However, that does not mean that we should in deference to imperialist backlash all live perpetually in a state of illusion regarding the realities attending the relationship between Africa and the powers of the Global North. The people must complement the diplomatic astuteness of leaders like Chairman Mbeki by erecting road blocks across the bridges of transaction between Africa and the rest of the world, particularly the Zionists and the G-8 nations. In the shift from primordial colonialism to neo-colonial domination, the Americans and French had generally favored strong
dictatorial compradors at the helm of the newly independent states. France, having strong Communist and Socialist parties at home, found that in a number of its African colonies, Cold War issues were at stake and this to Paris necessitated unscrupulous subversion of democratic evolution in Francophone Africa. In Nigeria, Britains major colony in Africa, there was no serious Marxist influence among the population, which could generally be described as materially ambition and enterprising. In Sudan, the Communist Party, spilling over from Egypt which was a junior partner in the colonial condominium, had penetrated the student communities and would soon emerge with substantial force on the political scene; but as in Ghana where Nkrumah was an unapologetic socialist, Britain, which was then somewhat socialist, appeared confident that with the material advantages offered by Commonwealth membership and the conservatism it shared with its colonial societies, there was no cause for alarm. Of course, Sudan opted out of the Commonwealth and joined the Arab League, where the British must have known Khartoum, representing a weak and externally dependent economy, would be on the periphery. Hence, Britains colonies moved into flag independence with parliamentary democracies, though the prime ministers in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania reserved the right to dissolve parliament. It took the Americans to overthrow Nkrumah, while the 1966 coup in Nigeria had nothing really to do with the Cold War, but may have had remote connections to the Middle East conflict and the Israelis have been accused by some Northern Nigerians of having financed the religiously intoned massacre of Nigerias ruling Muslim elite by Christian officers from the South to the tune of 15 million. If that is true, Washingtons hand was also likely in the crime. Coming to our point, while the prevailing objective in the immediate post colonial era was to keep the new African leaders aligned to the West in the Cold War, the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact and global dominance of Western capitalism prompted the imperialists to weaken African leaderships with democratic wrangling and ideological brainwashing the latter being nothing new. There have been instances, as when Krkou made his successful comeback against the World Banks former employee Sologo in Benin, when the African constitutional court complained of external calls that by all means the Wests boy should remain at the helm. However, one thing that the
West did not take into consideration and they have seen the problem of this in Nigeria is that the national legislative assemblies would not necessarily remain rubber stamps in the hands of the executives as had been the post colonial tradition. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Cretin saw the reality of this when Nigerias lower house speaker Umar Ghali Naaba led a boycott of the joint session of the National Assembly President Obasanjo had arranged with the leader from Ottawa. At the time the House was fighting for removal of the Senate President who had been indicted by his colleagues on trumped up charges, but there was an underlying political intolerance to what was perceived as his acquiescence to the President. Na aba often elaborated his determination to strengthen democracy by asserting the imperative independence of the legislature. In foreign relations, front line African leaders should appreciate this, because the African legislatures have no compulsory diplomatic commitments and indeed it would do them well to stay out of such things, because it is they who must rescue Africa from the diplomatic conventions to which our chief state executives would do well to remain bound. It is Africas legislatures, along the with intellectuals and press who must tell the world that we will not tolerate imperialist involvement in the peer group mechanism, because this could lead to criteria being imposed on the process that would carve cleavages into the AU. Africa is still evolving politically and the goal should be to help facilitate progressive evolution. As Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, lead author of the UNDP Human Development Report 2002 said in an interview with Courier magazine recently, If your objective is to improve governance, you are not going to do that with a stick, assuring, Its a bad strategy.
Responsible Diplomacy
November, 2002
henever the West wants to impose its biased will on Africa, it seems to expect South Africa to do its bidding. Why? First of all, South Africa, given the political sophistication of the African National Congress, informed by almost a century of activism in the international arena as well as domestically, and its responsibility for governing a white majority that had achieved industrial country standards in terms of financial management and technology, the land of Mandela and Mbeki is presumed to be the closest country to Europe on the African continent. Indeed, South Africa sat with Nigeria and Australia on the three-nation Commonwealth committee that suspended Zimbabwe from the community of the royal crown. Now, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is reported to be pressuring the ANC government to join Europe and America in fighting Zimbabwes eviction of colonial legacy farmers from usurped lands. A UK official is reported to have said: Our perception is that the onus is now on South Africa to play an increasingly important role here. It is clearly racist political blackmail. In other words, if South Africa does not heed the Wests call to stand against Zimbabwes land reform, the implication would be that its own white population could sooner or later be in for similar fate. Britain and its American cousins thereby appear ready to instigate instability in Southern Africa if their sentimental desires to have the colonial legacy farmers left alone are opposed. If the ANC refuses to interfere with Zimbabwes land reform exercise, white South Africans could take serious offense and start making trouble, provoking a racial crisis. It is one thing for the Europeans and Americans to refuse to recognize African claims for reparations and quite another to stand against any African country that should dare attempt redress of colonial era injustices. If the Jews have been backed to repossess Palestine after nearly two millenniums absence, why should an African nation be begrudged the right to reclaim land taken in the past century from its people at gunpoint?
The African Union Chairman, who also happens to be president of South Africa, Mr. Thabo Mbeki must for the integrity, the dignity of Africa, tell Mr. Blair and all Western comers in this matter, that their concern is essentially racial and we cannot act in favor of white racial bias. Although, Messrs. Mbeki and Obasanjo were instrumental in suspending Mugabes Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth, at the AU Summit in Durban there was no reprimand for him as it was clear that the opposition in the elections held earlier this year had no chance while opposing land reform. Whether a land reform candidate could have beaten Mr. Mugabe at the polls or not is a moot question, but at least no one opposed to land reform could at this time realistically be expected to dislodge Mugabe. The British Foreign Office is so racially desperate as to see the lack of African condemnation of Mugabe as undermining the credibility of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). This is as insidious as Anglo-American policy towards Iraq; even worse, because Mugabe has never been a security threat to his neighbors, nor is he to be compared with Sadam Hussein for cruelty. The African Union must deliberate at no less than an ad-hoc committee level on this matter. Is the AU going to allow itself to be blackmailed regarding NEPAD or trade matters whenever African nationalism is asserted? Are Africans going to be eternally brow beaten into accepting the down part of double standards in international relations? It is wiser to contemplate NEPAD without the West, because what they are offering is peanuts compared to what they would have us lose in reactionary policies?
Africas Women
erhaps nothing is more indicative of the complex variations in Africas cultures than the differences in the woman picture from society to society. Everywhere in Africa women cook, are primarily responsible for raising children, are expected to be beautiful and erotically enticing and assume roles historically common to women all over the world; however, with respect to economic and political empowerment, intellectual development and social influence we can see vast differences from culture to culture even inside a single country. This is most especially true in Nigeria, where the women of the Southwest are perhaps the most independent, outgoing and enterprising in the world; whereas in the Northern part of the country Arabian influences have many women in seclusion, with prevalence of low education and pervasive paucity of regard for the health hazards certain female specific mores pose for girl children. Yet anywhere in Nigeria we can find variations in the situation of women within a given cultural community. In the North there are quite a number of young ladies on the many university campuses, there are Northern Muslim women lawyers, doctors, accountants, bankers, entrepreneurs and university lecturers-including the Vice Chancellor at the University of Abuja; likewise illiteracy and facial mutilation can be found in the Southwest, with females as well as males affected. Although there are clearly sharp variances in the general situation of women in Nigeria from one part to another, the prevailing national outlook is to allow women to fulfill their potentials and this is reflected in the fact that at any given national forum involving women no part of Nigeria is without due elite representation. For despite the force of Arabian influences in the North, unlike the Saudi Kingdom where women are not permitted to drive, women fashionably attired including headscarf can be seen in Abuja and Kaduna driving some of the most fantastic automobiles in the world. Prof. Shaibu Ahmed Dan Fulani has argued that intense ethnic group competition infused dynamism in the African nations and one can see that no ethnic community of Nigerian women wants to be left far behind the others; especially in elite circles there is no holding back the general situation of women anywhere in Nigeria.
Former First Lady Fathi Abubakar Abdul Salaam, a high court judge, spearheaded a non-governing organization (NGO) in the late 1990s dedicated to tackling the pervasive backwardness of women in Northern Nigeria. Aside from sponsoring studies on matters concerning the condition and prospects for women, the organization engaged in direct intervention in household affairs. One of the problems of particular concern was the inability of women to independently make simple decisions and take simple initiatives, such as to carry a sick child to the hospital in the husbands absence. Denigrated interpretations of Islams sociology have occasioned a high rate of divorce in the Muslim North compared to the South; although divorce is rare in Northern aristocratic circles. The Igbo in the Southeast, though their mores with respect to widows are startlingly harsh, deplore divorce; and in the South generally the divorce rate in Nigeria is no doubt one of the lowest in the world. The national divorce rate is low but would be lower were it not for the careless way divorce is regarded by many people in the North. I live in Abuja and was with my wife spending the night with friends in Kano, when a women, who was a friend to our host couple, came knocking on the door around 10:00 p.m. to tell us that her husband had just divorced her. When my friend finally found the husband, a middle level civil servant, he was in a bar drinking beer with some ladies and gents. This was before the legislation of Sharia law banning alcoholic beverages from Kano State. He asked this guy how could he just divorce his wife late in the evening and drive her out of the house, when such a matter should properly be taken up with his and her family. That is it, the tipsy guy replied. My friend couldnt get any sense out of him; this guy had simply decreed divorce of his wife, was contenting himself in the bar with ladies of that ilk and didnt want to be bothered about what he had done. He will go to the government office where he works in the morning and his life goes on. He had divorced women under similar circumstances before, he had another wife remaining in the house, and would no doubt marry to keep at least two on board, and squander a womans life yet again. Kano probably has one of the highest divorce rates in West Africa. Divorced women often find their way into the prepared food market, either as small scale enterprising madams or employees, who usually live with their madams. The custom is for the prepared food to be
delivered to the buyers at their own locations; either a market stall, a shop, a house veranda or in a public transport parking lot. This work keeps the women active but sometimes leads to rueful consequences such as pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. Apart from the madams, rarely do these ladies get a decent chance of marriage again. The madams often end up living reasonably comfortable lives and may or may not be interested in marriage, though their business keeps them almost in constant company with men. The height of female exploitation and oppression in Nigeria is the marriage of pre-puberty girls to grown men. The girls usually end of up with severe physiological damage that renders them undesirable to a husband and hence they are eventually divorced to live in social misery. This practice occurs mainly in Muslim areas where people have assimilated what they believe to have been the precedents and practices of Prophet Muhammad. Interestingly, a pamphlet can be found in many Abuja mosque bookstores, written by a Nigerian, that connects the date of Aishas death with her age at death and the year the Prophet is said to have married her to easily conclude that she was an adolescent of sixteen when she went to his house as a wife, and not an overgrown girl under thirteen as Arabian scholars have for centuries been telling the world. Justice Fathi Abubakars NGO, as well as many other entities and individuals in Nigeria, is concerned with this problem of sacrificing young girls on an alter of religious illusion. Sociological management failure, particularly with respect to females, opens African societies up to intervention from the European Union, North America and the United Nations. Such intervention is usually unhelpful for various reasons, provocation of reactionary attitudes foremost among them. Hence, while there is marginal improvement in the situation, we still find people claiming to be Islamic scholars writing and preaching in defense of practices that are socially destructive. It is not only in the Muslim communities that socially destructive mores pertain. Nor is it only tradition that specifically harms women in Africa. In the modern syndrome of reckless hedonism untold numbers of innocent wives in Southern and East Africa have been infected with HIV/AIDS by their husbands, causing literally millions of AIDS orphans. In South Africa, which legally and in actual practice is a world leader in women empowerment and social emancipation,
there is nonetheless an incredible rape rate one every half minute. This compounds the HIV/AIDS infection which has higher than 20% prevalence among the adult population. Of the 30 million or more Africans suffering with HIV/AIDS, about half are females and they are contracting the terminal disease at a rate above 4,000 daily. The Society for Women & AIDS in Africa (SWAA) has been promoting female, as well as male, condom usage and has carried out various studies and programs to the end of mitigating the suffering and social destruction caused by HIV/AIDS. There is an intense debate as to how the HIV/AIDS scourge might be best fought. Basically there is a social behavior change advocacy at loggerheads with a condom solution advocacy. Mediation has now been brought between the two poles with the ABC proposition: abstinence, be faithful to your partner, or if you cant do either use a condom. At the SWAA 9th International Conference held in Khartoum during November 2003, it became clear that the way these propositions are understood and regarded is culturally specific. From comments made by the Namibian representative it was clear that she was thinking of abstinence with respect to married women refusing to have sex with their husbands owing to the pervasive indulgence of paramours, which she explained was a status symbol for men in her country. For a Sudanese heart surgeon, abstinence meant people who are not married under social contract abstaining from sex. The idea of a man being faithful to his wife did not seem to be as idealistic to the Sudanese as it did to those from Eastern and Southern Africa. This highlights the value of endeavors such as the Society for Women & AIDS in Africa, with its more than 40 branches on the continent and a continual array of projects and programs. It brings Africans from different cultural orientations to deliberate and exchange ideas on how to deal with a common problem, whereby they invariably learn about and from each other. Dr. Nafisa Badri of Afhad University for Women in Omdurman, Sudan, addressed, among other things, the relationship between women empowerment and access to health care. She pointed out that her studies showed economically dependent women were at considerable risk of their heath care needs not being promptly and adequately met. There was no representation at the 9th International SWAA conference from Guinea and Mali, but in the Mandingo
societies of the Western Sudan generally there is a prevailing philosophy that a man works and earns essentially for his wives and children. In Guinea many men build modern houses for their wives and children while preferring to sleep in the thatched roof huts of their ancestors. It is not strange to see that in an elite family, because of caution against spoiling males, teenage boys are made to dwell in boys quarters in the yard while their sisters live comfortably in the main house with their mothers and small siblings. Owing to the tradition of female family intervention in event of complaints from their daughters of less than the best treatment the husband can afford, elite income level men are very particular about their wives health care and can maintain chauffer driven vans to transport them to a clinic and other places that they may need or want to go. Successful businessmen can be seen building houses and buying motor vehicles for the parents of their wives and the practice of men constructing income generating property for their wives has become so common that wives in the social class where this is a material possibility have come to expect it. Women in these societies often have ambiguous attitudes towards polygamy. There is invariably a conflict between their senses of jealously and independence. A woman who wants to keep up with her peers by operating a gold or diamond creek, or engage in long distance trading, obliging her to spend considerable time away from home, will go and seek a young domesticated wife for her husband. In societies where virtually every woman wants to have a certain degree of economic independence simultaneously with holding her husband responsible for her upkeep, the ages old practice of polygamy becomes a tolerable compromise. In Dakar, Senegal, each woman insists on having her own house in a part of town remote from her mates. Men must concede to this if they want to keep more than one wife. So much of this is at the elite level, but it is here that people have the greatest power of choice and we can thereby best see where African societies are heading. In the lower socio-economic classes there is every conceivable dramatic story. Some men marry slightly built women and take to frequently battering them, often while drunk or charged with marijuana; worse of all the woman is otherwise poorly maintained. In Guinea among the Sou Sou, no self-respecting female will let a male
beat her up. Thus one can see a male and female, whether teenagers or adults, standing toe to toe slugging it out blow for blow. One of the East African newspapers not long ago ran a story about husband battering. It was a serious story and pointed out that NGOs dedicated to seeking redress for women who suffer battering refused to take up cases of husband battering and the husbands themselves are typically ashamed to make a public issue out of it. I remember years back a well built not bad looking lady in Monrovia who used to go after the man she wanted and often got him, but would then start roughing him up. Once the guy carried her to court and started showing the magistrate the wounds from electric chord lashes she had inflicted upon him, whereupon she interrupted saying: Are you not a man, is it those few taps you come here to cry about? It can be observed that in traditional African ritualistic art the woman is often represented physically bigger than the man; one only has to see the physiques and hear the commanding voices of Lagos market women to know that the typical African woman is certainly no pushover. A man who wants to marry a woman who tops him by 20 or more kilograms has to make good investigation about her temper before venturing. In the villages spiritual charlatans often intervene in male-female relations and with disastrous results, in terms of social and physical harm as well as perpetuation of psychological retardation. Juju is still a pervasive recourse of Africans and can involve extremely horrible things. It came out in the mid 1980s treason and murder trial of Liberias then defense minister and his wife that they had colluded with a juju man to ritually sacrifice a policeman so that their plot against the president might be successful. They were the typical perfectly matched African couple: hard working, enterprising, extremely ambitious and commensurately ruthless. They happened to be front page news; but wicked collaboration by male-female partners to various cruel and criminal ends is common. In Nigeria most armed robbery gangs include both males and females. I was once near the Union Bank branch on Awolowo Road in Ikoyi, Lagos, about 800 meters from the military barracks where Nigerias presidents used to reside, when a band of armed robbers in broad daylight came raiding with loud music blasting from their cars and girls in hot pants with bandoleers strapped across their chest, waving revolvers in the air. As
soon as these young women led the way into the bank they shot the guards dead; and they were not caught that day, if ever. At the top, Southwest Nigeria is a region with first class women professionals, executives, industrialists and other manner of business tycoons. It is unfortunate that the magazine African Women is no longer published in Nigeria because it revealed the power of women in this country of one hundred and twenty million inhabitants. It would be an utter exaggeration to say that Nigerian women rival Nigerian men in power and wealth, but their status is such as to warrant a sociological study of comparison with women in the North Atlantic industrialized nations, if we are to say with any certainty which is better positioned in their respective social contexts. Perhaps the same could be said of Togolese, Ghanaian and Benin Republic women. This would have also been applicable to Liberian women in the 1970s before the political upheavals that sent the country to ruins. Sudanese women these days constitute 65% of their countrys university graduates and it appears that in the not too distant future they will numerically dominate the professions. Already, 75% of the nations health care workers are women and women are becoming increasingly concentrated in scientific research, academia and law. At the state of the art Sudan Heart Center, of 70 degree holding medical professionals 41 are women, including two professors of anesthesia. While Sudanese women do not appear to rival those of Southwest Nigeria in entrepreneurship, in professional advancement they are pace setters in Africa and the Muslim world. In their unique cultural character Sudans female professionals suggest role models for modern women everywhere: typically fashionable, pristinely feminine, family oriented, intellectually probing and politically interested. Domestic convenience technology is still pervasively lacking in Africa. Official French statistics tell us that 97% of households in France own a washing machine. No doubt mechanical automatic clothes dryers, dish washing machines and mechanical floor cleaners are also quite common. In Africa one can traverse thousands of rural kilometers without seeing any such thing; but in the cities domestic convenience technology is increasingly found in elite homes, which is a welcomed development because it reduces the practice of keeping young girls out of school to do house work. In the Global North,
domestic convenience technology seems to have occasioned greater sharing of household chores between husband and wife; it remains to be seen to what extent the African man and sons can be accustomed to sharing the vacuum cleaner and dish drying chores with wife and daughters. In Europe we find that over the past 40 years there have been significant changes in the social role and personality concepts of males with respect to females. The age of machismo seems to be fading into history in favor of a more unisex social culture. In tandem with this homosexuality is increasingly accepted as normative and Europeans are now often loath to understand why African countries are not willing to carry the human rights agenda so far as incorporate gay rights; although one of the worlds most profuse gay rights agendas is a fait accompli in South Africa. The African intelligentsia, if I may speak for us generally, wants to see an improvement in the quality of life and appreciates the importance of modernization to this end; but would rather eclectically blend our traditions with contemporary enlightenment to strengthen our socio-culture personality and we find retention of our best values essential to this quest. The unity in diversity socio-political vision, we have with respect to cultural pluralism within African polities and on the continental scale, we find conceptually relevant to gender relationships: women empowerment should contribute to the psychological and intellectual sophistication of gender relationships without distorting them. Women empowerment should ideally strengthen gender relationships, particularly in marital and romantic contexts, by compelling synthesis of love and friendship. The extremity between the two assumed by 18th century British poet Oliver Goldsmith in his oft quoted, Friendship is a disinterested commerce between equals; love, an abject intercourse between tyrants and slaves, is to my mind seriously misleading, as well as human potential limiting. Nigerian journalists are fond of referring to any outstanding female achiever as an Amazon, which suggests that instead of growing away from machismo Africans prefer matching Hercules with Artemis the Greek goddess of hunting, nature, childbirth and protection of young ladies. 2004
The AIDS scourge: what to do?

Published in The Journalist International, November 28, 2002
atest statistics on HIV/AIDS, revealed in the United Nations report, Aids Epidemic Update 2002, does not correlate with an earlier World Health Organization (WHO) claim that 10,000 males in Africa South of the Sahara contract the terminal disease every day, but suggests that nearly that amount of people, with women accounting for 58% of the new victims, fall prey daily. If the reports figure of 3.5 million new HIV cases in 2002 is to be believed, an average of 9,589 persons in the region are daily infected through one means or another. That out of 40 million HIV/AIDS cases world wide, 29.4 million are in Sub-Sahara Africa must draw our attention to the cultural implications. Why is Africa, with about 10% of the worlds population on the way to accounting for one third of those afflicted with a disease that is essentially sexually transmitted? Is it that Africans are so much more promiscuous than people in all the other parts of the world, or is it that Africans are more careless in their promiscuity, ignoring advice to use of prophylactics? Either way, it appears that the fundamental unit of African society, the nuclear family, is in no less a crisis than our governing institutions. The ultimate suggestion is that African societies are enervating at a crucial moment in history when they must wax stronger to face the tremendous challenges of bridging the socio-economic development gap vis--vis the Northern Hemispheres industrialized states. We have grand schemes, such as the African Union and its New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), socio-economic development component of the African Union, on the table. Because no one is saying it on the floor of the G-8 Summit or it was not thrown in our faces at Septembers World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg does not mean that people around the world are not ridiculing Africas apparent hopelessness. Wars, civil strife, graft and now AIDS, not to mention successive UNDP Human Development Reports, single this continent out at the lowest scale of socio-political existence. The United Nations and the summit rhetoric are euphemistic, alluding to economic polices, corruption and
ethnocentrism as if these things existed in vacuums. Essentially, the grave problems of Africa are cultural. I remember a few years ago, in Lagos, a very good friend, Dr. Abdul Hakeem Abayomi, speaking as guest lecturer on a program commemorating the Muslim New Year, told his audience that even if Muslims in Africa were to have the opportunity to establish Sharia, they would have to raise a cultural renaissance before optimally benefiting from it. This drew on the young man the wrath of the above 50-generation, who insisted that it was the younger generation, which in abandoning their cultural wealth for foreign values opened the floodgate of decadence. I came to his rescue with a reminder to everyone that the entire world had degenerated morally over the second half of the 20th century, that neither vice nor virtue were exclusive preserves of any culture, but Africa owing to material underdevelopment had weaker resistance to consequences of decadence, which meant that rapid degenerative cycles were graver here than elsewhere. Instructively, AIDS was something we first heard of as being a consequence of homosexuality in the West, particularly the United States where 20 to 25% of the population is reputed to be gay; but now North America and Western Europe are said to account for less than 5% of the global infected persons. We have heard reports of the Red Cross, in the early years of the epidemic, sending tainted blood into East Africa, which I, for one, would assume was deliberately done. Also we know that HIV/AIDS infected persons from the North Atlantic used to journey to Africa for sex excursions. In these ways the epidemic was ignited in the continent, but we were highly vulnerable and now several countries have 10% or more of their populations infected and at least 4 Southern African states, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, according to the UN report, have infection rates among the adult population above 30%. Those countries are facing genocide by AIDS. On the whole an estimated 8.8% of the adult population in Sub-Sahara is said by UNAids to be infected with HIV. Two years ago African leaders congregated in Abuja for a Summit on malaria, which has been one of the biggest obstacles to productivity and efficiency in Africa. Having not yet eradicated or at least substantially contained this age-old disease, which is a challenge imposed by our tropical
environment, we have taken on the devastating load of a sexually transmitted epidemic. We talk about African culture as if it is a package entirely exclusive to us, when in fact what we largely have in Africa today is colonial, compounded by neo-colonial, conditioning, along with certain adornments and rhythms rooted in our traditions and nature. In the tropical zones, even the common wax print that we have claimed to be our own fashion trademark is designed and largely produced in Holland and Germany. Consumption of intoxicating beverages some Africans take to be a cultural right, and it can be seen that quite often enjoyment with such drinks and promiscuous behaviour converge; but boozing and womanizing are not exclusively African either, the White House of Bill Clinton verified that. Nevertheless, in addition to having the worlds highest HIV/AIDS infection rates, Southern Africa is also notorious for alcoholism, with Zambia usually ranked among the worlds top five beer consuming nations. Is it that compared to the West, Africans over-do wine, women and song, or is it that condom use is lower? Is there a correlation between alcohol consumption and low productivity? The Germans and French might say no, but if it is true that the high alcohol consumption in those places has negligible economic impact besides creating jobs and lucrative investment opportunities, would it also necessarily be true in tropical Africa? First of all, recent medical books tell us that children of heavy drinkers suffer nervous disorders and noetic aptitude deficiency. Tobacco and marijuana smoking have also been found to adversely affect the mental and physical strength of offspring. If Germany and France can conceivably afford that, can Africa at this stage? Are people then claiming human rights that weaken their nations by compromising quality and quantity of productivity, reducing creative potential and damaging the brains of their offspring? If we say that the West in fighting against the prudish values of Islam and promoting hedonism in Africa is deliberately scheming genocide, not to mention other forms of negative intervention, they join in loud chorus accusing us of being ridiculous; but their insincerity is highlighted at so many junctures, not the least of which is an imported HIV/AIDS warning poster I saw the other day in Khartoum, which read, Always! Always! Always use a condom!
Life style and sexual behaviour were not mentioned and the emphatic always either implies that one should be suspicious of his or her spouse or that such an insignificant portion of the population is married there is no need to address them. African governments, sociologists and medical professionals have bought the condom bait and be sure if that is what one can see in Sharia guided Khartoum, imagine Lagos, Abidjan and Nairobi. Ultimately, there is no escaping the fact that Africas problem is essentially cultural. African cities are largely ghettos, contrasted by scandalously privileged bourgeois enclaves. This is the jungle, where the most beastly prevail against the weaker species. This is hell on earth, where deprivation is at once material, moral and intellectual. This is Africa, where people are conditioned to aping and parroting what others do and say elsewhere in the world; but if an outsider calls an African an ape, he is in for a furious fight; and we are no less an endangered species than the gorilla. When African Union Chairman Thabo Mbeki talks about African Renaissance, he has identified the conceptual starting point, but how to proceed, which options are best are what we have to reach consensus on. Let us review the HIV/AIDS situation and assess the real worth of the cultural syndromes in which it has grown to monstrous dimensions. Let those concerned equally rationalize their alignments with the West in fighting the affirmative Islamic Sharia option as a guiding light, because what they have been convinced is so harmful does not seem to some of us harmful at all, and no matter what cartoonists say, the Sharia advocates have HIV/AIDS statistics on their side, if nothing else in their favour is so apparent. And those of us who reside in Sharia legal zones, let us assess the cultural atmosphere with a view to finding a happy medium where Islam and modernization are synthesized to afford society optimum creativity, productivity and efficiency, while strengthening family and community relations, promoting nationalism, peace and development.
Africas Muslim-Christian dichotomy and its problems

Editorial, The Journalist International, November 28, 2002
he riots which have claimed several hundred lives in the otherwise pleasant Northern Nigerian city of Kaduna raise once again the question of how to manage Africas MuslimChristian dichotomy. Should it be as Nkrumah suggested, that religion be altogether neutralized in favour of a dialectical materialist ideology which would be indoctrinated into school children with expectation that in another generation Africans would be no more inclined to go to churches and mosques than are Parisians? Or do we follow the Turkish path of radically enforced secularism, wherein no symbol, mention or indulgence of religion is permitted in public life? Everyone keeps his religion in places of worship and if you abandon religion entirely all the better. Or do we rely on traditional experiences, like in the old walled cities of Kano, Katsina, Zaria and Sokoto where no non-Muslim can reside talk less of building churches, with the same discrimination being practiced against Muslims in Christian areas? That way social contact between adherents of the two religions could be minimized. Religious riots being chronic in Kaduna, a city built by the British on a reclaimed swamp land and which has become superficially cosmopolitan; Christian and Muslim leaders in Kaduna State sat down after the Sharia riots of 2000 to negotiate division of the state into a Muslim North and Christian South. The negotiations failed because the Muslims insisted that they should have the entire state capital, Kaduna city, while the Christians wanted the city divided at the Kaduna River, which separates its northern and southern parts. The Muslims insisted that they did not want the capitals of the two domains to share a common border and that the Christians should build their capital in the Southern part of the state. The Federal Government did not come in to make offers to help build a new
capital in south Kaduna State with a university to compensate for loss of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and Kaduna Polytechnic; so the negotiations collapsed and now the people are back to the bloody square one. The most disturbing thing about this and previous rounds of riots is that the police and soldiers do most of the killing; not in the course of trying to restore peace, but religious hate or revenge killings, as the case might be. It has in recent years become increasingly difficult for Muslims and Christians to live harmoniously together in Africa because both religions have grown progressively more assertive. Muslims, encouraged by the intellectual elite, have become implacably persistent in their demands for governance by Sharia, while Christians have radicalized evangelism and intolerance towards Islam. This poses a serious challenge to African governments and constitutional experts. Are we going to divide countries like Sudan and Nigeria, or devise constitutional setups to accommodate Sharia if they like and radical antinomian Christianity? At this point, at least the options must be openly and institutionally discussed, from religious dialogue forums up to national constitutional commissions, the regional economic communities and the African Union. Systems analysts/designers, like those working at Microsoft, Oracle and Sun Systems, believe that any problem has a systematic solution and furthermore systems must be continually improved upon. If we apply such positive reasoning to the problem of Christian-Muslim antagonisms in Africa, no doubt we shall begin mitigating the problem with systematic solutions.
Picking up and mending the pieces of the world

Published in The Journalist International, Khartoum, September 16, 2002
o we bridge the understanding and appreciation gaps, do we collectively vie for an unprecedented level of enlightenment in geopolitical perspective, or do we go to blows in mutual subjectivity? Do we upgrade the quality of our convictions, find a loftier synthesis of empathy, compassion and realism, of idealism and realpolitik, or do we continue in the degenerative cycles of conservatism and liberalism that have outlived their relevance? As the Second World War ended in Europe, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt mooted the idea of the United Nations with a view to perennially averting a third global conflagration. As a master blender of pragmatism and idealism, as well as a great believer in new ideas, Roosevelt saw the UN as a fundamental basis for international cooperation, integration and global maturation towards a functional egalitarianism. After FDRs death, his wife Eleanor became a delegate to the United Nations, where among other progressive deeds she helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She also founded Americans for Democratic Action, a liberal group within the Democratic Party. Despite the counter-empire of Communist totalitarianism that had risen under Stalin in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, despite the reactionary persecution of people with progressive ideas in the United States spearheaded by the infamous Senator Joe McCarthy and the crises instigated in the Middle East by Zionist and Anglo-Franco excesses, the founding of the United Nations with a global egalitarian vision gave hope of a great future for mankind. Progressives even developed an international language that they envisaged eventually giving collective humanity a single mother tongue. In Europe, the European Coal and Steel Community was founded in 1951, embracing former enemies of the Allied and Axis Powers, Netherlands, France, Belgium and Luxembourg with Germany and Italy, setting the course for the
European Union that materialized in the last decade of the 20th century. Social Darwinian forces there were and they were strong, in some instances brutally racist like the Ku Klux Klan, but progressive inspiration lit abundant corridors of determined hope. Battles and political sparring of the Cold War slowed the momentum of collective human progress over the second half of the 20th century, with many freedom fighters aligning with the Communist East, which the Social Darwinists used as an additional pretext to perpetuate oppression of the global under-classes. Eventually a contextually enlightened Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev, tore down the Iron Curtain. Mr. Gorbachev's management of the Russian break with totalitarianism has been widely criticized, for indeed aside from pluralistic democracy the former Soviet republics have gained materially little, while poverty and unemployment have soared. Crime also became an uncontrollable problem, in addition to the horrendous war in Chechnya. Ideologically?...as one depressed citizen in Siberia observed in an interview with TIME magazine in the late '90s: "Before, at least we believed in something, now we have nothing." Apparently, the anarchic content in democratization Russian style left the ordinary people with a heightened sense of despair and abandonment. The dissatisfaction is reflected in the continued strength of the Communist Party in the multiparty national assembly. However, Moscow's two post Soviet leaders, Boris Yeltsen and Vladimir Putin, have somehow filled the material vacuum with hope that the future lies in bearing the pains of democracy development. Russia's plight certainly begs the questions of whether it is reasonable to suppose that the evolution from Communist totalitarianism to democracy and capitalism can be best achieved without guiding philosophies of means and objectives. The great opportunities offered by the Cold War's end were widely recognized and everywhere there was talk of a new world order; but capitalist hegemonic instincts and unleashed chauvinism flooded the scene, leaving virtually no room for higher idealism. With ideology in recess as a factor of political contention, an era of ethnic and religious reassertion informed a neo-clash of civilizations period in history. Zionist ambitions in the Middle East, which had been a central point of international conflict in the post World War II era shifted from being largely a Cold War issue to one of strictly ethnocentric and
religious dimensions, although those aspects had certainly been present all along. Roosevelts humanistic liberalism became a dogma of moral latitudinarianism and at the centre where the pluralistic compromise between dominant Republicans and Democrats is reached, political policy of the worlds hegemonic power, the United States, became imprisoned in the nations inability to socially and intellectually mature. Violence, narcotic addiction, crass materialism and neurotic hedonism, with bigoted Christian fundamentalist reactions, have characterized American society and these contagious social maladies have been spread in varying degrees to the rest of the world through cultural transmission and conveyance mediums. Racism, which almost overwhelmed the country with anarchy and rebellion in the 1950s and 1960s, is still an issue; subjective Zionist ambitions in the Middle East prevent foreign policy maturation, has even carried the US ideologically backwards to an unprecedented extent. Emerging from the Cold War as the only superpower, the United States in both economic and military terms is not only in a position to blackmail and bully other nations, its apparent material invincibility together with its vast market opportunities inform a conventional wisdom that makes her more or less sacrosanct and irresistible. Hence, the power of Americas cultural and economic influence in the world invariably complements her awesome military arsenal. This is a historical fait accompli and therefore no point can be made by begrudging America what God has afforded it, or working for her downfall, since it would adversely affect the whole of humanity in various ways. However, it is noted that politically, America is stagnant, even alarmingly regressive at this point and there is a salient need for a democratic revolution, for new, more enlightened political forces to supersede the traditionally dominant Democratic and Republican Parties. The mere fact that it became anathema after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States for any American to suggests that their foreign policy was essentially to blame, while over 50% of Europeans recently polled acknowledge that it was Washingtons policies in the Middle East that provoked the attacks, indicates how subjective and out of touch with global realities Americans have become. One could argue that Americans had always been isolated, that even President Franklin Roosevelt had to spoon feed the public on the idea that involvement in
World War II was inevitable, but that does not detract from the need for a democratic revolution which would carry American political consciousness to a higher level of sophistication and enlightenment. Yes, the Americans have their virtues. Most of them are said to be friendly and generous, but the average American is also well known to suffer too great a dearth of understanding the world at large for the powers exercised over the international community through domestic democratic processes. Like everywhere else elite groups, particularly politicians, business tycoons and entertainers, manipulate and exploit the masses to their own unwholesome ends. America is certainly not alone in needing a higher level of democratic realization. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien on September 11, 2002, blamed the arrogance and selfishness of the United States, in particular, and the West, generally, for the attacks of September 11 last year. You know you cannot exercise your powers to the point of humiliation for others. That is what the Western world not only the Americans, the Western world has to realize, he said in a television interview. He noted that there is a lot of resentment over the way in which powerful nations treated the poorer ones. And I do think the Western world is getting too rich in relation to the poor world and necessarily, you know, were looked upon as being arrogant, self-satisfied, greedy with no limit. And September 11 is an occasion for me to realize it even more, the prime minister of nine years told the world. However, it would be a mistake to insist that the September 11th attack on the United States was more than very remotely, if in any way at all, related to the wealth gap between the Global North and Global South aside from the fact that if the Arabs had the military capacity of the West, the situation in the Middle East would not be one where American backed Zionist state terrorism provokes underground terrorism. Indeed, if the Middle East was as economically well off as the North Atlantic, there would have long ago been a full scale war between camps of states and by now the matter settled one way or the other. The September 11 attacks, or the Al Queda phenomenon generally, have two direct causes: first, the Zionist colonial occupation of the Palestinians homeland; then, American and Western political and cultural interference in the affairs of Muslim nations. Political rights and values defence; these are the
fundamental concerns not only of Muslims who hate America to the point of joining Al Queda, the affirmative Islamic intelligentsia generally resents America and the West on those grounds. It is also true that there is considerable admiration for America among Muslims all over the world, which mainly informs emigration to the United States. Not every Muslim is a mujaheed, many simply want a better material existence, greater professional opportunities, to be in closer touch with the avant-garde. Perhaps nothing has contributed to the greatness of America more than its continual assimilation of peoples from all parts of the world. To this extent, America belongs to the world and that partly explains why very-few people actually want to hate the country. That is why the world should be more assertive in trying to influence positive political developments in the United States; equally, the profuse blood relationships between America and the rest of the world make an attack such as that of 9/11 unpopular around the world, even among Muslims. Demographic experts predict that by the middle of this century, the minorities of non White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) stock will constitute the majority of Americans. People of African descent constitute about 15% of the American population; Muslims appear to be at least 5% and Islam is said to be the fastest growing religion in the United States. Saudi Arabia has spent quite a lot of money on the propagation of Islam in the United States and Muslims have substantial investments there, aside from the technology transfers from the US to the Muslim world. Were it not for the hateful and narrow-minded Zionist network that is intent on fighting Islam and Arabs, one imagines understanding between America and the Muslim world would have grown to a level where an event such as the 9/11 assaults would have never taken place. The Zionist lobby, with its sophistication in pressure group politics, is too strong for the Muslims to contend with inside the system; moreover, its methods are often unethical. Frustration over lack of impact on Western policy making and sense of betrayal by local regimes seen to over capitulate to Western preferences fuel hostility towards the West, especially where even the United Nations seems unable to check Israels intransigence. Presently, the most pressing issue on the international scene is Washingtons plan to invade Iraq. As Arab League Secretary General
Amr Musa observed at the last foreign ministers meeting of the Arab League in Cairo, it will open the gates of hell in the Middle East. An American invasion of Iraq will no doubt involve air strikes on Iran's Western frontier with Saddam Husseins country; it will totally emasculate the Arab governments standing by unable to raise a hand against the Americans and Israel, while inciting a wave of terrorist attacks that will give the Zionist/Anglo-American axis of hubris the excuses they need to start putting Arab countries under siege in a direct form of neo-colonialism. Lebanon has already been threatened for its accommodation of Hezbollah and would most likely be the first target of this neo-colonial aggression. Syria would be next, while the Israelis launch an offensive to drive the Palestinians out of Palestine across the river Jordan. Disintegration of Sudan, another crucial item on the Republican right and Zionist agenda, would erase prospects for African-Arab unity, which Khartoum in the long term represents. A pre-emptive nuclear strike against Egypt and Syria, following Washingtons precedence of a pre-emptive strike on Iraq, could not be ruled out. Sharon and Bush are anachronisms, hauling the world back to the 19th century. Saddam Hussein is only a pretext for them to terrorize the Arab/Islamic world; the real goals are a decisive victory over Islam in the clash of civilizations and expansion of Israeli territory. Oil is also a concern for the Texans in Washington. Control of Iraq, reputed to have the world's second largest reserves, would offer an opportunity to crucially undermine OPEC and keep prices suppressed below $20 a barrel. Israel is to emerge from the war on the Middle East as the lord hubristic of the region. The security concerns it now speaks of are to be replaced by a heavy-handed policeman role. In mid September 2002, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to the United States Senate in Washington, called for the overthrow of six Arab governments, which he said was necessary in order to destroy the international network of terrorism. The targeted states were Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan. The Palestinian Authority was the sixth mentioned. Imagine such an affront to the international system of law and respect among nations. The envisaged scenario will however only end in a reassertion of radical Arab nationalism and revival of liberation movements. At the beginning of the 21st century we will be replaying the 20th century political dramas of national
liberation. We say war on the Middle East than simply Iraq, because Saddam Hussein and his Iraq have just been used as a convenient pawn in a high stakes game. Bushs courting African leaders at the United Nations General Assembly session, trying to sell them his plans to bash Iraq and claiming Americas desire to reduce dependence on Middle East oil in favour of African supplies is part of a plot to break up OPEC. Africans should be substantially alienated from the Arabs, the Arabs should be thrown into mass disarray, weakening OPEC, or being forced to abandon OPEC, and desperate African countries encouraged to increase their crude oil production. This will result in rapid depletion of African reserves, over reliance of producing states on crude oil exports, distraction from downstream hydrocarbon industry investments and slow rate of modernization of African economies. This scenario however is quite contrary to the objectives of the African Union and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). The West realizes that the chain is only as strong as its weakest links and America in particular is betting on Africa having enough weak links to end up conclusively neo-colonized rather than unionized. Yet, there are enlightened people in the United States, not only former President Carter and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who called Bushs rationale for a pre-emptive strike against Iraq a fraud, but people like Lyndon LaRoche who are too progressive to work within the Democratic Party. Yes, many people cast aspersions on Mr. LaRoches character and this writer is far from being in a position to judge either way; though LaRoche does not seem politically astute enough to hold the presidents office he has contested, philosophically his thesis of a liberalism restrained by natural law at least has the potential of bringing the Occident and Orient together on common moral and ethical terms. Despite his many wrong predictions, his over exaggeration of crises, LaRoche is frequently sought for interviews by African periodicals because he shows genuine interest in the realization of an egalitarian world. In the 1960s Americas new left produced great egalitarian intellectuals like Baron and Swezy, who wrote the classic work The Political Economy of Growth, which technically elaborated on Nkrumahs thesis NeoColonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism. The alliance between the
African American leftist group, Black Panther Party, and the mainly white Peace and Freedom Party raised prospects of a second American revolution, but the moral and discipline failings of those movements, their intertwining with the blooming drug culture and sexual irresponsibility led them to a destructive social impact that undermined their political idealism. In the new American Revolution, in the new global revolution, there must be a coalition of moralists, Christians, Jews and Muslims, and whoever else that subscribes to egalitarian values, believes in the expansion of economic opportunities and deplores the sight of opulence in the face of penury. However, the Orient must also upgrade its own political ethic. We cannot expect the West to regard us with egalitarian hearts while merciless domestic colonialism prevails, whereby the privileged elite exploits and oppresses the general population. While we complain about prejudices from the West, we entertain violent prejudices among ourselves. Hence, it would be very difficult for Western revolutionaries to collaborate with Africa if we do not have enlightened and committed revolutionaries; especially since we are to be the principal beneficiaries of global socio-political progress. If the Global South is not to play second fiddle in the envisaged global democratic revolution, we must do a remarkable job of holding up our front. Invariably we will find that ideological guidance is again necessary, precluding ethnocentrism, nepotism and religious chauvinism. The first thing that must be done at the present juncture is to take a realistic position on the problem of Saddam Hussein. He has been the cause of regression in the Middle East since 1979. Washington supported Saddam Hussein as a hound dog on Irans western frontier. The American weekly magazine, Newsweek, in a cover story, How We Helped Create Saddam, recently reminded the world of the military hardware, including biological weaponry, Washington supplied Saddam during his war with Iran in the 1980s. Saddam had been the aggressor, but Washington nonetheless supplied the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission with bacteria/fungi/protozoa to be let loose on Ayatollah Khomeinis Islamic Republic. Shortly after the Gulf War, the United States Congress summoned the senior President Bush to answer questions concerning his arming of Iraq. Therefore,
when the Americans accuse Saddam of having chemical weapons, we have reason to believe they know exactly what they are talking about. During the Gulf War Washington and London both agreed that Saddam was preferable to the Islamists looking to replace him and therefore decided that he must remain as Iraq's leader. He was stronger militarily then than now. His invasion of Kuwait, which Washington was instrumental in instigating, led to a massive transfer of Arab oil earned wealth back to the West. He is now the pretext the Zionist/Anglo-American axis is using to invade the Middle East. Domestically, it should be obvious to everyone that the popular support Saddam appears to enjoy is a result of the conditioning of his people to the fact that to resist him is suicide. He executed one of the 20th centurys leading Islamic intellectuals and philosophers, Muhammad Baqir As Sadr, along with his sister, for declaring that it was against the Sharia of Islam for any Muslim to join Saddams Baath Party; as bad as George W. Bush is, it is inconceivable that he would send a leading American intellectual to the gallows for declaring it a sin to be Republican. Saddam is not worth subjecting the entire Middle East to a mammoth catastrophe. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus call for overthrow of the governments of Syria, Libya, Iran, Sudan and the Palestinian Authority in the United States Senate chambers spells out the agenda of nuclear capable Israel and its Zionist cohorts in the United States. Arab nationalism should be demolished and the Middle East turned into a bunch of eunuch states, prostrating before Israel and the United States. The Arab states collectively must resolve to go on the diplomatic offensive, rallying international support and pressure to make Saddam step down and allow a peaceful democratic change in Iraq. Saddam alone must become the issue, the question of invading Iraq must be erased entirely from the scene of discussion. Only the Arab states can do this, because the objective of the Zionist/Anglo-American axis is to use Saddam as a pretext, as they have in other ways used him in the past, to carry out their diabolical plan of creating an opportunity to dispossess the Palestinians from Palestine, and become militarily positioned to terrorize the Muslim and Arab states of the Middle East and Central Asia. Washington does not want to be so reliant as it is on Pakistan in having access to Central Asia. Bush and Rumsfeld
envisage a more commanding presence in the entire region, whereby crucial states fall victim to the war on terrorism and the Muslim world becomes a stable of eunuchs. If the Arab states remain reactionary, responding with contemptible impotence to Zionist/Anglo-American aggression, they will end up in the trap with no way out. Europe, nor anyone else, as can be foreseen from the current situation and trends of events, could be relied on to restrain the devils once they get going. Arab political capitulation carries the psychological price of tragic demoralization; armed resistance by Arab states, is in any event, unimaginable. Strategic diplomacy, media action and global political offensives reaching out to people who truly want to see a better world order constitute the only realistic recourse at this juncture. The United Nations, normally despised by the Republican right wing, is virtually a dead horse. However, dramatic initiatives from the General Assembly can revive it. That initiative in this case can be none other than an Arab led drive to force Saddam Hussein to step down and his Baath Party to end its monopoly on power. The problem, of course, may be that the democratic tradition is not strongly enough established in the Arab world for its leaders to embark decisively on such a course of action. What this would mean is that the Arab world has not reached a level of enlightenment to mobilize a coalition of enlightened forces in the West to kill the case for war against Iraq by mounting a concerted international campaign to force Saddam and his party to abdicate, possibly giving way to an Arab League supervised interim administration that would preside over a new constitution and open elections. Never shall the disadvantaged elude the reality that we are victims of our own inadequacies; therefore, the essential challenge before us is to arrive in short order at a new beginning. Occasional indications from Saudi Arabia that the Custodians of the Two Holy Mosques would cooperate in an international coalition to topple Saddam Hussein should the Security Council give vote in favour of war in the premises suggest an adventure into an extremely risky position. As much as it is clear that the only way Muslims can realistically fight the assault designs of the Western clash of civilization hawks is to show good will and ingenuity towards creation of an equitable world order, national hubris in Israel and the United States run high. Both countries have histories of brutally expressed
racial prejudice. Hence, the Saudi position raises the question of how much can be achieved as far as bringing reasonable liberal forces to prevail against the racist hawks in the short run? No doubt, the Saudis are reasoning that by taking part in a coalition against Saddam, Washington would be obliged to retrain Israel from doing what Sharon, Netanyahu and Co. desire. In any event, while urging Iraq to comply with United Nations demands that it readmit weapons inspectors, which it has now done, a General Assembly resolution, spearheaded by the Arabs, calling on Saddam to quit or face harsh isolation from the rest of the global community would shift the focus away from war in much the same way that President Bush has managed to distract the worlds attention from Israels outrageous state terrorism by keeping everyone preoccupied with his boast of what he calls pre-emptive aggression against Iraq. As much as the Americans must face the fact that the attacks of September 11 are a commensurate reaction to the brutal excesses of Israel and skewed policies of the United States, the Arab states must recognize that Usama bin Laden is equally a product of their own political ineptitude. Had the peace plan of Saudi Regent Abdallah been on the table ten years ago, the equitable objectives of the Arabs in the Middle East would by now be clearly and firmly established. However, everything happens in Allahs time; now that the Regent Abdallah has prescribed an equitable way forward, there must be a push for global acceptance of the Saudi plan along with the drive to have Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party abdicate. Qatar recently welcomed more American troops on its soil, in addition to the 3,000 already there, and Washington announced deployment of 600 more military personnel to Qatar along with 50 warplanes. The Gulf Arabs seem determined to thwart Zionist/neo-imperialist designs by appealing to what they hope is President Bushs intrinsic sense of fairness and decency. Perhaps, if Bush tries to sidestep good-willed Arab initiatives, he would only increase his isolation internationally. The American people, including the Jews, must be prepared to transcend their inclinations to racial prejudice if it is not the Blacks, it is the Arabs are we to believe you people are compulsive racists? In the long term, if the wounds of humanity are to be finally healed rather than chronically aggravated, there must be an
international coalition of fraternal forces. Neither the mainstream Republican nor Democratic parties seem capable of becoming relevant here, because the former is perennially regressive and the latter has not shown substantive constructive creativity since Franklin Delano Roosevelt departed. To pick up and mend the pieces of the world will ultimately require new political establishments in the Arab world and the United States, as well as a richer idealism informing a synthesis of idealism and pragmatism in Europe. Europe has a more dynamic political environment than either the United States or Britain. New parties periodically emerge with new chances, though in recent years the tendency has been more right wing than anything else. However, the anti-immigration backlash, typically the highlight of the rightist platforms, is in considerable measure due to the failure of states in Africa and other parts of the Global South to proactively and efficiently manage their affairs to give their people hope, to inspire in them nationalism, so that they are ready to make the sacrifice of enduring the hard realities for the moment at home in order to achieve foreseeable rewards in the medium and long terms. Therefore, Africans too have a paramount responsibility in picking up and mending the pieces of the world. Indeed, Africa has come of age; most of the people in the Global North were born after the era of colonialism and to them excuses of colonial inherited disadvantages are meaningless, though they are very real. It is better for Africaand this is the only realistic course we can take to try, as the African American educator Booker T. Washington used to say, pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. This is what the New Partnership for African Development and the African Union are all about. For, if the West does not seriously support NEPAD, the partnership will nonetheless pertain among AU member states. In the final analysis, the disadvantaged, the vulnerable parts of the world will have to become more proactive on every front, diplomatic, economic and political, in order to penetrate the West with their influences. It is frequently said that the Arabs, for example, have not done enough to lobby and influence policy in the United States, giving the Zionists a virtual carte blanche. There are immediate objectives to be pursued such as averting an assault on Iraq and longer term ones such as raising a new political dispensation in the United States in
which the Democrats and Republicans would have become mere relics of an outgrown era. In the Arab world itself, the Palestinian dilemma with Jerusalem at its heart and the return of Arab lands lost in wars with Israel have been addressed by the Regent Abdallahs peace plan. It is important to reactivate the influence of the United Nations and keep both Israel and Washington at bay until Bush and Sharon can be voted out of office. These two men are barbarians; the world simply cannot move forward with them. With the Abdallah plan, Arab Americans should be able to enter into a rainbow coalition with progressive Jews, AfricanAmericans, Mexican Americans and others, including traditional American aristocrats with enlightened minds and forward global vision. There must be a democratic revolution in the United States of America and the infantile, diabolical orientation of the Bush administration is as clear an indication of this as we would ever get. Americans have been talking and writing about their anger and grief over the September 11 attacks and the Bush administration has been encouraging this in pursuit of more fuel for its diabolical designs in the Middle East. The atomic bomb President Harry S. Truman dropped on Hiroshima killed between 60-70,000 people and another 40,000 were killed in the bombing of Nagasaki. American intervention and merciless policies in Vietnam resulted in over 20,000 political assassinations and several hundred thousand killed in bombing raids. If people live for revenge, there will never be peace and reconciliation in the world. Bridging the understanding and appreciation gaps is not a push button affair, relentless dialogue, cultural exchanges, literary and other artistic productions are essential. The most important thing is faith in humanity, which I believe is enhanced by faith in the absolute goodness and power of God.
Open Letter to President Bush

