Is Africa ready for one government?

[AYOUB]

Is Africa ready for one government?

By Ephraims Sheyin

History appears set for a repeat as African leaders gather early July in Accra to debate the possibility of forming an African Union (AU) Government, as they did in 1965 in the Ghanaian capital.

At the third OAU summit in 1965, the idea of one government, mooted by Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah in 1963, saw the continent's leaders breaking into two camps.

The Casablanca group was led by Nkrumah whose radical platform rooted for the United States of Africa (USA), while the Monrovia group, led by Nigeria, opted for an association of independent states.

With the continent now free from colonialism and apartheid, African leaders are seeking a new and united approach to global challenges and problems such as poverty, disease, hunger and conflict.

It is on this premise that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi mooted the idea of AU Government with the ultimate goal of transforming into USA.

The decision to devote the ninth session of the AU Assembly, holding from July 1 to July 3, to the theme ''Grand Debate on the Union Government,'' followed two reports on Gaddafi's proposal.

The first was submitted by Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni-led committee, while a committee of seven heads of state led by Nigeria's former President Olusegun Obasanjo examined issues involved in such integration.

While accepting the ''desirability and necessity'' of the union government, the Obasanjo committee harped on the need for a union of African peoples and not merely a union of states and governments.

It also suggested that its formation must be based on a multi-layered approach, using the principle of ''gradual incrementalism''.

But while African nations prepare to argue their positions in Accra, it is pertinent to ask: Is Africa ready to be under one leadership umbrella?

Can the USA solve the continent's problems and ills?

Will it be easy to harmonise policies and provide infrastructure? Are the African nations ready to cede their sovereignty to a continental government?

Debates on the issue point toward a sharp divide as it was in 1965. For Dr Ojobo Atuluku, Director, Action Aid International, the call for the USA is ''immature''.

''African leaders must look inside their countries before they start looking outside,'' she said at a Round Table in Abuja to discuss the proposal.

According to the NGO director, African leaders must first pay attention to their peoples’ basic needs before talking of USA.

Dr Sani Alfa, a university lecturer, agrees with Atuluku and cautions African leaders against being ''copy cats'' by ''running after innovations from other shores''.

He stresses the need for the leaders to first develop and implement a vision for their people before facing the world.

For the lecturer, the AU has not done much as many nations still groan under poverty, hunger, disease and want in spite of the enormous resources available to them.

''The Peer Review Mechanism put in place by the same leaders is not being put to use and leaders cannot challenge themselves when they are going wrong,'' he says.

Echoing the duo, Ene Obi, Action Aid's Governance Team Leader for Africa, notes that there are ''so many barriers on the path of the USA, especially the too many differences in language.

''Genuine commitment to a common interest among Africans has not been ascertained.

''The daily reference to shared values and the fact that they are common victims of colonialism are not enough to guarantee a successful USA.''

She suggests that the continent should start with social and cultural integration, and gradually move toward political and economic oneness before talking of USA.

Dr Said Adejumobi, an international affairs expert, however, believes that the idea is an ''excellent one'' as Africa needs to come together as ''a solid force'' in a competitive world.

''The Africa nations need such integration at this crucial moment,'' he declares, but adds that the process should be ''gradual'' to ensure that the peoples and governments are sufficiently sensitised.

With such differing views, African leaders are poised to either establish the USA, maintain the status quo or reinvigorate the AU as a transition to union government.

Among models they are examining are the American Union which started with 13 colonies determined to break the yoke of colonial rule and ended as a federation.

There is also the European Union (EU) model, a confederation of nations which began as an economic community.

Similarly, the league of South-East Asian countries has its focus on a strong economy while maintaining the members' sovereignty.

In the USA equation, Gaddafi has been a recurring decimal. Since Nkrumah 42 years ago, no other African leader has made an AU Government a personal project like he has done in the past four years.

According to reports, Gaddafi has sponsored several meetings of African NGOs, former heads of state, parliamentarians, professors, labour union leaders, women activists, youths and journalists to sell to them his vision of the USA.

Expectedly, such a dogged commitment to the idea has attracted suspicion, as many commentators question his objective.

The speed with which the vision is being pursued has also pitted the Libyan leader against some African leaders, especially Obasanjo and South Africa's Thabo Mbeki.

The suspicion became pronounced after the ninth meeting of the CEN-SAD heads of Sahel countries held in Sirte, Libya, from June 2 to 3 during which the leaders reportedly resolved to support a continental government with a federal head.

They also agreed to have ministers or secretaries in all sectors, including external relations, energy, health, finance, health, infrastructure, sports and peace.

Another option said to be close to the chest of proponents of the idea is a two-track approach to the Union Government in case a wholesale USA fails, according to diplomatic sources.

The option entails a go-ahead for countries which want immediate coming into force of the AU Government, while those not ready yet can join later.

Alfa says this approach should be discouraged as it will disrupt the continent's effort of realising economic and political integration.

But most international affairs observers in Nigeria are rather disappointed with the West African leaders' attitude to the issue.

''It is regrettable that while the South African region is going to Accra with a firm position that the USA must be based on the principle of gradual incrementalism as recommended in Abuja in 2005, ECOWAS does not seem to have a common position,'' notes Mr Joshua Abimbola.

Abimbola, an Ibadan-based international relations expert, says he is sad that Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso are for ''immediate'' evolution of USA, while countries in the west, such as Ghana, favour a ''gradual'' movement.

Nigeria, seen as the most influential West African nation, has not categorically stated where it stands on the USA debate. Perhaps that is being kept for the Accra summit, but there is not much to indicate that the needed wide consultation and enlightenment have been carried out as recommended by the AU Assembly in Addis Ababa in January.

The closest to such sensitisation might be a stakeholders forum held in Abuja on June 20.

At the forum, government officials led by the permanent secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, representatives of some international groups, academics and relevant NGOs spoke for and against the USA idea.

A clue that Nigeria may be in the group which believes that time is not ripe for instant coming into force of the Union Government is the fact that the National Assembly has not debated the project.

Deliberations on the issue by the lawmakers and the Federal Executive Council are crucial as the project touches on the sovereignty of the country.

Experts believe that if Nigeria opposes a sudden USA, South Africa and most of the English-speaking African countries, including Ghana, are likely to follow suit.

These countries argue that though the USA idea is desirable and in the best interest of the continent, more time is needed for wider consultation and enlightenment because of the project's far-reaching implications.

With the world gradually turning into a global village and the attendant need to tackle challenges collectively, stakeholders and experts are convinced that African unity has never been more desirable than now.

However, any hasty leap into a federated USA may just serve the ambitions of some leaders, while the foundation of such a project may not stand the test of time. (NAN   

 

http://www.triumphnewspapers.com/is6207.html

[Allamagan]

That is a disaster move and if not feasable at all!