Is Raila Odinga’s AU Bid Another Grand Exercise in Futility?

On August 27, the Kenya government officially endorsed Raila Odinga as its candidate for chairman of the African Union Commission in a ceremony held at State House.

In attendance were William Ruto, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan, South Sudan’s Salva Kiir, former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete , among other dignitaries. The platitudes spoken at the ceremony, and the grandiose reception of the VIP dignitaries resembled a mini African Union heads of state gathering.

Watching the gathering and listening to the speeches, I was struck by two sad truths.

One truth was of a tone deaf generation totally incapable of understanding the problems of Africa. The other was that these same people continue to be in charge of Africa’s affairs or determine or influence its future. Let me expound on these two issues by reference to the speech made by Raila Odinga.

Odinga touched on several problems plaguing Africa including peace, the poverty that forces people to flee to Europe, and intra-Africa trade.

Yet not once did he hint at, let alone mention, the root cause of all these problems. Lack of peace in Africa is caused by failed governance.

The governance style fashioned by the independence leaders is characterised by what Ali Mazrui called “deification” of political authority.

By this process, the president becomes a god. He uses government positions and public resources to buy support or reward sycophants. Significant resources are used for self-aggrandisement and to fulfill megalomaniacal ambitions.

It is a wasteful and corrupt system. The state employs an elaborate police apparatus to intimidate citizens. A case in point: A few weeks ago, and not far from State House , the Kenya regime stationed snipers on rooftops to execute unarmed protesters.

The African governing elite is also adept at using tribalism as a political tool. The war in South Sudan is a competition for power by individuals who mobilise the support of their communities.

The deadly conflagration in Sudan is traceable to Bashir’s dictatorship which weakened systems and impoverished the country. Now those close to Bashir are fighting to be the next “deity” and continue to plunder the country.

 

Odinga evoked the ghosts of Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Sekou Toure and Haile Selassie — dictators who designed the oppressive parasitic state. Evocation of these dictators was ominous, because it signaled continuation of the AU defence of the broken system they designed and which successive regimes have perpetuated.

Should he succeed, Raila will become the next spokesman and defender of this fundamentally flawed governance which the youth of Africa want to overthrow.

His legacy will be cast in the same lot with that of dictators who have ruined and continue to ruin Africa.

—Source: The East African 

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