Original version published in The Journalist International, September 29, 2002
Re: America's National Security Strategy

our premise that America, owing to its tradition of freedom, has the moral authority to use its unrivalled power to impose a benevolent hegemony on the world is, imprimis, implausible for two salient reasons: your administration's tendency to frustrate multilateralism and America's bias in favour of the hawkish Israeli regime against the Palestinians, occasioned by the dual loyalty of the powerful American Jewish community. Indeed, your own administration is unabashedly hawkish. Worse of all, Mr. Bush, you often come across as a amiable fair minded character, but apart from flaunting a subjective "America first and foremost, regardless of the costs to outsiders" position on international issues, such as free and fair trade, global environment and the International Court of Criminal Justice, you have surrounded yourself with a team of hardcore, brazen imperialists and Zionists. One of the reasons why some of us were particularly interested in seeing you become president of the United States is that given your unapologetic right wing orientation we anticipated that under your administration the world would see Washington in plain colours. We have certainly not been disappointed. Some of your predecessors had been deceiving Americans and other gullible souls around the world about the legitimacy of claimed interests and Washington's policies in the premises; but your administration has now openly confirmed the essential imperialist motives impelling the United States' geo-strategic behaviour. Washington should be concentrating on extending its tradition of democracy to the international system, strengthening multilateral institutions and asserting America as the moral, as well as economic
and military leader, of a democratic global supranationalism; not employing coercion and blackmail to suppress democracy, opposition and dissent in the international system. It is obvious to us that the creative thinking and intelligence of your administration is narrowly focused on hegemony. Though you say your are not a text book player but a gut player, the realism school of international relations is essentially informed by the assumption that nations have a gut tendency to use whatever power they possess full throttle in pursuit of their own interests. Your administration fits the description of a neoconservative neo-realism; that is to say, despite cursory recognition of the contemporary convergence between national self-interest and international cooperation, your political reflexes are out of rhythm with multilateralism and your pursuit of gut national interests is obsessive, reaching the threshold of neo-fascism. George W. Bush's Washington can be seen by anyone with his eyes wide open to be maladroitly pursuing an energy security and greed agenda, in tandem with bias indulgence of the primitive mentalities prevalent in extremist Arab and Zionist politics, with absolute deference to the latter protagonist. In this radically, perceived self-serving, Zionist manipulated, pursuit, your administration is too hubristic, too conceited to consider the need to understand and competently address the root causes of rise in the terrorism phenomenon. Whatever its demerits, at least the philosophy of containment Washington had subscribed to since the end of World War II provided a platform from which to step up to American leadership of a democratized international system, maintained by strong, yet appropriately flexible supranational institutions, basically comprising the structure of the United Nations. The world needs better intercultural understanding, more focus on a dialogue of civilizations with a determined view to steering away from Samuel Huntington's clash scenario. Haplessly, neither the Democratic Party's dogmatically conceptualized liberalism, espoused by President Clinton, nor your Christian Coalition bigotry intoned neo-conservatism is sufficiently broad and agile to partake in, talk less of lead, the quality of global dialogue required to heal the wounds of the world and get us moving forward in respectable and equitable consonance. As inevitable victims of America's zealous, uncompromising hegemonic nationalism, Africans find their own nationalism being at
once suppressed by the global superstructure and enervating under the force of our collective hopelessness. For those of us possessed of too strong a sense of self-value to capitulate to foul play, at least we thank God for your unveiling the hegemonic dream. The dragon is now out of the cave fire dancing. The crafty head we had been doing business with all along, but not every imagination drew the same picture of what all was behind it. In trying to rationalize the concept of ''a unique American internationalism" imposed on the world to make it both safer and better, Mr. President, your administration has undertaken a task, the penned results of which could only be appreciated by a highly subjective American point of view. Against the background of your administration's policies and behaviour, what you are proposing cannot intelligently construed by us as anything better than a global monarchy with America perched on the throne of nations claiming eternal divine right over the rest of humanity. Former Vice President Gore, irrespective of his shortcomings while in office, at least showed appreciation of what the visionaries in the rest of world expect when he cited international equality as the desired goal, in criticizing your bellicose nationalism. Mr. Bush, you are our brother as far as I am concerned; but you can never be our master. You can be the world's principal leader, but asserting yourself as Lord of the Manor will only provoke, even incite, resentment and resistance. You simply cannot make the world better by imposing a tyrannical American dictatorship on the planet. Nor can you win a "battle of ideas" starting from the premise that you must win. Have you never reflected on eclecticism? Has it never occurred to you that despite our traditional cultural differences assimilation of good concepts and ideas, admirable characteristics from foreign lands enriches the various local, national and regional cultures? As an African Muslim, I find the American belief in their ability to actualize whatever enters their imaginations consistent with Islamic faith in the comprehensive design of Allah's creation, though we must admit that self-doubt is too prevalent among our people here on the continent and also in the Arab world. Yet, there are many other things about America that I don't see as prudent and stand with my own intellectual resources to debate or dialogue on those matters. Perhaps, many
Americans could learn something from us and indeed we know some have. When you talk of battle with respect to ideas and the American imperative of winning, I read too great a possibility therein of "an ends justifies the means approach." For example, I have noted in some of my earlier writings, the stress you have placed on getting involved in female education in Africa raises serious questions of motives. One of the strategies the Caucasian establishment instinctively employed against the African American was to offer a greater level of acceptance to females than to males, which aggravated the damages done to their family structure by slavery. In Nigeria, for example, women are excelling in every field of endeavour; in Islamic Sudan these days women comprise over 60% of the university graduates and will probably in a few years clearly dominate the professions and civil service. Liberia had female cabinet ministers and a Supreme Court justice even before the United States. In South Africa women are relatively as powerful as anywhere else in the world. Why pray tell is female education in Africa of so much interest to your administration? I find a plausible answer to this question in your "battle of ideas" that America must win: "Brainwash the females, they have less resistance to our material attractions; they in turn will transmit the desired mindset to their children." It is simply unimaginable to me how your intentions can be good when you are hell bent on American military supremacy, when we should be talking about international equilibrium. You can use "American internationalism as a euphemism for "American imperialism", but the absolute hegemony you envisage for America, as I said supra, establishes America on a throne presiding over a galaxy of virtually vassal states. America's empire becomes the world; that is imperialism. If you want to talk realistically about internationalism, you have to sit down with Kofi Annan, with Iran's Mohammed Khatami and Mandela, and connect their visions with that of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt; then you should be getting somewhere. Multilateralism is necessarily the foundation for Internationalism, because the latter proposes to integrate the peoples of the world, balancing their geo-strategic interests. Mr. Bush, you should know that by the middle of this century, the coloured minorities in the United States are likely to outnumber the
Anglo-Saxons, Italian and Irish Catholics and Jews. This holds out an unprecedented opportunity for internationalizing America's soul, its global outlook, making the country truly, constructively cosmopolitan. Perhaps, contrarily, your own imperial worldview could conceivably be a sub-conscious attempt by the WASP, with Zionist collaboration, to rescue and fulfil traditional illusions of grandeur. Speaking of Zionists; has it never occurred to you that the double standard you apply to Israel and the Arab states is gross bad faith? Israel under Sharon is a rogue state, unless there is no such thing as one. The extra-judicial killings are an outrage to anyone who counts the Arabs as human beings worthy of established standards of humanitarian consideration; what Sharon is doing has no more justification than what the Arabized regime in Khartoum has been doing to the indigenes of South Sudan. Your cannot justify Sharon's genocidal policies in Palestine on the grounds that it is a democracy trying to secure itself from terrorism. Was Palestinian and Arab terrorism not provoked by a gang-up of Western imperialism and Zionism against Palestine's claim to national legitimacy? Have you forgotten that the Palestinian problem is the last vestige of the colonial era, while you propose lengthy timetables for these people to enjoy their independence on only half the expanse of land they had before colonial intrusion? The most fundamental human right in Islamic cosmology is the right to optimal potential fulfillment. Potential is multifarious: moral, psychic, intellectual, physical, industrial, technological and military. The highest military potential development is necessarily defensive and deterrent, because it would have been informed by lofty moral, psychic and intellectual values that deplore aggressiveness. However, in declaring that America will never allow any country to challenge its military supremacy while preaching a gospel of pre-emptive striking, you not only threaten our potential fulfillment, we are thereby given reason to suspect that the authors and sponsors of your ideology are in vital human respects underdeveloped. Saddam Hussein, we have not forgotten, was horrendously armed by your father, though he had long been a notorious mad man. This lack of continuity and perennial arrogant refusal of Washington to develop policies that are apologetic for past wrongs is a major factor in anti-Americanism.
Mr. President, when you talk about a "a battle for the future of the Muslim World", you indulge a generalization that in actual fact is nonsensical. The Muslim world generally refers to those countries in Africa and Asia that are predominately Muslim, but actually extends even to Muslim minorities, including those in the United States. However, let us first consider that this stretch of predominately Muslim states in Africa and Asia are very different in many ways, yet bound together by certain traditions, such as our five daily prayers in the mosques, the month of Ramadan fast, pilgrimage to Mecca and the central place of Quran in our religious teachings and practices. Now when you talk about a battle for the future of this world, which extends from Senegal on the Atlantic Coast of Africa to Indonesia and Malaysia on the Pacific Rim, what exactly do you mean? You could not possibly be referring to political ideology, because there is no political constant in this great expanse. If what you refer to as Islamic fundamentalism is foremost in your mind, note that this is a meaningless term with respect to Islam that has been mistakenly transposed from Christendom. Though interpretations of the intent of the Quran and philosophies of interpreting the Quran vary, anyone who does not believe in the Quran as the verbatim lecture of Allah is not a Muslim; so if it is this belief that you want to battle, you are out to turn us all to disbelievers. Make your intention very clear. The Clinton administration was emphatic about its aversion to "political Islam". That too is too general, because the influence of Islamic values and doctrine on politics more widely varies in the Muslim world than religion's influence does in the West where Christian Coalitions, Christian Democrats and what have you are among the competing fixtures in the political landscape. If you are talking about extremism, that also must be specifically identified, defined and understood; because it is generally clear to us that extremism in the Muslim world is to considerable extent reaction against unreasonable and forceful disruptive impositions from combines of local compradors and imperialists [which invariably includes the Zionist network]. We must admit that theocratic ignorance and Arabism are also contributing factors to extremism. These are major problems for the Muslims, particularly in Africa, and the world at large. You must dialogue with Muslims of various ideological perspectives but
nonetheless keenly aware of the Muslim world's problems; because by assisting them to overcome such problems you contribute to your own security against terrorism, you strengthen the international system, you make your own leadership of the global community more popular and respectable. People should not be left to hide behind a mystical shield Semitic divine favour, ferociously charging anyone who criticizes them with anti-Semitism; if Muslims and the West cannot come to terms with the fact that both Arabism and Zionism are problems for the Middle East, Africa and international security, we will continue taking sides to the detriment of us all. Ultimately, I think we had better stick on "the future of collective humanity", rather than single out one group for concentrated concern. Arabism and Zionism are psychoses that need careful treatment from the rest of humanity. We must be creative in our approach and address to such problems; considering that we may all have our particular psychoses, however slight. We need more of a collective humanity approach to international issues and relations; we expect America to lead the way in this regard because its citizenry is probably more representative of the global community than that of any other nation. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, while on the campaign trail in September 1932, had the foresight to remark, "The presidency is not merely an administrative office. That's the least of it...It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership." But let us be honest with ourselves; moral leadership is subject to give way to demagoguery in the president's preoccupation with being elected for a second term. Demagogic reflexes also manifest in a presidents interaction with Congress, in response to opinion polls, his adherence to the conventional wisdom that democracy is a game of numbers and (the unspoken truth) money. Mr. President, without a lofty vision to which you are immutably dedicated, your presidency, as it is headed, will end up as a testimony to the need for a new American vision, embracing the family and social morality values of the Republicans and the multilateral philosophy of the genuine liberals. That would be a gain for the world at your expense.
Muhammad Kamil, Publisher, Global Africa Information Exchange
Implications of the Bush Doctrine for African Union

October, 2002
n keeping with the vision of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who first conceptualized African Union back in the late 1950s, the AU was born in Durban last June in consonance with the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), which we understand not to be merely an appeal fore aid, but an ideological commitment to globalization. We have understood African Union and its NEPAD component in the context and spirit of Nkrumah's vision that Africa would become a new frontier for mankind, where people come from all parts of the world join with Africans in building a new socioeconomic model for humanity. Nkrumah even retained Brits as cabinet ministers in Ghana to give his government a feeling of internationalism. Quite a lot of bad water has passed under the bridge since those brightly hopeful days in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but with the founding of the AU and the unveiling of NEPAD in Africa's rainbow society, South Africa, there is no doubt that the Nkrumah vision, to which the African National Congress subscribes, is still very much with us. In striving to tap our full potential for human and material development, we Africans have embarked upon the steep path of this continental union determined that in good time we shall have risen to a level where we can commune with the rest of the world in a partnership of equals. The African Union, European Union, The United States, China, India, Japan, etc. When former US vice president Al Gore recently acknowledged that a global partnership of equals should be his country's goal, we were heartened that a shared vision was taking roots in the various quarters of humanity. However, the recently published Bush Doctrine, to which Mr. Gore was responding, has proposed a world more or less in perpetual servitude to the United States. Those of us on the periphery have been in servitude to the core imperialist interests for several centuries now and we are quite concerned that this disadvantage, which has proved to have a self-destructive psychological effect on us, should be
transcended. It is being recognized that Africa has become a terrible nuisance in the world, that enough is enough, we must change the course of our history, redeem ourselves. I am sure that this requires, imprimis, exalted ambition, inspired by a vision of a great Africa, motivated by a strong sense of Pan Africanism. We always knew that the North Atlantic nations are not inclined to encourage our ascendancy to a state of equity with them, we have unforgettable experiences with their schemes to keep Pan Africanism from becoming an effective reality, but now with the Bush Doctrine, a naked threat to our greatest ambitions has been bluntly issued. What do we do? The institutions and ideology informing the African Union show the direction; a consensus has been reached on that and only those who are not seriously involved in African affairs would question the direction that has been agreed upon in principle by the continent's leaders. The problem, once again, is implementation. Agreed, the forces of gravity weighing against the AU's uphill struggle are tremendous. At least two of the driving forces behind the AU, Nigeria's President Obasanjo and Algeria's Bouteflika, are bogged down in domestic crises. At the Secretariat, which is supposed to be upgraded to a Commission, headed by a Chairman instead of the Secretary General of the OAU, considerable work apparently still remains to complete the structural transformation of Pan African cooperation. In order for the AU not to appear dormant, not to be overtaken by events, it is at this point necessary to inaugurate a strategic think-tank to plan approaches to crucial issues; particularly crisis resolution, enhanced capital market integration and a common currency. We have repeatedly emphasized the importance of having an African Continental Currency, in both economic and psychological terms, even if it circulates concurrently with existing national and regional currencies. Crisis resolution prospects look brighter with the ongoing moves towards peace in the Congo and the likelihood of peace negotiations resuming in Sudan. However, the think tank might also look at the long-term prospects for the unity of Sudan and Nigeria holding; because if these two states are doomed to divide in the long run, then compensation will need to be made to Africa by speeding up establishment of supranational institutions prescribed in the
Constitutive Act of the African Union, implying that with strengthening of the AU the impact of secessions will be mitigated. The point is that in a world facing accentuated American imperialism, Africa must re-engineer to eliminate all its weak linkages and trouble spots, increase internal trade and capital flows, while offering its people an expanded horizon. The AU, we cannot over emphasize, must have a stronger presence on the continent. If Africa does not challenge the status quo, this accentuated imperialism will invariably increase it marginalization. Any progress for us in this regard must start from internal strengthening.
The Americans are not the only ones who can tell foreign countries to change their leaders
Published in The Journalist International, August 15, 2002
e live in a world in which satellite technology and other strategic advantages possessed by the most materially advanced nations gives them such power over lesser states that the latter must perforce take an active interest in who leads in Washington, London, Paris, Bonn and other leading capitals. Aside from the institutionalized privileges of power provided the major nuclear muscle states by United Nations Security Council protocol giving them veto and other prior rights over the General Assembly, global market and industrial dependence on the 27 OECD nations naturally generates and legitimizes international interest in the affairs of countries like the United States, France and even Israel. However, the present situation in the world, the Bush-Sharon era, does not so much require academic justification of our right to call upon the Americans and the Israelis to change their leaders as soon as constitutionally permissible. These two men, with Britains Tony Blair as an opportunistic accomplice, have in ethical terms set the world back no less than 50 years. In the wake of 8 Democratic Party years in the American White House, characterized by rather dogmatic [and invariably hypocritical] human rights campaigning, Washington now unabashedly condones Israels boasting of extra-judicial killings. The hawkish Zionists have such a stronghold on American politics that Israel enjoys virtually unlimited support, or at least countenance, of its manic apartheid repression of Palestinians. Worst of all, the United Nations has become shamefully neutralized in the premises; although as Africans we can appreciate that Brother Kofi Annan may find it prudent to avoid conflict with the Anglo-American-Zionist axis of imperialism over the Middle East in order to be better positioned to secure
opportunities for his home continent. It is no secret that the right wing of the Republican Party is essentially unilateral in its approach to the world and has long resented the UN, conceived by the hero of the Democrats, World War II president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (18821945). Republican officials over the years have scornfully spoke of the Global Souths dominance of the General Assembly and once Washingtons ambassador to the United Nations, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a democrat serving under Republican President Gerald Ford, responded to complaints by diplomats of shabby treatment in New York by inviting the UN to pack. As one writer put it, The UN constrains the United States by creating the one coalition that can rival U.S. power that of all other nations. Hence, Washington blackmails the UN with pre-conditions for paying its dues, which are perennially in substantial arrears, while arrogantly insisting on exemption from justice related multilateral conventions, such as the newly established International Criminal Court (ICC), and declaring opposition to investigations, as recently when Israel bombed civilian targets in Gaza. Comparing President Bush to his predecessor Bill Clinton, in summary we might say that the former governor of Arkansas and Rhodes Scholar was more sophisticated in his appreciation of globalization, despite his obsession with Western liberal dogma; Bush came to office with no background of interest in international relations; Clinton, though not above military exhibitionism, was really not a war monger, but much more of an evangelist of the gospel of contemporary Western liberalism. Bush looks at the world, squinting as if peering through the gun-sight on his fighter jet. The fundamental difference between Secretary of State Colin Powell and the main body of the Washington establishment was highlighted in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Vividly, we remember Powell, gleaming with insight, calling upon Yasser Arafat and Simon Peres to return to the negotiating table. He didnt fail to recognize the obvious: the attacks were not unrelated to the setbacks on Palestinian statehood and settlement of the Jerusalem question. Powell, an American with some ancestral roots in Africa, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces, has consistently proved to be the most level headed and sophisticated high-ranking official currently in
Washington. However, the hawks, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, along with his deputy Paul Wolfowitz, often undermine him. In terms of composure and political maturity none of the other kings men, nor the king himself, are any match for him. Powell is without doubt better material for leadership of the worlds most powerful and materially well off nation, but there has never been an African American U.S. president and the former five star General had backed down from contesting because he and his family felt from a personal security point of view the risk was too high. In other words, racism is still an active phenomenon in the United States. An African American enjoying the broad based support to fulfil his governing potentials, moreover, seems unlikely; perhaps no other American Secretary of State has at once enjoyed so much international goodwill while suffering political humiliations at home as Powell. One could say this is due strictly to the ideological incompatibility between him and the hawks, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, but then one would not expect a psychologically balanced African American, born in an era when many of his race did not even have voting rights and having experienced the racist failings of his country, which he seems to love very much, to be without a loftier vision for America than his gun-slinging colleagues. Powells vision, from all indications, is of a world united behind Americas leadership. Indeed, his election as president would have signalled the dawn of a new America and Iraq, instead of being the target of Washingtons leap into a Third World War, might by now probably be cooperating with Powell the way it initially did with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Unfortunately, the very mindset that precluded Powell being an overwhelming majority choice for Americas presidency clouds that nations view to a veritable new world order unprecedented in international fraternity. Rumours to that Mr. Powell will resign in November are in the air and, indeed, for his own integrity that would be the best thing. As for Israel, after the death of Yitzhak Rabin only Simon Peres might have possibly carried that nation forward into a new era in the Middle East, where peace and economic integration prevailed. Ehud Barak seems to have tried his best, but the problem has been the hawkish democratic will prevailing in the Zionist nation. By the time
Barak was deemed to be going too far in compromise, Sharon the rhinoceros stepped in and the democratic majority bought the might is right argument, rejecting noble compromise. Paradoxically, the Americans are telling the Palestinians to elect a new leader un-compromised by terror while Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is boosting about how he will kill Yassar Arafat and presiding over cold-blooded murder of unarmed women and children in what appears to be nothing short of an ethnic cleansing exercise. America and Israel, you two elect new leaders. We want Colin Powell in the White House and Simon Peres at the helm in Tel Aviv. If you dont like it, better refrain from telling other people who their leaders ought to be.
By 2010 will there be a reasonable power balance or a hegemonic lock?

hinese Vice Premier for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said ahead of a planned visit to Beijing of the Indian Prime Minister that the serious imbalance of powers in the post Cold War world was such that issues of war and peace were being decided by one or two nations, hinting that a counter-balance was essential. This raises the question of whether President Bush, who has declared that the US will never again allow any nation to rival it military, will tolerate alliances with arsenals that rival his Anglo-American/Zionist combine? Will there be resistance to Bushs plot to put the world in Americas hegemonic lock between now and 2010 or will the hubris of Washington and its flanks stimulate greater determination to establish an inter-continental balance of power? So far there has been overindulgence of Mr. Bushs red hubris, no doubt owing to the prominent place the American market holds in the global economy, aside from Washingtons awesome military muscles. Any move that affects American capital and consumer markets invariably has bearish fallout around the globe. No one wants to cut off his nose to spite his face, so almost every world leader tries to accommodate Americas insistences come what may. The risks of imbalance, whether economic or military, are no doubt universally appreciated, but no more than appreciation for the leading role the United States plays in technology development. Europe and Japan are also important players in the technology field, competing with the Americans and in some instances setting the pace, but America remains for the moment indispensable as both a capital and consumer market for the advanced capitalist world and the newly industrializing countries (NICs) . China, which appears very much concerned by the prevailing unipolar predicament of the world, nonetheless is a major beneficiary of American investment. No one is interested in any upheavals that would throw the world economy into a tailspin, but Beijing may not be the only capital seriously concerned about the lopsided power situation.
Some observers have read in president Bushs recently released National Security Strategy indications that Washington has in mind to boost up India as a counterbalance to China in Asia. Certainly, the Chinese have noticed this and though no date has yet been set for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayees visit, Beijing is already quite busy creating the political atmosphere from which might emerge a new era of solidarity. Trade differences between the two countries could be insurmountable in the long run, as China generally produces electronic consumer items at lower prices than India and the latter would not like their industries battered by cheap Chinese imports, but Beijing will nonetheless be hoping for a more intimate geo-strategic relationship with New Delhi. Vice Premier Wang Li was emphatic about the fact that there is no fundamental problem between India and China, except lack of communication and contacts, which has sometimes led to misunderstanding. China since the days of Mao has been a firm ally of Pakistan, while India during the Cold War had close relations with Moscow. Beijing has already entered into a defense agreement with Moscow and the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia and might very well be looking to now pave the way for a concrete strategic alliance with nuclear powered India. Washington obviously has other designs and it remains to be seen how things will materialize. Historically, India from the days of Nehru has never been any nations stooge. It would be quite uncharacteristic of Beijing to try and ally with India as anything less than an equal partner. Hence, the choice before India in the long term could likely be between a regional alliance of equals with China or a surrogate relationship with Washington, in return for baskets of material values. As long as the tension between India and Pakistan continues, and Pakistan is in good books with Washington, India may look at the need to have closer relations with the Americans as a quinine tablet. Washington could cool off relations with Pakistan once Islamabad has served its immediate purposes. Above all, it is there is bound to be a groundswell of resentment in the comity of nations for the hubristic, not to mention amateurish, tone of the Bush Doctrine, which we learn was drafted by Miss Condolezza Rice and was so radical Bush had to polish it. Of course, what do you expect in the polishing of the unpolished. Nevertheless, Beijing will have to pour on the diplomatic
charm relentlessly to get cozy with New Delhi after several decades of cool to hostile relations. The other point of interest in this discussion is the Korean Peninsula. Korean unity would deprive the hawks in Washington of any long term designs it may have to put Pyongyang in a position similar to that it now has Baghdad in. Whose payroll the leading presidential candidate in the December elections, Lee Hoi-Chang, is on is a suspicious question buzzing in the air; for it is hard to believe that he cannot see the strategic dangers for Asia if North Korea is left isolated. He is against unification, promising to take a hard line against the North if elected and is alleging that the landmark Korean Summit two years ago materialized in the wake of a $400 million bribe to Pyongyang. Hearings are being held in Seouls parliament on the matter and the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) has accused opposition Grand National Party (GNP) of orchestrating a smear campaign with intent to mislead the electorate to its advantage. The possibility that Lee Hoi-Chang become president of Korea for a five year term come December portends escalation of tension in the region, which could only serve to inflate Americas hegemonic position. On the other hand, if the MDP retains power, the unification process could within another five years have reached its logical conclusion and Koreans, like Germans of today, would have improved their geo-strategic position as well as that of the Pacific Rim. Aside from compelling unification of Taiwan, Beijing is no doubt more concerned with the full modernization of its economy and bring a decent standard of living to its 1.2 billion people than getting involved in international hostilities. We can imagine Beijing in a postunification era pressing for international disarmament and standing firm for world peace; but the Bush doctrine threatening the world and unification largely dependent on its military stock, Beijing would not be wise if it did not appreciate the prospects of partnership with a united Korea as well as the strategic alliance it now seems to be pursuing with India. Japan is always leery of being seen to have ambitions to re-emerge as an independent power or to be in any way at odds with what Washington wants politically. The Japanese apparently see it in their strategic interest not to complicate their unbridled economic ambitions
with geo-strategic controversy. Post World War II Japan, like its erstwhile ally in the Axis Powers, Germany, is somewhat obsessed with making the world forget their aggressions in the two wars of the 20th century's first half and, in particular, value the relations with Washington that in significant measure facilitated national reconstruction. It seems safe to predict that the Japanese, of all the major countries, will be least concerned about the hegemonic readings of the Bush Doctrine. This means that at worst, Tokyo could be used by Washington as an antagonist of any Beijing-New Delhi alliance, as well as a continued role as spoiler in the Beijing-Taipei face-off; or at best, retreat into a position of positive neutrality in order not to get into the high military budget syndrome and be everybody's friend in its own national interests. Europe, locked in NATO with the United States, has very limited options and can be expected, France and all, to in geo-strategic matters remain a junior partner to the United States. The Saudi Gazette editorial of October 5 (Multipolar World) stressing Frances historical tendency to assert its own leadership and arguing that France and Germany are emerging as a new power center, asserting independence of the European could be misleading. Unless the Asians, specifically China and India, can along with Moscow establish a diplomatic covenant based on progressive and uncompromising reduction of international tensions, Europe could become divided over issues pertaining to its relationship with the United States, but it is unlikely that any such rift would be critical or long-term. If Europe has any cause to fear an Asian nuclear alliance between China and India, Paris and Bonn could become disciples of the Bush doctrine. The key to fighting unipolarism, therefore, is an intercontinental covenant to work towards disarmament, restoration of the effectiveness and credibility of the United Nations and global justice, especially in the Middle East. The Middle East is already facing a gang up mobilized by the Anglo-American/Zionist combine against Muslims. Prime Minister Blair can say there is no anti-Islamic agenda, the problem is Saddam Hussein, but the plain truth of the matter is any country refusing to recognize that the Palestinian problem as colonial and rapid decolonization as the only solution, has effectively been co-opted in the Zionists fanatical anti-Islamic crusade. If the Zionist hawks succeed
in expelling the Palestinians from Palestine, or even if they try, the Middle East will find itself forced into a position where either there would be general capitulation to the imposed AngloAmerican/Zionist tyranny in the region or a wave of destabilization as the forces of resistance and the advocates of compliance with the dictates of the hegemonic powers clash. The latter is quite a likely consequence and the divisions will probably be between states as well as internally. Israels threat of nuclear force against Syria and Egypt should they try to intervene to prevent the Zionists from having their wicked way will at least leave enduring hatred for the Jewish state. This could only be expected to give Washington and Israel a bigger barrel of excuses to turn their guns on Damascus and destroy the friendship with the United States that Egypts Hosni Mubarak has worked to build up in the post-Camp David years. Pockets of resistance to this provocative policy aimed at alienating all of Americas Middle East friends apart from Israel may not be strong enough to have a restraining influence or decisive reverse impact, as the Bush administration proceeds with its clash of civilizations agenda, creating an atmosphere where public opinion grows increasingly anti-Islamic by the day. This is invariably reflected in Congress and state as well as municipal administrations. What all of this will mean for the oil business depends on the level of resistance or objections to the Anglo-American/Zionist tyranny. Considering that the Muslim world is a small minority in the international community, the extent to which other states will be willing to jeopardize their relations with the hegemonic AngloAmerican/Zionist complex should not be expected to provide a restraining force. Perhaps, only the fair minded Americans, like those who are now calling Bush a madman as well as for a regime change, might at some point make a positive difference. However, the lessons of the 1960s are useful here: unless there is a new political dispensation in the United States, in which the Republicans and Democrats are superseded by politically parties that are fundamentally more enlightened, the fair minded Americans will once again end up frustrated and eventually find they must either be co-opted by the perverted system or linger in frustration. The recently publicized CIA report that the generals in Iraq may stage a pre-emptive coup against Saddam Hussein raises hope that the
destabilization designs of the neo-fascists and Zionists in the Middle East may see a setback. If Saddam is deposed and the hawks continue their cry for war against Iraq, it would no doubt expose them as obsessed war mongers and even NATO members, embarrassed by the flagrant bellicosity, would likely see fit to call them to order. Of course, Washington could still back Israel in driving the Palestinians across the Jordan River, even if the plot to wage a full scale war in the Middle East fails. There is no indication from the present trend of events that Israel will come to terms with the proposition of a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has already said that he no longer recognizes the Oslo Accord, meaning he deems himself free to write and pursue a contrary scenario, which is a throwback to Hitlers holocaust. The Middle East could remain as an open wound on the globe and while not even the United Nations is likely to prove useful in compelling justice, the world at large will know that we have fallen deep into the primordial jungle. In summary, the only way the Bush Doctrine can be successfully resisted is to raise a counter-consensus on fighting terrorism and interstate conflicts with justice. There is no better place to focus this than the Middle East. Humanity much strive for a higher level of understanding in multilateral management of conflicts. To allow wounded buffalos with specious moral platforms to dictate to the world is a great danger for all of us. Among other things, this higher level of understanding we deem necessary involves universal acceptance of affirmative Islam and freedom for democratically oriented Islamic parties to compete freely in the multiparty political arena, as King Mohammed VI of Morocco has just allowed. The Islamic intelligentsia has its own visions for the Muslim world and the most important thing is for Muslims to learn to debate and contest in a democratic political context. However, this becomes difficult when there is inimical external intervention. Worst of all, external intervention provokes reactionary dispositions which preclude development of rational eclecticism. Aside from the question of Islam, Asia, where there is possibility for formidable alliances must press for global disarmament and peace while indicating that if the West, including the US, cannot realistically come to terms with the vision of a peaceful power balance, then everyone must retain the right to pursue military parity. With
goodwill, diplomacy and sincerity in pursuing higher objectives for mankind, the Bush Doctrine will have to either be revised or face failure.
The Re-colonization Threat

