AU stands accused

By Kofi Akordor
The political upheaval which swept across North Africa at the beginning of last year cannot be forgotten so soon. What started as a young man’s protestations against the harsh economic conditions in his country Tunisia snowballed beyond expectation.
On December 17, 2010, Mohammed Bouazizi, described as a fruit seller, set himself ablaze for what he considered harassment from the city authorities. That set in motion violent protests all over Tunisia, spilling across borders into other parts of North Africa.
The first casualty was President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia who had to beat a hasty retreat and fled to Saudi Arabia. The Jasmine Revolution or the Arab Spring as the protests became known, cleared Hosni Mubarak of Egypt from power.
The last to go was Col Muhammad Gaddafi whose 42 years of dictatorship came to a bloody and humiliating end in October, 2011.
As we reflect over events of last year, we need to factor in the role the African Union (AU) played in the upheavals, the invasion of the continent by foreign troops and the eventual overthrow of those leaders.
At the transformation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the AU in 2002, African leaders pledged to emphasise the democratisation of the political process on the continent. They also committed to isolating all forms of dictatorship and nurturing a vibrant democratic culture which would in turn push forward the agenda of economic emancipation.
They opined reasonably that once the liberation struggle, which was spearheaded by the OAU, had come to an end, it had become more important to direct attention to economic development which is a weak spot on the continent, notwithstanding its rich and abundant resources.
Ironically, one of the strongest driving forces behind the formation of the AU was Libya’s Col Gaddafi, one of the longest serving leaders on the continent who came to power in 1969, overthrowing King Idris.
Straight away it became obvious it was going to be a Herculean task for the new AU to live up to its commitment to democratic governance and the rule of law. The AU also took on board veterans such as Paul Biya of Cameroun, Omar Bongo of Gabon, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda none of whom had shown any signs of relinquishing political power through democratic means.
Having inherited this heavy baggage of dictators and having failed to make multiparty democracy a pre-condition for membership of the AU, the new continental body became nothing but a huge farce which could not instil any democratic discipline among its members.
So it became the norm that the dictatorships became monarchies with sons taking over from their fathers. So Faure Gnasingbe took over from his father, Gnasingbe Eyadema; Joseph Kabila took over from his father Laurent Kabila; Ben Ali Bongo took over from his father Omar Bongo.
Before their overthrow, there were clear indications that Col. Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak were preparing the ground for their sons to take over from them. Currently, Senegal is in a turmoil because of rumours that President Abdoulaye Wade is grooming one of his sons to take over from him in future.
Apart from its failure to impress upon members to adhere to democratic principles, the AU looked powerless in the face of numerous electoral frauds which characterised many elections on the continent.
In January, 2008, Kenya, a country with peaceful credentials, exploded into sectarian violence which claimed hundreds of lives over electoral dispute. Our own beloved country, Ghana, came close to the brink of instability in December 2008 over the same electoral challenges with the then ruling New Patriotic Party and the main opposition National Democratic Congress.
Last year, it took French forces to dislodge Laurent Gbagbo from power after disputed polls, while the AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) played second fiddle to the French and other foreign powers.
Such was the ineffectiveness of the AU that the events of last year in North Africa could not be described as strange and unexpected. The leading role that was expected of the AU when the Jasmine Revolution was set in motion was absent.
That gave room for NATO and the US who had their own axe to grind with Gaddafi to put their grand agenda into motion. That last person to be treated so shabbily by the AU is Gaddafi, who, despite all his problems, poured a lot of funds into the AU and its predecessor, the OAU, whose liberation fund he poured copious amounts of money into.
If the AU had intervened earlier with much purpose and decisively, who knows, the revolution might not have taken so many lives and destroyed infrastructure which had taken many years to build. But as events proved, the AU allowed foreign powers to play their games on our continent with impunity.
Clearly, the AU is playing very little leadership role on the continent and it is time it began to make itself relevant in the affairs of the continent. On the political front, the AU must be able to define clearly, what constitutes good governance and makes sure all members operate within that framework.
It must be prepared to suspend or even expel countries that fell short of democratic governance. While it may not be able to prescribe specific constitutions for member countries, it should be in a position to supervise and police political affairs in member countries.
The tendency of African presidents amending constitutions to prolong their rule like the recent one in Cameroun and Senegal should call for swift action from the AU. It must also work against the creation of modern-day political monarchies which is gaining root on the continent.
Gaddafi is dead but the AU owe him an apology for betraying him and abandoning him when it mattered most. The same is for Hosni Mubarak, who, instead of enjoying his old age with his children and grandchildren, has to be ferried to court on a stretcher to answer charges of corruption and murder.
If the AU had acted well and purged itself of such dictators and prevented the creation of new ones, the Arab Spring would not have swept over the continent. That is why the AU cannot escape blame for the events of last year and for the continued stay in power of some of the continent’s dictators.

fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
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