It is now more clearer than ever that it is the disastrous policies of African leaders since the era colonialism that is the bane of Africa's woes. Africa is bedevilled with a long history of leadership crisis. We crowd the list of the worst countries on earth in every indexes of human development despite being the cradle of human civilization. The irony of it all is that Africa leaders want to perpetuate themselves in office while their countries are on constant decline in all aspect of human development. The recent death of Omar Bongo of Gabon who held on to power for 42 years,seven years short of our 49 years of independence confirms a situation where a man holds his country hostage. Now his son has taken over possibly for another 50 years. We were very close to this evil when former President Obasanjo told the international community that Nigerians wanted him for third term. The biggest lie of the century.
Another problem of Africa is the unending conflicts and wars caused by our leaders. This brings me to the issue of impunity in Africa. Since all African leaders are of the same kind it is not difficult to understand why they cannot speak their mind on critical issues that include genocide,war crimes and crime against humanity. It was Muammer Gadhafi who convened Africa leaders in Tripoli and rejected the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the troubled region. The UN says 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes in the western region of Darfur. And one man is responsible and his life is deemed more precious than this scores of men,women and children who have lost their lives.
October 2009, Nigeria hosted a meeting of the African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council on Darfur and the government of Sudan was invited with Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to lead the delegation. With Rights groups and others urging the Nigerian government to arrest him if he turned up for the meeting coupled with threats of demonstration at the Abuja venues,our government whose support for impunity cannot be hidden resorted to cheap and dirty politics by possibly advising the Sudanese wanted criminal to avoid the meeting. Well, South Africa and Uganda abstained themselves from the pack of disgruntled wicked African leaders, by refusing to allow Al-Bashir into their countries because of its feared legal and political implications. That meeting was moved to Nigeria because we could tolerate the accused and Nigeria was even expecting to receive Al-Bashir in our airport.
We continue to envy South Africa,why won't this nation make progress and become the darling of the West. What stops Nigerian Government from clearly stating its position on Al-Bashir. If we support the ICC,it will go along way to send a strong massage to other leaders and intending ones who are busy committing acts of genocide and war crimes across Africa that enough is enough. Some will argue that we have about about 5million Nigerian living in Sudan and the diplomatic effect will be fatal. Do we realise that the crime against this man is the death of over 300,000 human beings? Why should over 5 million Nigerians be living in a war torn country,one of the poorest nations on earth that falls far below Nigeria in all areas of human endeavour? Are these 5 million Nigerians tourist or is that Nigerians love to live outside their country? Is not the failure of their government?
This goes a long way to tell us that if our President has his way he will commit more than Al-Bashir. This why the President could not openly condemn the Parliamentarian,Ibn N'Allah who joked about killing 20 million persons in the Niger Delta so that he and his kinsmen will continue to loot and plunder the wealth God put under the people of the Niger Delta.
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