September 2002
gainst a decades background of events that too closely resemble the late 19th century colonial expansion of the Northern Hemisphere powers, pre-attack leaks of plans by Washington to invade and occupy Iraq for a number of years, irrespective of whether or not Saddam Hussein was removed before the launch of full scale war, was of great concern to all the peoples of the Global South, particularly those of the Middle East and Africa. In the context of the Pentagons extremist plans for Iraq, probably with the concurrence of neo-con icon Vice President Dick Cheney, we can understand Mr. Bushs branding of Syria, Iran and Sudan as failed states belonging to an axis of evil. A failed state in the context of current events evidently means a former colony whose performance as a sovereign nation has been so poor its sovereignty deserves to be revoked. Following the Al Qaeda September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the Middle East became the focus of attention, owing to the opportunity Washington and Israel saw afforded to close the Palestinian chapter in history by driving the Palestinians at gunpoint into Jordan and possibly as far as Iraq where they would be contained under Anglo-American military occupation, and the oil booty promised by conquest. Had the Anglo-American/Zionist combine succeed in their Middle East conquistador mission, the Northern Hemisphere would have resigned to the Social Darwinian view that de-colonization has failed after all and re-colonization is not an altogether unreasonable recourse. Although the international community led by Europe, Russia, China and Japan strongly objected to military Anglo-Saxon states military adventure in the Middle East, ultimately there was cowed chorus disassociation and a dangerous precedence of tacit approval.
With this horribly regressive precedent of pre-emptive striking, on concocted evidence of a Weapons of Mass Destruction menace, now a fait accompli, and schemes floating around in pseudo-intellectual imperialist circles to re-introduce the trustee system in Africa, forces of the Global South congregating in the Group of 77 plus China need convene an extraordinary summit to raise the global alarm against creeping re-colonization. In fact, in such matters we should be very quick in organizing pre-emptive strategies. As soon as news reached the world of extremists in the Pentagon planning long-term occupation of Iraq, the African Union Chairman should have begun consultations with the Arab League and the leading Pacific Rim states on the matter, in view of the threat to the principle of universal self-determination, not to mention the role played by America in propping up and treacherously using people like Saddam Hussein, as well as a host of plundering dictators in Africa. Between the hegemonic extremities of Bushs 2002 national security strategy, exposure of the strategies lack of realism by events in Iraq, Americas neo-con extremists are somewhat like the wounded Cape Buffalo, Dick Cheney reported to be plotting a nuclear attack on Iran and back bench policy consultants advocating using Liberia as a trial case for reintroduction of the early 19th century trustee system in Africa. Stephen Ellis amateur essay entitled How to Rebuild Africa, published in Volume 84, number 5 of the American journal, Foreign Affairs, labels a number of African countries failed states, averring, Not withstanding the optimistic talk of international development officials, the vast bulk of Africas countries are doing just about enough to get by, as if Africa is a student in the white mans university subject to being flunked out. This is fashionable thinking in Washington these days, a throwback to the Hans J. Morgenthau doctrine that power abhors a vacuum, wherein the weak naturally become colonies or vassals of the strong. In proposing reintroduction of the trustee system in Africa, for all their specious expressions of good intention and Kipling brand paternalism, people like Mr. Ellis and there is a plethora of them are either diabolical neo-fascists or simply have such a shallow understanding of the African problem that they have no legitimate role to play in our affairs. Bluntly, I would like to tell Mr. Ellis and his fellow travellers that as a Liberian I have no doubt that neither our president Ellen Johnson-
Sirleaf nor my other compatriots would ever collaborate in a scheme to use Liberia as a pilot trusteeship project. Implicating Liberia in global terrorism, Stephen Ellis accuses former warlord and president Charles Taylor of selling diamonds to Al Qaeda, but we have not forgotten that when Taylors National Patriotic Front of Liberia launched its manic insurgency on Liberia in late December 1989, against General Doe, a self-confessed CIA agent who evidently fell from grace, his partys executive members were in the United States using CNN to boast to the world about their mission. All throughout Taylors insurgency and during his presidency he maintained business interests in the United States, including a million dollar a month landscaping contract with the city of Baltimore enjoyed by a company he owned. Ample evidence has surfaced that Americas neo-cons allowed the events of the September 11, 2001 to occur in order to have the very pretext they are now using to seek a hegemonic, imperialistic lock on the globe. Re-colonizing Africa is in fact one out of the barrel of hoary ideas attesting to Washington's unconscious senility and is likely to remain current until neutralized by the veritable presence of African redemption and renaissance. Beyond that, as Ellis is making an analogy between African countries and a sick person who may never fully recover, know that our essential problem is lack of collective self-confidence; the last thing we need is therapy spiked with an overdose of cynicism. Africans are not given to self-serving corruption because our souls are rooted in a culture of materialism and greed; Africans have been brutalized and traumatized by the white man and the Arabs since the days of slave trading, we have been battered and intimidated into collective fear and self-doubt, our nationalists like Jaja of Opobo, Nana of Itsekiri and Almamy Samoury Tour, even Malcolm X in the Diaspora, were either captured and exiled or simply gunned down by the white man. We were given nominal independence in deference to John Foster Dulles' theory, based on the Liberian experience with President Tubman, that neo-colonialism, whereby compradors would more effectively serve the purposes of exploitation than primordial colonial administration, was a more efficient form of imperialism. De Gaulle insisted that the Federation of French West Africa should be dismantled before independence and he strategically isolated the strongest advocate for retaining the federation, Guineas Ahmed
Skou Tour, by putting before him an option of autonomy under France or independence; and when Guineans in 1958 voted for the same independence that would be given all French colonies in 1960, the French vandalized the countrys infrastructure, thereby intimidating the other colonies into passively dancing to whatever tune Paris played. The tendency to brutality in pot-colonial African politics is an extension of the brutal European intrusions into Africa dating from the 16th century, the brutality to which we were subjected during colonial rule, into which our compradors were co-opted in the subsequent neo-colonialism era. Britains eminent 20th century philosopher and historian, Bertrand Russell observed that when the first millennium B.C. Greeks fell under Macedonian and then Roman domination their deep sense of social obligation, to which they were wont to compromise individual liberty, waned in favour of individualism, while Stoicism prospered on the assumed ideal of virtue centred on the relationship between ones soul and God, as opposed to ones relationship with the state. That suggests collective powerlessness encourages psychological recourse, or should we say liberation and comfort, in individualism; this is the condition plaguing contemporary Africa, with robust religiosity in contrast to feeble patriotism, and no doubt any further recession of collective African power will only increase, actually aggravate, our already tragically debilitating social capital deficit. On top of the heap of psychological damage that has been done to Africans by white men, on top of the collective despair and self-doubt pervasive in the continent, a journal like Foreign Affairs entertains an advocacy to aggravate our psychological situation with imposition of white rule once again. Ellis can argue that he didnt put it quite like that, that he is talking about a collaboration of African and nonAfrican partners in a trusteeship over Liberia, but that is in nowise what Africa needs, that is not the direction that we are after in pursuit of redemption. For all that was done to us by outsiders, as human trusts of God, we take primary responsibility for our own failings, for not being proactive, for not having developed a military deterrent, for not having a greater weapon than the maxim gun; likewise, our redemption is primarily our responsibility. Building Africa is primarily about developing our collective self-confidence, dispelling from our peoples psyches the widely held notion that we can never
be on par with Europe and America; however cynically white men regard the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other institution building efforts undertaken by Africans, they are our projects, they are progressive in our historical context, and despite the problems here and there it is for us to persist with determination to realize the institutional, governance and cultural heights of African redemption and renaissance. Within the AU certain matters should now be seriously tabled for definitive resolution. Fortunately, the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) contains criteria of good governance; but we should now look at good governance as being in the interest of continental security, not simply a sine qua non for foreign investment and economic assistance. This requires that the good governance discussion be moved from the NEPAD portfolio to the centre of continental security concerns and considered in tandem with establishment of regional and continental security councils in Africa. Also, important here, is concerted determination to amicably resolve all conflicts on the continent, with a view to embarking a new era of Pan African solidarity. States like Eritrea, which has been consistently used by whoever to create havoc in Africa must attain a higher realization, must grasp the light of day. The African Union must continue playing the lead role, with backup support from the international community, in bringing Sudan to an enlightened approach to politics, governance and state conceptualization. It should be remembered that colonial conquest was largely facilitated by inter-ethnic and state conflicts among Africans and also, as in Nigerias Igboland, by division of single ethnic groups into traditional nationalist and Christians who advocated African capitulation to European rule. The residues of those syndromes that weakened Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are still with us and constitute those weaknesses that in the eyes of the imperialists ironically qualify many, if not all, African nations as failed states. The conquest of Africa was essentially a military operation. Whist Africa is not militarily capable of warding off an American invasion, even if we have complete solidarity, it is nonetheless necessary to reduce the continents military vulnerability. Defence pacts with external powers should be reviewed at the African security councils
level and updated decisions made on their relevance, or strategic validity. How reckless Washington will ultimately become cannot be precisely determined at this point, but nothing should be taken for granted. At least a situation must be created where the prospects for resistance from those parts of the world the Bush regime is looking down upon as bunches of failed states are great enough to make Washington consider the risk of spreading it military resources too thin. In the final analysis, Africa must at once transcend the failed states syndrome and optimize its continental security arrangements.
Discussion of Bob Woodwards Book and Matters Related
Bush at War
ob Woodwards book, Bush at War, gives the world a vivid, and I must say plausible picture of the President of the United States and his cabinet in the wake of Al Qaedas September 11, 2001 Kamikaze style assaults on New York and the Pentagon. Confirming the widely held perception of him, Mr. Bush comes across clearly as what we call in Nigeria One Way Traffic; to wit, someone who can only come to terms with the world in the narrow vein he essentially sees it; rather unlike his cosmopolitan predecessor Bill Clinton, who personally thrived off challenges like bringing avowed enemies Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin together. Despite the frequent observations from various quarters of the world that while terrorism was an inhumane menace necessarily to be defeated, such attacks on the U.S. , which had a history dating back to the early 1970s, were Middle East related and policy provoked, Bush and his team never considered a two pronged response; expectedly military retaliation and policy review. Rather, the military might assertion and strategic gain opportunities were emphasized more than the retaliation imperative and this, as we all know, led to the War against Iraq. Only Secretary of State Colin Powell, by calling upon Yasser Arafat and Simon Peres to return to the negotiating table at his first press conference following the strikes, showed some sensitivity to the political factors underlying terrorists preoccupation with the U.S. Author Woodward tells us that Bush wrote in his diary the night of September11: The Pearl Harbour of the 21st Century took place today. This is a war in which people will die. In the media addressing international issues Bush comes across as a Flintstone; however, he is obviously better thought out and more experienced in domestic public policy and within the restricted intellectual context of Americas neo-cons, Mr. Bush is indeed no slouch. This president is not a Warren G. Harding mould hack, nor mere neo-con front man; granted, he is the star political actor on the team, but he is also the moderator, the one who balances the virtually open ended extremism and conceptualizes how policies and decisions
are to be put to the public. Then he gets up and does the delivery act. A canny and dramatic team manager, acerbically witty, subtly sarcastic, sharply hinting his cabinet officers whenever he thinks their ideas are not bright or missing the point, George W. Bush had since 1998 been the favoured standard bearer choice of the Republican right. Son of the penultimate president, two-term governor of Texas, one of Americas most populous and wealthiest states, flying a religious family man image, Bush promised moral relief from the libertine Clintonian era; but the wisecrack of one political commentator that George W. needed a head while his running mate Dick Cheney a heart, reflected the widespread apprehension that this oil industry experienced duo would make Washington too simplistically mean for Americas good. From a historical perspective, Bushs bellicose administration is no better than mediocre compared to that of Theodore Roosevelt, who in the first decade of the 20th century insisted on American military preeminence and plunged the United States into a swashbuckling role in the world, espousing the adage Speak softly but carry a big stick. Enlightened Roosevelt however was an intrinsically just balancer, with belief in congenial diplomacy, conciliation and cooperation in international affairs, as well as fairness in mediating class antagonisms at home. An accomplished author and world traveler, unlike the provincial Bush, Teddy Roosevelt came to office a cosmopolitan intellectual, with friends throughout the United States and the globe and after retiring from office in 1909 he received heros welcomes everywhere he went at home and abroad. Bush, on the other hand, is intrinsically biased towards patrician radical causes and interests; an abrasive American [WASP] nationalist with the Likud hawk perched on his right shoulder. Despite his ideological attachment to the neo-cons, Bush postures as first of all the president of the United States and with the ungentlemanly penchant for putting his feet on a table in front of government officials. He comes across as a no-nonsense boss, intensely aware of the responsibilities and authority entailed in his job. "I am a loving guy," he says of himself, "and also someone who has got a job to do and I intend to do it." At one session of the cabinet Woodward describes, Defence Secretary Rumsfeld's ultra-radical though mild mannered deputy, Paul
Wolfowitz was pressing the Iraq invasion proposition too hard, after it had more or less been settled that in the absence of evidence linking Saddam Hussein to 9/11 Afghanistan should remain the focus of military planning and immediate action; whereby Bush, Woodward tells us, flashed a pointed look in [White House Chief of Staff Andrew] Cards direction. During the next break Card called Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz aside and told them the president will expect one person to speak for the Defence Department. When Vice President Cheney proposed that he chair the September 12 principals' meeting and report back to Bush in order to streamline decision making, the president told him bluntly that as Commander in Chief he would chair all full National Security Council meetings. We see Bush in Woodwards narrative a pro hardball player, dialogue in his cabinet meetings passing intensely, determinatively, though not without fumbles and errors, around like a baseball during infield practice if youve ever seen playing baseball. The temporal worlds dominant power chamber is conveyed as fallible but enjoying the advantage of vast wealth and competent technocrats. Imagine, a week before the Al Qaeda strikes Bush approved a plan to provide $200 million a year to arm and motivate Afghanistans anti-Taleban Northern Alliance and $125 million for CIA operations against the Kabul government that had adamantly refused Washingtons offers of well paid strategic cooperation. CIA veteran of 32 years, Gary sets off for Afghanistan with $3 million in a large metal suitcase, where upon arrival he put $500,000 on the table for Northern Alliance intelligence and security service chief Engineer Muhammeed Arif Swari as the best way to say (as Woodward put it): "We're here, we're serious, here's money , we know you need it." Gary assured that there was more to come; he would soon request and receive from CIA headquarters another ten million. Judging from Woodward's account of events, never once did Bush or anyone else in his cabinet in making decisions expensive to implement ever indicate that money was a problem. Quite to the contrary, always there was a "whatever the cost" willingness to spend. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neil's involvement in the war cabinet revolved around matters related to breaking terrorists' financial networks; apparently the presidency and each of the cabinet secretariats have sufficiently fat
budgets not to be worried about running out of funds and beyond that there is invariably the possibility of deficit spending. However, for all the wealth and expertise at his disposal, Bushs One Way Traffic character deprives him of the sophistication to provide astute global leadership, as John F. Kennedy did. Kennedy had a tremendous capacity and gift for empathy, balanced by a keen sense of political pragmatism. Not only was he given to balancing his sense of idealism with realpolitik, he possessed a brilliant, even humorous, sense of the irony and paradoxes inherent in the nature of human affairs. Kennedy was entertainingly satirical; Bush, by contrast, at best earnest, but often caustically flavoured. Comparing democracy with totalitarian communism with reference to the wall erected in 1961 between East and West Berlin, Kennedy remarked with characteristic wit: Freedom has many flaws and our democracy is imperfect, but we have never had to put up a wall to keep our people in. Of the political thinking with regard to the United States driving Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, his arch-rival in the geopolitical arena, Kennedy styled proverbially: Khrushchev reminds me of the tiger hunter who had picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger's skin long before he has caught the tiger. This tiger has other ideas. Hardly the revolting Axis of Evil messianic type Bush is, Kennedy simplified and gave humour to sophisticated reasoning. Bush is a hawkish platitude stylist, deliberately appealing to Americas Christian Coalition and the Zionists subscribers to the Republican right, inclined to disdain for those outside his constituency; though he gets public relations advice cautioning him about going overboard. When I heard Mr. Bush referring to Saddam Hussein as a Holy Warrior, I thought: this swaggering guy whose portfolio requires sensitive orchestration only knows shrill and flat notes, gaudily arranged. A U.S. diplomat who had served in Baghdad corrected the president's demagogic ranting about "Holy Warriors" of Saddam and Bin Laden's ilk hating America for its way of life, calling attention to the obvious: Saddam Hussein was fond of Stetson hats, similar to the ones donned in Texas, was a cigar smoker and always appeared in tailored Wall Street style suits. The diplomat moreover intimated that Saddam drank whisky. Kennedy was a realistic idealist; Bush, a stalwart conservative ideologue, heavyweight champion of the right. While he is no hack,
unfortunately Mr. Bushs ingrained White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) conservative values keep him in the company of a gang of Ivy League refined and CNN era polished Ku Klux Klan types, which is essentially what the neo-cons are second generation John Birchers; some call them neo-fascists. That was in fact how Germanys former justice minister perceived them and she certainly was not alone in the world with this view, but apparently the most daring high ranking public official on the planet, to say it. Bush does not seem neurotically wicked, but some of his friends somehow do. The most startling anecdote in Woodwards Bush at War makes us wonder whether Rumsfeld had intended to assassinate the president. A few days after September 11, the 14th instant to be exact, when Bush was about to make his first visit to New York following the tragic Al Qaeda strikes, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice received a telephone call from the National Military Command Centre in the Pentagon, wherein she was asked by a midlevel officer to confirm that President Bush did not want a fighter jet escort accompanying Air Force One when he flew to New York that afternoon. Rice informed her deputy, Steve Hadley and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and while they all agreed it was Rumsfeld who had the decision in the premises, if something happened to the president it was also Rumsfeld who would have to explain to the country, and the world. One of Rices deputies telephoned the Defence Secretary for an explanation. In the words of Woodward, Rumsfeld went nuts. He would not have anybody in his building talking to the White House without his knowledge or permission. Immediately he launched a search to identify the officer who called Miss Rice, but refused to address the question of whether or not he was going to give the president a fighter jet escort to New York. Nothing was said of the matter in the cabinet meeting that morning, but later in the day Rumsfeld insinuated in a rambling noncommitting monologue that someone in the White House other than the president had told the National Military Command Centre Mr. Bush did not want a fighter jet escort for his Air Force One to New York. About 15 minutes prior to President Bushs departure for New York aboard Air Force One, Secretary Rumsfeld, according to Woodard, gave the order for a fighter jet escort.
Woodward, epitome of what the Bush administration calls the embedded journalist, would certainly not venture into a discussion implying the avuncular Rumsfeld may have been holding some sinister scheme behind his back. That would end his privileged access and quite possibly his string of best sellers Bush at War was his ninth. Were it not for a slew of unanswered questions and implicating evidence it would be ridiculous for any writer to suggest that a sitting US defence minister had once plotted to assassinate his boss. While Americans are typically reluctant to believe that 9/11 was deliberately allowed to happen by key security establishment officials in order to have a sound pretext for pursuing a ruthless hegemonic agenda, others outside the US, as close as the British Parliament, are less insularly sensitive. MP Michael Meacher in fact unequivocally implicated the front line neo-cons in 9/11 in an article published in Londons Guardian on September 8, 2003: September 11 a Tragedy or an Opportunity. MP Meacher first of all alleges that Jeb Bush, the presidents junior brother and Florida governor, along with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Lewis Libby, who became VP Cheneys chief of staff, had in September 2000, under the auspices of a neo-conservative think tank dubbed Project for the New American Century, wrote a document entitled Rebuilding Americas Defences, in which the anticipated Bush administrations Iraq policy was summed up in these words: While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein. The document also argues that the existence of dangerous regimes, mentioning those in North Korea, Syria and Iran, justify a worldwide command and control system. Such attributions given Bushs men by Meacher are plausibly typical of the Republican rights historical penchant for overkill. We will come back to other lurid lines of Rebuilding Americas Defences shortly, but in getting to the point of reasons for suspicion of Rumsfeld, Meacher quotes former US federal crimes prosecutor John Loftus saying: The information provided by European intelligence services prior to 9/11 was so extensive that it is no longer possible for either the CIA or the FBI to assert a defense of incompetence. Not less than 11 countries are said to have provided advance warnings to
Washington that a horrific terrorist attack on the U.S. was in the making. Israel was one of them, with its Mossad sending experts to Washington during August 2001 for conference on the matter. Rumsfeld, his deputy Wolfowitz and principal defence advisor, former Likud Party advisor Richard Perle have all been purged from Washington administrations in the past for dual loyalty to Israel and the United States after being found to have shared American classified information with Mossad. Considering Mossads reputation for exceptional efficiency, these Bush men are no doubt better plugged into the global intelligence picture than others in Washington. Additionally, we learn from Meacher Americas federal law requires that once an aircraft strays significantly off its flight plan fighter planes are sent up to investigate; this happened 67 times between September 2000 and June 2001. Meacher raises the logical questions: Was this inaction simply the result of key people disregarding or being ignorant of the evidence? Or could US air security operations have been deliberately stood down on Sept. 11? If so why and on whose authority? The ultimate question these points allude to is whether or not the reigning neo-cons had recognized the pretext value a horrendous Al Qaeda strike would have as far as political facilitation of their Project New American Century agenda, which was to begin with establishing a substantial American force presence in the Gulf, and determined to at all costs not lose the opportunity. Why would Donald Rumsfeld ever want to kill George W. Bush? Rumsfeld would have to be crazy to plot assassination of the U.S. president, but at the 4pm September 14 National Security Council meeting Rumsfeld was loose headed enough to propose: Why shouldnt we go against Iraq, not just Al Qaeda? Colin Powell reiterated his objection to focus stray away from Usama bin Laden and Talebans Afghanistan. Dick Cheney had suggested at the previous nights meeting that they go after terrorist states, arguing that Al Qaeda did not provide clearly visible targets. Following Powells immediate and curt objection, Bush dismissed Cheneys suggestion but simply dodged Rumsfeld, saying that he wanted a list of thugs to be targeted for the big bang Americans expected as a first step. It was this nagging for invasion of Iraq that provoked Bush to nod Wolfowitz out of the principals' meeting the deputy defence secretary had called
for "ending states that sponsor terrorism"; and he and his boss Rumsfeld were getting on the more sensible peoples nerves with this obsession. Powell, disgusted with the Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz distraction raised the issue with outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Hugh Shelton, thusly: What the hell, what are these guys thinking about? Cant you get these guys back in the box? Shelton, whose stand was that going after Iraq could only be justified if there was evidence linking the Iraqis to the 9/11 attacks, told Powell he had tried in vain to get them to back off the Iraq raid idea but Wolfowitz was fiercely determined and committed. Woodward tells us that both Rumsfeld and Cheney had earlier in life harboured presidential ambitions, but realized they were now running the last laps of their political careers. No doubt, for personal consolation, at least they wanted to execute their cherished geopolitical agenda before finally leaving the stage. That is not to say it is inconceivable that Cheney could have been in cahoots with Rumsfeld on the order to the National Military Command Centre that Air Force One fly unprotected to New York September 14th. Anatol Lieven, writing The Push for War in the London Review of Books, October 3, 2002, reveals being convinced that the neo-cons generally are obsessed with the ambition for America of unrivalled global hegemony. Referring to the Bush administrations push for war in Iraq as reckless, Lieven describes the domestic and global scope of neo-con ambitions as breathtaking. He might as well have dispensed with the euphemistic phrasing and simply branded the lot megalomaniacs. Noting that there are different groups within the neoconservative orbit, some more favourable than others to Israel, some less hostile to China, some less disposed than others to the most radical strategy and methodology thinking, Lieven maintains that all are nonetheless agreed on achieving world dominance with absolute military superiority. The Iraq adventure in this connection was to be as much an awe-striking exhibition of American military might as strategic long term positioning for secure oil supplies. Teddy Roosevelt, as president 100 years ago, politely sent the U.S fleet on a goodwill tour around the world, just in case there were doubts about the power of Americas punch. According to MP Meacher, the Rebuilding Americas Defences document went so far as to advocate that the US must discourage
advanced nations from challenging our leadership or even aspiring to a larger regional or global role. That is really hubristic reasoning, to the extent of implying narcissism. Bush too demonstrates this psychiatric disorder, but he appears much more balanced than Rumsfeld and Cheney. Now that Wolfowitz is World Bank prexy, in the wake of Project New American Century having invoked a colossal mess in Iraq, apart from putting disarmingly pragmatic affirmative Islamists at the helm in both Kabul and Baghdad, he is talking like a born-afresh humanitarianlucky him. Had Rumsfeld connived with Mossad operatives inside the United States to down Air Force One on the way to New York with Bush aboard that September 14th, betting that by the time anyone in the National Military Command Centre raised questions Bush would be gone and Cheney, along with himself, in charge, able to silence all dissidents? God and Rumsfeld best know the answer to this unwitting question. Timothy Garton Ash, writing in Londons daily Guardian, late August 2005, observes cause to believe that the American century, which really began in 1945, could expire by 2045, if not ten or twenty years sooner. However, he cautions in The US Reeling, Like Britain After the Boer War that those wont to rejoice in his agreement with them should consider at least two unfortunate prospects: major shifts in global power usually occur after war; secondly, the next global titan could be worse than the present one. The One Way Traffic syndrome is rampant in the political cultures of right wing Europeans, the ruling Chinese Communist Party, Indias Hindu right and to some extent Congress Party as well, not to mention other power centers like Israel, Russia and the centrist realm in London. Iran is a sectarian country and the Arabs are too far behind the global pace of social and political modernization to even provide leadership of the Muslim world. Timothy Garton Ash noted at the end of his article: A few farsighted people in Washington are beginning to formulate a longterm American strategy of trying to create an international order that would protect the interests of liberal democracies even when American hyper-power had faded; and to encourage rising powers such as India and China to sign up to such an order. Lets be
appreciative and accept this as a good start; yet we must at the same time be insightful of the complexities lying ahead. Imprimis, we can all agree, I have no doubt, that military aggression continues to be a central issue in world affairs; particularly preemptive striking. In instances of imminent danger of aggression pre-emptive striking rationally fits into the classical military adage that the best defense is offense; but to drum up a case for preemptively striking a country that has for several years been unable to put up a defence against Anglo-American bombing sorties, as had been the situation of Iraq, is sheer hoax. From December 1998 AngloAmerican aerial bombing destroyed many Iraqi missile launch sights, industrial facilities and other targets without suffering retaliation. Americas Democrats these days dont have the idealism/pragmatism balancing skills of JFK, but at least they often know the right things to say regarding neo-con Washingtons itchy trigger finger. Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor in the Carter administration, had the courage to tell America that terrorism has political roots, particularly in indiscriminate American support for Israel. Jimmy Carter, receiving the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, urged the U.S. administration to seek every possible alternative to war with Iraq, proclaiming: "People everywhere share the same dream of a caring community that prevents war and oppression"; but Nobel Committee Chairman Gunnar Borge was more forthright, admitting that giving the award to Mr. Carter can and must be interpreted as a criticism of the position of the administration currently sitting in the US toward Iraq. Let us not forget that there were a series of anti-Iraq war protests in various cities throughout the United States, including New York where a lady whose brother died in the Al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center proclaimed: "I don't want my country to bomb Iraqi children, women, men, innocent people, in my name ... not in my name." Beyond the issues concerning military aggression, if we are to advance liberal democracy throughout the world we must begin by having a common understanding on human rights. Whenever human rights debates occur, the question of culture is raised; nothing unnatural about that. I have constantly observed the fundamental role of motivation in cultural community progress; people who see their national operating environments remotely at odds with their cherished
values, who are unable to construct their community environments in respect of their values, are definitely quite prone to demoralization. One of the reasons why Muslims are so often at odds with their national situations is the lack of opportunity to shape their environments to reflect their values, giving those values legal teeth. This problem has been systematically addressed through Nigerias current constitutional arrangement that allows states and local governments rather comforting latitude in legislation and primary, as well as university level, education policies. Candidates for public office running on platforms promising Sharia won the day at the polls and for the first time in Nigerias post-colonial history we had Sharia in most of the Northern states. The subsequent controversies over moral penal code conventions invariably raises discussions and arguments that exert pressure for reform of the uglier interpretations of Sharia provisions but with our own ingenuity that can be done without throwing away the value system and its legal supports. We call for a dialogue of civilizations, of cultures, philosophies and ideologies for eclectic benefit, to enable us look at ourselves more objectively and increase our sensitivity to the challenges, the demands of living in a multiple value system world. We are not tagging Mr. Bush One Way Traffic to be facetious; this necessary dialogue of civilizations, not at all a new idea but very often and for long tooted, especially in academia, is conspicuously, terribly unfortunately, missing from his political agenda, hardly considered in his milieu. Instead, we have an evangelical disposition, with an Old Testament Zionist dimension, admonishing the world. This is provocative and both the neo-cons and Zionists no doubt know it, but they have in mind to bash the life out of any daring ones. With suicide bombing now a terrorist convention it seems anyone who can at least look forward, left and behind, as well as right, would be realizing that a more sophisticated strategy is required to stabilize the world; in fact, we should be thinking of calming the world. Washingtons inadvertent, yet ineluctable alliance with the affirmative Islamists in Baghdad and Kabul is a unique opportunity to start building bridges of understanding between the West and the Muslim world. Iraqs interim administration is definitely looking forward to a liberal democracy based on Islamic values and in recognition of this Condoleezza Rice had said on her first trip to
Baghdad as U.S. Secretary of State that together America and Iraq would show the world that Islam and Democracy are not incompatible. This singular remark was a milestone in the modern relationship between Islam and the West. Yes, there are bound to be complications and disagreements here and there; the Republicans in the White House invariably want to show the American people a democracy in Iraq that closely enough coincides with their own ideals for them to pat Bush and his boys on their backs and say, Yea, you did a good job, after all. Where the dialogue forums come in is where the American people have to be acquainted with how Iraq's Muslims conceptualize democracy and where Iraqis accept that it is in their intellectual development interest to learn more about the American democratic experience. It is wrong to think of building a global coalition of liberal democracies involving select countries, as writer Ash suggests American liberals are plotting; liberal democracy is no doubt good for the entire world, but we should not expect it to everywhere look the same. Universal features are political choice, separation of powers with checks, balances and transparency, decentralization, and the liberty to either create with like minds or migrate to an environment that reflects ones value system and motivates his or her potential fulfillment. On his way to concluding that the New American Century might never materialize as the neo-cons envisage, Mr. Ash compared Washington in 2005 with London in 1905. Britain, the mightiest military machine the world had ever then known, after declaring an end to combat in the South African Boer War in 1902 was challenged by Boer guerrilla warfare to the extent that His Majesty King Edward VIIs Government had to park 450,000 soldiers in South Africa and herd half the Boer population into concentration camps, where an unfortunate many died. Washington has 150,000 troops in Iraq where it was determined to go rifle sporting in pursuit of perceived strategic gains, such as the worlds second largest compound of crude oil reserves and nonplusing the world with its fearsome conquest. Leaks out of the Pentagon during Washingtons Weapons of Mass Destruction purge campaign leading up to the invasion of Iraq exposed a scenario of a senior U.S. general ruling the tremendously oil rich Middle East country for
twenty years in which booty would be duly extracted. Published in the New York Times, October 11, 2002, contents of the leak indicated that Washington wanted to avoid the chaos facing the post-Taleban government in Afghanistan by virtually colonizing Iraq. However, it was noted that the fact of the leak indicated deep misgivings within the administration about such an extremely regressive adventure. Again, we have an indication that Bush is not quite as out of touch with reality as Rumsfeld and his crew. The day following the New York Times story on the leak, a White House spokesman said the United States is developing a plan for a post-Saddam Iraq that would involve US-led coalition forces turning over power to Iraqi civilians for a democratic transition as quickly as possible. This was reasonable thinking and actually what Washington has pursued, but nonetheless found itself party to a dilemma far graver than Afghanistan. Unable to substantiate its Weapons of Mass Destruction pretext, Washington, probably thanks to Bush for not buying the scenario of the open ended extremists, at least had a claim of altruistic mission to fall back on; to wit, liberating Iraqis from their president, the maniac despot, Saddam, and establishing democracy. Bush and his men, determined to invade Iraq, painted a convincing picture of noble democratization mission and protecting America from a diabolically armed madman, to attract popular support. Iraq, the Bush administration had been prating, was part of an axis of evil that included Baghdads perennial enemies, Iran and Syria we have here three Muslim Middle East countries that Israel in particular would like humbled, along with North Korea. Washington bundling its preemptive strike policy with democratization mission was a sham bound to run into nationalist resentment of all the unprovoked killing, bloodshed and trauma visited upon innocent citizens. This brings us to the central dilemmas of George W. Bushs character: the conflict between prejudice and justice, megalomania and altruism, compulsion and obligation, compassion and the callous political companions he is inclined to keep. Did the Bush administration have sound justification for invading Iraq or were they simply driven by a murky mixture of megalomania, prejudice and sadism? We have neglected mentioning greed because the personal monetary gain dimension is a matter coincidentally affecting foreign policy, which I will not presently delve into, lest we get distracted from the political perversion case at
hand. There is yet the unresolved question of whether Bush was privy to a scheme to allow Al Qaeda attack America, so as to provide the very opportunities him and his cabinet began identifying. At the first National Security Council meeting after the attacks, President Bush, according to Bob Woodward, proclaimed, This is a great opportunity, but went no further than pointing out the chance for improving relations with big powers such as China and Russia. That is to say the president had already conceptualized building an American directed coalition against terrorism, or perhaps the Muslim world, especially the Arabs. From all accounts, there was quite a bit of talk in Washington after Al Qaeda struck about opportunities sprouting from the tragic debris. Another question in this connection: is there veritable correlation between the fact that Bush, of all possible things, wrote in his dairy the night of 9/11 that the strikes constituted the Pearl Harbour of the 21st century and the claim, said to be documented in the U.S. national archives, that advanced intelligence warnings about the Japanese plan to bomb the American air force base in the Pacific were deliberately not acted upon with a view to Franklin Delano Roosevelt having good cause to convince a reluctant public and Congress to support joining the Allies against the Axis Powers in World War II? Senior NSC staffer for defence Frank Miller took the initiative to inspect a classified slide presentation on Afghanistan war strategies, prepared by Special Forces, prior to President Bush viewing it the morning of September 17, 2001. One of the slides, Thinking Outside the Box Poisoning Food Supply, alarmed Miller and he immediately reported it to Condoleezza Rice, who was also in that Pentagon that morning. Miller protested to a congruent Rice that the United States does not know how to poison public food supplies and U.S. law does not allow it. Miss Rice proceeded with the slide to Donald Rumsfelds office, telling him flatly: This slide is not going to be shown to the President of the United States, remarking, it was inconceivable [to her] that someone in the system could imagine adopting Bin Laden type tactics and proposing them to the president. Rumsefld could only agree with Rice, but the irony is that when CIA Director Tenet dropped the food supply poisoning option on Bush as a last resort in the event conventional strategies failed to produce the
anticipated results, the president responded that he was ruling out no options. It would be melodramatic to maintain that this Bush guy is a master political crook; but his apparent deep belief in merging incompatible altruistic and hegemonic goals suggests he is a dishonest idealist. Perhaps the best side of George W. Bush is reflected in his No Child Left Behind educational policy, a concept long ago adopted by the Japanese, which some historians trace back to the 6th-5th century B.C. Chinese philosopher, Confucius. As for facilitating democracy in Iraq: can we glean anything nobler therein than camouflaging strategic ruthlessness with deliberate naivet? Would it be reasonable to suppose that Iraqis perceive America with the moral authority to facilitate democracy in their country after having killed thousands of its citizens, not to mention U.S. soldiers literally terrorizing Iraqi neighbourhoods, sexually molesting Iraqi prisoners and even desecrating the Holy Quran? Granted, Bush hadnt specifically ordered sexual molestation and desecration of the Quran, but with the hateful attitudes he carelessly encouraged towards Islam, one would expect the neurotic brutes among his soldiers to treat Iraqis savagely. Democracy in Iraq has manifest as at once a beautiful illusion and an ostensibly endless nightmare. Invariably elections led to the Kurds and majority Shiites, both of whom had been underdogs during Baath rule, forming an interim governing alliance, while it appeared that most Sunnis boycotted the transition program by staying away from the polls and many resorted to terrorist attacks. Iraqs Arab Sunnis could not psychologically come to terms with the prospects of the majority Shiites exercising power commensurate with their numbers and determined that no new order should come about they escalated violence, opportunistically referring to Americas lack of moral credibility to preside over democratic institution erection in Iraq as a religious justification however specious, until the country had been thrown into a whirlwind of carnage doused in tears. As Washington and the nationalists in Iraq are now partners in the post-war reconstruction and political stabilization agenda, no one stands to gain from the loses daily mounting up in tandem with the tumult: Iraqis are massively losing their lives and the countrys future grows dimmer with each bloody terrorist assault; America loses
increasingly greater chunks of its most valuable assets, its prestige and international goodwill. The neo-cons should have by now lost their illusion of taking the world by blitz, the way Adolph Hitler tried towards the middle of the last century. Fortunately for the rest of the world, Yankee invincibility has in Iraq been once again proven a myth. The neo-cons were too gung ho to have learned from Vietnam, or properly analyzed the risks. While we must all join President Bush in his optimism that the terrorist insurgency will eventually be extinguished and Iraq will emerge as a stable democracy, the country is, as of September 2005, on the brink of civil war and pandemic anarchy. The misfortunes of Iraq are as much owing to the political impotency of the Arabs as the madness of Americas neo-cons and their English cousins in Britain and Australia. We were telling the Arabs embarrass the madmen in Washington by sustained Arab League pressure for Saddam Hussein to step down, calling the United Nations and other political forces around the world to join in demanding that the Bully of Baghdad go peacefully into exile with his heir apparent sons. Verily the Arabs were fed up with Saddam, but could not muster a dynamic consensus to convince world support for his compulsory exit. Instead, the Arabs ended up divided between accomplices to the Bush invasion and a few sulkers. Had Saddam Hussein been forced out of Iraq by an Arab League led global diplomatic coalition, Washingtons neo-cons would have seen themselves losing the pretext gains of 9/11 and finding it very costly to Americas prestige and reserves of international goodwill to insist on invading Iraq with Saddam in exile. Reading that the Americans were with an unmanned fighter jet able to strike a car targeted in Yemen, killing all six passengers, who were alleged to be terrorists, makes me believe more than ever that if Washington really wanted a regime change in Iraq they could with their incredible arsenal of technology knock out Saddam Hussein and whoever else Bush and Co. want to get rid of. However, as Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa pointed out not long before Washington settled the Saddam question by launching their invasion, The Iraqi president is a liability for us and not for them. Washingtons predicament is that if the decline of Iraq into civil war and anarchy is not miraculously reversed, the United States will
find itself in a dilemma of either continuing to sacrifice its young soldiers lives in a quagmire or bear the eternal shame of having bombarded Iraq onto an awaiting path of tumult and deserted in the same way Allah [in the Holy Quran] describes Satan abandoning his dupes after leading them to disaster. As far as the War on Terrorism is concerned, Americas adventure into Iraq was a faux pas that along with its global annihilate them at all costs approach has provoked a virtual suicide bomber mentality epidemic. While there had been no credible evidence that the Saddam regime was aligned in any way with Osama bin Laden, who for all to hear called the Iraqi leader an infidel, urging Muslims to nonetheless rally behind him against Anglo-American aggression, today there is a wild merger of Iraqi Sunnis and Al Qaeda. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld on the deceptive political trail to the invasion had been ranting idiotically about carrying the war to the Middle Easts terrorists, drawing them out of the rafters and baseboards; by mid 2005 he was begrudgingly admitting under pressure from Congress that the Sunni insurgency was invincible in the medium term. Yes, the neo-cons have disgraced themselves, but caused tragic havoc so doing. Doomsday scenarios are reprehensible, they show bad faith. To hell with the neo-cons, America is needless to say part of the human family and a good many of us around the world have family members there and their numbers are annually increasing. It is evident as Timothy Garton Ash observes that America is on the decline, has possibly been on the decline since the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, though perhaps almost imperceptibly. However, America still leads the world in accommodating immigration and demographic analysts have predicted that by mid century the minorities combined will outnumber the majority WASP. We might expect therefore that as the old America, rooted in genocide of the native Americans, slavery of Africans, racism and imperialism fades into history a new America, more conscious of its blood ties with the rest of the world, more interactive with the rest of the world will gradually emerge. Perhaps this will bring about a new era of renaissance, globalized and eclectic. We Africans have our promising son Barack Obama in the United States Senate and wish to see him one day president of the United
States. He has fresh political ideas, an eclectic blend of the best from Americas old right and left that defies definition in the traditional political science context, transcending the anachronisms, perhaps requiring a concentric circle or compartmentalized spherical mode of political position identification in lieu of the obsolete linear model. We should expect that when Bush is gone from office many now suppressed secrets will be exposed, especially if the Republicans are followed by Democrats in the White House. Bush has proven to be a tough leader but not strong in the sense that John Kennedy was, capable of carrying the world forward. Granted George W. is known to be a proper family man, whereas the Kennedys are perhaps jet setters. The world didnt stop with the loss of John Kennedy, neither did America, even if it slid back quite a bit; nor did America pay for the deaths of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King with a terminal all consuming catastrophe. The world is growing, advancing forward against a background of umpteen atrocities. We all beg Gods mercy and we are in this life together. Yes, let us look forward to a global eclectic renaissance in which individuals not nations are leaders and all nations are as much melting pots as America.
Kudos to Jacques Chirac

