Africa's Woes

The disgraceful happenings in Zimbabwe with Robert Mugabe continue to pick on my consciousness. The delay on the part of African leaders to condemn this man is appalling and insane. The unstoppable mayhem in other parts of Africa that has taken forever to twig the nerves of Africa's leaders continues to amaze me...and I am mad as hell:

Robert Mugabe has forced his people to go to the polls against their wishes and the wish of the international community. He is twigging his nose at all those in power, especially in Africa. We wait to see those who will point accusing fingers at him at the African Union Summit in Egypt this week.

Mr. Mugabe's logic is that since most of Africa's leaders refuse to give up power, he saw no reason why he, the poster boy, should give up his rule when he has not completed his term of office or has been voted out of power.

Is Mugabe saying that no leader of Africa has the guts to ask him to step down seeing the gravity in the lifestyle of the people of Zimbabwe the agony they are going through both at home and outside it? Is Mugabe telling the world that the Presidential Club in Africa has swore and is bent on seeing the people of Africa suffer forever and ever? Is Mugabe, in his last days on earth, letting the secret of Africa's presidential detente out of the bag?

There was the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Let's call it the organization that kept African leaders in power for ever. Some cases in point: William V.S. Tubman of Liberia; Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea; and Kwame N'Krumah of Ghana. The three sat in a dusty town of Sanniquellie deep in Nimba County, Liberia, and proposed the OAU. The rest of the leaders of Africa agreed to this farce and that organization was born.

Tubman remained in power until death. Sekou Toure remained in power until his death. Our man from Ghana would have been in power today had he not been overthrown by his country's military! What benefits did the Liberian people get from being part of the OAU? One benefit I can think about is this: No Africa country, not even Liberia, should interfere in the internal affairs of another African country. From such well-written agreement, Tubman, Toure and N'Krumah and the rest of the pack were sure to remain in power until hell froze over. If you think I am lying, check out all the African leaders that came into being after the old boys had gone. Conte of Guniea is still hanging in there with a dialysis machine attached to his side.

The OAU has changed to African Union (AU). From the OAU, they have now shortened this acronym to AU. Let's be real here. Isn't this just new wine in an old barrel or old wine in a new barrel? What I realize is that to keep this phenomenon going, the majority of Africa's people must remain illiterate. The more people are illiterate, the more likelihood they would remain at the mercy of the educated.

The Case of Liberia

The majority of the people of Liberia were kept in literacy - darkness for as long as possible - 133 years, give and take. Those in power made sure their offspring got well educated to perpetuate the governing of the state. In order not to be seen to be cruel, wicked and unmindful of the needs of the people, a few lucky ones among the indigenous were chosen and educated through the master-servant setup. It worked but not to the benefit of the country - masses. For today, the Government of Liberia is importing auditors from Ghana and Zambia to do what Liberians should be doing, even after a civil war.

The African Scenario

The world's second largest continent is the least developed. Every other continent is doing better than Africa. We cannot protect our people from our wicked leaders. Check out Sudan. Darfur is an eyesore to the whole of Africa. Look at the Congo. Uganda has been at war since Idi Amin ran away. Somalia is a no-man's land. Listen to the man in The Gambia. By looking at a victim and uttering unintelligible pronouncements, the President of that country can cure HIV/AIDS. What a joke!

Look at South Africa. Even after Mandela, the people of South Africa continue to struggle for black supremacy. The black population has been relegated to townships with little or no amenities; they live in dirt and squalor. Universities in South Africa are still segregated. South Africa leads in frequency of crime upsurge in the world. The country appears to be sitting on time bomb; even worse than what we see in Zimbabwe. This is simply because foreigners have forcefully taken over the land of the indigenes. The dumb policy of seeing wicked things happen and not being able to raise a voice is highly depressing. It leads to sudden and uncontrollable upsurge of civil upheaval.

Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is now telling African leaders to commit themselves to term limit as they seek the presidency of their countries. It is a big shame that it has to go this far before the people can finally understand that the OUA or AU was never and has never been in the interest of the people. African leaders set this thing up to keep themselves in power indefinitely.

New Breed of Leaders

The next rung of the ladder to Africa's future must be put together by a new breed of African leaders. These leaders must be prepared to see green and call it green, unlike the attitude of their forebears.

The new leaders must see the need to obviate any future upheavals such as what discerning political observers foresee in South Africa and in other places on the continent.