AFRICAN UNION IN 2024 – NEED FOR RENEWAL
The African Union was expected to respond to the new continental challenges and aspirations since it was created, on the foundations of the Organization of African Unity. My intention today is not to provide any historical background of neither the OAU, where I briefly served as a free-lance translator when Portuguese was introduced as an official language. Other times. I also participated in the Summit that created the AU in Lusaka. Other times as well.
I wish however to mention the Lagos Plan of Action of the OAU, which created panic among European powers because it was the African version of the New International Economic Order, calling for the industrialization of Africa. Sacrilege, as far as foreign powers were concerned. The same way as it was a sacrilege that in Abuja there were plans to replace the Colonial French Franc with a new currency. The experts died in a mysterious plane crash that was bringing them from Lagos to Abuja. And the second time the new currency was mooted for adoption by all of West Africa, France quickly run to Cote d’Ivoire and scuttled the project by hijacking it[1]. I personally was at the ECOWAS Summit in Aso Rock while this theatre was being played out! Ghana was almost agreeing to this hijacking, and it will become clear only when Niger, Burkina and Mali expelled the French where Ghana stood in this fight for sovereignty.
But I am getting ahead of myself. The O/AU bravely tried to get the African agenda moving:
The Liberation Committee (closed, prematurely if you care for my opinion)
The various ground-breaking humanitarian Conventions, including the Convention governing Specific aspects of the refugee problem in Africa and the Kampala Convention on Internally Displaced Persons
The Lagos Plan of Actions
The Continental Free trade Area.
The Yamoussoukro protocol on freedom of the African skies
The Study on resources and financial flows from Africa
The Proposal to make the African Union fully dependent financially on member states through a system of domestic collection of taxes.
The AU Mission in Somalia
The African CDC
The list is long.
However, this year’s Summit was particularly worrisome on two counts:
The absence of six African countries, suspended by the Chair of the Commission, on the basis that there were unconstitutional changes of government: Burkina, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Sudan.
And why does this unfortunate situation jump to our attention? Because at the same time as we suspend countries that are fully entitled to participate, we accommodate a whole group of foreign observers, from the US to European countries, some of which are actually even in our Peace and Security Council. There was even an attempt to foist Israel. Africa does not seem to learn the diplomatic art of demanding reciprocity. And keeping tactical confidentiality, in no situation whatsoever. Why would the EU have a permanent observer status in the AU and the AU not demand the same treatment at EU summits?
The financing of the AU is said this year to be 9% covered by African countries, and 91% by countries outside the Continent[2].
Now we have reached a stage where the one that pays the piper is actually entitled to call the tunes by sheer weight of the logic[3]! Where is the Kagame funding proposal? This is as dangerous as the UAE buying millions of hectares of land in Africa on the pretext of carbon trading, when in fact, the intention is long-term future food security for that Arab country! While we remain food insecure!
The financing by foreign powers is dangerous and may lead to attempts to recolonize Africa, that we already hear. That starts with the military presence in the Sahel. Fortunately, our brothers in the Sahel have had the foresight to see through the smokescreens and have gotten rid of foreign forces who, under the guise of fighting terrorism, were doing some other mapping and allowing terrorists to gain more territory over a period of more than 10 years. They are being sabotaged in their struggle (and we know they will continue to be destabilized), not just by the foreign forces, but also by our own other brothers who are comfortable with the sweet power of Governors on behalf of Europe and America!
There is a definite effort at bringing back the military forces chased away, and the menace of terrorism is still used to intimidate us into allowing foreign military bases. Not only is there no reciprocity, but actually new foreign militaries are coming to Chad and if we are not careful, the Cabo Delgado security crisis, aggravated now in 2024, can be another Trojan Horse for the permanence of foreign forces, one more step for better exploiting African resources through debilitation of our institutions, starting with the military!
We also hear of a proliferation of bilateral military cooperation agreements. Why are they imposing a series of cooperation agreements that we are not asking for? And more perversely, including template Status of Forces agreements where foreign military personnel enjoy extra-territoriality in case of misconduct? Meaning, any misdeeds in the Continent cannot be judged in countries hosting the forces, but in their countries of origin: why would one ask for a place in my house and still bring his own rules to be applied in this house while my family watches helplessly? What kind of father am I?
One more time: I just wrote a letter to you Heads of State a letter on behalf of the people. This is a complement, after seeing how the AU Summit fared. Your six children (Sudan, Guinea, Niger, Mali, Burkina, Gabon) are discriminated and kept in the cold, while invitees from Europe and America listen to every strategy you map out for us. Where are you taking us? May we say clearly that the time may have come for a different AU if we want to protect our sovereignty? We see it as urgent.
My earlier letter, if you have not seen it is in https://www.canhandulatete.com/post/open-letter-to-our-presidents-meeting-at-the-au-summit-this-week
We still respect you our Presidents, but we need more leadership and better ownership of African strategies, otherwise we are looking at the barrel of a new colonization[4].
Jose
Tete, 16 February 2024
[1] https://www.france24.com/en/20191222-cfa-franc-to-be-replaced-by-the-eco-but-will-stay-pegged-to-euro
[3] chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://ecdpm.org/application/files/7216/6074/7083/DP240-Financing-the-African-Union-on-mindsets-and-money.pdf
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