September 2002
The agenda of the World Summit on Sustainable Development going on in South Africa has left out quite a number of crucial issues affecting the Group of 77 nations in adverse ways, such as arms sales to African insurgents and European and American banks receiving deposits looted from our treasuries; though in favour of the West there are far reaching laws against money laundering and terrorism. What prey tell is the substantive difference between laundering money earned from narcotics and stashing pilfered public funds? Or, between terrorism in the West and insurgency movements that torture and maim the African populations? Nonetheless, I think we should once again take our caps off to Mr. Chirac, because during his eight or so years as president of France he has fought for Africa as no one else has in the West since the late Swedish Prime Minster Olaf Palm and he proved true to his past in Johannesburg. Needless to say, one cannot be at once president of France and an African nationalist; that is why we demanded and eventually won independence. However, given the inevitable contradictions between being leader of France and virtually of Europe as well, and fighting for African interests, Mr. Chirac certainly deserves our appreciation. It is to him, one observes, that our leaders go for a sympathetic ear. He has even received with dignity and openness some embarrassing African characters who happened by fault of history to become president. It is Mr. Chirac who has fought the African Caribbean & Pacific (ACP) case for greater development support and a fairer deal under the Cotonou Accord. It is Mr. Chirac who has sought to bury the colonial rooted divisions between Francophone and Anglophone Africa, including the latter in the Franco-African Summit
and cultivating friendships with Anglophone leaders. Now, once again, in Johannesburg, we see Mr. Chirac taking the lead in offering guarantees as an incentive for investors to take a stake in Africa, apart from his relentless campaign to have development assistance to underdeveloped countries increased. France allocates a larger portion of its GDP to development assistance than any other Western country. For those who opposed the Group of 77s position on action to alleviate the miserable sanitation problem in the Global South, we wish to pint out that if Africa is to progress, investment and sanitation must go hand in hand. If investors do not feel comfortable, even at home, in the African environment, they will always have that imperialist attitude of getting as much as they can and packing it back home. However, it is preferable that people who come to invest like to stay and make Africa their home. In the future, we would hope to see white Africans, like those who have joined South Africas National African Congress, fighting for the continent in geopolitical affairs alongside the indigenous peoples. Indeed, in the past, from the colonial era and in free Liberia, people from Europe and Asia settled in the continent and it has become their permanent home. Independent Africa has as great a natural potential to attract new people as the United States, but it must be developed. Environmental development and higher sanitation standards are fundamental to this. It is not surprising that the French president is most sensitive to Africas needs and appreciative of African potential, because he visits the continent more than any other Western leader and, what is more, the French dont challenge him to make apologies for it. It is from the French intellectual class that Africa intellectuals bought the idea of the universal civilization in the post-Second World War era and though Mr. Chirac is a political pragmatist, it is heartening to see that within the context of political difficulties he gives us hope that one day there might truly be a cosmopolitan world. Well done, Brother Chirac. In Africa we have many helpful things to long remember you for; though Africans cannot be expected to forget Paris dubious role in Congo Brazzaville and Cte dIvoire and we found your selection of the late Jacques Foccart as your maiden African Affairs advisor terribly distasteful. As we strive to carry the world forwards, let us just consider the lingering bad and ugly pains in the historical process of outgrowing imperialism.
Afghanistan: national reconciliation an imperative

Published in The Journalist International, September 14, 2002
he attempt on the life of Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai last week, within weeks of the assassination of his vice president, once again underscores the imperative of national reconciliation in Afghanistan. Although the bomb blast and gunmen assault are believed by security officials in Kabul to be the work of Al Queda and Taliban, the assassination of the vice president appears to have been a consequence of ethnic infighting. Rival factions continue to battle and warlords have defied President Karzais insistence that a stable electoral democracy must be established in the country. However, it appears that the continuation of the United States war against Taleban and Al Queda is preventing an atmosphere of final peace and settlement from pervading the country. Where a generation has become acculturated in a climate of gunfire and killing, it does not seem reasonable to expect society become tame and production oriented unless there is a complete change in the environment. Self-concept should be a fundamental concern here. The warlord is a local hero, the ideal macho, the role model too often. Bill Gates would look like a sissy in this environment; yet, until the achievements of the IT heroes become an inspiration for Afghanistan youth, until the Afghans are able to conceptualize themselves as modern, dynamic Muslims, until there is a broadly held vision of Kabul and other major urban settlements as Islamic metropolises technologically and financially on par with other capitals in the region, the primitive instincts that perpetuate brutality will continue to prevail. Washington has used Afghanistan enough, it has extracted its pound of flesh and more from the Taleban and Al Queda for the
September 11, 2001 attacks. It is not fair to hold this country still while Washington pursues an agenda that is essentially the concern of the American polity. No ocean of tears was shed for the Taleban when they fell from power. Hamid Karzai who happened to be the American choice for post Taleban leadership of Afghanistan is a nationalist with sound credentials and his statesman qualities are apparent to everyone with objective ears and eyes; he has been generally accepted throughout the Muslim world. The fact that the Americans favour him is as far as some of us Muslims are concerned incidental to the fact that he is a credible nationalist and a promising statesman. Indeed, I am sure that some of us are more concerned about his safety than the Americans who are guarding him. The Americans only need Karzai as long as he is useful to them, but the moment they decide against him he could end like Pakistans late Zia Al Haq. Karzai has no trouble being accepted by the Muslim world as one of our own and it is time for him to think about the importance of a stable progressing Afghanistan for his peoples future, his own political future and the future of the Muslim World's relations with the Occident. The future of Afghanistan, first of all, must be taken out of the hands of the Americans and President Karzais government must design a vision for the nation and the Muslim World should rally behind him in support. If the Americans are sincere, they will realize that continuation of the Al Queda-Taleban hunt is counterproductive for Afghanistan and consider along with President Karzai the idea of pursuing a course of national reconciliation which would involve amnesty for all but the few heads that could not reasonably be pardoned. Yes, we do not know whether or not the Taleban hardliners would even be interested in reconciliation, no matter how magnanimous the terms, but the effort must be made. However, it cannot be overemphasized that sufficient capital and infrastructure development assistance must be poured into this extremely poor country so that people begin to see themselves in a rapidly changing physical environment. New offices, new streets, new buildings, new bridges and highways, a new airport; these are the essential elements of bringing about an environment that compels new self-conceptions. A warlord is an uncivilized man and thrives in an uncivilized environment. A warlord could not see himself in Riyadh,
Kuala Lumpur or Abuja. Kabul accommodated the Taleban and they were able to command most of the country because in the given the environment, they were in many ways best suited to the time and place. Now, the country is drifting back towards chaos, because it has a leader with a modern outlook, with modern instincts, yet he is expected to rule a primitive jungle. It cannot work. Karzai must be given the financial and technological resources to physically update the country to appreciate his style and vision. If the Americans say they will punish the Afghans for the crimes of the Taleban and Al Queda by keeping the war alive, they will end up in a quagmire of violence, of anarchy, and pressure will mount from the democratic forces in the U.S. to stop wasting resources and concentration on this untameable Muslim country. We are concerned that in the long run there should be neither a repressive and extended U.S. military occupation of Afghanistan or an eventual leaving the country more or less to its means. Hamid Karzai should also be careful that he does not end up victim of a decision in Washington that someone else in better suited for the job than he. Diplomats in Kabul say that ambitious fellows within Karzais administration are envisaging themselves at the top. Insistence on pursuing a course of national reconciliation against Washingtons wishes could certainly be dangerous for him, but it does not seem likely that no one in America would appreciate such a noble idea and with good lobbying he could get enough support from U.S. public and learned opinion to create a debate that would at least give him leverage to do what is best for Afghanistan without completely alienating the democratic forces in the U.S. Karzai at the moment has the Al Queda-Taleban alliance as his official enemy, but he has an array of unofficial enemies inside Afghanistan. Former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has shown in the past that any dispensation in Kabul of which he is not the absolute ruler is subject to his ruthless opposition. Hence, even a national reconciliation drive is not likely to win him over, though it could leave him without an active support base. Hekmatyar only a few days ago issued a statement vowing to launch a jihad against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The order required for progress is not likely to be maintained without an uncompromising nationalist agenda that seeks to reconcile all Afghans, including Hamid Karzai's Pashtun
ethnic kin, who though the largest group in the country are facing marginalization because many of them belonged to the Taleban. Being a Pashtun in a political arena dominated by Northern Alliance militants is very risky for Karzai, aside from whatever threat Usama bin Laden and Mullah Umars boys pose. Simon Ryan, spokesman for the Turkish led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan warned following the September 5th attempt on Karzais life that it was impossible to entirely prevent future attacks. Mike Collett-White, writing for Reuters, observed in the premises: While no hard evidence has been uncovered, a whole gamut of potential enemies of Karzai and his transitional government could be linked to the attacks, including Al Queda, Taleban survivors, angry ethnic Pashtuns and even rivals in his own administration. Clearly, the way forward is concerted endeavour to create a new environment. CollettWhite concludes his analysis saying: With so many potential enemies, Karzai needs friends. But the more he relies on the US military to provide his personal bodyguard and security across the country, the more alienated he will become. In such an environment, pursuing national reconciliation would indeed be a dangerous as well as bold step, but it is better to risk ones life for greatness than in compromise of nationalism. Tehran is now accusing the Americans of aiding terrorist groups along Irans border with Afghanistan. Drug smugglers and armed robbers are known to be in the area and it is not implausible that the Americans would cooperate with or even encourage them for their own ends. After all, the Americans have no history of moral principles it pursuit of their determined interests. If Karzai can convince the Americans to support full national reconciliation, with massive development support and political commitment, he would have proved himself the pre-eminent statesman of the moment.
China: The Stalemate of 1949 Revisited

Published in The Journalist International, August 21, 2002
istorically Taiwan has been somewhat of an outpost for rebels. When the Qing Dynasty prevailed against the Ming Dynasty in 1644, the latter established itself on the island of Taiwan in the North China Sea, but within 40 years, in 1683 to be exact, Qing rule had displaced the Ming. When the British defeated China in the 19th century Opium Wars, Taiwan was made a haven for missionaries of the Protestant and Catholic persuasions. Towards the end of the 19th century, in the course of the first Sino-Japanese War, Japan occupied Taiwan and proceeded to colonize the island, imposing Japanese cultural influence; though the Taiwanese rejected this and for a while staged a fierce rebellion. However, Taiwan was not returned to China until Japan was defeated in World War II. China was then ruled by Chiang Kai-sheks Kuomintang and in what would become a great irony of history the Taiwanese, provoked by the awesomely corrupt rule of the Kuomintangs governor revolted. The revolt was eventually suppressed and Taiwan was in 1947 proclaimed a province of China. During the early part of the 20th century Communism competed with Western liberal ideas for the minds of Chinese intellectuals. However, disillusionment with the West became pervasive after US President Woodrow Wilson betrayed the Chinese, who had fought alongside the Allied Forces against Japan in World War I, by refusing to back the nationalist governments claim for return of former German holdings in Shandung Province, which Japan had coercively taken from Yuan Shikai's weak government in 1915. More than 3,000 students at Beijing University had responded to President Wilsons astonishing stance by demonstrating and China refused to sign the
Treaty of Versailles. Against the 19th century background of depraved imperialist exploitation, such as the British violent imposition of opium traffic the opium wars, the 3.6 million square mile country with a population of around 500 million had sufficient impetus to radicalism. In 1921, inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Chinese intellectuals established the Communist Party in Shanghai. Immediately formal links were established with the Soviet Unions Comintern, which advised that the CCPO join Sun Yet Yat-sens Kuomintang. Moscow also had influence with Sun, whom they helped in campaigns against the warlords, and urged him to accept the Communists in his nationalist alliance. The Kuomintang (KMTNationalist Party) was at that time in dire need of revitalization and in 1923 Sun agreed to admit the Communists into its ranks. Moscow was interested in a strong Chinese ally, apart from ambitions to expand its ideological influence. Sun in 1923 sent his trusted military chief Chiang Kai-shek to Moscow to study the Soviet military and social system. When Sun died in 1925, without having unified the country or ended warlord fiefs, Chiang emerged from the power struggle that ensued as leader of China. Although Sun Yat-sen was a medical doctor of peasant origins and an admirable idealist, the Kuomintang became a party made up largely of wealthy intellectuals and large land- owners. Not surprisingly, such people saw no future in its relationship with Mao Zedongs peasant oriented Chinese Communist Party, which was committed to land redistribution. Chiang married into the wealthy Soong family of Western educated bankers. In 1927, with his marriage plans underway, Chiang terminated the alliance with the Communists and resolved to eliminate them from the political scene. After being purged from the Kuomintang in 1927, the Communist Party went underground, whereupon its forces were hotly pursued by the KMT. Chiang, who placed a premium on gaining full military control of Chinas vast territory, had committed himself to fighting the warlords and Communist simultaneously. Many parts of the country were still under warlord control, but he nonetheless eventually succeeded in asserting his authority over a united China. Mao-Zedong, however, was not to be quelled. His forces resorted to guerrilla warfare tactics and when Chiangs army encircled the Communist at their Jiangxi base in October 1934, 80,000 broke out
and started what has become known as the Long March [of 6,000 miles] under Mao Zedongs leadership. During this retreat, which led them through southern and south western China, Communist Party leader Mao employed ideological education, or indoctrination, as the case might be, to give hope and direction to the downtrodden peasants. The face off between Chiang and Mao was classic: the aristocratic bourgeois nationalist professional military officer against the self-educated revolutionary nationalist from the peasantry. As Mao represented the majority interests it was inevitable that he would emerge victor. During the 6,000 mile Long March in flight from Kuomintang pursuit, Mao and his followers had the grand opportunity of convincing the rural Chinese that they were their friends and were equally destined to be their saviours. This came natural to the ascetic Mao, gifted with charisma, intelligence and stamina. The Kuomintangs arrogance and brutality persistently alienated it from the rural masses. Despite returning to China in 1922 the earlier coercively taken holdings in Shandung Province, Japan embarked on a colonial war of aggression against China during the 1930s. In 1936 Chiang Kai-shek, after being kidnapped by one of his Generals, bowed to popular pressure to unite with the Communist in confronting the Japanese. When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Washington began sending military advisors to China from Burma. Also, Chiangs American educated wife, Soong Mei-ling proved instrumental in rallying American popular support for Chinese resistance to Japanese colonial aggression. With support coming in from America, Chaings army in 1941 attacked that of the Chinese Communist Party, effectively putting an end to the nationalist alliance. The Communists continued fighting the Japanese, as weapons captured from the invaders became their only source of armaments. The CCP grew in strength during the war against Japan, its membership expanding from 300,000 in 1933 to 1.2 million in 1945. It also brought a substantial amount of Chinas territory under its dominion. Upon accepting Japans surrender in Manchuria, The Soviets turned over a considerable amount of Japanese weapons to the CCP. After the Second World War ended in a humiliating defeat for Japan, the KMT and the CCP became Cold War allies of the West and the Soviet Union respectively. Washington armed the KMT,
Moscow the CCP and they went massively to blows. Fighting started over Manchuria and Washington for a time suspended its aid to the KMT in order to act as an impartial mediator, but to no avail. In January Washington withdrew its mediator in China, General George Catlett Marshal and resumed military aid to the KMT. Nevertheless, the CPP during 1948 assumed the military advantage and in October the following year the Peoples Republic of China/Republic of China stalemate became a fixture of 20th century history that has lingered into the 21st. Throughout the 1950s the United States Seventh Fleet shielded the nationalist refuge of Formosa from a mainland invasion under a mutual defence treaty that committed Washington to retaliatory action in the event the CPP moved to finish its victory. With Western backing, Taiwan was given Chinas seat at the United Nations and under the conventions of the Cold War received massive economic support from the United States, amounting to $4 billion up to the late 1960s. Industrious as they are, the Chinese on the island of Formosa increased industrial production over a twenty-year period by 300% and exports tripled. This development and the prosperity the 20 million people of Taiwan now enjoy cannot be historically disconnected from the opportunities they had at the expense of their billion plus compatriots on the mainland. With that native Chinese ambition and industriousness as a relentless factor, the mainland, despite its isolation, which increased when Beijing fell out with Moscow in the 1960s, also grew in leaps and bounds, until the Peoples Republic of China became in the 90s the worlds fastest growing economy. Today, Taiwanese investors and exporters are major players in the mainlands economy and resent any provocative moves or pronouncements from Taipei on the question Chinese unification. The current government of President Chen Shuibian is unapologetically pro-independence and views Taiwan as a separate country from China. Chen rejects the one country two systems formula that Beijing adopted in receiving Hong Kong back from British colonial rule in 1997 and Macao from the Portuguese in 1999. The economic recession in Hong Kong might not appear encouraging for the Taiwanese but much of the capital flight from the former British colony goes to the mainland where operating costs are lower. Moreover, tourism from the mainland is an important source of
Hong Kongs income. Chinas mainland economy is now moving toward the $1 trillion mark, with Hong Kong maintaining a GDP between $80 to $100 billion as well as a per capita income above $20,000. Taiwans GDP is in the vicinity of $250 billion. From a business perspective, unification seems to make good sense. Complete economic integration will no doubt in the long run make China a major economic power, while reducing dependence on Western capitals, which would invariably have political dividends in terms of strengthened sovereignty. Realistically, Taiwan should not expect international recognition as an independent country; though about a dozen countries recognize her. Chens politics are impractical in that any decisive move towards Taiwan independence, such as his recent call for a referendum will invariably be met with military intervention preparations in Beijing. Indeed, he had to backtrack after calling for a referendum on Taiwanese independence and Taiwans businessmen operating in China were very critical of him. Probably the only way out of this stalemate is for Taiwan to accept in principle the one-country two or multiple systems option offered by Beijing and press in negotiations for an arrangement with which they can comfortably live.
The Question of Asian Unity

ingapores recent call for a common market joining the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) with China has not been received enthusiastically from all quarters, underscoring the size and diversity factors militating against Asian unity, but at least it once again alerts the world to the great bounds of ethnic Chinese prospects. Whether ASEAN member states can eventually reach a consensus on Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's proposal remains to be seen; each country would have to consider it in the light of its own situation and ultimately some may conclude that for the moment the advantages would not be equally spread. Although ASEAN seems loosely knit, in terms of regularity of summits and cooperation in non-economic areas, its advances in inter-community trade, tariff reduction and coordination are enviable. Singapore dominates the grouping, doing over half a billion dollars annually in trade with its other members, but on the whole the member states do between 20 to 25% of their business among themselves, which is quite impressive for a Global South grouping. Singapores Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, speaking at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, in calling upon the 10 member community to raise its sights, pointed out that inclusion of China would result in a group output exceeding $2 trillion annually. Ideally, it sounds irresistible, but actually Tong's proposal could raise an endless stream of complex questions. Despite the substantial volume of inter-ASEAN trade, the member states and China compete with each other in external markets and each one often benefits from rises in production costs elsewhere in the region. Also, with the ASEAN countries and China becoming major global suppliers of low and semi-skilled manufactured goods, they compete for foreign investment. ASEAN has already agreed on a
scheme to make the entire Southeast Asian region a single investment zone and it is generally appreciated that capital integration among member states can lead to a rationalization of investment locations and high level of pooled resources, but here and there specific conflicts of interests erupt into major crises. In the late 1990s, Indonesia went into an international legal tussle with Japan over protectionist opportunities offered the national car project of former president Surhato's son Tommy. Today, Malaysia, determined to strengthen the position of its national car in the domestic market, is demanding more time before lowering its high tariffs on imported automobiles down to the agreed level under the ASEAN common tariff scheme, which proposes rates between 0% and 5% on a wide range of items. Japan has been the primary engine of growth in Southeast Asia, taking advantage of investment opportunities with a view to boosting living standards and consumption to provide expanding markets for its capital and exports. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed has praised this regional partnership with Japan as a win-win proposition. Speaking in 1997 to the World Bank/IMF Forum in Washington, the Malaysian leader noted: "When Japan invested in Malaysia, it created jobs and wealth for us and enabled us to industrialize rapidly. Japan, of course, gained directly from its investments, but more than that, we became one of Japan's best markets." Nevertheless, Mahathir was quick to point out that the West need not fear an Asian gang up because the various ethnic and national communities populating Asia historically did not like one another and the chances of them comprising a threatening bloc was virtually nil. This contrary view towards the prospect of Asian unity was again raised at last week's ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur where the Singapore Prime Minister called for higher sights. Noordin Sopiee, chairman of the Malaysian Institute of Strategic and International Studies, echoing the view of his Prime Minister responded to the Singapore leader's call on the sidelines of the Summit, saying: "There have been no Asia wide intergovernmental economic integration or regionalization efforts in the last 3,000 years, and nobody's going to build it in another 3,000 either." Asia is a highly competitive area and there are, moreover, intense ethnic rivalries. The ethnic Chinese factor is significant for its many
family and traditional business networks that cut across national boundaries. Singapore, mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong are ethnic Chinese domains and it is not inconceivable that in another two or three generations, by the end of the 21st century, there will be a super-Chinese nation dominating the East. The Malays in Malaysia and Muslim leaders in Indonesia, given the substantial Chinese populations of their countries and the dominate position of those populations in the domestic economies, could not be oblivious to the prospects of ethnic Chinese military and economic hegemony in the Pacific Rim of the 22nd century. Perhaps, Singapore's Prime Minister already has this vision of a Chinese dominated region. For the moment, the ASEAN-China fee trade area he speaks of has immediate economic advantages for Singapore as the most dynamic commercial force in the region, but ethnic Chinese in Singapore have their networks operating inside mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, which gives them advantage over Malays and Indonesians in the Pacific Rim market. Beijing would no doubt be amenable to economic integration with Southeast Asia because as the biggest country in the region, in terms of population and land mass, and having a broad raw material base, China would naturally be the main focus of investment and trade. Certainly Beijing would appreciate closer ties with its economically viable ethnic Chinese communities in the region. In the long term, ethnic Chinese integration in the region would lead to both liberalization and greater prosperity on the Chinese mainland, making the proposition of unification in a super-Chinese state with militarily mighty Beijing at its centre rather appealing to the leadership generation of ethnic Chinese in the third quarter of this century. However, the tone of Malaysian Noordin Sopiee's remarks concerning the proposition of an institutionalized Pan Asian economy suggests that any move that promises increased Chinese dominance would be resisted by the other ASEAN members. Sopiee, nevertheless, notes that without the institutional framework, economic integration in Asia is proceeding very well. Everyone knows that the ethnic Chinese factor is instrumental in this, but such awareness may only heighten fears that institutionalizing a free trade area between nuclear powered China, the ethnic Chinese states and the militarily insignificant non-Chinese states of the region would be like risking
one's head in a seemingly friendly lion's mouth. Together, the ethnic Chinese economies of the region have a GDP of about $1.5 trillion and if we were to have statistics on the ethnic Chinese contributions to Malaysian and Indonesian GDP, there would be no doubt that that integration of the ASEAN economies with China would clearly set the stage for a super-Chinese nation to emerge in another generation or two. However, objections from non-Chinese ASEAN members to this proposition is not likely to deter Singapore. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong would no doubt not like to send out signals that the ethnic Chinese are moving towards consolidation of their dispersed power in the Pacific Rim and he may even back off his proposal if he sees it to be too controversial; but the idea has been mooted and it really appears to be very much in the ethnic Chinese long term interest and no doubt it is only a matter of time before Singapore enters a free trade area agreement with Beijing, either within ASEAN or, more likely, on its own. This could serve to break down the political barriers keeping Beijing and Taipei apart, especially since Taiwan's business community is entrenched in the mainland economy. Former Speaker of the United States Congress Newt Gingrich, during a meeting between then Secretary of State Madeliene Albright and Chinese Premier Li Peng in Beijing just after the death of Deng Xiaoping in early 1997, leaned over from his position on the right of Albright and said to Li Peng: 'Nothing will have greater impact on the course of the 21st century than relations between our two countries.' Whether the provincial Republicans in the White House can appreciate this or not, it is clear that the ethnic Chinese factor is positioned to assume regional, if not global dominance in the next century.
Islam and Modernization

uestions raised at last weeks Intellectual Work Authority symposium in Khartoum, under the theme The Islamic Movement: Future Perspectives and Past Achievements are vital to the relevance of Islam in contemporary development processes in the Muslim lands and among Muslim minorities. The critical approach, with search for objectivity characterizing the symposium, is perhaps quite enough to have rendered it a success. The Muslim world is on the bridge between antiquity and modernity and the bridge is a maze through which we encounter much difficulty finding our way. Might we say that those who have given up on the possibility of Islam providing the key to a balanced modern society have missed the way and fallen off the bridge into the sea of existentialism, even nihilism? The steep challenge Islam never ceases to pose is certainly a relentless motivation for those apt to appreciate it. Questions of liberalization as opposed to rigidity, political involvement or limiting Islam's influence to the cultural realm were discussed. These are topical concerns among Muslims and must be continually addressed with a view to charting the way through the maze we find ourselves in. It is significant that El Shafia Muhammed, head of the political department of the National Congress Party was reported to have said the political model adopted by the Islamic movement in the past has collapsed and that the intellectual dynamics that enabled its achievements had petered. Such critical reflection is a very positive sign and gives fresh hope that despite any past mistakes, the affirmative Islam movement is gradually finding its way through the maze and renaissance may not be a betrayed dream after all.
Sudan's affirmative Islamists have enough experience in navigating the maze to modernity to now set the boundaries of liberality and conservativeness, of innovation and immutability. If we start from an analogy between the National Congress Party, for example, and the Christian Democrats of Europe, we see that Sudan's affirmative Islamists have appreciated the practicality of the Islamic value based platform, without theological compulsion. This is a very important development, although antagonists from non-Muslims quarters are not interested in following the unique evolutionary development of the affirmative Islamists' political endeavors, preferring to make a vocation out of denigration attempts. The question of whether to confine Islam's influence to culture or allow it as far as politics is somehow nebulous, because in the final analysis culture and politics are not mutually exclusive. As Aristotle pointed out, 'politics is the master art, because all the other fields and disciplines are subordinated to its influence and control.' Another thing that must be considered here is that values are not restricted under headings of Christianity, Islam, liberalism, atheism, etc. Honesty is a universal value of civilizations; where corruption becomes normative, not only is civilization compromised, there is an absent of values. For dishonesty cannot be said to be a value; values are those standards we hold to be virtuous. That is why we speak in terms of value systems; there is supposed to be an underlying logic, a connecting coherence to our values; although existentialism, which underlines mainstream modern thinking, imposes the suggestion that pluralistic democratic choice negates the necessity of simple or uniform coherence, allowing for an abstract coherence. Philosophically Islam's essentialist value system, for example, proceeds from the perfection of God to the rationalized moral necessity of mankind refraining from any behavior, indulgence or practice that is logically inconsistent with our intrinsic value and purpose as creatures of free will created by the Perfect One. Given the system of social values accommodating this fundamental belief in the perfection, as well as omnificence, of God, the affirmative Islamic intelligentsia rationalizes the decrees of the Quran constituting the Sharia, such as prohibition of alcoholic beverages, brutal punishment for theft and sexual transgressions, etc. In penal law, the right of the public to safety takes precedence over that of the offender to the point
of zero tolerance; thus the thief must compulsorily have his hand amputated. The adulterer is also subject to corporal punishment; the armed robber may have his hands and feet cut off on opposite sides or be decapitated. Yet, the question of how immutable is the zero tolerance principle of Islamic public safety protection invariably arises as circumstances vary from Islamic ideals in other areas, such as social welfare and political probity. Suppose there is extreme poverty, do we continue with the zero tolerance principle? This is where debate is demanded. Mr. A says no, the penal code does not implicate those who steal for necessity, such as food; maybe even the theft of a shirt by a ragged man could be rationally excused under the Sharia. Mr. B says in any event, application of the zero tolerance principle will invite political problems [since the political class itself is evidently wanting in probity], public resentment and lead to an army of handicapped people for whom the state will be obligated to provide. Mr. A counter argues that zero tolerance will deter crime for gain, hence there will be very little if any actual enforcement of the Sharia's brutal penal code. The argument goes on and on and the matter is submitted to democratic consensus for pluralistic decision. However, the fundamental values of public safety and moral wholesomeness have been accepted by the majority and thereby reflected in the constitution of the republic. This Islamic democratic political setup might find itself at odds with dogmatic theologians who advocate theocratic rule, and that is what constitutes the dispute between forces of exclusivity and those of progressive democracy in the best quarters of the Muslim world. We would not expect sizeable non-Muslim communities to accept Islamic theocratic rule under any circumstances and one of the problems of instituting Sharia in countries like Sudan and Nigeria is that some of the affirmative Islamists want to apply the theocratic rather than democratic approach. The former, in not admitting democratic consensus, relies on judgments of theocratic jurists; the latter entertains the arguments of theocratic jurists and anyone else to whom the public is willing to listen; it ideally requires a substantial level of public enlightenment and sophistication, for in the end democratic consensus decides the case either directly or indirectly. That is to say, where a law passed by a democratically elected legislature is contested in the courts and the judgment goes against
popular opinion, constitutional redress may be sought either by voting out the party that appointed the judge or if no such means of redress exists, then democratic action would be pursued to enact them. Whether a non-Muslim could find peace of conscience living under an Islamic democracy would depend on an array of variables, but at least here there is room for discussion, convincing and compromise. The Islamic vision of a modern society should be informed by two fundamental beliefs: one, that the world is a system of possibilities for constructive potential fulfillment and virtue is a positive value with moral implications; two, that the complexity of problems, challenges and issues in the high-tech age necessitates sophisticated social engineering and political management to maintain the conditions, the environment for optimum social potential fulfillment. Failure to recognize this second fundamental invariably leads to incompetence in political management; failure to appreciate the imperative of the first invariably has severe social consequences, as can be clearly seen in the latitudinarian West. Indeed, the West sets the global pace in material potential fulfillment, but the tendency to over value material attainment, while adopting excessive moral tolerance, throws the Western societies socially off balance. Even social development is assessed principally in material terms. It is true that the political conservatives also generally subscribe to more prudent social values; from time to time the democratic instincts of the public therefore replace the liberals in governance with the conservatives and this serves as a safety valve when latitudinarian advocacy threatens to carry the society into irreversible moral anarchy. The banner of Islam, espousing an Islamic ideology may not necessarily yield the results good people expect. Always, there is a gap between what we profess in our loftiest moments of inspiration and the quality of what we actually do. This is true of humans generally, whether Islamists, Communists, Christian fundamentalists or what have we. The problem of raising the Islamic banner is that lofty goals and standards are thereby necessarily espoused, and when the performance falls significantly short of the promises, public disgust is exceedingly great. Islamists must face the fact that in the contemporary world politics is a business of compromises that often leads the most pious into moral gray areas; moreover, the fatigue of service takes its toll psychologically, whereby we tend to slip into a
little mud without consciously noticing. At that point, we can become self-righteous and defensive. To bring a theocratic approach to politics invariably opens the political party up to charges of hypocrisy and gross betrayal. What the affirmative Islamists must do is rationalize their Sharia based political platforms in sociological, economic and pragmatic political terms; they must define the connection between their constant ideological values and national development goals. This invariably means that they would have to engage in open democratic debate with other ideologies. Such an approach does not warrant too much sloganeering and chants of Allahu Akbar! It calls for intellectual development and public enlightenment. In any democracy, there must be short intervals between elections. If it were not for the costs of conducting elections, the European parliamentary values, where early elections are called in event of a crisis, would be more consistent with Islamic values pertaining to good governance and intolerance of sedition. The imperative of potential fulfillment that the philosopher imputes to Islam compels pursuit of modernization, which must be synthesized with Islamic values. Moreover, the Muslim must be able to reconcile this synthesis with Islamic faith. Non-Muslim communities living under a democratic political system informed by a synthesis of Islamic values and modernization, just as non-Christians living under Christian Democrat governance in Europe, must at least be offered a rationale explanation for the association of a particular religion with politics and it would certainly help matters if the mutual sharing of basic values between Muslims and non-Muslims were emphasized. In Africa, if such an approach is to work well, we would no doubt have to merge the goals of Islamic Renaissance and African Renaissance, creating a single national or continental vision, as the case might be.
Nigeria-Zimbabwe Balancing Act
s much as Zimbabwes ruling ZANU-PF had a legitimate right to reclaim for Africans farm lands brutally seized by British colonialists, Nigerias Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki performed a deft balancing act by entering a commercial agriculture agreement with White farmers dispossessed by President Robert Mugabes government. Nigerias President Olusegun Obasanjo deserves commendation for endorsing Sarakis move. According to the popular Lagos daily, Vanguard, Obasanjo lampooned those criticizing the Kwara State governor over his agreement with the Zimbabwe farmers. Obasanjos logic was that "Agriculture is no joke, that's why you don't see many Nigerians in it. We have to encourage people to do it whether they are Nigerians or not." The point is that one of Africas most powerfully sovereign republics demonstrated a mixture of exemplary compassion and common business sense in favor of White farmers who found themselves in a colonial inheritance dilemma; but it was no doubt necessary for Zimbabwe to make it clear to all that White commercial farmers were heirs to colonial truncation of African socio-economic evolution; whereby African farmers remained marginalized, and thus it was just to reclaim their holdings to advance African redemption, putting something tangible in our virtually empty reparations account. The fact that prominent African leaders, like Nigerias Obasanjo and South Africas Mbeki had resisted North Atlantic and Australian pressure to condemn Mugabe for exercising Zimbabwes sovereign powers in taking reparations is indicative of the Pan African consensus that whatever the short term production loss costs, it was something that needed to be done. Sarakis magnanimous pragmatism was a coup de grace nonetheless; and I hope Mr. Mugabe and those who hailed his reparations drive recognize that Nigerias Kwara State has in effect
complemented rather than contradicted them. For his part, Governor Bukola Saraki is heir to a pragmatic conciliatory political heritage championed by his father, former Nigerian Senate President Dr. Olusola Saraki. The Sarakis are equally major Nigerian business players. Pan Africanism, as defined by Nkrumah, is a progressive geopolitical philosophy; it is neither racist nor Afro-centric; it is at once strategic and humanitarian; as such it is also competitive and immigration friendly. From the decolonization wave in the late 1950s and early 1960s, African governments have sought to attract investors and expert professionals from other parts of the world with a view to increasing our economic value production capacities, including networking strength. Invariably, the results were a mixture of pros and cons. Jobs were created but often at exploitative remuneration levels to the local population; economic output value was augmented, but substantial portion of earned profits were repatriated rather than invested domestically. The latter tendency was largely informed by the limited scale of most African economies and domestic markets. In any event, profits repatriation did not help our balance of payments situation and put downwards pressure on African currency exchange rates. Considering that European settlers in Africa have enjoyed greater capacity development opportunities than most Africans, retaining them in Africa, as citizens if they like, is to Africas advantage; especially if we can lure and enlighten them to identify with our strategic Pan African aspirations, as it has substantially happened to South Africas Boars; because the wealth they generate is largely invested in the continent. South Africa, for example, has a $200 billion dollar stock market and bank deposits of similar magnitude, compared to big Nigerias under $5 billion capital market. It might seem paradoxical that in South Africa it is the urban English from whom we hear expressions of anxiety over President Mbekis refusal to excoriate Mugabe for reclaiming white lands, while the Boars, who are farmers, entertain no fears of being smacked with a similar fate; however, South Africas Blacks are not so much interested in farming as in urban opportunities. What is more, the ANCs non-racial rainbow society philosophy has gradually appealed to the Boars who have no other country which to go, but the English,
undecided whether to stay or venture to the United Kingdom, ready to receive them as citizens, are more concerned about lost of privileges than impressed with Mandelas philosophy. The English, constituting the majority in South Africas communist party, had been ANCs principle white allies during the struggle against apartheid, but faced with the task of working towards evolution of a non-racial society, many of them have mixed emotions. To complete the balancing of Zimbabwes reparations initiative, African countries like Cte dIvoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Sudan, who have indigenous classes of successful commercial farmers, would have become involved in Zimbabwes agro-sector, but unfortunately Mugabes low level, tyranny prone, leadership makes such a proposition unrealistic. In fact, Zimbabwes decision some years back that non-Zimbabweans married to Zimbabwe women would not necessarily be given residence permits adversely affected many Zimbabwean families and critically damaged Mugabes Pan African credibility. Mr. Mugabes late wife, Sally, was a Ghanaian who endured with him in the liberation struggle though her native land had been one of the first African countries to gain independence; hence the message his policy in this regard was supposed to convey could not be clearly deciphered. Was he saying that any non-Zimbabwean marrying a Zimbabwe woman should carry his wife to live in his own country as he did with Sally? Whatever the case, Mr. Mugabe is known to be terribly difficult. Perhaps, the most notorious act of repression attributed to him was denial of food rations to opposition party citizens during famine; then he nearly topped that with his recent Operation Murambatsvina (Drive Out Trash"), which according the United Nations Habitat report, compiled after an investigative tour, cost some 700,000 people either their residences, livelihoods or both. The report, authored by Tanzanian Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, executive director of the Nairobi based U.N. Habitat agency, called Murambatsvina a disastrous venture. Mugabes penchant for regression was epitomized by the stubborn ban Zimbabwe maintained on mobile telephones while they were proliferating throughout the world. Zimbabwe is sadly a country entrapped in the totalitarian grip of a quasi-senile former guerrilla commander bereft of any progressive vision. The country cannot even effectively network within the
African Union, talk less of globally. It must be remembered though that ZANU had a horrifying record of dealing with other Zimbabwean political parties dating back to the countrys first elections. In the runup to the 1985 elections ZANU militants were suspected of being behind the train station assassinations of five United African National Council partisans in Hwange, while the partys youth and women were accused of looting the homes of people whose names did not appear on the partys registration list. In 1982 Zimbabwes Supreme Court passed death sentences on two ZANU guerrillas found guilty of killing six tourists two Americans, two Australians and two Britons. The assumption entertained by some interested entities that the opposition parties would do appreciably better may not necessarily be true. Zimbabwe, after thirty years of Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union, faces severe political culture problems. Political parties are conceptually cults of personality; political reflexes tend to be excessively elitist, there has been no pronounced vision, only competitive opposition. Zimbabwe is still haunted by the predatory legacy of Southern Rhodesia (its colonial era identity). Great Zimbabwe, the countrys first major empire, emerged around1250 A.D., succeeded by the Torwa and Munhumutapa empires about 300 years later; and then the Changamire, which was the last of Zimbabwes significant precolonial states. All these empires held in common a philosophy of sovereignty and land belonging to the people, with elders and chiefs trustees of leadership. The reign of the Zulu Warrior-king, Shaka, in the early 19th century gave rise to a chain of violent upheavals, during which the Ndebele, a tribe of the Bantu Nguni ethnic complex, which also includes the Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi, established a kingdom at Buluwayo. Head of the British South Africa company, Cecil Rhodes initiated European colonial intrusion into Zimbabwe in 1890, when the socalled Pioneer Column, composed of some 200 farmers, artisans and traders, as well as 300 policemen, ventured into the country. The white farmers fared so badly at first they had to buy foodstuffs from African farmers. Realizing the indigenes were farming on the best land, the BSA, with backing from the British Crown, brutally forced the Africans into Tribal Reserves, seizing and appropriating their lands to white settler farmers. With time the Europeans mastered the
art-science of farming in Zimbabwe. Nonetheless, peasant farmers have made substantial contributions to the value of Zimbabwes agricultural output during peak production years. Both drought and manpower loss to the HIV/AIDS epidemic have in recent years weakened agricultural production capacity. In the absence of the quality of leadership provided in South Africa by the African National Congress (ANC), ZANU, which the ANC shunned during the liberation struggle, preferring alliance with Joshua Nkomos and James Chikeremas Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU), has wielded sovereignty destructively. ZANU had started out as a nationalist party, then was taken over by professed Marxist-Leninists; but after independence gradually adopted a bourgeois economic ideology, yet retained its totalitarian political orientation. Ideology was overtly regarded the primary factor in political association and differences in those days, but invariably ethnicity nagged. ZAPU's Chikerema brothers, James and Charles, for example, shared ANC's non-racial rainbow society vision for post Ian Smiths Rhodesian Front Zimbabwe; however, the Chikerema brothers, native Shona speakers accusing the Ndebele of tribal chauvinism, quit ZAPU in the early 1970s, forming FROLIZI (Front for the Liberation of Zimbabwe). This not only marked the dimming of the non-racial rainbow society light in mainstream Zimbabwean liberation politics, it highlighted the influence tribal loyalty would ultimately have on Zimbabwe politics. In the elections to determine the country's first leadership, ZANU obviously benefited from party leader Robert Mugabe being one of the majority Shona. Though under Mugabes leadership concerted efforts were made to achieve reconciliation with the Whites, despite the ever intransigent attitude of Rhodesian Front leader Ian Smith, without two to tango eventually racial polarization troubled. ZANU was actually formed by a ZAPU breakaway faction led by the late Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole in 1963. Radical Marxists replaced Rev. Sithole with guerrilla commander Robert Mugabe in 1976, whereupon an alliance with ZAPU, styled the Patriotic Front, was established. This alliance led Zimbabwe to Black rule, as the white racist Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) regime led by Englishman Ian Smith buckled under guerrilla assaults. In the earlier post-colonial years ZANU and ZAPU, respectful of each others
freedom fighting credentials, endeavored to work together, despite endless disagreements. Mugabe's career in Zimbabwe politics began in 1960 as publicity secretary for the Joshua Nkomo led National Democratic Party and though the two men, the former a lawyer and teacher, the latter a social worker, were prone to part they equally had a penchant for coming back together. However, with the 1999 death of co-vice president Joshua Nkomo and aging of Mugabe, Zimbabwes leadership circle has suffered serious diminishment of both its mental vigor and bearings. Obviously, Mugabes insistence on remaining in power at an age when he should be in retirement has lowered the country's standard of political management. Apart from his heroic freedom fighting credentials, reclaiming colonially inherited farmlands is perhaps Mugabes greatest contribution to the future of Zimbabwe. Verily, it would be unfair to ignore the fact that Mugabe was under popular pressure to reclaim White colonially inherited farmlands, as security for white farmers diminished as Blacks felt no moral obligation to obey laws protecting them and their properties. We Africans are typically inclined to appreciation of our heroes, even when they end up as villains. Mugabe might deserve a monument or two for posterity to be reminded of his two most significant contributions to Zimbabwe nationalism; but the history book authors should not be ZANU-PF sycophants. Eventually the country will recover; provided it is not utterly dissipated by the terrific HIV/AIDS epidemic that taints more than 20% of the adult population. And even if the promiscuity scourge does not relent, this is Africa eventually immigrants from other parts of the continent, like Nigeria, will fill the vacant human space. August 2005
Sudan: Africas Troubled Heartland
udan sits in the east of Africa, stretching from the southern Sahara down into the tropics, like a heart; and, indeed, from ancient times to the present, its pathways have been the arteries through which people flowed to, as well as from, all parts of Africa and beyond. In this vast country, covering about 9% of the continents land mass, Kush (Nubia), Egypt, Kanem-Borno, Equatoria, Arabia, Abyssinia, Sokoto and Songhay, as well as Asia Minor have all converged, producing one of historys greatest socio-cultural mosaics. Containing the ancient land of Kush and evidentially one of the principle population fountains of the African continent, the Eastern Sudan, today constituting a republic, is not simply a colonial amalgamation, but a one million square mile region populated by communities that have ancient lineages in Kush, otherwise known as Nubia, and also in lands as distant as Turkey, Armenia, Hungary and Iraq, besides Arabia across the Red Sea and the Western Sudan region as far as Senegal. The striking physical differences of the Sudan republics people from sub-region to sub-region reflects the greater degree of fusion with foreign peoples characterizing the peoples of the Nile Valley districts of North and Central Sudan, as well as the Red Sea coastal region, compared to Sudanese in the equatorial and Western Savanna zones, who dwell quite remote from the Mediterranean and Red Sea regions, through which migrants typically pass into the African continent from north and east on the globe. With respect to the Nile corridor in the region where Sudan is close to Egypt, the distinguished Sudanese historian Ali Osman Mohammad Salih, writing in the Encarta Encyclopaedia Africana, notes: Nubia has never been the exclusive domain of any one group of people. Foreign conquerors, alien merchants and adventurers, and both friendly and hostile nomads have always interacted with and settled among the indigenous peasant population of Nubia and have contributed significantly to its cultural development, adding, Hence the present population is the product of a long and fairly continuous
mingling of the ancient inhabitants with newcomers from a variety of places. Over the past three thousand years the Eastern Sudan region, now constituting the Republic of Sudan, has experienced a very dramatic series of rising and falling states, during which the Kushites at the peak of Sudanese glory ruled Egypt for most of the 7th century B.C., and the Funj, said to be Islamized and Arabized Shiluk a Nilotic tribe of South Sudan, established an Islamic kingdom at the northern tip of the equatorial zone along the Nile, which succumbed to Ottoman imperialist incursion into the region during the second decade of the 19th century. Arab penetration into the Eastern Sudan was through both the Nile Valley route from Egypt and across the Red from the Arabian Peninsula. As the Arabs have been raiding the East Coast of Africa for slaves at least as far back as 1,000 B.C. they are certainly not newcomers to Sudan. Historical evidence suggests that the Arabs have been settling and giving rise to new Sudanese ethnic communities in the coastal region of the country from not less than 2,500 years ago. However, more recent emigrants, the Rashidi, have kept their pristine Arabian physical and cultural identity. The typical Sudanese claiming Arab identity, however, is physically and culturally an African Arab. In fact, Khartoum Universitys Professor M.O Abu Saq points out that Northern Sudan is more broadly representative of the peoples of Africa than anywhere else on the continent, yet has profusely assimilated the Arabs, giving rise to an essentially Afro-Arab domain. Southern Sudanese are not entirely unaware of their ancient lineage links in Kush, as indicated by their apparent language roots in the Nilo-Saharan zone, and some intellectuals from the South assert a sense of original ownership of the area from the first to the sixth cataract as reason why the South should not secede, leaving the land of their heritage to the Arab world. Statues preserved from the Kushite era indicate an irrefutable relationship between the peoples of the Nuba Mountains in the west central region of the republic and the Nilotic peoples, such as the Nuer and Dinka. The sculptured replica of King Taharqas head in Cairos Egyptian Museum reveals a man of ebony complexion, pronounced check bones, sizable ears and broad nose, though the latter, as is typically the case with ancient Nile Valley royal portrait sculpture, had been smashed by racist alien
excavators. Taharqa was the third and last Kushite king to rule Egypt and Kush from the court at Thebes, succumbing to an Assyrian invasion during 664 B.C. Khartoum, Sudans present capital has been assessed by archaeologists to have emerged as a prominent urban settlement not less than 8,000 years ago. Nubias first kingdom of note, Kerma, rose in the 25th century B.C. , its capital city located along the Nile between the Third and Fourth Cataracts, about 700km south of the Egyptian border, which has been in place for several millenniums. Enduring until 1,500 B.C. Kerma was succeeded by over 1,000 years of Egyptian colonial rule, during the Middle and New Kingdoms, from 2040 B.C. to 1070 B.C. The Kushite 25th Dynasty from Nubias sacred cult of Amun plateau, Jebel Berkal, ruled Egypt and Nubia from 770 B.C. to 664 B.C. and their successors maintained kingdoms centered at Napatan and Merowe, between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts and extending southwards to the vicinity of Khartoum, where the three Niles converge, until 300 A.D., when Ethiopias Axum conquered Nubia. The celebrated reign of King Natakama and his co-regent Queen Amanatore in the first century B.C. crowned the great architectural heritage of Nubia, which includes several great ancient cities with fabulous royal courts and some 224 pyramids constituting royal necropolises. Recent archaeological discoveries indicate that Nubia was a population fountain to the rest of Africa as far back as 6,000 B.C.E. The landmark excavation works done in Western Sudan, which began in 1995, culminating in the 2003 Exhibition Common Aims, have shed a virtual floodlight on the open questions concerning the historical links between the Nile Valley and Sub-Sahara Africa by surmising that somewhere between eight and ten thousand years ago, the equatorial rainfall moved North into the Sahara, creating a savanna that became populated by emigrants from the Nile Valley; when a few thousand years latter, the rains receded southwards, the emigrants followed them into Central and West Africa. Rudolf Kuper and Stefan Krpelin (both of the University of Cologne) report that their team concluded there had emerged during the savanna period a Yellow Nile leading from Debba (not far from Merowe) into Central Africa, which dried up with the southward recession of the rains. Drawings of animals on stone indicate the presence of cattle, elephants, giraffes,
sheep and goats, as well as aquatic life. Kuper and Krpelin conclude: "In the 6th millennium B.C. the first settlers in the Wadi (oasis) Howar region found perfect ecological conditions: permanent water in a savanna type vegetation with large animals as well as fish." Pottery and evidence of grain grinding implements were also found. The Yellow Nile reached into Chad, where until today there are 36 ethnic communities that spread on both sides of the common border with Sudan. A great number of East African languages and some languages as far west as Songhai in Mali were classified by American linguist Joseph H. Greenberg ( Languages of Africa, 1963) as Nilo-Saharan (originating from the Sahara region of the Nile Valley), while many, including Hausa, the second most widely spoken language in Africa after Swahili, were classified as Afro-Asiatic. Although Greenberg's classifications remain accepted by Western academia, they are subject to scrutiny and in significant measure overruled by the work of the multidiscipline Senegalese scholar Cheikh Anta Diop (1923-1986), who inspired a vast school of support from African scholars on the continent and the Diaspora for his theses concerning the link between tropical Africa and Egypt. Professor Diop's research led him to conclude that his Wolof people of Senegal, in particular, had linguistic and cultural roots in ancient Egypt; interestingly, the Wolof share the tall, usually slender, black physical distinctiveness, as well as some names with South Sudan's Dinka, whose language is classified as Nilo-Saharan. Notably, Taharqa looks very much a Dinka man. Diop's doctorate dissertation entitled Black Nations and Culture: From Black Egyptian Antiquity to the Cultural Problems of Africa Today, in which he elaborated on the essential African character of Egypt, was rejected by Paris' Sorbonne in 1954, but he successfully defended it at the Sorbonne in 1960. The Southwards migration of the Bantu peoples is generally assessed to have lasted for 3 millenniums, beginning in the second millennium B.C. The assumption by historians trying to elude a Nile Valley linkage that the Bantu probably originated in what is today Cameroon ends up at the doorstep of this new theory of the Yellow Nile during the savanna epoch in what is today's West Sudan's desert. Peoples from the Wadi Howar districts having no doubt ventured
along the Yellow Nile into Chad and Cameroon would have naturally sprouted emigrants further southwards. Arab infiltration into Nubia occurred largely during the 13th to 16th century; however, one major group, the Mamluks, though Arab speaking and from the Egyptian ruling class at the time were actually Europeans who had served the Ottoman Empire as warrior slaves and converted to Islam. The Mamluks were from mixed origins, including Hungarians, Slavs, Mongols and Circassians people from northwestern Caucasia, the mountainous region in extreme southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from which the white race assumes its formal identity as Caucasians. Caucasia includes a portion of Southern Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Although there is a school of thought in Sudan that Arabs are indigenous to the Shendi area of Nubia and migrated from there to Arabia, it is clear from historical linguistic records that even if there is truth in this claim, Arabs were at most a minor ethnic group in ancient Nubia. Significant Arab migration into Nubia began in the 7th century A.D. and it was not until the 16th century that Arab influence had reached such proportions that Islam displaced Christianity as the major religion in Sudans Nile Valley. The celebrated Arab philosopher of history, Ibn Khaldoun observed with rue Juhayna Arab penetration into Nubia from Egypt during the 14th century. The nomadic Juhayna had several centuries earlier migrated from their home in Hejaz to the Red Sea region of Egypt, which subsequently became identified by their ethnic name. Wrote Ibn Khaldoun:
Then the clans of the Juhayna Arabs spread over their country, and settled in it, ruling it and filling it with ruin and decay. The kings of the Nubians set about holding them back, but lacked strength. Then they proceeded to win them over by marriage alliances, so that their kingdom broke up, and it passed to some of the offspring of Juhayna through their mothers, according to the custom of the barbarians by which possession goes to the sister and the sister's son. So their kingdom was torn to pieces, and the Juhayna nomads took possession of their land. They have no means of imposing royal control
over the damage which could be stopped by the submission of one to the other, and they remain faction ridden up to the present. No trace of sovereignty remains in their land, but now they are wandering bedouin who follow the rainfall like the bedouin nomads. No trace of sovereignty remains in their land, because the tincture of Arab nomadism has changed them through mixture and union.
Indigenous Sudanese by virtue of rights and status in the matrilineal Nubian inheritance system, the offspring of JuhaynaNubian unions subsequently asserted their patrilineal tribal identities and traveled westwards into the Kordofan and Darfur regions. Today, the Juhayana tribes are the primary constituents of the Janjaweed terrorist militias ravaging the Fur, Zighawa and other indigenous Nilo Saharan tribes in Sudans troubled Darfur. Robert Baum, writing in Encarta Encyclopaedia Africana, concurs with Ibn Khaldouns account:
.. Egyptian Arabs, seeking greater freedom and opportunity, settled in Nubia. Arab men married into matrilineal families of the Nubians and the Beja and attained powerful positions in Nubian society. While they received Nubian inheritances from their mothers, they bestowed their inheritances patrilineally, thus bringing these newly acquired properties and titles under Arab control. Arab settlers also brought Islam to Nubia, where it gradually spread. In time, an Arabized Nubian society emerged as the dominant cultural form in the region.
This sums up the ethno-cultural evolution of North and Central Sudan. Although the racial mixture is quite extensive, culturally Nubia is the host and Arabia the penetrant, while Islam has become the common denominator. We hear the Arabized-Nubian substance of the
region epitomized in the music of the confederated Shagiyya tribe, characterized by pristine African drumming, such as is common to the Sub-Sahara portion of the continent, with Arabic lyrics tonally transformed in keeping with the African accented gyrated beat. We see copper colored, brown and black people in white Arab caftans with tribal marks on their faces, typical of Africa. We see people with silky, jet black hair, yet with the broad mouths and noses, as well as pronounced check bones typical of the Kushites; some with fine noses, black skin and tightly coiled hair. We find dark skinned, coiled hair people whose mother tongue is Arabic; and light caramel or cream colored, silky haired people possessing Kushite mother tongues. It was not fair for Ibn Khaldoun to refer to the Nubians as barbarians the Arabs typically have this nave tendency to assume that being Muslims makes them the paragon of Homo sapiens; because the Nubians had one of richest histories of civilization, whereas the Juhayna, as he acknowledged, were ruinous. This, of course, raises the question prominently considered by Cheick Anta Diop and others, as to whether the Arabs in bringing Islam to Africa have constructively contributed to Africas cultural development or retarded it. The question is academic at this point because we are faced with a fait accompli; furthermore I think it absurd to consider cultures melodramatically, or stereotype people, but obviously we need to in Africa have a more rational approach to assuming Islamic values and canon interpretations as presented by the Arabs, whether historically or contemporarily. The Holy Quran was revealed to a people who regarded birth of a female so unfortunate that they buried their newborn daughters alive, a people whose cult of worship required human sacrifices, whose social stratification values perpetuated a caste system in which African slaves were, like the Hindu Untouchables, the soles of god and society. The Quran is specifically addressed to them, rendering it implicative to the rest of the world, requiring an interactive relationship between ones intellect, historical and environmental circumstances, and the intrinsically moderating message. Assumed superiority of Arabs over non-Arabs, of Muslims over non-Muslims, of the Kushite-Caucasian physical characteristics blend over the original Kushite physical features combine to promote
provocative discrimination, exclusion, prejudice and disdain. This chauvinistic Arab-Islamic perspective is in effect the bane of contemporary Sudan; apart from the fact that Arab Islamia has an ugly legacy of Arab distinct from Ajam (non-Arabs) discriminatory dichotomy attending the Umayyad era, as well as African enslavement, dating at least back to the Abbasid Caliphate, which indeed experienced slave revolts, assumption of divinely ordained superiority is an insidious psychological disposition, invariably degrading ones moral caliber. I dont mean to condemn the Arabs Islamic legacy, that would be outrageously unfair; after all, racism and other manner of chauvinistic oppression have everywhere attended the history of mankind though there has always been people struggling for progressive change, reform and revolution, as well as harbingers and makers of renaissance. However, let us all appreciate the fact that Muslim intellectuals in Africa may not necessarily share the Arabs emotional attachment to their Golden Age and its antecedent eras, nor regard those chapters of history with uncritical subjectivity, even though orthodoxy with respect to certain aspects insist we should. For that matter, the exponents of such orthodoxy as would have us suppress our God given intellects, are welcome to fret. The central issues at hand with respect to Islam in contemporary Africa, considering its influences on the character of individuals and communities comprising perhaps as much as half the population of the continent, are progress related. Africa, nor anywhere else in today's world informed by millenniums of educative experiences and radical technological advances, shall become globally competitive in medieval mode, characterized as it is by chauvinistic dispositions that perpetuate various manner of suppression in deference to machismo, nepotism, tribalism, racism, oligarchy and caste distinctions. Groups or gender imagining they are collectively elect live an illusion on the intellectual periphery of our age, especially those in starkly underdeveloped countries prone to violent political crises. Growing out of this rather medieval indulgence of chauvinism is characteristic discriminatory disposition not simply towards those outside the Arab-Muslim perimeter, but manifest in propositions of marriage outside the family or clan, not to mention the tribe; manifest as opportunity hording within tribal circles and petty preoccupations and fault finding; though such chauvinism is actually neither absolute
nor implacable. We know at least of one family with a Dinka-Muslim patriarch and Hassania Arab matriarch, now in its third generation with kinship extended into more than 10 Sudanese ethnic communities in the North, South, East and West of the country; and another with a Dinka Muslim Patriarch and Saudi Arab matriarch. Non Arab African Muslims from the Western regions of Sudan often marry Arab women. Sudan is far from identical to apartheid South Africa though the two realms share similar tendencies. It is not at all common to find Islam being interpreted by well learned and credible Muslim community or academic leaders to condone racism, as there are well known verses of the Quran and speeches of Prophet Muhammad categorically ruling out racism; rather, human rationales are imposed on the Islamic milieu to conserve regressive social and political habits that lack doctrinal support. Any references to cursed sons of Ham are indulgences of Hebrew sources. In Sudan racism actually appears to be for the most part casual and readily yielding to the force of individual personality, as happened with respect to the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior. Within the Arab-Muslim identity group we find the ArabizedNubians of the Nile Valley, who are for the most part sedentary and often deeply acculturated in the civilized legacy of ancient Nubia, frequently disposed to discriminatory attitudes towards those identified with the western portion of the country Kordofan and Darfur. Holt and Daley (The History of Sudan from the Coming of Islam to the Present) provide us a view of the dissection of Arab identity into two parts, basically nomadic and sedentary, but ultimately bearing on political association and opportunities.
With certain comparatively minor exceptions, those Northern Sudanese who claim Arab descent belong to one or other of two extensive, if somewhat artificial, divisions: the arabised Nubians, mainly sedentaries of the main Nile, composed of the Barabra and Ja'ali Group; and the mainly nomadic or semi-nomadic Juhanya Group.
The Barabra ... inhabit Lower Nubia. Their representatives in the modem Sudan are the Sukkut and Mahas, who still speak related Nubian dialects. South of them are a series of tribes, inhabiting the old Upper Nubia, who belong to the Ja'ali Group. These tribes claim as a common ancestor an Arab named Ibrahim Ja'al. Whether the eponym is historical or not, the traditional pedigree indicates an element common to all these tribes. Since the Arab irruption into the region, Arab descent has been a source of pride and distinction: hence it is not surprising that stress is laid on a common Arab ancestor. A further genealogical sophistication makes Ibrahim Ja'al a descendant of al-Abbas, the Prophet's uncle. Thus the epithets Ja'ali and Abbasi have become virtually synonyms in the genealogies of the eastern Bilad al Sudan. In spite, however, of the anxiety of the genealogists to provide the Ja'ali Group with a common Arab ancestor, it would be more realistic to regard the submerged Nubian substratum as the common ethnic element among the tribes. This hypothesis does not, of course, reject the undoubted historical fact of Arab ancestry as such: the result of inter-marriage between Arab immigrants and the older Nubian population. From this intermingling the Ja'ali Group derive their markedly Arab characteristics and their Muslim cultural inheritance.
Qualifying their identification of the nomadic Juhayna of Nubia, Holt and Daley write:
In Sudanese genealogical usage, the term Juhayna is practically a comprehensive term for all tribes claiming Arab descent but not asserting a Ja'ali-'Abassi origin. Arabs of the Juhayna of Arabia who migrated to upper Egypt, played a
leading part in the breakthrough into Nubia in the fourteenth century, and there has been a tendency of elements of varied (and even nonArab) origins to link themselves with this successful tribe.
Arab identity was occasioned, moreover, by migrations of Sudanese to Egypt, mainly owing to pressures on farmland, which gave rise to recurrent economic crises and attending political instability. Traditionally, the Barabra mostly worked as servants in Egypt; though, the Mahas branch, having inevitably and profoundly assimilated Islam, migrated to the confluence of the Niles and established themselves as religious teachers. This is not to say that the other Barabra had not also become Muslims. Pointing out that Arab penetration and influence is not equally pervasive among all the peoples of the Ja 'ali Group, the two British authors note:
The most Northerly tribes of the Ja'ali Group lie downstream of the Shayqiyya, between al-Dabba and the country of the Barabra. Their homeland is the historical region of Dongola (Arabic: Dunqula), whence these tribesmen are known collectively as Danaqla (singular; Dunqulawi), i.e. 'men of Dongola'. Among them there is far more consciousness of Nubian origin than among the tribes of the southern Ja'ali Group, and a Nubian dialect continues to be spoken.
The incessant fusion of Nubians with outsiders and the spread of fusion throughout the desert and savanna zones of Sudan to Darfur in the West and Beja in the East, particularly through the Juhayna group tribes, have produced in effect a racially blended society that we must either call raceless or give an ingenious identity. Academically, the people of North Sudan might best be defined as Nubian Arabs, or, in geopolitical context, African Arabs, either identity suiting their heritage, physical characteristics, cultural formation and political situation in Sudan.
The Republic of Sudan is a compound nation, ostensibly of immense potential, waiting to be built. However, the essential all inclusive, egalitarian nationalism for nation building is still owing to pronounced and aggravating medieval tendencies elusive. When we talk of nationalism, the reference and concern in mind is that fundamental measure of power to proactively pursue the immediate and long-term interests of the African body politic. Universal patriotic commitment to a great national vision in tandem with supranational collaboration in institutionalized formation, we have learned are sine qua non to actualization of the potential to achieve such power. That is to say, in essence, Africa in internally fragmented, petty national mode will invariably continue unable to attain the proactive posture to move from the periphery of the global economic and political power complex to the core, but with all inclusive national cohesion and Pan Africanist collaboration in African Union the continent's elements of power profile is substantially enhanced. Implied therein is that partition of any African country at this point in history, even through popular will expressed in referendum, as could ultimately be the case with Sudan, is patently regressive; especially as it would leave a sovereign Southern Sudan landlocked, in addition to its accumulative disadvantages resulting from suppressive colonialism and half a century in the throes of civil war. Other more propitiously positioned parts of the continent have faired quite badly over the past 50 years, highlighting the need to focus on problem solving, or revolution, as the situation might require, rather than elusion, which is what secession, in the case of Southern Sudan, would amount to. The past five decades have widened the socio-economic development gap between Africa and the industrialized nations, rendering some countries, like Zambia and the Congo Democratic Republic virtually unviable after copper, formerly their prized export, lost most of its value in the face of fading demand; and petroleum producing countries, paradoxically have not done much better giving currency to the cynical resource rich curse theory. In 1976, Nigeria, for example had a per capita GDP of nearly $900, about the same as Brazils, while the United States per capita income was about $15,000; but by 2000 U.S. per capita income had nearly doubled, approaching $30,000, while Nigerias had tumbled to the
vicinity of $300, having been left behind by Brazil, which had pumped its per capita income up over $5,000. Reactive planning and policies, petty political preoccupations, plethora of internal strife, in a nutshell a prevailing myopia has kept Africa from pursuing with uncompromising determination economies of scale, technological power and modern democracies. And in saying this, we are not unaware of the exposure of individual Africans to world-class technology and professionalism generally. Expansion of beneficial networking, optimum human potential development, strategic supranational alliances as well as institution building and study of future trends are main features of todays race of nations. Nations not attuned to this mode of nationalism invariably find themselves not only falling behind the pack, but being lapped several times over. This is the common lot of African countries, but Sudan, perhaps owing to its tremendous size and sharp population diversities, has remained one of the continents most disintegration prone countries. Arab chauvinism and cultural retardation, Islamic religiosity and resistance to these obnoxious phenomena by victim peoples within Sudan have polarized the country to the extent that separation is advocated by both the ruling oligarchs unwilling to modernize the political and social systems and the oppressed intent on liberating themselves. The African post colonial state typically inherited a bundle of political concepts and mores from the Europeans that included chauvinistic rationalizations, reinforcing tribalism and ethnocentrism in the colonies, and assumption of central government legitimacy by virtue of its ability to enforce authority with the instruments of coercion and violence in hand. As Sudan's Professor M.O. Abu Saq has pointed out with respect to his own country, the post colonial state inherited the concept of government as purely an administrative function, within which perimeter political challenges are regarded as security issues. Apart from political challengers being treated as threats to national security, this concept of political power growing out the barrel of a gun has been manifest in successive military coup d'tats and prevalence of either military rule or one party states. In some instances opposition parties have by coup attempts contributed to democratic development setbacks, provoking virtually open ended
states of emergencies that suppress human value appreciation, not to mention rights. The idea of politics as a football game, inherently rough, but with regulations and referees legitimizing play within a respectable perimeter has not widely caught on in Africa because we tend to be trapped in the brute power syndrome. In some countries even sports audiences cannot bear their national teams' loss without insult and injury to the visiting victors. It is generally typical of the formerly colonized countries that political egos possess a do or die defensiveness; moreover, we find it's very hard to part with the trappings of power once donned. Perhaps, this reflects a deprivation complex; we may have, looking at the long standing and ever widening material development gap between Africa and the industrialized nations, an acute sense of being deprived and therefore are emotionally indisposed to relinquishing power, with its wealth implications, once assumed. In contrast to contemporary European political realism, where the politician is decisively subordinated to the forces and institutions of democratic power, like a footballer is to the forces of spectatorswho include coaches, referees and team managements, as well as fans and is psychologically prepared to eventually be removed from the game or team; the African political ego remains conditioned in the political psychology of the absolute monarch era that prevailed in Europe during earlier centuries which was in fact manifest in Africa by colonial administrations, even by countries no longer monarchies. Also fueling political egoism in Africa is lack of collective or national self-confidence. There is no dearth of individual selfconfidence attending African elites, but prevailing cynicism about national and continental prospects provides an excuse for self-serving corruption. No doubt we are simply facing a problem of retarded political evolution; which would suggest that those political scientists, journalists and other intellectual types attentive to the situation must move against the psychological status quo with clinical consciousness and concern. Moving Sudan from an administrative state to a political one requires selling to the forces that matter in the premises practical solutions to the country's intractable political strife. We should keep in mind that Sudan's intellectuals have variously attributed their
country's problems to oligarchy, religion, race and ethnicity; and no doubt it is a bit of all these with oligarchy the principal menace. And oligarchy is not static; there are always those outside the oligarchy who want to move in and be a part of it or its new kingpin. Those who would with noble intention challenge oligarchy and ethnocentrism or racism, or religiosity, as the case might be, will invariably find that they must join in an astute nationalism that appeals to our intuitive sense of human fraternity. Since the end of the Second World War the ideals of international brotherhood have been variously espoused by an international intellectual vanguard, comprised of independent individuals sharing similar ideals for humanity, though many of them have found their way into the United Nations system and other multilateral institutions; thus there are throughout the world, in addition to progressive people struggling for optimum influence within the UN and other supranational entities, numerous NonGoverning Organizations (NGOs) concerned with improvement of the human condition and serving as pressure groups, whereby in this era of globalization we have "international standards" of good governance. Significantly, South Africa, once the world's most revolting dominion of white racism, under the African National Congress (ANC) has become the global standard bearer in race relations and a leader in the domain of human rights, not to mention its world class financial system. And this is not the only verily hopeful feature of contemporary Africa. Despite the debilitating instability plaguing our continent, in geopolitics Africa is surpassed only by the European Union in regional cooperation and supranational institution influence, with West Africa setting the pace within the AU. We have in Africa today an intellectual elite consensus on African Renaissance as a concept of the continent's holistic ascendancy cultural, social, political, artistic, intellectual, etc., and this is practically served by the organizational structures and programs of the continent's supranational bodies; that is to say the proponents of African renaissance are not simply spouting rhetoric, they are busy with the difficult tasks involved in actualizing a vision that draws us into broader bases of accommodation and cooperation, that optimally enlightens us. There are nonetheless ideological differences as to how Africa should shape up culturally and socially. We recognize that diversity
and decentralization of political powers allow political sub-divisions (regions, states or provinces) and local governments, to do their own legislating, but we must assure that in any case we contribute to either improvement or maintenance of international standards; however, we must be cautious with regard to dogmatic liberalism that tends to negate the efficiency value of moral control. Deficient moral control has already dragged us from severe economic crises to an alarming sexually transmitted disease crisis HIV/AIDS. The appreciable level of Pan African consensus not withstanding, collaboration on an African continental vision, or national vision, requires negotiation at every point of social, cultural and political concern. It is quite unfortunate that Sudan's ruling National Congress, evolved from the Dr. Hassan Al Turabi led National Islamic Front, has such a poor political management record that it has acquired a pariah image, because when examining the social vision somewhat actualized it becomes apparent that Turabi and others could have made valuable contributions to international dialogue on social efficiency and development. A football team with a fairly good defense and weak attack is doomed to failure, because the best of both are needed for championship play. Indeed, world class politics, like world class football, is not a game for mediocre intellects and minor league managers. Perhaps ultimately it falls upon the social scientists, as doctors dedicated to patients, as teachers dedicated to students, to be efficiently creative in leading people particularly the elite, including those disposed to playing politicspsychologically, morally and intellectually forward. Having said that much, I would like to introduce some new political thinking: specifically, dismissal of the concept of minorities in Africa, along with all the associated notions of majority dominance and chauvinism. This is not only important for Sudanese political thinking; it has a realistic base that no one has articulated but no doubt all those on the periphery feel. The question of who owns Darfur, for example, came up in the negotiations between the rebels and government. This is perhaps one of the most important questions ever raised in post colonial African political history; and of course the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior's Sudan People's Liberation Army had been pressing this question for the past twenty years. Despite waves of migration over the centuries and millenniums, despite the presence of
nomadic communities, despite family resettlements for commercial or employment opportunities, generally it can be said that people in Africa have a sense of living on and belonging to their ancestral lands. Although there had been internal African conquests before Europeans and Arabs ever set foot on the continent, African communities typically possessed a sense of independence, though invariably there was manifest interdependence as well as assimilation of conquerors. Had the natural course of African political evolution not been truncated by extra-continental imperialism we would no doubt have evolved cooperative federations, as did the former British colonies in constituting the United States of America, which is indicated by the steady, if gradual, movement towards cooperative confederation of West Africa implied by its resolution on formation of a West African government against a background of extensive supranational institution expansion. Post colonial governments inherited amalgamations of those lands that had been made countries in the course of imperialist territorial rivalry and clams. Amalgamation, however, was not the central problem, because advocacy of continental and regional unions occurred in tandem with the quest for independence; the terrible problem was the authoritative character nationalism and governance assumed in taking over from colonial administrations, which emphasized centralism rather than cooperative nationalism. The fact is that many contemporary African states are functionally merely inherited colonial domains, experiencing legitimacy crises similar to those that confronted European rule. Although Nigeria lacked a post-colonial institutional arrangement efficiently suited to its circumstances, at least strong assertion of the identities of the pre-colonial empires that had been amalgamated into Nigeria led to a cooperative federalism in which each region was led by premiers and the powers of the federal government were constrained. What doomed Nigeria's First Republic no doubt was the absence of apolitical strong state institutions with substantial referee powers to mediate between the governing politicians and constitutionally intervene if necessary; this is to generally say that in giving deference to the interdependent sovereignty of traditional African polities or communities, as the case might be, cooperative federation or amalgamation must consider the need for strong state institutions, apart from the military, to provide a mediative foundation
with referee powers over partisan political government. This is especially relevant to countries like Nigeria, Sudan and Congo that embrace several pre-colonial states or independent ethnic groups; because in the absence of apolitical national mediative state foundation institutions, there has been a tendency, particularly in Sudan, to over pack the center with power, and with an inequitable ethnic distribution of authority, invariably provoking resistance from the traditionally independent communities. In suggesting that we dismiss the notion of minorities and majorities I am saying that any new constitutional drafting exercises should be based on negotiations between equals who with prudent vision, recognizing inevitable interdependence of regional communities, wish to continue in the inherited post colonial amalgamation; but as equally respected and regarded partners, with a fair measure of sovereignty over their homelands, in addition to equitable representation at the center. That is not to say homelands are static entities, for determination of political sub-divisions, like regions, states and local government districts requires mediation; and, as the Nigerian experience has often shown, there can be flammable disagreements over the demarcation of local government districts. No one should see such disagreements as an opportunity to politically or otherwise exploit; we must imbibe negotiation and mediation as mainstays of African political culture in recognition of the fact that disagreements are endless. Moreover, in the modern nation-state, consistent with nationalism, domiciling, whereby settlers from one part of the country to another are within a legally specified period of time given full political status and rights as denizens of the homeland in which they reside, should be incorporated into all African constitutions. This is in fact a commendable feature of autonomous South Sudans 2005 constitution, wherein any person having resided in the South since independence is considered an indigene of the region eligible to vote in the referendum on secession scheduled for 2011. Moreover, it would properly serve national integration purposes for spouses from different parts of the country, or even continent, to enjoy denizen status. In the United States, for example, one having resided in a state for six months has the legal right to contest any political office therein; thus former First Lady Hilary Clinton, who was born in Illinois and became first lady of Arkansas
while her husband was governor there, bought a house in New York in order to contest one of the two senatorial seats and won. Also, many Africans have been traveling to the United States to have their babies because America awards citizenship to any child born there. This welcoming of immigrants has contributed to America's continued prospering and leadership in science & technology, which can be clearly seen by the number of its scientists and technology professionals born elsewhere in the world. In 2003, California elected a European born governor and he has started campaigning for those born outside the United States to be eligible for the presidency. The U.S. has already had two foreign born secretaries of state, Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright. The fact that former apartheid South Africa, which was under white rule one of the most oppressive domains in the world's history, has become under Mandela's ANC the model for improving race relations, shows that Africans need not lag behind in vital areas of social and political progress. . The talk about extending the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement to other rebellion prone regions of Sudan is quite appropriate and throughout the international community there is expectation that this will in good time be done. It appears that the CPA has thrown out the notion of majority and minority; but no one is talking about this in ideological context. Everyone is looking at the CPA as more or less the result of a military stalemate; it is, but it is also an ideological basis for what Dr. Garang envisaged as a New Sudan with new political conceptualization. The New Sudan is envisaged as an actualization of the promise given in the first paragraph of Sudan's defunct 1998 constitution: "The State of Sudan is an all embracing homeland where races and cultures coalesce and religions conciliate." However, the thinking behind Sudan's 1998 constitution is that this coalescing and conciliating would be done under a centralized political command, where state governors of the federation pledge allegiance to the president of the republic rather than their state constituencies; nor is there any constitutional provision for states or groups of states, or even the Government of South Sudan to take legal action against the federal government, once again leaving armed resistance as the conventional recourse in event of serious unresolved disputes. This is lack of
comprehensive provision for legally resolving disputes in an independent judiciary and negation of a need for an independent ombudsman reflects naive wishful thinking in dominate political circles. Continued concentration of power at the center has perpetuated oligarchy with a host of new faces and names among the principals. The key to holding countries like Nigeria, Congo and Sudan together is not centralization of power, but elasticity in relations between the different tiers of government from the federal level down to the regional, state and local levels. The 2005 Interim National Constitution advances the political concept of the Republic of Sudan, specifically describing it as an independent, sovereign state comprised of a country that is democratic, decentralized, multicultural, multi-lingual, multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-religious. That is not a sufficiently accurate description of the situation; it still reflects the colonial inheritance concept of an amalgamation bringing about a country; whereas the reality, from the natural African perspective, is that legitimacy of the republic can only be established by willful cooperation of its constituent communities, accepting the status of political subdivisions in an egalitarian federalism. Given the Comprehensive Peace Agreement model, Sudan should look forward to constructively functioning with four tiers of government: federal, regional, state and local. The rebels in Darfur, apart from raising the question of who owns their region, have insisted that Greater Darfur be recognized as a semi-sovereign political entity. The concept of "semi-sovereign" may be new to post colonial Africa, but prior to the colonial era, all the major African empires were comprised of semi-sovereign states. Whatever new constitutional arrangements are achieved in Sudan, or Congo, or Cte d'Ivoire, at this point, will have to in effect establish the nation-state anew, create government afresh, and be based on both all party commitment to unity and institutionalized political equality of all the participating regions. It is never ultimately a problem instigated by the imperialists, as some of our leaders insist on imaging; but as China's 20th century revolutionary leader Mao Zedong used to emphasize, 'internal contradictions are primary, external ones secondary.' Managing Africa's affairs should not be reactive to imperialist intrigues and what have we; there must be a reflective intellectual preoccupation with our
problems in relation to historical experience, evolutionary character, long term stability, social vision, economic expansion and raising of our power profile. Although sectarian and racial partisanship are still ugly features of Sudan's political transition, constituting an obstacle to the country's political modernization, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement has offered 25% of its allotted posts in the central government to its members who hail from North Sudan. This is a great step forward; moreover, Sudan National African Union (SANU), perhaps the oldest party of Southern origin, is spearheading a New Sudan Vision Coalition, in which all parties subscribing to a socially and politically integrated country, nonetheless composed of autonomous governing regions, will come together in pursuit of a sweep at the polls scheduled for 2008. Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Armys policy of welcoming all Sudanese, irrespective of region of origin or ethnic identity, following the example set by SANU in the early 1960s, effectively made the Southerners the pacesetters in the quest to modernize Sudan. In fact, we could even attribute Southern leadership in this regard to the White Flag movement established and led by Ali Abdul Lateef in the early 1920. Ali Abdul Lateef, a Dinka born in the Northern city of Omdurman, is actually the father of modern nationalism; not only did he challenge British colonialism, he overstepped British preoccupation with keeping Northerners and Southerners mutually alienated. It has often happened in Africa that the victimized Africans led a coalition comprised of progressive elements from the oppressor group along with indigenes; Mozambique's FROLIMO, Angola's MPLA and Guinea Bissau's PAIGC are examples of this strategy, apart from SPLA/M. Although South Africa's ANC and Namibia's SWAPO did not include whites in their movement, they collaborated with progressive whites, particularly the South African Communist Party. The struggle for equality is equally a quest for higher quality human civilization, for a more enlightened human existence; for oppression, apart from the misery imposed on the oppressed degrades the hearts, minds and souls of the oppressors. The National Islamic Front example of creating the non-sectarian National Congress Party, welcoming all Sudanese, was a progression in Northern partisan politics, but in practice appears no more than an
attempt to placate and neutralize non-Arabs and non-Muslims. NCP is not ideologically homogenous but while containing members committed to moving Sudan forward, final decisions and implemented policies are too often regressive and retraction of noble promises. Inclined to representing oligarchic interests, as well as Arabism, it is inconceivable that the National Congress as it is presently constituted can lead the way to the New Sudan vision of a politically and socially modern, integrated nation, decentralized to the extent of regional governing autonomy. The totalitarian tendencies inherent in the essentially military and oligarchic character of the National Congress regime, its failure to proactively engage Darfur, which had for quite some time been on the verge of tumult, resulted in what is daily being broadcasts as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. On top of that there is armed rebellion in the East led by the Beja, which was no less predictable than the Darfur rebellion. Trying to hide behind claims that it is the victim of anti-Islamic forces, the National Congress Party regime only increases the glare of its incompetence, since the victims of the Darfur crises are all Muslims such as are impervious to Christianization or any other manner of alien proselytism. Eastern Sudan is also entirely populated by Muslims, though the Beja, like the Darfur tribes victimized by the notorious Arab militia styled Janjaweed, are non-Arabs. Imperialist and Zionist forces arrayed against Muslims is stale news; we all know it; the issue therefore pertinent to Muslims is effectively thwarting the enemies. The first rule of the game is keep your house in order, so that the power drunk, chauvinistic predators dont have an easy pretext to molest you; secondly, consciously maintain the moral high ground. In Sudan this requires being equitable, progressive, good intentioned towards the entire citizenry and faithful to promises and commitments, resulting in effective good governance that stabilizes the country and unleashes the tremendous volume of frustrated and suppressed human potential. The highest virtues are of course claimed by the National Congress Partyin the name of Islam, but even African Muslims, not to mention others, are scarcely convinced. Unguarded expressions of contempt for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and advocacy of a Sudan with a single ethnic and religious character, by prominent National Congress Party members, in insensitive disregard for the ethnic and religious diversity of the country, had many Sudanese
fearful for Dr. Grangs life and this no doubt fueled the tragic riots that followed his shocking death in a helicopter crash. To be authentically national, political parties must welcome all citizens, giving access to national leadership opportunities without prejudice to race, ethnicity, religion or region; though it may be initially prudent to rotate leadership from zone to zone periodically. In Sudan national parties must nonetheless be accommodative of cultural and value system diversity and value law making should be decentralized, except where there is a prevailing national consensus on a value judgment. For example, the 2005 Constitution of South and the Interim National Constitution both specify that marriage is a right for people of the opposite sex, ruling out homosexual marriage which is legal in Europe and some parts of the United States. Sudan's Muslims, like their counterparts in Northern Nigeria, generally want to live in environments free of vice, crime and perversion; they insist on educating their children according to their own values, beliefs and realizations and it is their most fundamental human right to be empowered to do so within a decentralized governance structure. However, within the Muslim regions, communities should equally enjoy the right to order their environments to reflect the prevailing local perceptions of how Muslims might best live. There should be no theocratic dictation unless that is what Muslims want. By the same token, non Muslims, or even Muslims, through democratic expression of their preferences, must be at liberty to establish their communities based on latitudinarian legal regimes. The vision of the heroic leader, Dr. John Garang de Mabior, had always been a unified and socially, as well as politically integrated Sudan, guaranteeing fundamental human rights to all and dedicated to appreciation of human value; a Sudan regionally decentralized, local community empowered and modernly oriented. In appreciation of that vision over a million Sudanese came out on July 8th to welcome him back to Khartoum, after 22 years as a freedom fighter in exile, and thousands of Sudanese outside of South Sudan had by the time of his death three weeks later already registered as SPLM members. Thus it was clearly demonstrated that Sudanese by and large yearn for a New Sudan in accordance with Dr. Garangs modernization and pragmatic national fraternity vision. This vision of an Africa where races, religions and tribes live in mutual consideration and respect, gradually
integrating into a fraternal melting pot has been held by all great African visionaries, not least of all, our brother Garang. Looking forward, Sudans political parties, as in Nigeria, should be required by the constitution to be national and non-sectarian; whereby all sectarian parties would be obliged to follow the National Islamic Front (NIF) example of adopting a nationalist identity and ideology. Modern political parties in Europe and the United States have sectarian organizations and coalitions comprising their national coalitions, such as America's Christian Coalition, which has considerable influence in the Republican Party and which President George W. Bush represents de facto; but there are various other coalitions, parties and interest groups in the Republican constituency. Prudently thinking, Sudan, nor any other polity in Africa, stands to benefit from latitudinarianism ushered in by liberal extremists under the cloak of secularism; what we need is multi-partisan, multisectarian collaboration of morally sensitive citizens to ensure social, economic and political efficiency and collective pursuit of a virtuous national personality. Moral and ethical compatibility are vital to harmonious interaction between different communities and best attained at reasonably high standards; that is to say, just as latitudinarianism can be debilitating, extreme prudishness is generally impractical and hypocritical. Although disposition to theocratic dictatorship (fatwas) is not uncommon with Sudan's Muslims, in a multi-religious, multiideological African country like Sudan issues would no doubt most constructively be represented and debated in rational philosophical and ideological terms, without deliberate dogma. All moral and ethical issues involve social and cultural behavior standards; thus religious values can be politically represented in rationally substantiated social and cultural policies, or advocacy, as well as ethical standards. This is not to say that Sudan or any other Africa state should assume an agnostic ontological outlook; because the infinite organization and functionality of the cosmos is obviously the design of Supreme Genius and Absolute Capability Almighty God. However, any subsidiary allusions to God, concerning specific religions, prophets, sectarian theocratic teachings, etc., might best be kept in the circles of religious institutions. Belief in Almighty God is virtually universal in Africa and our societies have not become like those of the North
Atlantic in this respect, where the right to freedom of conscience has pervasively resulted in reference to God being legally barred from many occasions in public life; but it nonetheless seems fair that in multi-religious African societies any theological concept or belief that is essentially doctrinal and debatable between different religious communities should be privatized at the congregational and personal levels. Implied thereby is that the practice of reading Bible and Quran in official gatherings, or praying in the name of whoever one associates with Almighty God constitutes a sectarian intrusion into public life, an affront to freedom of conscience in the Theo-centric but non-sectarian context in which Africans typically conceptualize secularism. In a nutshell, we envisage a New Sudan displaying pervasive moral compatibility across ethnic and religions lines, but keeping sectarian references out of the public sphere. How realistic is this proposition? Sudanese well know that most of their traditional societies, irrespective of ethnic identity, creed or geographic location, maintained high moral standards; and though there has been considerable corruption of various sorts here and there over the past fifty years or more, appreciation for moral rectitude is yet sufficiently pronounced that it would be pointless to argue that any one community or its leadership is morally heads and shoulders above the others, despite the general impression people have that the new First Vice President, President of the Government of South Sudan, Commander Salva Kirr Mayardit is somewhat of a saint. Despite the tremendous challenge of holding Sudan together, of achieving a New Sudan, we would be wise coming to terms with the reality that in this era of supranationalism, as reflected by the European Union, African Union and Africa's Regional Economic Communities (RECs), a vision towards partitioning Sudan would be ludicrously regressive; but more serious than that, it would for the Southerners, as Africans, be capitulation to the forces of Arab racism in Africa. Those Arabists, shamelessly but fraudulently associating Arabism with Islam, who are encouraging Southerners to insist on secession, even advocating that the referendum be much sooner than the scheduled 2011 date, are analogous to the apartheid forces in South Africa who aligned with Zulu chief Buthelezi to partition the country into tribal homelands and a segregated white imperialist
domain. However, the triumph of Mandelas African National Congress at the 1994 election, marking an end to apartheid, sustained the vision of a non-racial rainbow Africa championed by all the continents great leaders since the blooming of the decolonization struggle in the wake of World War II. If the 20th century was for Africans a re-conquest of the white man's imperialist dominion, the 21st must end with success in the struggle against Arabism in Africa, if the continent is to be entirely liberated from racism and fulfill its potential to become the new frontier for human fraternity, progress and enlightenment Nkrumah envisaged. Presently, Arabism is no less obnoxious to Africa as Zionism to the Middle East and threatens a critical fissure in the African Union. Sudan, let us all keep in mind, is an African country and Africa does not objectively have any racial or ethnic implications. Africa, as identified by great sons of the continent, such as Kwame Nkrumah, King Mohammed V, Ahmed Ben Bella, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Ahmed Skou Tour and Samora Marchal, is a modern geopolitical entity. In West Africa I have not known of any indigenous language to include the world "Africa". Africa is a modern political idea and term, just as in ancient times the lands south of Egypt were known either as Kush or Ethiopia. I think it is a great pride to all Africans that the old apartheid National Party, which had become the New National Party, has now dissolved and its membership joined the African national Congress, acknowledging in a democratic polity that the ANC was the best political vehicle for carrying the country forward. In a world still shamed by racism, it is a pride to this continent that we have conceptualized the "non racial rainbow society" and are actualizing it. The reality of Sudan is that it is racially and ethnically vastly fused; all citizens of Sudan are equally citizens of the African Union, irrespective of whether they have roots in Turkey, Bosnia or Syria, or whether they consider themselves Arabs or Hamites. It is not realistic to give Sudan an ethnic or racial identity, such as Arab, or for Sudanese to consider African and Arab alternative identities. All Sudanese are Africans politically; but racially there is no such thing as an African, because Africa is populated by ethnic groups who not only vary greatly in physical and cultural characteristics from Sokoto to
Kinshasa, but for whom there had been no consciousness of being Africans prior to hearing ourselves defined as such by outsiders. Africa is a continent, a geographical entity and within the context of the African Union, it is a geo-political entity. To highlight this in the face of external attempts to instigate a white and black Africa dichotomy, Nkrumah, the dean of geo-political Pan Africanism, married an Arab Egyptian; Nyerere appointed Tanzanian citizens of Asian stock to cabinet posts and Mandela, upon taking over in South Africa, insisted on facing the challenge of establishing the ideal of a non-racial rainbow African society in the most radical domain of white racism the world had known since the eras of slavery and racial segregation in Southeastern United States. Given the relentless commitment of great Africans to raise the continent above racism, to racialize Africa is an insult to our intellectual heritage, as well as to the intellectual integrity and sophistication of our most enlightened citizens. In furtherance of Mandela's ideal of a non-racial, rainbow South Africa, the broader application leads us to the ideal of a nonracial, rainbow African Union. It has been an African tradition to adopt but not disown. Hence, those from origins outside Africa may be in qualified circumstances adopted as citizens of Africa, thereby becoming Africans as whites in South Africa and Zimbabwe; while those of African descent having citizenship in countries outside Africa are nonetheless Africans, irrespective of how many generations removed they are from the Motherland or how much they have been mixed with races of nonAfrican origins. Traditionally, African societies have been assimilative of anyone wishing to join them; and apart from being morally proper, it is in our Global Africa networking interests to maintain this welcoming spirit. We know, as Mandela experienced in South Africa, that European originated citizens of African countries do not always assimilate an African nationalist consciousness, but we must persists in encouraging them, as well as the Arabs, because psychologically it would be a step backwards to abandon the non-racial, rainbow African Union ideal and revert to, or stick to, as the case might be, an unrealistic racial concept of Africa. Those identifying themselves as Arab citizens of Sudan must recognize themselves in the African multi-ethnic context as "ethnic
Arabs", in the same context as ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Actually, there are very few people in Sudan identifying themselves as Arabs who have no indigenous African lineage lines, which are obvious in their physical appearances. Having become indigenous Sudanese by virtue of the matrilineal Nubian inheritance system negating their maternal roots in Nubia is not only hypocritical but suggests assumption of a conquest disposition with respect to Sudan. I find it paradoxical that the Arabs, so much given to contempt for Black slaves, resort to their matrilineal roots in the Kushite slave girl Hagger to in effect obscure their fraternal bond with the Jews, as Abraham is the father of both Ishmael and Isaac; while converting their identity received from their great-grandmother to the patrilineal successors of her son Ishmael. In any event, to assert Arab nationalism in Sudan is an affront to the non-racial African nationalism we seek to build and hence regressive. The spirit of Arab nationalism is deeply rooted in the psyches of Sudans African-Arabswhich is essentially what they genetically are and this is physically quite obvious that one might imagine it indelible; but given the archaeological and anthropological evidence that virtually all Sudanese have Nubian roots, either matrilineal, patrilineal or both, there is imprimis no objective reason for not enlightening people, through history courses included in the formal education system at all levels, to the reality that in ancient roots virtually all Sudanese are somehow kin. It would deceitful and intellectually debilitating for the intelligentsia and educational authorities to negate the unifying, common identity realities of Sudanese history; It could only be racial [or identity] psychosis that would disincline any Sudanese from facing this reality, which would be a clinical matter that the countrys enlightened intellectuals and psychiatrists should be obliged to seriously address. We must look forward. Obscuring the unifying historical realities, perpetuation of a fictitious Arab-African identity dichotomy, chauvinistically clinging to an illegitimate Arab-Islamic association imperative, obstruct progress and invite regression into terrible chaos. To hold out the alternatives of a highly centralized government or partition is naive; to advocate partition of Sudan in the name of ArabIslamic distinctiveness, or Afro-centrism, is both inane and reckless. Dr. Garang in educating his followers on the geopolitical realities
attending Sudan elucidated two alternative but probable scenarios. The ill-fated one has the Southerners voting for secession while the violent manifestations of unsettled relationships between Khartoum and the disaffected regions of Darfur, East Sudan and the Nuba Mountains continue. Between Khartoum and Juba the Abeyei and Hegleig questions, involving Sudans major oil reserves, would predictably be yet unsettled. External interests would no doubt intervene, supporting one side or the other, at least perpetuating instability in the region and at worst resulting in a full scale war, in which Black Africa and the Arab world could become hostile and polarized. This could lead to dismemberment of the African Union, as well as the Anglo-Saxon/Zionist combine, involving America, Britain, Australia and Israel seizing the opportunity to give the Arab world an ultimatum of either denying support to Khartoum or facing punitive measures, if not action. Dr. Garang and those tuned into his thinking were not the only ones envisaging this terrible scenario. Something like this is what Washingtons Under Secretary of State Robert Zollick foresaw when he called for preservation of Sudans unity, saying partition would be disastrous. Personally, I have been advising Sudanese, long before hearing Dr. Garangs views in this regard, that Southern secession would bring anything but peace. Also, when I raised the question of Southern secession with former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Bishop Gabriel Roric Jur during a July 2003 interview, he replied: If we are divided we may be moving towards a major war in the future. I am appealing to the North to give unity of diversity, equality and justice room Bishop Roric noted that Southerners have been excluded from certain ministerial posts, like foreign affairs, defense and finance, as well as the presidency, apart from the brief period during which Louis Odok, a Southerner, served as chairman of the five man Supreme Council of State in 1964. The other scenario, which Dr. Garang pursued as preferable, is realization of the New Sudan Vision, whereby we concentrate on modernizing the country socially, economically and politically, to advance the entire population in building a great, dynamic, globally competitive, cosmopolitan nation; a Sudan that is eclectic and enlightened, a Sudan that is proactive is all spheres and an international pacesetter in progressive ideas and achievements; a
Sudan aligned to South Africa in leading the world to transcendence of racism and ethnocentrism. The future of mankind, talk less of Sudan, lies in broader perspectives, broader bases of accommodation, national and international systems that respect diversity while valuing eclecticism. People the likes of El Tayeb Mustapha and former presidential peace advisor Ghazzi Saludeen Atabani who are worried about preserving what they call the Arab-Islamic character of Sudan are unwittingly associating Islam with compulsory suppression of non-Muslims, because they only began talking in such terms after the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement gave Southerners substantially greater rights than previously afforded them, although they still do not have equal rights with the Muslim oligarchs. African Muslim intellectuals are not prepared to indulge spurious notions of superiority harbored by Muslim extremists and Arabists. Since there is no Muslim nation among the world leaders, either in military power, economic development or technology, and Muslims believe in an eternal after life with reward of bliss for the pious, it is only logical that Muslims concentrate on being good and fair, on having clean hearts towards the rest of humanity and performing admirably towards the progress of the world, looking forward to the supreme achievement of paradise; rather than disgracing themselves in this world and risking rebuke by Allah on the Day of Judgment by setting themselves up in one of the worlds poorest and least developed countries, Sudan, and suppressing the potential of others with institutionalized contempt and derision. As an African Muslim I categorically say that no part of Africa can legitimately be considered booty of Islamic jihad, nor is any African community divinely ordained to dominate the rest of us. No community, whether religious, racial or ethnic has a monopoly on virtue and none has monopoly on bad. Those who appreciate the essential human values of justice, equity, cooperation, national fraternity, global human solidarity, honesty and transparency must join together, irrespective of ethnic or religious community roots, in dedication to the redemption of Sudan, Africa and mankind. With a view to sparing Sudan and Africa the disaster of Southern secession not forgetting that Sudan borders with nine other African countries, I am advocating a rational decentralization, equitable power
and wealth sharing attachment to the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) document, whereby the African Union would secure a commitment from the United Nations General Assembly not to recognize any new states in Africa that would be partitioned from countries subscribing to the NEPAD governance standards in this regard. South Sudan now has its own constitution and the other semisovereign regions of Sudan we expect to materialize by extension to them of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement would also need their constitutions. Following the logic of the often cited 18th century American political philosopher Thomas Paine that constitutions are made by people, from which governments are established and given legitimacy, in the final settlement of the Cooperative Federal Republic of Sudan, regional constitutions would determine the federal constitution; although there should be some symmetry between the constitutions of the different regions comprising Sudan. This requires consultations and academic collaboration, which should be normative. The nation-state in Africa should aspire to be the moral pacesetter for the international community, like South Africa has become in combating racism. This is a collective responsibility that promises to make Africa a better place and propel us to realize our great potential, which is being suppressed by regressive reasoning and political behavior. With a high sense of ambition, invariably Africans will become committed to nationalism, Pan Africanism and Global Africa, and our internal cultural clashes will increasingly give way to eclecticism. The ideological keys to the future are progressive nationalism, proactive Pan Africanism and moral responsibility. The three go together. We want nationalism that embraces all the people of the nation in an egalitarian political contract, implying multiparty democracy. Democracy has become a label that is variously applied in North Korea, the United States, Europe and Africa, but the need to supersede emotion based alliances with ideological ones suggests multiple national political parties are the healthiest alternative for Africa. Human development is our objective. Democracy must be an instrument of sustained human development, which in Africa invariably requires ethnic and racial cooperation in tandem with integration.
Pan Africanism at this stage in history is simply commitment to our supranational undertakings, such as the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities. Global Africa in this context is a global networking consciousness that places appropriate policy responsibility on governments and action responsibility on the private commercial sector. Moral responsibility is built on transparency, dialogue, study, introspection and high efficiency standards. Humans are multidimensional and this is why renaissance is a higher concept than revolution; because we are not simply talking about rolling ahead, we are focused on constant personal and social regeneration, creativity in all spheres of human endeavor and visions of a continually better world. No part of the world is an island; for Africa materially at the bottom of the world, hope and distinction immediately lie in providing a good moral example. Sudan no doubt has the potential to play a leading role in the world. With low urban crime rates, prevailing social civility, extensive racial and ethnic fusion, abundant resources and land, with many world class professionals in the Diaspora waiting for the right political climate to venture home, Sudan shows great promise; however, progressive political and social reasoning will have to displace reactionary conservatism, the "medieval syndrome" currently retarding the country. Had Dr. Garang and his Northern collaborators like Dr. Mansour Khalid not insisted on a vision of a New Sudan, united and egalitarian, and won the collaboration of Vice President Ali Usman Muhammad Taha, Sudan would have no hope today. Yet, much technical work, not to mention psychological renaissance, lies ahead. SPLM, by sending its leadership to South Africa for ideological orientation from the ANC, has put itself in good company, which is a very encouraging sign. There is yet much brainstorming to be done. Many obstacles must be overcome. There are a plethora of cynics around; there is religious fanaticism, Arab extremism, Afrocentrism and ethnocentrism insinuating to the people of Sudan that progressive nationalism is an illusion, that the wise thing to do is step backwards into narrower and safer spheres of accommodation. The New Sudan Vision team is playing against cynicism and the ball is at mid field at the beginning of the second half, the New Sudan Visionaries must build up their goal aggregate over the next six years to make Sudan a
Unity Cup winner. The strategy: play fair, keep on the moral high ground and maintain a sincere, kind and strong heart while shooting with intense concentration for the noble goals.
Freedom of Expression, Publishers Responsibility and Ethics

Published in The Citizen, Khartoum, February, 2006 When author Salmon Rushdie sent his infamous novel Satanic Verses to the London based publisher, Penguin, it met with strong objections from the editorial board, but the publisher insisted, against the advice of his colleagues, that the largely allegorical, but nonetheless ethically insensitive novel, be published in 1988. Despite Rushdies critically acclaimed talent for using fantasy and allegory to convey philosophical messages, Satanic Verses, as Penguins editorial board had predicted provoked the ire of Muslims around the world, even provoking Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to declare Muslims should kill him, adding a one million dollar bounty on top. Interestingly, Rushdie, born into an Indian Muslim family in Mumbai during 1947, had some years earlier been sued by Indias Prime Minister Indira Ghandi over a novel he wrote denigrating his native country. Literary analysts have accused him of opportunistically selling Third World self-hate. Publication in Khartoums Arabic daily Al Wifag of an article by Popular Defense Forces personnel, Adam Mohamed Ahmed, insulting the Fur people of Darfur and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan brings to mind Satanic Verses and raises similar ethical questions, though the article is absolutely devoid of literary merit. Are there ethical limits on freedom of expression in professional publishing for public consumption? If so, what are the criteria with respect to racial, ethnic, national and international sensitivities? Is it realistic that we make no distinction between freedom of expression and conscience, on the one hand, and press freedom on the other? What are the professional responsibilities of publishers and editors in deciding what to publish or reject? These questions are not new and have been publicly raised whenever bodies or committees concerned with publishing ethics have been confronted with cases. Ethics was a principal consideration in the Penguin editorial boards objections to publication of Satanic Verses,
though the farsighted members feared the violent controversy the book would engulf the author and publisher in. The publisher may have been motivated by the big money he was sure the controversy would generate, apart from his apparent taste for the authors style. I recall French President Jacques Chirac, a Catholic, saying he had read Satanic Verses and found it horrible, adding that he has never believed in commercializing blasphemy. Actually, ethical questions and public sensitivities are closely related; so much that the latter largely form the basis for the former. Any professional publisher or editor knows quite well what offends who and sagacious discretion is expected to be one of their talents. When a publisher or editor publishes material that is offensive to a particular community, it can only be construed as a deliberate attack on those people; therefore, it is no wonder that many Fur people, naturally offended by the ridicule of their ethnic community by the Al Wifag article entitled Kofi Annan Continues Harassing Sudan, assume that the newspapers editor actually wrote the article and attributed it to one Adam Mohamed Ahmed. Anyone can write or say anything he feels, according to the principles of freedom of expression and conscience; but in all civilized societies there are authorities, either professional or governmental, who decide what is acceptable for public consumption and Sudan is no exception. The country has a history of press censorship and unlike other countries where International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) are given simply upon presentation of a manuscript or the asking, in Sudan books are screened by the authorizing body. Hence, when an article appears in a daily newspaper suggesting that Fur women are typically prostitutes, calling them ugly on top, calling Fur men homosexuals, and attributed to a personnel of the Popular Defense Forces he didnt have say where he works, what does the world infer? The publisher, certain personnel of the Popular Defense Forces (we can only imagine what percentage of them) and the censorship authorities despise the Fur people of Sudan and want the whole world to know it. I came across an English translation of the article on the website sudaneseonline.com. With a rebel war on the ground in Darfur and political negotiations going on in Abuja, I cant imagine that this article has not already reached capitals around the world, not to mention the co-abused, Dr. Kofi Annan.
This raises the question of the political motives behind publication of the article. Izzadin Abdul Rasoul Mohamed, who translated the article and wrote a rejoinder to its author, which was published in Khartoums daily Citizen, January 30, 2006, surmises that the intent was to provoke the Fur people to demonstrate against the government at the African Union Summit, so that the government would be able to blame them in the event Sudan failed to bag the AU chairmanship. I am wondering, however, if the intent was really that rational. Inclusion of the Fur in what started off as an infantile attack on Kofi Annan suggests nothing more than reckless expression of frustrated racism. Indeed, frustrated because Sudan is a country with such extensive ethnic fusion, going back many generations, that no tribe, nor ethnic group, can realistically claim that it has never mixed matrimonially with another except perhaps the Rashidis on the Red Sea Coast. I place much stock on the worlds of the Director of the Abu Shok IDP camp outside Al Fasher, El Fatih Abdul Aziz Abdul Nabi, that there is no pure African or Arab tribe in Darfur, because one cane see the truth in that in the physical appearances of the people and similar is true everywhere in all the Islamic parts of Sudan. Yet, obsession with being Arab and kin to Prophet Muhammed is also obviously pronounced in Sudan, not to mention the asinine notion that Africans are ugly, slaves, and so on in that vein. Both racism and denial of heritage are universally unethical and in Islam categorically forbidden and I am assuming the principal people involved in the publication of the article we are discussing are all Muslims. In summary, what the Al Wifag article, Kofi Annan Continues Harassing Sudan, amounts to is nihilistic terrorism of the pen. That it may represent popular sentiments among certain sections of the Sudanese population is a dreadful possibility; not particularly for the world at large, but for Sudan. We hope it doesnt. As for the author, if there really is one other than the Al Wifag editor, assuming he is a Muslim, I would like to remind him that beauty contests have never been a part of Islamic culture and I have never heard or seen one in the Islamic parts of Sudan. Everyone is created by God without consultation with anyone and no one can legitimately question Gods work. Are you then the one to tell God that He made this or that person or ethnic group ugly? Are we not all descendants of Adam and Eve?
Do the Arabs have a legitimate right to any African Territory?

Published in the Citizen, Khartoum, March 6, 2006 During the 1969 Pan African Cultural Festival in Algiers, Algeria, recent African graduates, mostly from universities abroad, appalled at their first encounter with Arab racism people throwing garbage out their windows on our heads in addition to insults, were debating this question Do the Arabs have a legitimate right to any African Territory? and the more radical ones among us and I was one of them were advocating that after we had finished ridding the continent of the remaining European colonial domains [which then included the Portuguese colonies of Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola and Mozambique, as well as South Africa, Namibia and the former Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe] Africans should mobilize forces to drive the Arabs back into Arabia, or anywhere else they might find refuge outside our continent. This view was eloquently opposed by the late Johnny Makatini, who was then Chief of South Africas African National Congress mission in Algiers. Makatini, one of post colonial Africas most sophisticated revolutionary intellectuals, who, I was told recently by South African journalists at the Khartoum African Union Summit, has a prominent place in the ANC museum, impressed upon us that all anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist leaders in Africa had rejected racialization of the continent. He cautioned us to moreover be mindful that Algeria and Egypt were the principal benefactors of African freedom fighters, following the Washington masterminded overthrow of Ghanas Kwame Nkrumah, who we might call the dean of 20th century Pan Africanism. Guineas President Ahmed Skou Tour, one of early post-colonial Africas principal ideologues, authoring some 27 volumes on primarily ideological issues, in the months before the Algiers festival had an essay widely published dialectically ridiculing the Negritude philosophy of Senegalese president Leopold Sdar
Senghor. Tour, like Nkrumah, had a long term global vision of rational eclecticism and human transcendence of racial profiling. Indeed, the first anti-imperialist grouping of independent antiimperialist African countries, the Casablanca States, included King Mohamed Vs Morocco, Nkrumahs Ghana, Gamel Abdel Nassers Egypt, Ahmed Skou Tours Guinea, King Idris Libya and Modibo Ketas Mali, an essentially ideological alliance that ignored racial, religious and language differences. Although the counterforce Monrovia States, led by Liberias President Tubman, was in ideological context seen by revolutionaries as a conservative comprador alliance, there too race, religion and language differences were transcended. President Jomo Kenyattas Harambe policy in Kenya established an ideological and attitudinal bases for the European settlers, Asian immigrants and assimilated Arabs to join with the indigenous Africans in building the new nation. Everywhere on the continent, responsible leaders rejected racialism and religiosity. Nevertheless, racialism, like tribalism, continued to be manifest and not even all intellectuals were true to their advocacies, but at least these principal factors of division and polarization very rarely in early post colonial Africa found ideological endorsement at the national leadership level. Sudans General Abboud, who took power in a November 1958 military coup dtat, was the first African leader to be accused on embarking on a mission of proselytization, in connection with his efforts to spread Islam and the Arabic language in the non-Arab Southern portion of his country. In Chad, President Franois Tombalbaye endeavored to impose a cultural policy of African authenticity in a country that had traditionally been part of the African Muslim Kanem Borno Empire. Such attempts, running contrary to Nkrumahs thesis on the need to neutralize antagonisms between Africas triple heritage of Animism, Christianity and Islam, not only provoked disorder, but proved futile and regressive. Given that religious beliefs generally had ethnic implications, religiosity aggravated ethnic and racial antagonisms, while Negritude in some instances aggravated religious antagonisms. As Prof. Ali Muzrui noted recently in Khartoum, when tribal differences are attended by religious differences, religion serves as a reinforcing factor in antagonisms.
The National Islamic Fronts influence in Sudanese politics has had exactly this effect. By adding officially Islam as a reinforcing factor to Arabism, which in Africa is sufficiently antagonistic on its own, Dr. Hassan Al Turabis NIF provoked objection and outrage, not only in Africa, but throughout much of the world. Then, in 2003, war broke out between Muslim rebels in the western Darfur region and Sudans Islamist/Arabist government. The atrocities committed against Darfurs non Arab civilian population by Arabist elements, in tandem with the unchecked Arab racist profiling led by former State Minister for Information Altayeb Mustapha, have accordingly stripped the Khartoum government of any legitimate Islamic identity. Interestingly, Altayeb Mustaphas shameless racism has provoked Southerners to start referring to him as an immigrant and taunting that if he doesnt like to live with Africans he should find his way back to Arabia. This comes in the midst of contentious land ownership questions between the Arab identified north and the indigenous African south. As for the question of whether Arabs can legitimately claim possession of land on the African continent, the non-racial Africa policy affirmed by leading African revolutionaries from the immediate post-colonial era until the coming to power of the African National Congress in South Africa with its philosophy of a non-racial rainbow society in academic principle makes the Arabs, who have been in Africa for the past 1,400 years, legitimately African. However, where any population known to have immigrated to Africa at an identifiable historical point indulges antagonistic racial profiling, it is only natural that indigenous Africans will call it to their attention that they came and were accommodated and therefore their obnoxious treatment of the indigenes cannot be tolerated. In the early 1990s, the indigenes of Southern Zaria in Northern Nigeria pounced on the Hausa community with lethal weapons one Friday afternoon as the latter exited the mosque, killing some three thousand or more of them. Relations between the Hausa and Kataf had not been good and there had been a lot of resentment harboured by the latter towards the former. When the public prosecutor asked a Kataf woman, who was insisting that the Hausa leave Zango Kataf, how long the Hausa had been there, she replied, About 500 years. When asked how long the Kataf had been there, she said, Since Adam and
Eve. The point is that while 500 years residence in an area is certainly long enough, in any context of fair reasoning, to qualify a people as naturalized indigenesif we may introduce this term into our lexicon, in cases where the immigrant community retains an exclusive community and identity, the fact that they came and met others in the area is continually accentuated. This was one of the problems of the Jews throughout Europe; while other tribes were amalgamating into single national identities, the Jews insisted on maintaining their distinctiveness, which invariably involved provocation of their compatriots resentment. Although the Tutsi-Hutu animosity was fueled by the colonialists throughout their period of rule, the fact that the Tutsi, who are typically physically distinct from the Hutu, migrated into the area as conquerors from parts northwards some 600 years ago remains in the minds of the Hutu. Favoured by the colonialist, the Tutsi, who account for about 20% of the population in Burundi and 9% in Rwanda, are as a group better educated than their neighbours and have continued to dominate them. Generally, it appears that migrant groups enjoy the advantage over settled peoples of having grown tough and determined through the rigors of migration. This can be seen by the success of the Fulani, who have a tradition of migration extending back thousands of years and no doubt covering several thousand kilometers, in their conquest of Hausaland during the first decade of the 19th century. The case of Sudan is, as we all probably know, distinguished by the fact of almost universal fusion between the Arabs and the indigenous African population, which makes identifying as an Arab at best political, but more commonly racialist, since there are very few calling themselves Arab in Sudan who do not show physical evidence of African genetic infusion. Hence, the problem of Arabism in Sudan cannot really involve a question of legitimate entitlement to land and other natural aspects of indigenous citizenship; for in Africa it is a general social and cultural rule that anyone with African blood is an indigenous African. This can be clearly seen among the Southern Sudanese, who never hesitate to claim as their own any person born of only one parent from their tribe. Sudan is not the only place in the Bilad al Sudan stretch, from the Port Sudan vicinity on the Red Sea coast to Senegal on the Atlantic, where Arabs have mixed with the indigenous population. However,
the main differences attending Sudans situation are that Arab penetration was greater and concentrated within a few centuries; also Sudan neighbours the Arabian Peninsula in the East and is bordered by Arab dominated states to the north. Another factor, in comparing Sudan to Mali, for instance, is that in the latter Islam was consciously adopted by men of royalty, while in Nubia Islam seems to have mainly penetrated as an inheritance through the offspring of Arab men and Nubian women. Thus in the Western Sudan (Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Northern Nigeria and Niger), Arabs assimilated into empires that were already Islamic; whereas in the Eastern Sudan (the Nile Valley) they brought Islam into an area already Christian. The celebrated Arab philosopher of history Ibn Khaldoun lamented the erosion of Nubian royal authority under pressure from the uncivilized Juhayna Arab nomads in the 14th century thusly: Then the clans of the Juhayna Arabs spread over their country, and settled in it, ruling it and filling it with ruin and decay. The kings of the Nubians set about holding them back, but lacked strength. Then they proceeded to win them over by marriage alliances, so that their kingdom broke up, and it passed to some of the offspring of Juhayna through their mothers, according to the custom of the barbarians by which possession goes to the sister and the sister's son. So their kingdom was torn to pieces, and the Juhayna nomads took possession of their land. They have no means of imposing royal control over the damage which could be stopped by the submission of one to the other, and they remain faction ridden up to the present. No trace of sovereignty remains in their land, but now they are wandering bedouin who follow the rainfall like the bedouin nomads. No trace of sovereignty remains in their land, because
the tincture of Arab nomadism has changed them through mixture and union. Of course the contradiction in Khaldouns narration is that while acknowledging the ruin and decay the nomadic Juhayna visited upon the Nubian aristocracy, he refers to the Nubian matrilineal inheritance system as typical of barbarians. Elsewhere in Khadouns writings he generalized that Africans are lazy and oversexed owing to the tropical heat, a remark repeated by Libyas Khadaffi in his famous Green Book. This Arab chauvinism tendency towards Africans is widely evidenced: in the sacking of the Ghana (11th century) and Songhai Empires (16th century), both of which were Islamic, by the Arabs in the latter case with the hired support of Portuguese mercenaries; in the now widely published accounts of the distinguished African Muslim scholars, Ahmed Baba and Mahmoud Kuti, kidnapped from the University of Timbuktu during the late 16th century Arab raid on Songhai and carried into slavery in Morocco; in the case of Zanzibar, where nearly 1,000 years of Arab chauvinism, replete with institutionalized slavery and slave export of Africans, culminated in a bloody [1964] revolt against them. The Zanzibar case is most instructive, for despite Arab presence there dating back to the 10th century, the Omani ruling the indigenes as a conquering race kept Africans focused on liberating themselves from oppressive alien domination. In North Africa, the indigenous Berbers were unfortunately caught in the cross fire between their colonial masters, the Byzantine edition of the Roman Empire, and the emerging Arab Islamic empire. It must be borne in mind that the world of the 7th century was an imperialist jungle in which states either conquered or were conquered. Thus the Arab Muslims, in defying aggression from the Byzantines in the West and the Persians to the East, succeeded in spreading their dominion from the
Arabian Peninsula eastwards to Iraq and Iran and westwards along the North African coast to Morocco; then north of the Mediterranean to Spain. Arab penetration into North Africa was similar to that into Sudan in the mixing with the local peoples. However, historical accounts indicate that prior to the divisive French colonialism in Algeria and Morocco, the Berber identity prevailed. When the Abbasid Arabs seized the Caliphate from the Umayyad Arab clan in the 8th century, Berbers seized the opportunity of the ensuing disorder to establish independent Islamic domains in Algeria. The Algerian Berbers of the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties brought Spain under their control during the 11th to 13th century period. The Arab community in Algeria was urban elite, small in number, and it appears that Algerian nationalist hero Abd al Qadir (1807-1883) had mixed Arab and Berber lineage and equally identified with both communities, which enabled him to unite them against the French. However, significantly, after his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1826 he proclaimed himself a descendant of Prophet Muhammed. This claim shouldnt readily be regarded as outrageous, since Abd al Qadir was paternally of the Prophets Hashimite clan; but it is significant that association between Muslim leadership and social status legitimacy and kinship to Prophet Muhammed appears to have prompted an insistence on Arab, rather than African identity, in Sudan. Holt and Daley, in their book, The History of Sudan from the Coming of Islam to the Present, reveal in print what those of us who are familiar with the situation on the ground already know: Since the Arab irruption into the region, Arab descent has been a source of pride and distinction, noting that the Jaali, though appearing to be a community of various Arab elements fused with indigenous Nubians, insists they are all descendants of Ibrahim Jaal, a descendant of Abbas, the Prophets uncle. However, in West Africa, the Sheriffs, who claim direct descent from Prophet Muhammed, have nonetheless assimilated into and adopted the identity of
indigenous Muslim ethnic communities, usually part of the Mandingo group. Again, no doubt the factor of geographic remoteness from the Arab lands and the fact that the Arab families assimilated into Mandingo societies already Islamized made the difference. The central point here is that while the post colonial Pan African intelligentsia has ideologically rejected racialism in Africa, meaning that any community settled in Africa is legally African, chauvinism has consistently proved provocative. The Tutsi-Hutu bloodbaths in EastCentral Africa highlight the fact that whether the chauvinists are indigenous African or immigrants from outside the continent is secondary to the fact that chauvinism as a phenomenon is invariably disruptive. Enlightened black Africans, such as Nkrumah, Skou Tour, Nyerere, Kenyatta and Mandela rejected Negritude and Afro-centrism, which dichotomized the continent into what the French conceptualized as white and black Africa. However, Arab Africans have often failed to accept that Arabism is just as obnoxious to Pan Africanism as Afro-centrism, and, moreover, no less chauvinistic. The non-racial rainbow society philosophy of the African National Congress, the New Sudan vision of the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior are consistent with the post-colonial Pan African heritage now embodied in the realization of African Union. Arabism is not the only chauvinistic nuisance on the continent; all incidence of racism, ethnocentrism and tribalism are a nuisance and therefore Africans must in deference to the tradition established by its most sophisticated, enlightened sons and daughters, strive to neutralize chauvinism and build nations and a continent prospering on our natural heterogeneity.
November, 2006
Afro-Arab Relations Analysis and Geo-strategic Challenges

Historical backdrop to the 21st Century Geostrategic Challenges
Since the end of World War II, institutions dedicated to international cooperation have appeared in every country and there has been a proliferation of multilateral institutions, either regional or global in scope. The devastation, bitterness and sorrow caused by the first half of the 20th centurys two global wars awakened the peoples of the North Atlantic, who had been the principal belligerents, to the need to move ahead from imperialist rivalry to multilateral cooperation aimed at establishing effective institutions for the promotion of world peace and human progress. However, the international reconstruction, reconciliation and cooperation that became institutionally embodied in the United Nations, Washingtons Marshall Plan, the European Coal and Steel Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), reflected a core to periphery perspective of the world in deference to the geopolitical realities of the time. Hence, political scientists and the world at large generally assimilated the concept of a three tier world, comprised of the First World the North Atlantic democracies and eventually the Pacifics irrepressible industrially spiraling Japan; the Second World the Communist bloc, which had expanded given the Eastern Europe spoils of World War II; and the Third World countries newly emerging from colonial subjugation. Modern Afro-Arab relations and cooperation began developing in the context of the inevitable Third World solidarity in challenging the prevailing core to periphery geopolitics. Essentially, the Third World wanted to improve its geo-strategic position in the long term to the point where the core-periphery international power structure would be superseded by an egalitarian world order. However, the approach to
this ideal geopolitical challenge and the alliances that emerged in this connection varied with perceived national interests of the Third World countries. In this regard, Afro-Arab relations and collaboration that developed with the wave of independence from colonialism following the Second World War involved camps that might be descriptively differentiated, using the radical jargon of the times, as anti-imperialist and comprador. The international scene at the time was dominated by the contest between the capitalist and Communists ideologues, which was of such magnitude and impact as to be commonly called the Cold War. Capitalism ideologically embodied socio-economic class stratification, while Communism was doctrinally the ultimate egalitarianism, though in both cases the realities were not always as sharply contrasted as the doctrinaire ideologues would have us believe. In any event, the Third World during 1961 organized itself into the Nonaligned Movement, which officially espoused a position of positive neutrality with respect to the Cold War, but there was nonetheless East-West alliance division within NAM and in spite of that there were regional associations like the Arab League and Organization of African Unity. Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser had clearly articulated the complex nature of Arab relations from the perspective of African Arab states, noting that Egypt found itself in an Arab circle, an African circle, the Islamic world and in the racial divide, with its core to periphery dimensions, between the white and colored sections of humanity. Thus we saw Nassers Egypt federating with sister ArabIslamic country Syria, located on the Asian continent, while playing a dynamic role in the Pan African Casablanca States, championed by Moroccos King Muhammed V, Ghanas Kwame Nkrumah, Libyas King Idris, Guineas Ahmed Skou Tour and Malis Modibo Keita, in addition to the Egyptian leadership. However, it must be borne in mind that Nassers relationship with the Syrians was in the antiimperialist and socialist contexts, while Islam was more of a coincidental factor, though invariably shared values derived from Islamic acculturation enhanced compatibility between Egypt and Syria. It is also of significance that the collapse of the Egyptian-Syrian federation in the United Arab Republic resulted from Nassers radical egalitarian economic policies, which proved too hard for Syrias conservatives to swallow; despite Nassers clear opposition to
[Marxist] Communism. Thus in seeking collaboration based on linguistic, racial and geographical factors, ideological and policy issues were invariably intervening factors and often disruptive. With the end of the Cold War we found a resurgence of suppressed ethnic, racial and religious sentiments that swelled into terrible crises in the former Yugoslavia and Congo Brazzaville, bringing the term ethnic cleansing into the global political vocabulary. On the revolutionary side, the ideological vacuum created by the collapse of Communism gave rise to the concept of Islamic Revolution, which was actualized by the Iranians in 1979 with a subsequent outpouring of ideological and philosophical literature to substantiate its world view and policies. The movement to Islam as an alternative ideology into centre stage gave rise to Clash of Civilizations theory articulated in Samuel Huntingtons landmark book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order. However, this controversial and somewhat cynical view of the world was eclipsed by American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rices remark to the Iraqis in early 2005, Together we are going to show the world that Islam and democracy are not incompatible. Significantly the transitional government that emerged in Iraq from elections following Washingtons brutal deposition of Saddam Husseins [Pan Arabist] Baathist regime, was an ideological cocktail led by moderate Islamic revolutionaries loyal to the preeminent Shiite cleric Ayatollah Sistani. The Americans had no intended this situation; in fact following the 9/11 Al Qaeda terrorist assault on the USA, the neo-conservatives [or neo fascists, if you like] were talking about putting such brutal pressure on Muslims as to make them flee from their religion. However, the Americans had to introduce a credible democracy in Iraq to cover up their most sinister motives, which were under heavy scrutiny from Bush administration opponents, and this invariably led to a rainbow coalition led by the Islamic value advocates. Ayatollah Sistani, whose loyalists aggregated the most votes, differed with Irans Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Khomeini on the theory of the cleric led republic, alternatively espousing a political philosophy of the Muslim state led by Islamically conscience politicians and technocrats. Thus, the Islamic Propagation Party produced the postSaddam chief executives of state in Iraq, but shared key positions with the Kurds and others in an array of forces that also included American
promoted liberals. Hence, Iraq, despite the appalling fratricide destabilizing the nascent democracy, has opened the way for a world order characterized by respectful cooperation. Former Iranian President Muhammad Khatami once noted in Australia that constructive dialogue between the Islamic world and the West could only be achieved with affirmative Muslims leading the way and the democratic developments in Iraq and Afghanistan are proving him absolutely right. The next stage we envisage in evolution of the world order is an era of interactive democracies which will lead us finally to the age of an interactive democratic world order regulated by the conventions of multilateral institutions. For Afro-Arab relations the defeat of Pan Arabism in Iraq and the emergence of a coalition between Kurds and Shiites many of who no doubt have historical roots in Persia and the necessity of bringing the Sunni Arabs into the ruling circles promises to insinuate a new ideological relationship between Africans and Arabs on the African continent, where African Union and Arab League membership overlap. Here too, we hope to enter a new era of respectful cooperation and institutionalized association in which the challenges of differences accommodation are addressed with commitment to economic progress collaboration and political conciliation. A few weeks before the March 27, 2006 convening of the Arab League Summit in Khartoum, Secretary General Amr Musa was reported stressing the need for cooperation and collaboration between the Arab League and the African Union. This was refreshing advocacy in the wake of Sudans appalling threat to withdraw from Africas supranational authority if AU ceasefire monitors left Darfur to make way for United Nations peacekeepers. That Egypt and Libya had given the world the impression that they backed Sudan in this radical position against international protection for the indigenous African communities of Darfur against the atrocities of equestrian terrorists known as Janjaweed alluded to the post-Cold War movement away from ideology to the racially and ethnically fueled Clash of Civilizations scenario of Huntington. Huntington had not anticipated an Afro-Arab divide in the Islamic world, so while his division of humanity divided Africa into Afro-Western and Islamic, the Muslim portion of what is commonly known as black Africa was grouped with the Islamic world at large. This divide between African Muslims and
Arabs which has occurred in Sudan in the course of the Darfur crisis, though signs of fissure first flared in the mainly Muslim Nuba Mountians, highlights once again that when we start entertaining exclusivist ideologies, the tendency is for the accommodation base to grow narrower and discrimination to grow more and more factionalized. The ultimate consequence of exclusivist rationale can be seen in Somalia where people with a common ethnic identity, religion and language end up psychologically trapped in belligerent clan rivalry and in post-Saddam Iraq where Al Qaeda and other exclusivist Sunni Muslim forces are massacring Shiite Muslims day and night, even in mosques; provoking retaliations that threaten civil war in this previously Sunni dominated country with a Shiite majority. Prof. Eric Reeves, writing in Americas conservative New Republican Online, incisively summed up the significance of the three Arab dominated African countries threatening to pull out of the AU over a racially charged issue among Muslims, saying that Egypts weighing in on Khartoums behalf created the prospect that the African Union might split on African and Arab lines. In SubSahara Africa, black Afro-centrists reacted to the Khartoum-CairoTripoli stance by calling for the AU to do just that, arguing that Africa would be better off without the Arabs. This pattern of reasoning is quite prevalent in Sudan, where former Minister of State for Information, Al Tayeb Mustapha, said to be an uncle of President Omar Al Bashir, has been with insulting tirades calling for the North to be given a referendum on separation from the South, insisting that differences of color and religion make it absurd for the two halves of the country to try and build a future together. In response to the indigenous African solidarity that the Darfur crisis occasioned, transcending religious differences, Mustapha and others resorted to a vision of authentic Sudan, excluding Darfur and the South. Curiously, in one of his first statements concerning the Darfur crisis, President Omar Al Bashir made a point of the fact that Darfur was not originally part of Sudan and was only incorporated into the country in 1916. Ultimately, a brutal military campaign prevailed against some African tribes in Darfur and even after the Darfur Peace Agreement signed in Abuja on May 5th 2006. Unfortunately, spokespersons for some Arab tribes have come out openly against the peace agreements stipulation that the Janjaweed be disarmed. Whatever finally happens,
the point is that Sudanese must move away from narrowing exclusivity in political affairs, otherwise belligerent chaos will result in disintegration without peace. Given this tendency to narrowing exclusivity, the issues concerning African-Arab relations at this juncture substantially revolve around Sudan; though we should not let the current crisis situation in Sudan straining African-Arab relations cause us to loose sight of greater long term issues, such as economic integration and strategic alliance in pursuit of an equitable and friendly world order. In any event, it is vital that we engage in philosophical and ideological dialogue with a view to achieving appropriate contexts and perspectives for strengthening Afro-Arab collaboration, as well as addressing challenging and contentious issues.
Developing African-Arab relations in the 21st Century

Economic cooperation is perhaps the most enduring issue in AfroArab relations. The focus of the March 2006 Arab League Summit on Arab economic integration is, needless to say, consistent with the global trend to achieve economies of greater scale through regional supranational treaties and protocols. That economic integration has been on the Pan Arab agenda since the 1950s highlights the common difficulties regions and countries throughout the world face in trying to assert long term economic goals over short term revenue and supply demands. Invariably regional economic integration is a trying process, whether the economies are highly developed with ultra-complex issues, like in Europe and North America, or underdeveloped economies for whom custom duties are a major source of income. While both Africa and the Arab League have been working on various economic integration projects over the years, the medium term integration prospects for the two, AU and AL, have reached a level of maturation that necessitates consultations between the two supranational institutions concerning the implications of their respective integration projects for one another. On the surface, some in Africa may construe Arab economic integration to undermine African economic integration, since most of the Arab League population is in Africa and constitutes approximately 20-25% of the
AUs peoples, not to mention about a third of the continents Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, we must from the outset be cognizant of the fact that integration attempts between regional groupings are becoming almost as common as regional groups. Europe and Latin America during 1999 institutionalized their attempt to form the worlds largest common market; though the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), founded in 1989, is the worlds most expansive in terms of territory, largest in population and richest economic grouping. Within APEC are the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the North American Free Trade Zone, as well as members of South Americas Andean Group. Against this background collateral institutionalization of Africas and the Arab Worlds economic integration efforts offers mutual economic interest expansion opportunities. However, now is the time to set up the requisite collaboration mechanisms between the AUs African Economic Community and the ALs Arab Economic Unity Council. Already, the level of African-Arab economic integration demands technocratic attention, as Egypt, the Arab Leagues second largest economy, exceeded only by Saudi Arabia, and also Africas second largest, exceeded by South Africa, is a member of the 19 member Community of East & Southern Africa, including participation in COMESAs 10 member free trade zone. Sudan, which now has the 8th largest economy in Africa 1 , is also an increasingly important participant in COMESAs free trade zone. Sudan is strategically located and connected to become the principal conduit for Arab capital into Africa; however, not only does its chronic political crises detract from its strategic economic potential, the demands of the regions in this vast country highlight the fact that political decentralization in Africa is no less vital to modernization and sustained development than economic integration. In any event, Arab capital evidentially has distinct advantages for Africa because especially the Gulf Arabs have shown no inclination to come into Africa to compete for jobs; in most cases, Arab investors
1
World Bank Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, 2003 GDP: (1) South Africa $160bn (2) Egypt $82bn (3) Algeria $67bn (4) Nigeria $58bn (5) Morocco $44bn (6) Tunisia $25bn (7) Libya $19bn (8) Sudan $18bn
look for trustworthy local managers and if they perform well a long term relationship is secured. When Saudi Prince Al Waleed Ibn Talal bought 30% interest in Nigerias United Bank for Africa he did so with confidence in the existing management; likewise with his investment in West Africas Ecobank. In Conakry, for many years the Director General of Faisal Bank has been a Guinean. When former OPEC Fund for International Development Director General Yusuf Sayeed Abdullai, who is a Nigerian, visited Kenana, an agro industry conglomerate in Sudan in which Kuwaiti capital is dominant, he acknowledged being impressed by the competence and success of the Sudanese management team. This pattern of Gulf Arab capital finding success with indigenous African management teams is ideal for Africa and needs to become a more prominent feature of the continents economic landscape. Africa must admit that there are from time to time pockets of Christian radicalism and Zionist sympathy militating against Arab capital penetration, from which we hear allegations that Arab capital means Islamic influence. In the absence of survey data it cannot with assured accuracy be said to what extent such views manage to carry weight in decision making circles, but we have encountered two instances, back in the 1980s, when large scale investment programmes from multinational Muslim owned groups based in the United States met with rejection on such grounds, even though the Africa project manager of one was an African American Christian and the other an American Jew. With the great extent of Arab capital penetration around the world, it appears that world class Arab capitalists generally avoid associating business relationships with religion and apart from the fact that many African countries, particularly in the western quarter of the continent, have large or majority Muslim populations, business relations between Africa and the Arab world no doubt stand a better chance of thriving in the absence of political or religious insinuations. The established trend of Gulf Arab capital relying on African management teams makes Arab investment propositions uniquely competitive, very attractive; that is enough for Africa and the Arab world to build an expansive business relationship and integrate the economies of the two worlds based on capital. Perhaps the best way to deal with anti-Islamic sentiments in Africa is to as much as possible ignore them, rather than react to them.
We cannot ignore the psychological dispositions hindering advancement of Afro-Arabs relations in all spheres, not only business. This is a complex subject that would be impossible to treat with academic justice here; however, there is an intellectual dimension wherein we find promise of enlightenment continually enhancing rationality to the extent that old stereotypes and prejudices attenuate. Advance of science and philosophy education, if we can ever achieve these in tandem in Africa, could conceivably lift the common intellect to concur with Albert Einsteins quest for a universal theory of the universe, which implies a philosophical monotheism that affords us an orderly and logical understanding of our existence in the context of the world and galaxies around us. Attaining this holistic cosmological realization could prove vital to our psychological stability as well as intellectual strength; and it would attenuate the influence of irrational religious dispositions, not only in Africa but throughout the world. Therefore, the concomitance that historically pertained between the imperialist establishments, business interests and Christian missionaries in Africa need not should not, be imitated by Arab Muslims. In this era of advanced science & technology, we need societies of knowing ones, intellects attuned to the relationship between progress and the opportunities inherent in the laws of the universe that have facilitated, when subjected to the powers of the human intellect, the very technology and conveniences that inform our modern existence. In a nutshell, religion, as we prefer it in Africa, is private; rationality is public; but that does not necessarily imply contradiction between religion and rationality; on the contrary, if there are absolute truths, as we believe, they can be identified by the rational mind through cognitive processes. We are not saying that Arab countries should stop assisting Muslim religious organizations in Africa in the various ways they have been doing; whatever the case, we must simply focus on making Arab capital no less attractive than investment propositions from other parts of the world. In this context, Arab educational assistance to Africa would no doubt be of greater utility focused mainly on professional formation rather than religion. It appears that in many African countries there is a paucity of diplomats fluent in the Arabic language and familiar with Arab political, economic and cultural affairs. Addressing this lack need also be a focus of Arab educational
cooperation with Africa. The more specialists Africa has in Arab affairs, and vice versa, the more enlightened relations between the two worlds will invariably be. Professional diplomacy and standard international cooperation policies should inform relations between Africa and the Arab world, nonetheless with due appreciation for the historical convergences between our two parts of the world, as well as the fact that most Arabs are Africans. Converging economic integration with improved diplomacy will attenuate the superfluous sentiments and prejudices undermining African-Arab relations. The tensions between Africa and the Arab world caused by poor political management in Sudan, which has had racial implications even though superficial and instigations of antagonistic African-Arab community polarization, are crucial for us to address because so much is at stake: the African Union, the direction of Afro-Arab relations in the human, cultural, political and economic spheres, and peace and security particularly in the Middle East and East, Central and North Africa. Sudans crises have been variously attributed to marginalization, oligarchy, over centralization and inadequate democracy, sectarianism, sectionalism and racism. First Vice President Salva Kiir, who is also President of the Government of South Sudan noted in his recent policy address, And whereas wealth and power sharing appeared to capture the limelight, issues of culture and cultural incompatibilities have really always constituted the deep underlying cause of the conflict. Joseph Abuk, in his recent article published in the daily, Citizen, entitled Trials of Co-existence with Pseudo Arabism, said that he filed a lawsuit against the ruling National Congress Party over the contents of a booklet at the 1990 founding conference of the congress governance system, wherein it stated, Sudans African identity was simply a geographical incidence. Mr. Abuk notes that elsewhere in the booklet Sudanese are said to be a blend of indigenous African and Arab blood. This perhaps highlights the confusion attending Sudans identity crisis. We might appreciate the National Islamic Front (NIF) position based on a statement attributed to Prophet Muhammed (PBA) that anyone who assimilates the Arab language is an Arab. This, in the context of the Arabian Peninsula where the Prophet was born and spent his life, is to say that any stranger who settles among the Arabs and adopts their language should be accepted as one of them. In the context of Africa,
anyone, including the Arabs, who permanently settle on the continent, becomes African; though we appreciate Prof. Ali Mazruis introduction of the Afrabia concept into our intellectual discourse, defining the cultural, ideological, geographical and genealogical convergence of Africa and the Arab World.
Afrabia
During the Experts Meetings of the January African Union Summit in Khartoum, Prof. Ali Mazrui, introduced to the audience at Khartoums Friendship Hall as the most distinguished contemporary African intellectual, delivered a lecture on the convergence of Africa and the Arab World, citing numerous phenomena that have occurred and developed since antiquity to support his thesis that the two neighbouring domains, which he says were millenniums ago partitioned by earthquake, have long been on an irreversible course of merging into a single, mutually influencing, cultural and political expanse. Professor Mazruis arguments were well researched, documented and convincing; the Afrabia concept to which he attached great significance and hope obviously has immense problem solving and relationship building prospects with respect to Afro-Arab collaboration. Moreover, the prospects of different sectors of humanity converging through eclectic exchange and intermarriage are promising for mankind generally. However, it must be noted that this incessant, gradual historical process of Africa-Arab World convergence invariably assumes different characteristics and varying paces, depending on the prevailing levels of development of each domain at any given period in history. Historically, dating back to 2000 B.C., Africa was looked upon by the Arabs as a slave reservoir, although as early as the 14th century A.D. great Muslim kings of the Western Sudan, Kan Kan Musa and Askia Muhammed Tour, in the early 16th century, captured the imaginations of the Arab world during their grand pilgrimages to Mecca. Nevertheless, until today, the common people in the Arab world, from what we have experienced, cling to the image of the African as a slave. No doubt the Arab world elite generally have sufficient exposure to the world to incline more towards individual personality assessment rather than group stereotyping. We should not
forget that during the emergence of Third World countries from colonialism there was a prevailing solidarity between Africa and the Arab world, giving rise to various Afro-Arab forums and associations, apart from our collaboration in the Non-Aligned Movement and later the Group of 77 plus China. King Mohammed V can rightly be called the father of the African unity movement in respect of the role he played as leader of the post-colonial anti-imperialist Casablanca States. It is also of eternal historical significance that Egypt and Algeria played vital roles in the struggles against the lingering pockets of colonialism in the Portuguese colonies and Southern Africa. Indeed, President Abdel Aziz Bouteflicka is enshrined in the annals of African history as one of our greatest heroes; owing to the role he played as foreign minister in the eras of Ahmed Ben Bella and Houari Boumedienne, crowned by his spearheading ouster of apartheid South Africa from the United Nations during his presidency of its General Assembly in 1975. It would be difficult, perhaps, to neatly label epochs in Afro-Arab relations, primarily because the Arab worlds historical relationship with West Africa has been quite different from that with much of East Africa, while North Africa has become almost completely Arabized; but the immediate post-colonial era, in any event, stands out as a period of successful strategic Afro-Arab collaboration. Perhaps it would well serve us to intensely reflect on that era as having provided the direction for our future relations. We cannot simplify the complexities of geopolitics, but it can be observed that the demise of the Cold War and the rise of ethnocentrism and religiosity in place of ideology substantially replaced the geopolitical formations of First World, Second World and Third World with civilization clash tendencies that would divide the Global South into cultural fortresses, even Sub-Sahara Africa into Afro-Western and Afro-Islamic domains. However, the economics of globalization have tended to mitigate civilization clash, though in culturally diverse countries group economic competition if not efficiently regulated can have the reverse effect. Hence, while maintaining that constructive and solid Afro-Arab relations require a revolutionary foundation, we must realize that without optimum sophistication in our approach to world affairs we cannot effectively function as revolutionaries in the global mainstream. Institutionalized international cooperation is the order of
the day, as we live in the age of the nation-state and there is a trend towards supranationalism, as reflected in the African Union, Arab League, European Union and the United Nations. Historically, the foundation of Afro-Arab collaboration was laid by the Casablanca States, which brought together Nkrumahs Ghana, Gamel Abdel Nassers Egypt, Modibo Keitas Mali, Ahmed Skou Tours Guinea, King Idris Libya and King Mohammed Vs Morocco. It is out of the Casablanca States that the African Union proposition emerged. Hence, modern Afro-Arab collaboration is rooted in the concept of the African Union, apart from the fact that it was Libyas Qaddafi who revived the African Union proposition at the 1999 Extraordinary Summit of the defunct Organization of African Unity in Sirte. With nine Arab states, and the bulk of the Arab population living in Africa and having actually fused with Africans, the African Union becomes the vital convergence point of the African and Arab nation-states. Beyond the obvious fact that any attempt to move Arab states out of the African Union would be destructive to Afro-Arab collaboration, there are the great challenges and opportunities provided by the fact of the AU for Global Africa and the Arab World to collaborate in attenuating imperialism and establishing a new, relatively egalitarian and ideologically fraternal, world order. For Africa and the Arab World to get back on the revolutionary track upon which the two domains had converged in the struggle against imperialism, there has to be a realistic strategic orientation compelling our solidarity. In practical context, the collaboration of President Bouteflika with his counterparts from Nigeria, South Africa and Senegal in institutionalizing and promoting the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) well exemplifies solidarity compelled by realistic strategic orientation, though this has been an enduring characteristic of Bouteflika, the pragmatic revolutionary.
Eclectic Civilization Integration

Traveling around the world today, observing expatriate communities virtually everywhere, finding nonetheless ethnic and racial, as well as socio-economic class communalization, the Global Village reveals itself as so many neighborhoods, operating at various levels of interaction sophistication. At the highest levels of enlightenment and
cognitive capacity there is eclectic civilization integration, however subtle or erratic it may happen to be, compelled by forces of circumstances and noetic compatibility. The Arab business, diplomatic and political elite are well acquainted with this milieu owing to the merging of their financial interests with those of the advanced market economies; and so are those in the global science and technology elite circles. Africans have rarely entered into the global business elite circles, but an increasing number have penetrated the higher echelons of global politics and diplomacy. Although there are tensions, sometimes with racial or religious dimensions, in this global social stratosphere efficiency is the apex value and it requires cooperation, composure, impeccable rationality, adaptability and flexibility. Afrabia in this context might become a globalized community, interacting with other communities with a mild though real sense of common political ground. Hence, we can make certain general observations concerning the factors that should inform the strategic orientation of Afro-Arab solidarity. First of all, the race of nations is still very much about geostrategic positioning; secondly, penetration into the political and economic systems of the dominant Western nations is a vital strategy in the geo-strategic positioning contest; thirdly, the ultimate and most enlightened goal is eclectic civilization integration, which we envisage softening geo-strategic rivalry. The late King Hassan of Morocco, whose career and writings it would be worth keenly studying, well appreciated this goal, having acquired the universal goodwill orientation from his father, and that is no doubt part of what informed his request that Morocco be admitted into the European Economic Community. That his request was rejected, as Turkeys has been challenged, and on racist grounds by former French president Valry Giscard dEstaing, does not detract from the virtue of the civilization integration quest. Those Arabs who have business interests around the world and experienced losses owing to political tensions between the Arab World and the West know the difference between strategic retreat at times and indulging isolation, which tends to fertilize confrontation. We live in the era of capital and capital is ever dynamic, either growing or diminishing. Growth involves globally competitive expansion; this is how we strengthen our economies, improve the living standards of our people, accelerate and sustain
growth and development. Perhaps no people in the Global South know this better than the Arabs because they found themselves blessed with immense wealth from hydrocarbon resources and therefrom globalized their economic interests. In this age of technological advancement and increasing global capital integration, the world has become more dynamic in every respect and Africa has not been left totally behind. In fact, we can see that what the preeminent Pan African scholar and thinker, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois referred to as the talented tenth of the African world, or Black race, if you like, has fulfilled the historical expectations of him and other visionaries of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, there is no field of endeavour in which Africans have not attained distinction. Nigerias Prof. Bartholomew Naji has for at least two decades now been regarded as one of the worlds leading computer aided design and robot technology development experts; Dr. Philip Emagwalli, also of Nigerian origin, has attained similar status in the super computer field. Malian Modibo Diara was the chief navigator of the American spacecraft landing on Mars. Senegalese hold the posts of FAO Director General and World Bank Vice President. Kofi Annan is from Ghana and his Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, is a former Nigerian foreign minister, as well as a political science don at Baltimores John Hopkins University. Former Senegalese President Abdou Diouf is now Secretary General of the global Francophone Community. Throughout the 1990s Amnesty Internationals Secretary General was a Senegalese. The list is long and we do not exclude Africans in the Diaspora. Apart from two successive African Americans, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice heading the U.S State Department, U.S. Senator Barack Obama, whose Kenyan born father, a Harvard Ph. D. holder, provided the basic technical planning of the post-colonial Kenyan economy, is now one of the most popular politicians in the United States and his supporters plan to run him for president in 2012 or 2016. The proposition of Africans and African Americans networking in the supreme interest of the motherland as do Israel and Americas Jews has been oft considered over the years, but the prevailing analysis was that unlike international Jewry, which is essentially a community of elites, African Americans languished on the margins of the U.S. The rise to prominence in the 1980s of the Randall Robinson
founded pro-African and Caribbean lobby group, TransAfrica, signaled a change in the making. The emergence of an African American led African lobby in Washington, along with maturing of the Congressional Black Caucus and expansion of the Black middle class and a mix of other factors, including the rise to power in South Africa of ANC, which had long took an interest in cultivating fraternal relations with African Americans, led to a new situation. The late 20th century influx of African immigrants to the U.S. and their integration into American society moreover occasioned a new black melting pot. One of the first tangible results of all this was the African Growth and Opportunity Act sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Charles Rangel, which was billed as a boost for free enterprise in Africa, but actually reflected American interest in making sure that whatever benefits of globalization accrued to Africa afforded the U.S. a handsome share. AGOA also tended to undermine efforts at institutionalized Pan African economic integration by offering bilateral free trade arrangements between the U.S. and selected African states. Nonetheless, it was at least a feeble beginning of the Congressional Black Caucus ability to negotiate mutual interest schemes between the U.S. and Africa at the congressional level. With Africas profile rising on the G-7 and OECD agendas and former U.S. military chief Colin Powells projection as a force to be reckoned with in presidential contest politics, Americas African talented tenth was verily coming of age. Concurrently, Ghanas Kofi Annan was elected Secretary General of the United Nations on the force of a successful career in the world body. New networking possibilities for Global Africa were opened. The beginnings of this new Global Africa era left much to be desired, but considering that the small global community of about 18 million Jews had proven that networking has power over mass, Africans with a whole continent and several hundred millions sons, at home and in the Diaspora, appeared on the verge of rising to its incredible potential for combining great mass with effective networking. However much we rationalize keeping religious sentiments out of domains where efficiency is the apex value, the prominence of African Muslims in global elite circles invariably informs an Afrabia connection with Arab colleagues and acquaintances, even if its no
more than regularly praying in mosques together and annually sharing the rigors of the Ramadan month fast. At the mass level, both the Arabs and their language have been assimilated into the African mosaic along with so many others, including all the Europeans and Asians whose forebears settled in this part of the world in previous centuries. Prof. M. O. Abu Saq however promotes the fact that North Sudan is perhaps more representative of entire Africa than any other place on the continent, having assimilated peoples from as far west as Senegal and including all the other parts of the savanna and Sahel from there eastwards. This was the opening message of President Al Bashirs welcoming speech to the African Union Summit in January 2006, wherein the Sudanese leader rightly described Sudan as a microcosm of the African continent, containing people from all parts of the continent, as well as having assimilated people from outside Africa. This is the reality of Sudan and in this reality which is equally an African reality no ethnic configuration can stamp its identity on the entire nation. Those Northern Sudanese who contend that the Northerners accept being African as well as Arab, what Abu Saq calls Afro-Arab, but the Southerners reject identification with the Arabs, have no legitimate complaint or case in the African context, simply because in our part of the continent the Arabs are one among many ethnic groups and there is no particular basis for any ethnic group to assume the identity of another. To say that Sudan is African by incidence of geography is nonsensical; Sudan is African by fact of geography is precisely appropriate. Sudan is not and cannot in reality be an Arab country, irrespective of what forces try to compel it to be so; Sudan is rather an African country with Arab lineages, cultural links and sense of identity with the Arab world prevailing among a substantial portion of its population. Perhaps we need extensive discourse on the Afrabia concept, but for the meantime, in the current global context the substantial incidence of Afro-Arab convergence in the northern parts of Sudan means what everyone constructively concerned with the matter acknowledges: Sudan is the principal link between, or binding, Africa and the Arab world. This is, we might say, the great historical challenge and opportunity given Sudan by God whom we trust created humanity from a single set of parents; it is an opportunity and a challenge requiring collaborative national attention. However, it is
vital that chauvinistic assumptions not enter the national environment; neither Arabist nor Afro-centric sentiments can be expected to promote the kind of national collaboration demanded in the premises; though we might think seriously about bringing them together at the centre of the Afrabia discourse. In any event, it is important that everyone on both the non-Arab and Arab sides of the identity equation respect the need for a cosmopolitan Sudan, constructively interacting with the entire world. Joseph Abuk, for example, speaks disparagingly of Sudan joining the Arab League to crystallize Arab solidarity to wipe out the state of Israel. Once again we have the problem of importing religious sentiments and problematic doctrinal influences into a purely political matter. The Palestinian issue is colonial in genesis, historical context and manifestation. It is coincidentally an Arab issue, but essentially it is a national liberation issue, such as has traditionally commanded Global South solidarity. However, when sentiments, especially the religious and racial varieties, enter into politics, we have a recipe for irrational, usually harmful and regressive, behavior. That is one of the problems of Israel in fact; it is driven by Biblical references that are both ethnocentric and incompatible with modern human ideals of internationalism and goodwilled international cooperation. Reacting to religious sentiments with counter doctrinal sentiments typically results in battle of dogmas. If there is to indeed be an intellectual and therefrom an academic consensus on Afrabia that penetrates curriculums throughout Africa and the Arab World, freedom of conscience must be emphatically impressed upon all the peoples involved. As Prof. Ali Mazrui notes, Afro-Arab convergence proceeds slowly and it may actually be quite a long time from now before the practicality of acculturating the Afrabia identity concept can actually be appreciated by all Africans and Arabs. However, Northern Sudan, which Prof. Mazrui rightly points out is actually Afrabia in genealogical, cultural and geographical formation, is in fact over ripe for acculturation of this ingenuous identity describing fusion of Africa and Arabia. On the other hand, the word Africa probably, as Professor Mazrui with sufficient historical references points out, has its geneses in Tunisia during the Carthage era, several centuries before Arab penetration; which means that the continent got labeled Africa in the North, from where the identity was applied to its entirety.
Therefore, not only did Afrabia long ago become a reality in North Africa but the fact that the term has not been traditionally used indicates intellectual lapse. Some may argue, why dont we just leave the AU to fall apart along its natural fault lines, instead of troubling ourselves with intellectual propositions that are no doubt abstract to most of the people on the two sides of the African-Arab identity divide? To that we should remind ourselves that Nkrumah and his collaborators never conceived Pan Africanism as an end in itself, but as a fundamental requisite in pursuit of the great historical challenge of achieving an integrated world order, or internationalism. We would be wise to view international integration and rise of humanism above racism and ethnocentrism as progressive goals for the world. A European once remarked in Khartoum that he had never seen such a vast mixture of genetic types and indeed there is probably no greater melting pot in the world than North Sudan, especially greater Khartoum. The problem however is the intellectual lapse wherein Afrabia has neither been articulated nor ideologically acculturated, though people no doubt have a vague sense of it. Giving the Afrabia concept intellectual illumination and ideological prominence would no doubt free Sudan from the irrelevant perspectives that greatly contribute to fomenting its political troubles. No doubt one of the things that have kept the United States on top of the rest of the world in many respects is its continual assimilation of immigrants and no doubt the influx of African immigrants into the U.S. over the past 30 to 40 years, despite the continual presence of racism in the U.S., has had favourable impact on the fortunes of the original African Americans. The Global Village is becoming a cultural reality with the economic force of transnational corporations and the increasing number of professionals from the Global South working for them. Moreover, in South Africa and Kenya we today have leading models of social and political integration. There is nothing new to learn by going backwards; there is no psychological, moral or spiritual growth involved in racist conservatism. On the other hand, broadening our basis of accommodation raises our intellects, psyches and moral consciences to ever loftier heights. Why should we resolve that we lack potential for human consciousness growth rather than pursue optimum realization of our moral, spiritual
and psychological potentials? In respect of diversity accommodation the African Union is more advanced than the European Union, though in the long run Islamic Turkey will no doubt be admitted into the EU despite objections from racists. Nevertheless, the racial mixture in the AU can only be rivaled for diversity by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC), which does not purport to attain the same level of supranational authority as either the EU or AU. It would not only be a setback for Africa were the AU to divide on Black Africa and Arab Africa lines, the greater cause of universal human fraternity would have faced a rueful setback. The physics of social science has repeatedly illustrated the implosion risks involved in limiting perspectives and accommodation to ethnic, racial and religions genres. Apart from such morbid hatred as we have seen between the Tutsi and Hutu in Burundi and Rwanda and in other tribal conflicts in Sub-Sahara Africa, there has been historical tensions, with mutual chauvinism, between the Islamized Bilad al Sudan cultural expanse North Sudan, Chad, Northern Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Guinea, Senegal and Gambia and the Equatorial zones, each domain claiming to be more authentically African than the other. In the Arab world, apart from the ChristianMuslim tensions that occasionally flare up in Lebanon and Egypt, the Sunni-Shiite division has historically proved implosive. Nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than in Iraq. Saddam Hussein had merely contained the flammable tensions between the Sunni-Shiite and Kurd communities through heavy handed Baathism; what we are seeing now as a result of Americas reckless intervention is an unrepressed expression of the mutual rivalry and intolerance of these communities. However, there is also a mutual accommodation process gradually materializing under pressures of the current situation. It is not inconceivable that in the future the old Eurasia concept will re-emerge in tandem with Afrabia; there is no ocean nor sea separating Europe and Asia and while the peoples and their cultures can be distinguished for their respective occidental and oriental features, Europe and Asia are merged in both Russia and Turkey; and the populations of Western Asia, including Arab countries, are generally considered Caucasian. Yet Asia and Africa are connected by
the Sinai Peninsula, which means that prior to construction of the Suez Canal, one might travel by land from the bottom point of the inhabited earth in Southern Africa, where centuries ago yellow skinned indigenes of the region, the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) and San (Bushmen), dwelled, to Syria, Italy, Russia and China. From the point where Siberia and Alaska face each other people are said to have migrated from Asia to the Americas and, interestingly, evidence of the ancient civilizations in Peru and Mexico indicate people who were an Afro-Asian genetic mixture. Whether one subscribes to the Adam and Eve lineage of humanity, or whatever, global academias consensus is that Homo sapiens originated in Africa, possessing recessive traits that would dominantly manifest upon migrations to distant environments and changes in diet. On top of the original migrations we have had reverse migrations and racial fusions, giving rise to such a vast variety of humans that in the final analysis racial classification in a place like northern Sudan objectively becomes pointless. Recently a sculpture of ancient Egypts adolescent pharaoh King Tut was found and immediately white scientists in America classified him as Caucasian. His skin was brown and he looked very much like a contemporary Nubian, a fusion of indigenous African and West Asian genetic lines. However, the obvious was not considered by the racialist oriented American scientists who need an illusory purity. It is quite a noteworthy paradox that in a country where anyone found to have a single drop of African blood is classified an African American, however white skinned and fine haired he or she may be, yet a brown skinned, plump lips pharaoh must be a Caucasian. This is the scientific racism of alienation from the truth about the genetic history of Homo sapiens. Unfortunately for humanity this obsessive racism conventionally assumes political and ultimately belligerent dimensions. The prevailing propensity of racists, when given pretext, is to deny Africa. The worse and most neurotic instance of this is those Sudanese, whose admixture is presently obvious and historically documented, passionately proclaiming themselves Arab while consciously looking away from Africa, though they are children of its heartland. When the proposition of Asian unity was broached by Singapore at the October 2002 ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur proposing inclusion of China in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the
Malaysians, who have not been amenable to Pan Asia ideology, raised the red light: "There have been no Asia wide intergovernmental economic integration or regionalization efforts in the last 3,000 years, and nobody's going to build it in another 3,000 either," said Noordin Sopiee, chairman of the Malaysian Institute of Strategic and International Studies, echoing the view of his Prime Minister, Mahatir Mohammed. The ethnic Chinese factor in the Pacific Rim is sufficiently significant for objection impulses to have flared when ethnic Chinese Singapore proposed inclusion of China in ASEAN, but despite conservative stances against supranationalism in the region attaining political dimensions, as in Europe and Africa, economic integration in East Asia is already at an advanced stage and is dynamically progressing to the point of a common investment market. The entire region, which Mahathir always readily acknowledged, benefited from Japans philosophy that by investing in its neighbours with a view to making them prosperous Japanese would invariably realize greater returns on their investments and export businesses. Capitalism on such terms is perforce a unification factor between nations, but internally we must build efficient social democracies to sustain peace, stability, economic growth and human development. Apart from the nuisance of post-Cold War Washington imposing itself on the world as policeman and then Bush coming along with Sharon to carry the world backwards half a century or more, there is a growing inclination of people everywhere to become internationally friendlier. Babakir Ahmed, a Sudanese who heads an Islamic school in London, tells a story concerning Islams prospects in the West that is very instructive. He said a few years ago Prince Charles contacted prominent Muslim leaders in London and told them that a certain plot of land in the citys centre was to be sold and if Muslims were interested in having it for a mosque, he would ask Saudi Arabias King Fahd, who he would soon be visiting, to buy and donate it to them. Prince Charles fulfilled his promise; the late King Fahd bought the land and donated to the Muslims, who built on it a mosque. Babakir lamented that the mosque was soon taken over by Al Qaeda types preaching fire and the moderate Muslims who built it ceased praying there. Recently Prince Charles and his consort were in Saudi Arabia on what was described as a cultural diplomacy visit, while Prime Minister Tony Blair was on a similar mission in Indonesia, the
worlds most populous Muslim nation. The European Commission dispatched its representative to the Arab League Summit in Khartoum with the stated purpose of promoting dialogue and mutual appreciation of civilizations. Thus, despite the continued prevalence of racism in the world, even at the highest levels people realize the virtue of cultural mosaic, eclectic interaction, cross-cultural respect and friendliness, but we have a long and steep road to climb to reach the promise land. Reactionary behaviour by its very nature militates against human progress. In respect of humanity and God who created us as his vicegerents, we must proceed from a lofty vision for mankind, to which we are ever faithful, as we are faithful to God, and which informs our strategic thinking and political behaviour, as well as our spiritual disposition. The cheapest use of religion is as an excuse for hatred; the greatest social role of religion is as a compulsion to dedicate ourselves to realizing a better world. Samuel Huntingtons post-Cold War classic, Remaking the World Order and the Clash of Civilization, gave intellectual license to people like the late Slobodan Milosevic, but by last year, Turkey and Spain together took the initiative of proposing to the United Nations Secretary General an Alliance of Civilizations project. This is undoubtedly more constructive, optimistic and challenging than the Clash of Civilizations outlook. Some of us imagine that if Prophet Muhammed were in the world he would be frequently at the United Nations giving mankind guidance on how to manage its affairs, while others imagine he would be in hiding like Osama bin Laden. These opposing ideas of the proper place of Islam and Muslims in todays world are playing out in reality and there is no doubt that the more constructive view that Islam must rely on assertion of its virtues, not defensive exclusivity to fulfill its destiny in human affairs. By historical role analogy there seems no basis to assume that Osama bin Laden is closer to what Prophet Muhammed represented than Saudi Arabia King Abdallah, albeit Muhammed, son of Abdallah Hashim, proscribed monarchy. However much monarchy has proved to be politically controversial and socially stratifying, the latter certainly negative, furious civilization clashing is a recipe for global anarchy, as the terrorist phenomenon warns.
Transcending Racialism
African influence and consensus in the international system is now strong and independent enough for Africans to make their own considered decisions. After all, Condoleezza Rice, who was the first U.S official to unequivocally oppose the partitioning of Sudan, went to the U.S. Congress in an effort to persuade them fund the AU to effectively carry on in Darfur, but her request was denied. At the AU Summit, while Kofi Annan was advocating UN forces replacing the AU in Darfur, African leaders declared their satisfaction with and support for the Ghanaian United Nations Secretary General. It is very important for Afro-Arab relations that the Arabs get and appreciate this picture. The talented tenth of Global Africa has well penetrated the worlds major corridors of power and influence, apart from attaining distinction in every human endeavour from sports and entertainment to literature and technology. Though politically astute Africans generally recognize the tragic seriousness of the gap prevailing between the talented tenth and Global Africas masses, and definitely Africans shall be collectively backwards until that gap is meaningfully narrowed, at the elite level, as African American song writers Crosby, Sills and Nash sung some years back, Aint no stopping us now, were on the move. What do Africans of global power and influence want? There is an old consensus on this dating back at least to the 19th century. Africans want an end to racism. The most enlightened Africans want to extend the non-racial rainbow society philosophy, adopted by South Africas ANC back in 1916 and actualized by Nelson Mandela when he became president in 1994, throughout the globe. Significantly, supporters of Barack Obama for president of the United States are advocating an end to racial profiling. Yes, there are Afro-centrist, Black Nationalists and other manner of inward looking advocates and extremists; but the mainstream of the Global African talented tenth holds to the vision of an integrated, fraternal world. As Dr. Martin Luther King used to say, If we cannot learn to live together as brothers, we shall end up dying together as fools. Arabs are not oblivious to this vision of global human fraternity. We have noted the joke Libyan leader Muammar al Qaddafi made at a recent Arab League confab, chiding the Palestinians and the Israelis for dividing themselves into two different states in an era when the
whole world should be coming together. Historically, the Moroccan leadership, at least dating back to King Mohamed V had this long range vision of the world. The issue then for Afro-Arab cooperation is consistent and dynamic commitment to realizing human fraternity in a non-racial rainbow global village. To begin with, above all in this regard, the bulk of Africas leaders oppose racializing this continent. Today, the perpetrators of apartheid in South Africa have joined the ANC and they are our brothers. Jomo Kenyattas Harambe (all together) policy has brought about in Kenya a country in which people of African, Arab, European, Indian and European stock not only live peacefully together, but have extensive social relations. One Kenyan intellectual working with the UN recently observed that he sees Kenya in 20 years time becoming a completely detribalized society as a result of intermarriage. No doubt the Arabs can appreciate this because they have a tradition of leaders marrying from different tribes with a view to establishing blood bonds to the end of social cohesion. However, the Arab world must be committed to collaborating with the African leadership mainstream to assure equitable and fraternal, as well as internationally influential, Afro-Arab relations. During March 2006, an interview with the Moroccan ambassador to Sudan was carried in the daily, Sudan Vision, in which he expressed the view that Sudanese should learn to live together with their religious and ethnic differences. This is exactly what we expect of Sudan and the whole continent. If we follow the Afro-centrists, we run the risk of ending up purging Madagascar from the continent, and possibly Eritrea and Djibouti, while dividing Ethiopia, not to mention differences between what Samuel Huntington called the AfroIslamic and Afro-Western cultural domains in Africa. Hence, we return to the point that it is wiser to look forward and strive to outgrow the psychological obstacles to a non-racial rainbow Africa than to start dividing Africa on specious racial and cultural lines. After all, the Berbers of North Africa are indigenous Africans and there is extensive admixture between them and the Arabs. Is it really possible now in North Africa to say who is who? People are just divided between those who retain the Berber mother tongue and those whose mother tongue is Arabic, but genetically, like Sudan, North Africa is extensively integrated.
We have variously heard arguments from the Clash of Civilizations perspective that the West was more accommodative of African political penetration than of the Arabs, especially as most Africans, considering both the continent and the Diaspora, are Christians. However, common adherence to Christianity did not spare Africans from apartheid, with the [Calvinist] Dutch Reform Church serving as a major pillar; nor did it prevent slavery and racial atrocities in the United States. The fact is that both Africans on the continent and those in the Diaspora have suffered gross brutality at the hands of the West, but we have always generally been inclined to continue the struggle for penetration and integration, improvement of our influence profile inclusive. They kill us, humiliate us even Colin Powell was not spared from his colleagues attempts to humiliate him and there have also been subtle attempts by racists in the Bush administration and the press to belittle Condoleezza Rice, but we keep coming. The recent revelations that HIV/AIDS was laboratory developed and planted in Africa in a conspiracy hatched by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former World Bank President Robert McNamara, who had been Defence Secretary during the Vietnam war, with support from President Richard M. Nixon, is but another in a string of exposed plots to control the population growth of Africans and African Americans through subterranean genocide. Daily we are confronted with the hypocrisy of the Americans expressing concern about the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa and making empty promises, knowing full well that the disease was criminally concocted and planted in implementation of Washingtons population control policy on Global Africa. No doubt it is an innate sense of destiny driving Global Africas talented tenth and when South African president Thabo Mbeki says that we want to make the 21st an African century, he is not idly romanticizing, there is colossal faith behind it, faith that the last shall be first and we have the capacity to fulfill that prophecy. By and large it would appear that Africans in the talented tenth realm are generally disinclined to religious community polarization, and this is important for African-Arab relations, just as it is important for the future of Lebanon. Apart from the conventional segregation of churches in the United States up to this day, most of those holding top
posts in the international system are African Muslims. We would agree that nave and internationally unexposed Africa Christians often, if not typically, entertain illusions of the Jews and Caucasian Christians having an affinity for them; but in sophisticated elite circles Africans know the real score: the mental disease of racism is still morbid and rampant in the White World. We accept it as a fact of life that has prevailed for centuries, but yet we remain ever steadfast in our historical movement against racism. The revolutionaries in the talented tenth, most especially, have learned in this uphill battle against racism to be composed, strategic and also good-willed; the latter is very important because it fuels our moral courage, gives us a confidence that we are on the moral high ground. The words of the African American Christian spiritual song, I do believe, we shall overcome one day, is in our psyches, whether we are Christians or Muslims. There is no space for fatalism in our world; what we know is challenge. As God says in the Holy Quran, every experience is to either purge the faithful or deprive the faithless of blessing. Thus every difficulty, every setback is a challenge to grow stronger, more resolute and efficient in attaining the global power and influence to attenuate racism to the last degree. We intend not to peddle generalizations; we recognize that even among the talented tenth revolutionaries may be a minority. It was disturbing for some of to hear Kofi Annan when he first became Secretary General of the United Nations making a point of informing the world that he had been an opponent of Nkrumah, describing the dean of 20th Century Pan Africanism as anti-West and not pragmatic. Perhaps he has now grown on his experiences as UN Sectary General to realize that Nkrumah, for all his faults and mistakes, nonetheless played a pivotal historical role that cannot be denied. First of all, he was not anti-West but anti-imperialism, anti-neo-colonialism. Annan, we imagine, now recognizes that imperialism and neo-colonialism are clear and present dangers to the peoples of Africa and the Global South. Despite his hands being tied, we simply cannot imagine that he is oblivious to the evil inherent in Zionism. After all, Israel holds the worlds record for violating UN General Assembly resolutions. However, ultimately, there is no need for debate as to whether Mr. Annan has evolved to a revolutionary; his battle to preserve the remaining multilateral worth of the United Nations in the face of
Washingtons crusade to subvert the world body and assume absolute global hegemony placed him in an anti-imperialist role. For as Guineas Ahmed Skou Tour used to say, imperialism is no less than the devil referred to in the Bible and Quran; and there is noting more imperialistic than the National Security Policy of the Bush administration, wherein it is hubristically stated that America shall never again let any other nation rival its global hegemony. However, the prevailing political behavior of leading African and Arab states suggests both realms are strategically tolerating and constructively engaging the imperialists with an eye for advancing our strategic positions. It appears that despite the Clash of Civilizations news coming out of the Muslim world flaming in headlines, it appears that the isolationist perspective is marginal in the Arab World; the mainstream of the Arab World is very active in at least economically penetrating the entire globe. In some instances, Sudans leading National Congress Party appears to be demonstrating a seriously disturbing tendency to react to civilization clash affronts, and almost no inclination or ability to proactively constructively engage the West in strategically advancing Sudans national interests. Not that no one in NCP can think that far; rather, the problem has been that NCPs internal political management problems have undermined and led to frustration of any desires the party might have had to enjoy good relations with the West, particularly the United States. We frequently hear the regime in Khartoum referring to the opposition it faces from the African American lobby; first regarding the South and now Darfur. Let it be clear that the African Americans are part of Global Africa. Second generation African Americans, like Barack Obama, have sealed once and for all the bonds between the two. African Americans have dubbed Senator Obama, The Chosen One. They didnt say, Oh, hes not really one of us, his father was born in Africa. Today, second generation African Americans have produced their own elite, excelling in every aspect of American life. The more African Americans advance in the American mainstream, the more influential they become in corridors of power, the more intricate Africas constructive, strategic engagement of imperialist America is bound to be. New historical opportunities are emerging for us from the trials of brutal racist oppression; we are perhaps on lap 16 of a grueling 23 lap race, we cannot forsake our
race plan at this point no matter what is thrown in our faces; we must keep pressing forward, even quickening our pace. There are also Arabs in the system, like the Zogby brothers, who are sophisticated and effective political adepts; not to mention Lebanese American Ralph Nadir, who before ever becoming a U.S. presidential candidate for the Greens, had done more for consumer rights advancement than any single person in the history of the U.S., if not the world. Invariably African strategic operators and people the caliber of Nadir and the Zogby brothers converge on a common wave length, although much may still need to be done to bring our perceived interests into closer alignment. However, it is important Africans and Arabs in the corridors of power in their home countries, in the Arab League and African Union, remain conscious of our penetration quest into the West. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, who was accused by Sudans foreign ministry spokesman of pressuring African leaders not to allows President Al Bashir become AU chairman has an exemplary record of African studies and diplomatic experience in Africa. She is one of us and one of them. This is illustrative of the intricacies of strategic maneuvering and it is very important for Arabs and Africans to be mindful that we are both playing high level geo-strategic power politics, because having such an understanding will enable us to communicate and debate with due sophistication and appropriate respect. African Americans in statecraft concerned with Africa belonging to two worlds offer Africans on the continent an opportunity to pursue compromises with the Western nations they represent in an optimally constructive way. It offers an opportunity to be enlightened about the political considerations of those countries, how we can best advance our interests with respect to them and subtly increase our penetration profile into the West. However, we do not give the U.S. or anyone else a carte blanche. When Colin Powell opposed reparations for colonialism and equating Zionism with racism at the 2001 UN organized South African Summit on Racism, he was put down with roaring jeers. Even at home, veteran African American entertainer Harry Bellefonte called Powell a house slave for going along with Bushs plan to invade Iraq when the bulk of the African American population was against it. When Powell telephoned President
Obasanjo asking him to reverse his critical opposition to Washingtons eminent invasion of Iraq, the Nigerian leader told him off and abruptly closed the line. Give and take does not mean we betray our interests or principles. Its a matter of being sophisticated enough to keep firmly on a strategic gains course, while prudently maneuvering with reasonable compromises along the way.
Moderation Informs Global Consensus

Despite having some of the most capable personnel on the African continent, the March 2006 Arab League Summit host country, Sudan in recent years has not been able to enjoy its rightful share in the posting opportunities in the international system owing to the countrys tarnished image. The propitiousness of a nations image is not determined by the Western or Zionist dominated media, because various surveys have shown that the United States and Israel generally have a poor image in the eyes of people around the world. People are not gullible to digest everything they read, see or hear in the media; especially now that there are so many alternative information sources. Any country that tries to be a respectable member of the international community by reasonably good management of its domestic and international affairs eludes the bad image category; when we talk of bad image it is not a question of how powerful a country is, its religion or race, because we can group Bushs America with Israel in the same basket with weaker, economically underdeveloped states led by intransigent regimes. We must be very particular about the matter of moral authority; it has nothing to do with power or religion, but consensus is very important to it. There is perhaps no greater moral authority in the world today than the United Nations General Assembly, which has often been subjected to intemperate remarks of resentment from extremist American politicians and whose resolutions Israel is the worlds greatest violator. Those who believe in the ultimate victory of moral authority envisage the day when the UN Security Council will be democratized. Verily, extremist tendencies, irrespective of the nation, invariably worsen the internal political situation as well as the countrys situation in the international community, in addition to jeopardizing certain bilateral relations. We all be mindful of this. A major function of the
Peer Review Mechanism incorporated into the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) initiative is to enable African countries improve their standards of governance to a level where the Western democracies can justify supporting them economically. Also, it is important that no African country be a political embarrassment for the African Union. As both the African Union and Arab League are striving to modernize their governing systems, it would no doubt be useful for the two supranational entities to institutionalize serious dialogue on optimizing governance quality at the academic and popular, as well as political level. One of the risks of blanket solidarity is that one could find himself apologetically supporting unacceptable political behaviour. Furthermore, as in the case of Arab solidarity with the Sudanese government on Darfur, one could be an unwitting accomplice in irrelevancy. That is to say, in case anyone needs to be told or reminded, fundamentally any conflict between an Arab tribe and an indigenous African tribe in Sudan, Chad, Northeastern Nigeria, Mali or Mauritania is an African tribal conflict. Not only because the Arab tribes are living in Africa, but, as we can all see, in most case, as in Sudan, African Arabs are for the most part Africans owing to extensive fusion with the indigenous African peoples. Politically, or ethnically, they identify as Arabs, first of all because of the patrilineal Arab identity system; secondly because they retain the Arabic mother tongue; however, genetically they are African Arabs and African Arabs have indigenous roots in Africa. As an expert on Darfur tribal conflicts, the former director of the Abu Shoak Internally Displaced Persons Camp outside Al Fasher, El Fatih Abdul Aziz Abdul Nabi confirmed what anyone can readily see in the appearances of the Darfur people: there is no pure African tribe, nor pure Arab tribe in Darfur. Therefore, extending Arab solidarity into an African conflict involving Arab tribes, which have in fact assumed indigenous African recognition owing to extensive intermarriage with Africans, can only aggravate the problem and promote tribal polarization on African and Arab identity lines. At the beginning of last Decembers All Darfur Peoples Conference a TIME magazine reporter remarked, These people really hate each other, but at its end he was optimistic: I think everything is going to be alright. Coming together in Al Fasher, in an excellently organized and administered discussion and resolution
forum, the delegates, representing different tribal and occupational interests, could only acknowledge the fact that they are one family; not just figuratively, but through extensive inter-tribal marriages dating back several centuries. You cannot with 100% certainty look at a Darfurian and determine whether he or she is from an African or Arab tribe. Anyone visiting Darfur with keen interest can clearly observe the truth in El Fatihs assertion that the Darfur people are one family and that water shortage, prompting intense competition between planters and herders for water resources, has over the past 50 years been a major cause of conflict in the region. Hence, economic development is major issue in Darfur and objectively deserves more attention from those outside of Africa, particularly the Arabs who operate quite a number of development funds, than the local politics. At Hamada, an African tribe town in South Darfur that had been ravaged by the Janjaweed, elders told a visiting documentary film team that the war in Darfur was artificial, instigated and perpetuated by political interests far removed from the ordinary people, who have common bonds and interests in development and progress. Arab League members should on this point stop and ask themselves: do you wish to become part of the remote forces fueling this essentially African conflict with intervention of Arab solidarity, or are you ready to concentrate on knowing and contributing to solving the development problems in Darfur, as well as promoting peace and reconciliation? El Fatih and others insist that there is enough water flowing from the falls at Jebel Mara to serve Darfurs needs but investment in storage and distribution facilities is lacking. What is the actual volume of Jebel Maras potentially deliverable water resources? What is the water demand volume of Greater Darfur? Is a Jebal Mara water storage and distribution project feasible and if so how much investment is required? These are questions constructive Arab League involvement here should be concerned with, apart from reconciliation at the grass roots level. Darfur is truly Afrabia, implying Arab League-African Union solidarity and consensus are vital to addressing the crisis there. In South Darfur, prior to the signing of the Abuja peace Agreement in May 2006, the governor had been busy paving the social road to peace by hosting reconciliation meetings between African and Arab tribes. People had grown tired of fighting and wanted to come back
together and live progressive lives; and one can readily see that the Darfur people know what progress is and seriously want to progress and become part of the modern world. A vision was agreed among Darfurs agricultural experts that there should be a goal of the herding and planting communities in the region within 15 to 20 years being dominated by university educated professionals. That means we have to start now, preparing those in primary school to be the generation that will modernize animal and crop production in the region and bring about a prevailing modern world outlook that precludes tribal feuding. It must be noted here that the Arab nomads have on the internet and in Abuja condemned the Janjaweed as a bunch of assorted bandits, but there is a prevailing perception that the Janjaweed and government are one. The Arab nomads who are constructively engaged in animal herding passionately resent being identified with the Janjaweed who are essentially equestrian bandits turned political terrorists. In actual fact, what is happing to the civilian population in Darfur is fratricide (brother killing brother), as all the tribes share blood bonds; that does not mean however genocide is not the intention of the Janjaweeds and indeed the Janjaweed are an ugly syndrome, though it remains a puzzle why Sudans International National Constitution 2005s stipulation proscribing militias is not being enforced. There is no realistic separating African and Arab in this part of the world, any attempt or inclination to do so is an evasion of reality. Just as Darfur, Khartoum and all Northern Sudan are truly Afrabia. Yet, Afrabia cannot be exclusive owing to Turkish, Armenian, Persian and other ethnic blending in the Arab World. Moreover, since we cannot claim cultural exclusivity either, as cultural exchange is gradually superseding the old notions of cultural conquest and domination, we find that we elude the necessity of a collective human destiny at the expense of world peace and progress.
The Age of Humanism

There appear to be five keys to raising the sense of universal human fraternity in the word and thereby optimizing the quality of international cooperation people to people relations. First of all,
institutionalized international cooperation; secondly, increased international travel, tourism, sojourns and emigration; thirdly, rational eclecticism, cultural exchange and what Professor Mazrui calls creative synthesis; fourthly, genetic fusion through intermarriage; and fifth, ethical compatibility gleaned from the experiences of the first four keys. As much as the Muslim world may be averse to it, we are moving past the age of religion to the age of philosophy, which encapsules religion, but necessitates dialectics while precluding dogma. However, this appears to be a great opportunity for people of enlightened faith, because we might hereby attain the universal theory of the universe Albert Einstein faithfully sought; and that we believe will bring about a convergence of religion, science, ethics, humanism and idealism, while attenuating all manner of chauvinism. Inevitably, as the intellectual standard prevailing among mankind grows higher we shall transcend sectarian rivalry, arriving at a plane of universalism, wherein diversity informs a global cultural mosaic that becomes our collective aesthetic model. Micro-credit initiator Muhammed Yunus has elaborated on a world where individual potential fulfillment is virtually universal and informs our economic well being and social satisfaction. There had never appeared any coincidence between Professor Yunuss lofty vision for mankind and his basic Islamic acculturation, although the esteemed revolutionary economist never brings religion into his discourse. Apparently, he realizes that the most important thing for a Muslim is to have good intentions towards all humanity, then constructively and with sincere intentions interact with all humanity and perform optimally at whatever one does. The world is gradually but definitely outgrowing the utility of preaching, religious profiling, racial profiling, classism and sovereign governmental prerogative; we are advancing into the age of humanism, in which science, technology, economic policy, the state and supranationalism are all subordinated to the interest of universal human potential development. Human value in this evolving age will become the paramount subject in social and philosophical discourse, will inform our conceptions of human rights and liberty, increasingly influence constitutional development, legislation and political as well as economic policies. Moreover, universal fraternal consciousness will
in this new age become institutionalized with such force that no government on earth will be able to abuse its people without facing the challenge of an opposing global democratic consensus. If it is true, as all the documentation and evidence suggest, that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was laboratory developed at the behest of Henry Kissinger, Robert McNamara and Richard Nixon, then we expect this scourge to be the last ever manifestation of Malthusian theory that epidemics serve the efficient purpose of population control. As Social Darwinism becomes an anachronism. The Arab world is in many respects at the vanguard of this burgeoning humanist age. The array of international development funds and banks maintained by Arab nations, the educational opportunities, including scholarships the Arab states have been offering to Africans, in particular, are distinguished efforts in international cooperation and human development promotion, apart from contributing to cultural exchange. It is also in the spirit of the emerging humanist age that the Arab-Muslim countries sharing their financial resources have not considered the religious identity of the countries they support, giving indiscriminately to non-Muslim countries and Muslim countries alike. Also, the Arab states today perhaps lead the world in accommodation of emigrants, with several Gulf countries now having populations in which outsiders are the majority. The United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai, has become an international commercial and financial hub, accommodating an extraordinarily large influx of immigrants from South Asia and elsewhere, which has resulted in extensive fusion through intermarriage of the South Asians and Arabs. Moreover, Arab capital has penetrated throughout the world creating common financial interest between people of different religions and races. This is the constructive interaction with the rest of the world, the manifest good intentions towards all humanity and commendable performance that constitute the dawah of the humanist age. Africans has been among the principal beneficiary of this Arab largesse, with development aid going to a wide range of projects aimed at improving the human condition and increasing Arab capital flows into Africa. Africans have also found commercial and investment opportunities in Dubai and other Gulf locations. Apart from Arab cooperation with Africans on the continent, the Arab world
has long been involved with African Americans. Notably, African American lawyer, businessman and author Khalid Mansour was the legal counsel for OPEC in its defense of the suit from the AFL-CIO in the wake of the petroleum price hikes following the 1973 Middle East War; but Arab collaboration with African Americans has actually been significant. The Arab states have also invested tremendously in the development of their local populations. Tunisia has attained virtually 100% school age children enrolment, with about 25% of the secondary school graduates entering institutions of higher education. Algeria has improved literacy from 10% at independence in 1963 to over 70% today and has over 300,000 students enrolled in its 10 universities and over 20 specialized colleges. Morocco too has achieved virtually universal enrolment for boys and girl enrolment, now nearly 90% is catching up. Illiteracy, now above 60% is increasing annually and over 300,000 Moroccans are currently in universities. Egypt too has 100% primary school enrolment, despite rapid population growth and has produced many distinguished scientists, writers, diplomats and artists, apart from having one of the worlds leading film industries. Syria, with 100% child enrolment has attained better than 80% literacy and the rate is improving year by year. Both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have improved literacy from 15% in the 1970s to over 80% today. The United Arab Emirates have performed similarly in the field of education. Habitat improvement has been one of the most obvious derivatives of the oil boom in the Arabian Gulf, but the physical appearance of the entire Arab world has undergone dramatic transformation since 1970. Both culturally and materially the lives of the Arabs have improved in recent decades apace with developments throughout much of Asia. Emergence of that expanse from Morocco to the Pacific Rim from rampant poverty and backwardness to the most rapidly progressing quarter of the world has given humanity a new outlook that is no longer Euro-American centric but global. It is the progress of the Arab world and Asia that have in fact given the greatest impetus to our advance into the Humanist Age. With spread in influence and adherence to Prof. Muhammed Yunus human potential development based economics, the Orient could become the global model of Humanism.
Lebanon, with its distinguished mercantile Diaspora plays a unique place in the world, having its descendants, as well as its sons and daughters settled throughout the globe. Significantly, two-time United States Green Party presidential Ralph Nader, son of Lebanese immigrants, is the man who did more than anyone else to advance consumer rights in the U.S. However, religiously and culturally diverse Lebanon has not fulfilled its statesmanship potential, for it is a natural lead player in Afro-Arab relations, as well as global relations between Islamia and Christendom. Apart from the ever growing cultural and political influence of Africans in the Diaspora, Africas biggest step into this new age was perhaps occasioned by the revolution that ended apartheid in South and the freeing of the talents, empowerment of the sensitivities of what were the most oppressed and abused people on earth. The proud disinclination to revenge and the establishment of a constitutional order that outlaws racialism and all manner of discrimination based on race, ethnicity and gender, advancing the concept of the non-racial rainbow society, have made South Africa the standard bearer in the quest for a prevailing global consciousness of universal fraternity. Obviously, if the South African revolution is to be sustained the material situation of the Black majority must be substantially improved and in this regard we would hope to see continual expansion of Arab investment in South Africa in the coming years. Today, South Africa represents a major challenge for the world, because as much as it is a beacon showing the way forward, it is also at considerable risk of sliding backwards, which would be a terrible loss for all humanity at this juncture in human history. Apart from the United States of America, Africa appears to be more representative of the rest of the world than any place else. Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, Malays and Europeans have all been settled here for several generations and are now part of the continental citizenship mosaic. Moreover, the indigenous population has become physically and culturally divers through ancient fusions with emigrants from outside the continent. The peoples of the Horn of Africa long ago blended with the Arabs from across the Red Sea, the people of the West African savanna are historically a fusion of Kushites, Berbers and Arabs. Ancient portrait sculpture reveal that the original Kushites and Egyptians looked much like the people of Sub
Sahara Africa and recent archaeological evidence tends to confirm the oral histories of West Africans tracing their origins to the Nile Valley, while contemporary Nubia and Egypt are Arabized with genetic influences from as far North as Turkey and Yugoslavia. Thus Africa has not merely accommodated settler populations, it has assimilated some of them producing entirely new genetic, or racial if you like, stock. The tendency of Africans interest in the United States is not only informed by the prominent African Diaspora there, but also an instinctive appreciation for the cosmopolitanism and diversity of the USA, which represents an intriguing and attractive ideal to which we are ostensibly wont to aspire. Sudan, owing to the historical and evident fusion of peoples from Africa, Asia Minor, Europe and Arabia, is one of the greatest melting pots history has ever produced but should be encouraged to veer towards the South African concept of the non-racial rainbow society; otherwise it will continue to suffer polarization of identities, which has grown increasingly and more widely hostile in recent years. This will no doubt require expansion of Afro-Arab cultural, political and ideological dialogue, as well as yet greater economic integration between Africa and the Arab World, engaging Sudan in the middle. From the earliest days of the 20th century writers, intellectuals and other artists have promulgated the idea that humanity was entering an age of enlightenment; astrology adherents dubbed it the Age of Aquarius. It was not simply a superstitious, but advances in printing technology, radio, television, the automobile, air travel, electricity, telecommunications, electronics, space travel, bio-technology, the IT revolution, all combined brought about a new world, a world of unprecedented convenience and comfort for humanity. From massive global poverty and hardship, the working class in the North Atlantic became the middle-class, undermining Karl Marxs late 19th century ideological assertions about a global proletariat revolution against free enterprise. Certain countries, like Norway and those of Scandinavia have virtually brought their entire populations into the middle class and this appears to have become a universal goal, because when we talk of eradicating poverty the vision is to moving people from wretchedness into first of all the lower middle class a life of health and decency. Indeed the world is moving forward with ever increasing political empowerment, improved living standards,
increasing universal conveniences afforded by science and technology and unrelenting cultural exchange, multi-cultural social interaction and fusion through wedlock. This is the future of the world; both the Arab world and Global Africa are in the vanguard of this journey into the new age and in the light of the historical evolution and persistent expansion of the Afrabia reality, it is inconceivable that the world can move forward without Afrabia keeping or setting the pace.
Who and what is Osama bin Laden?

A few weeks ago Sudans defence minister Abdul Rahim Hussein in a public rally warned that if United Nations troops intervened in Darfur, Al Qaeda might infiltrate Sudan with a mission similar to what it has carried to Iraq. Now Al Qaeda boss Osama bin Laden has responded to his brothers coded call and issued an order for Al Qaeda terrorists from the Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere to descend on Darfur should United Nations troops intervene there to stop the Janjaweeds ethnic cleansing campaign. He has moreover ridiculed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended five decades of hostility between South Sudan and successive Khartoum based governments. Why is bin Laden, who aspires to be the giant killer, taking on America, so belligerent in his attitude towards the most severely poverty afflicted people on earth, found in Southern Sudan and Darfur? Osama bin Laden attained notoriousness by killing and maiming Africans in Tanzania and Kenya, in the course of bombing the American embassies in those two countries. Most of the personnel in those embassies and the bulk of those harmed were innocent Africans, many of them Muslims, who had no direct connection with bin Ladens cause, whatever it is. It was the first time that Arab terrorist acts, presumably executed in their war against Zionism and the West, were carried out in Sub-Sahara Africa. Why should multi-millionaire bin Laden carry his terrorist campaign into the heart of Africa, where some of the poorest people in the world constitute the masses, where even the American embassies pay local people poverty level wages, far below the earnings of their own nationals? Answering this question is very important to knowing who and what Osama din Laden really is. Bin Laden had been living in Sudan and collaborating with the National Islamic Front government. The same government whose rescue he is now calling Al Qaeda to in defiance of world concern about the terrorization of the local indigenous African population by the Janjaweed (devils on horseback), which the government refuses to take action against, while denying that it supports them. It has now become one of bin Ladens goals that the African Muslim population
of Darfur should not be allowed to live in peace; he has incorporated into his diabolical mission genocide against the non-Arab Muslims of Darfur. Mr. Bin Laden, you are telling the Arabists in Khartoum because I wouldnt degrade Islam by calling the National Congress Party, or even its National Islamic Front elements Islamists that South Sudan is Islamic land and they should fight for it how ever long is necessary. I want to tell you that in Africa there is no Islamic land, nor Christian land; there is only African national land. Africa fought for and won liberation from colonialism by the force of African nationalism. Religiosity played no part in Africas struggle for self-determination and religiosity cannot now come and ride as a subversive parasite on the back of African nationalism. And to what end? To disintegrate African National consciousness, to polarize our nations with religious fanaticism? You should have learned from Afghanistan that nations are built on nationalism, not sectarianism. They are doing so much better without you. He says that he is not ordering Al Qaeda to Darfur to protect the government but to fight for Islam. To fight for Islam is to fight for the chance to kill African Muslims? What is Islam to bin Laden? Muslims in the Middle East and some parts of Asia were recently up in arms against the West because a Danish magazine published a cartoon of Prophet Muhammed as a terrorist. But bin Laden claims to be representing the legacy and religion of Prophet Muhammed and at the same time he is an unapologetic terrorist. To him, his followers and sympathizers around the world Islam encourages terrorism as a virtuous calling, in which one might attain martyrdom and enter paradise. After bin Ladens assault on New York and the Pentagon, all over the Arab world people were in the mosques praying for him to get away with it. The man who proclaimed terrorism to be an article of Islamic faith became the hero of many Muslims. That is why people in Europe assumed Prophet Muhammed was a terrorist. The Islam of bin Laden and those of his ilk is destructive, racist and harsh. The people who drew Prophet Muhammed as a terrorist are themselves terrified of bin Laden and his kind; he is the one who has conveyed to the world the image of Prophet Muhammed as a terrorist, all the Danes
did was to put in print the mental image they got from him and the Janjaweeds. But beyond that, from bin Ladens record concerning Africa, we can see that Islam to bin Laden is Arab; any Muslim who is not an Arab is not legitimately Muslim in his syndrome, which is the same belief of the Janjaweed. Hence, bin Laden, the Janjaweed and their supporters have fallaciously converged Islam with racism. All that is just the tip of the iceberg; bin Ladens historical legacy, after the whole truth of 9/11 is officially revealed by some future generation in Washington, will be that of a demented pawn of the imperialists and Zionists. Sufficient evidence has been adduced to confirm for anyone not already knowing that Bushs neo-cons, or neofascists, as the case might be, before they won the presidential election in November 2000 had already planned to invade Iraq, commandeer its oil wealth in Iraq and stake its claims in oil rich Central Asia, while redrawing the map of the Middle East, allowing Israel to savagely drive the Palestinians across the Jordan River into Jordan. They needed a pretext however and when the Bush gang once in power began receiving intelligence reports that bin Laden was up to a plot that if executed would open the way for their diabolical schemes in the Middle East, they stealthily accommodated him. Thus, Osama bin Laden became the pawn in the treacherous game of the very people he claims to be bent on destroying. He is therefore an accomplice in the Anglo-American assaults on Afghanistan and Iraq. What is more, he endorsed and mercilessly supported the sectarian violence that has killed thousands of Iraqis, all Muslims, most of them from Kurdish and Persian origins. It was however not the plan of God that the Americans and Israelis should succeed in their hegemonic and megalomaniacal ambitions. But the fact of the matter is that Bin Laden and the imperialists whose pawn he unwittingly is are two sides of the same evil coin. Bin Laden talks about the West being at war with Islam. Why should he look that far? Let him look in the mirror and at the Janjaweed and their patrons if the shoe fits wear it. In the whole history of Islam it has never had greater enemies than him and his Al Qaeda, the Janjaweed and their accomplices. Aside from the fact that no one has ever done more to damage the image and good will of Islam than them, their hands and souls are stained with the blood of
hundreds of thousands of Muslims, not to mention thousands of others in the greater fraternity of humanity. For bin Laden, a man whose leadership thrives on suicide missions carried out by his disciples to refer to the taste of death as bitter is the ultimate paradox; death could only be bitter to those destined for hell.
Constitutive Act of the African Union

We, Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU): 1. The President of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Algeria 2. The President of the Republic of Angola
3. The President of the of Benin 4. The President of the Republic of Botswana 5. The President of the Burkina Faso 6. The President of the Republic of Burundi 7. The President of the Republic of Cameroon 8. The President of the Republic of Cape Verde 9. The President of the Central African Republic 10. The President of the Republic of Chad 11. The President of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros 12. The President of the Republic of the Congo 13. The President of the Republic of Cote dIvoire 14. The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo 15. The President of the Republic of Djibouti 16. The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt 17. The President of the State of Eritrea 18. The Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia 19. The President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea 20. The President of the Gabonese Republic 21. The President of the Republic of the Gambia 22. The President of the Republic of Ghana 23. The President of the Republic of Guinea 24. The President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau 25. The President of the Republic of Kenya 26. The Prime Minister of Lesotho 27. The President of the Republic of Liberia 28. The Leader of the 1st of September Revolution of the Great Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 29. The President of the Republic of Madagascar 30. The President of the Republic of Malawi 31. The President of the Republic of Mali 32. The President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania 33. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius 34. The President of the Republic of Mozambique 35. The President of the Republic of Namibia 36. The President of the Republic of Niger
37. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 38. The President of the Republic of Rwanda 39. The President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic 40. The President of the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe 41. The President of the Republic of Senegal 42. The President of the Republic of Seychelles 43. The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone 44. The President of the Republic of Somalia 45. The President of the Republic of South African 46. The President of the Republic of Sudan 47. The King of Swaziland 48. The President of the United Republic of Tanzania 49. The President of the Togolese Republic 50. The President of the Republic of Tunisia 51. The President of the Republic of Uganda 52. The President of the Republic of Zambia 53. The President of the Republic of Zimbabwe INSPIRED by the noble ideals, which guided the founding fathers of our Continental Organisation and generations of Pan Africanisit in their determination to promote unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among the people of Africa and African States. CONSIDERING the principles and objectives stated in the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity and the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. RECALLING the heroic struggles waged by our peoples and our countries for political independence, human dignity and economic emancipation. CONSIDERING that since its inception, the Organisation of African Unity has played a determining and invaluable role in the liberation of the continent, the affirmation of a common identity and the process of attainment of the unity of our continent and has provided a unique framework for our collective action in Africa and in our relations with the rest of the world.
DETERMINED to take up the multifaceted challenges that confront our continent and peoples in the light of the social, economic and political changes taking place in the world. CONVINCED of the need of accelerate the process of implementing the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community in order to promote the socio-economic development of Africa and to face more effectively the challenges posed by globalisation. GUIDED by our common vision of a united and strong Africa and the need to build a partnership between governments and all segments of civil society, in particular women, youth and the private sector, in order to strengthen solidarity and cohesion among our peoples. CONSCIOUS of the fact that he scourge of conflicts in Africa constitutes a major impediment to the socio-economic development of the continent and of the need to promote peace, security and stability as a prerequisite for the implementation of our development and integration agenda. DETERMINED to promote and protect human and peoples rights, consolidate democratic institutions and culture, and to ensure good government and the rule of law. FURTHER DETERMINED to take all necessary measures to strengthen our common institutions and provide them with the necessary powers and resources to enable them discharge their respective mandates effectively. RECALLING the declaration which we adopted at he Fourth Extraordinary Session of our Assembly in Sirte, the Great Socialist peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, on 9,9,99, in which we decided to establish an African Union in conformity with the ultimate
objectives of the Charter of our Continental organization and the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community: HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS Article 1 Definitions In this Constitutive Act: Act means the present Constitutive Act; AEC means the African Economic Community; Assembly Means the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Union; Charter means the Charter of the OAU; Commission means the Secretariat of the Union; Committee means a specialized Technical Committee of the Union; Council means the Economic Social and Cultural Council of the Union; Court means the Court of Justice of the Union; Executive Council means the Executive Council of Ministers of the Union; Member State means a Member state of the Union; OAU means the Organization of African Unity; Parliament means the Pan-African Parliament of the Union: Union means the African Union established by the present Constitutive Act.
Article 2 Establishment The African union is hereby established in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
Article 3 Objectives The objectives of the union shall to: (a) Achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa (b) Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states; (c) Accelerate the political and socio-economics integration of the continent; (d) Promote and defend African common position on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; (e) Encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the universal Declaration of Human Rights; (f) Promote peace, security, and stability on the continent (g) Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; (h) Promote and protect human and people right in accordance with the African Charter on Human and peoples Right and other relevant human rights instruments; (i) Establish the necessary condition which enable the continent to play its right role in the global economy and in international negotiations;
(j) Promote sustainable development at the economic social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies; (k) (l) Promote co-operation in all field of human activity to Coordinate and harmonize the policies between the raise the living standards of African peoples; existing and future Regional Economic communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union; (m) Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; (n) Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent. Article 4 Principles The Union shall function in accordance with the following principles: (a) sovereign equality and interdependence among Member States of the Union (b) respect of borders existing on achievement of independence
(c) participation of the African peoples in the activities of the Union (d) establishment of a common defence policy for the African Continent
(e) peaceful resolution of conflicts among Member State, the Union through such appropriate means as may decided upon by the Assembly (f) (g) (h) prohibition of the use of force or threat to use force among Member States of the Union non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstance, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity peaceful co-existence of Member States and their right to live in peace and security the right of Member States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security promotion of self-reliance within the framework of the Union promotion of gender equality Respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance promotion of social justice to ensure balanced economic development respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of governments
(i) (j) (k) (I) (m) (n) (o)
(p)
Article 5 Organs of the Union 1. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) The organs of the Union shall be: The Assembly of the Union The Executive Council The Pan-African Parliament The Court of Justice The Commission The Permanent Representatives Committee The Specialization Technical Committee The Economic, Social and Cultural Council The Financial Institutions: African Central Bank, African Monetary Fund and African Investment Bank Other organs that the Assembly may decide to establish Article 6 The Assembly 1. The Assembly shall be composed of Heads of States and Government or their duly accredited representatives. 2. 3. The Assembly shall be supreme organ of the Union. The Assembly shall meet at least once a year in ordinary session. At the request of any Member State and on approval by a two-thirds majority of the Member States, the Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session. The Office of the Chairman of the Assembly shall be held for a period of one year by a Head of State or Government elected after consultations among the Member States.
2.
4.
Article 7 Decisions of the Assembly 1. The Assembly shall take its decisions by consensus or failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States of the Union. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided a simple majority. 2. Two-third of the total membership of the Union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Assembly. Article 8 Rules of Procedure of the Assembly The Assembly shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure Article 9 Powers and Functions of the Assembly 1. (a) The functions of the Assembly shall be: determine the common policies of the Union
(b) receive, consider and take decisions on response and recommendations from the other organs of the Union (c) (d) consider requests for Membership of the Union establish any organ of the Union
(e) monitor the implementation of policies and decisions of the Union as well ensure compliance by all Member States (f) adopt the budget of the Union
(g) give directives to the Executive Council on the management of conflicts, war and other emergency situations and the restoration of peace (h) appoint and terminate the appointment of the judges or the Court of Justice (i) appoint the Chairman of the Commission and his or her deputy or deputies and Commissioners of the Commission and determine their functions and terms of office 2. The Assembly may delegate any of its powers and functions to any organ of the Union Article 10 The Executive Council 1. The Executive Council shall be composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs or such other Ministers or Authorities as are designated by the Governments of Member States. 2. The Executive Council shall meet at least twice a year in ordinary session. It shall also meet in an extral-ordianry session at the request of any Member State and upon approval by two-third of all Member States.
Article 11 Decisions of the Executive Council 1. The Executive Council shall take, its decisions by consensus or failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority. Two-third of the total membership of the Union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Executive Council.
2.
Article 12 Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council The Executive Council shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure. Article 13 Functions of the Executive Council 1. The Executive Council shall coordinate and take decisions on policies in areas of common interest to the Member States, including the following: Foreign trade Energy, industry and mineral resource
(a) (b)
(c) Food, agricultural and animal resources, livestock production and forestry (d) Water resources and irrigation
(e) Environmental protection, humanitarian action and disaster response and relief (f) (g) Transport and communications Insurance culture, health and human resources
(h) Education, development (i) (j)
Science and technology Nationality, residence and immigration matters
(k)
Social security, including the formulation of mother and child care polices, as well as polices relating to the disabled and the handicapped Establishment of a system of African wards, medals and prizes The Executive Council shall, be responsible to the Assembly. It shall consider issues referred to it and monitor the implementation of polices formulated by the Assembly The Executive Council may delegate any of its powers and functions mentioned in paragraph 1 of the Article to the Specialized Technical Committees established under Article 14 of this Act.
(I) 2.
3.
Article 14 The Specialised Technical Committees Establishment and Composition 1. There is hereby established the following Specialised Technical Committee, which shall be responsible to the Executive Council. (a) (b) (c) (d) The Committee on Rural Economy and Agricultural Matters The Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs The Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration Matters The Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, Energy, Natural Resource and Environment
(e) (f) 2.
The Committee on Transport, Communications and Tourism The Committee on Education, Culture and Human Resource The Assembly shall, whenever it deems appropriate, restructure the existing Committees or establish other Committees The Specialized Technical Committees shall be composed of Ministers or senior officials responsible for sectors falling within their respective areas of competence 4. The composition, powers, functions and organisation of the Pan-African, Parliament shall be defined in a protocol relating thereto Article 15 Functions of the Specialized Technical Committees
3.
a) b) c) d) e)
Each Committee shall within its field of competence: prepare projects and programmes of the Union and submit it to the Executive Council; ensure the supervision, follow-up and evaluation of the implementation of decisions taken by the organs of the Union; ensure the coordination and harmonization of projects and programmes of the Union; submit to the Executive Council either on its own initiative or at the request of the executive Council, reports and recommendations on the implementation of the provisions of this Act; and carry out any other functions assigned to it for the purpose of ensuring the implementation of the provisions of this Act. Article 16 Meetings
Subject to any directives given by the Executive Council, each Committee shall meet as often as necessary and shall prepare its Rules of Procedure and submit them to the Executive Council for approval.
Article 17 The Pan African Parliament 1. In order to ensure the full participation of African people in the development and economic integration of the continent, a Pan African Parliament shall be established. 2. The composition, powers, function and organization of the Pan African Parliament shall be defined in a protocol relating thereto. Article 18 The Court of Justice 1. 2. A Court of Justice of the Union shall be established The statue, composition and functions of the Court of Justice shall be defined in a protocol relating thereto Article 19 The Financial Institutions The Union shall have the following financial institutions whose rules and regulations shall be defined in protocol relating thereto. (a) (b) (c) The African Central Bank The African Monetary Bank The African Investment Bank Article 20 The Commission
1.
There shall be established a Commission of the Union, which shall be the Secretariat of the Union.
2. The Commission shall be composed of the Chairman, his or her deputy or deputies and the Commissioners. They shall be assisted by the necessary staff for the smooth functioning of the Commission. 3. The structure, functions and regulations of the Commission shall be determined by the Assembly Article 21 The Permanent Representatives Committee 1. There shall be established a Permanent Representatives Committee. It shall be composed of Permanent Representatives to the Union and other Plenipotentiaries of Member States 2. The Permanent Representative Committee shall be charged with the responsibility of preparing the work of the Executive Council and acting on the Executive Councils instructions. It may set up such sub-committees or working groups as it may deem necessary Article 22 The Economic, Social and Cultural Council 1. The Economic, Social and Cultural Council shall be an advisory organ-composed of different social and professional groups of the Members States of the Union 2. The functions, powers, compositions and organisation of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council shall be determined by the Assembly Article 23 Imposition of Sanctions
1.
The Assembly shall determine the appropriate sanctions to be imposed on any Member State that defaults in the payment of its contributions to the budget of the Union in the following manner: denial of the right to speak at meeting, to vote, to present candidates for any position or post within the Union or to benefit from any activity or commitments, thereform Furthermore, any Member State that fails to comply with the decision and polices of the Union may be subjected to other sanctions, such as the denial of transport and communications links with other Member States, and other measures of a political and economic nature to be determined by the Assembly Article 24 The Headquarters of the Union
2.
1. The Headquarters of the Union shall be in Addis Ababa in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. 2. There may be established such other offices of the Union as the Assembly may, on the recommendation of the Executive Council, determine. Article 25 Working Languages The working languages of the Union and all its institutions shall be, if possible, African languages, Arabic, English, French and Portuguese. Article 26 Interpretation
The Court shall be seized with matters of interpretation arising from the application or implementation of this Act Pending its establishment, such matters shall be submitted to the Assembly of the Union, which shall decide by a two - thirds majority. Article 27 Signature, Ratification and Accession 1. This Act shall be open to signature, ratification and accession by the Member States of the OAU in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures. 2. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary - General of the OAU. 3. Any Member State of the OAU acceding to this Act after its entry into force shall deposit the instrument of accession with the Chairman of the Commission. Article 28 Entry into Force This Act shall enter into force thirty (30) days after the deposit of the instruments of ratification by two- thirds of the Member States of the OAU Article 29 Admission to Membership 1. Any African State may, at any time after the entry into force this Act, notify the Chairman of the Commission of its intention to accede to this Act and to be admitted as a member of the Union. 2. The Chairman of the Commission shall, upon receipt of such notification, transmit copies thereof to all Member States. Admission shall be decided by a simple majority of the Member States. The decision of each Member State shall be transmitted to the Chairman of the Commission who shall, upon receipt of the required number of votes, communicate the decision to the States concerned.
Article 30 Suspension Governments which shall come to power through unconstitutional means shall not be allowed to participate in the activities of the Union. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Article 31 Cessation of Membership 1. Any State which desires to renounce its membership shall forward a written notification to the Chairman of the Commission, who shall inform Member States thereof. At the end of one year from the date of such notification, if not withdrawn, the Act shall cease to apply with respect to the renouncing State, which shall thereby cease to belong to the Union. 2. During the period of one year referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, any Member State wishing to withdraw from the Union shall comply with the provisions of this Act and shall be bound to discharge its obligations under this Act up to the date of its withdrawal. Article 32 Amendment and Revision 1. Any Member State may submit proposals for the amendment or revision of this Act. 2. Proposals for amendment or revision shall be submitted to the Chairman of the Commission who shall transmit same to Member States within thirty (30) days of receipt thereof. 3. The Assembly, upon the advice of the Executive Council, shall examine these proposals within a period of one year following notification of Member States, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article. 4. Amendments or revisions shall be adopted by the Assembly by consensus or, failing which, by a two-third majority and submitted for ratification by all Member States in accordance with their
respective constitutional procedures. They shall enter into force thirty (30) days after the deposit of the instruments of ratification with the Chairman of the Commission by a two - third majority of the Member States. Article 33 Transitional Arrangements and Final Provisions 1. This Act shall replace the Charter of the Organization of African Unity. However, the Carter shall remain operative for a transitional period of one year or such further period as may be determined by the Assembly, following the entry into force of the Act, for the purpose of enabling the OAU/AEC to undertake the necessary measures regarding the devolution of its assets and liabilities to the Union and all matters relating thereto. 2. The provisions of this Act shall take precedence over and supersede any inconsistent or contrary provisions of the treaty establishing the African Economic Community. 3. Upon the entry into force of this Act. All necessary measures shall be undertaken to implement its provisions and to ensure the establishment of the organs provided for under the Act in accordance with any directives or decisions which may be adopted in this regard by the parties thereto within the transitional period stipulated above. 4. Pending the establishment of the Commission, the OAU General Secretariat shall be the interim Secretariat of the Union. 5. This Act, drawn up in four (4) original texts in the Arabic, English, French and Portuguese languages all four (4) being equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the OAU and, after its entry into force, with the Chairman of the Commission who shall transmit a certified true copy of the Act to the Government of each signatory State. The Secretary General of the OAU and the Chairman of the Commission shall notify all signatory States of the dates of the deposit of the instruments of ratification or accession and shall upon entry into force of this Act register the same with the secretariat of the United Nations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE have adopted This Act. Done at Lom, Togo, this 11th day of July, 2000.

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Essays in Geopolitics & Political Economy

Who Speaks for Africa?

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Muhammed Kamil, 2005

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