Cannot wait for the next Africa Union summit: Gaddafi's just been named the body's chairman.
Say what you will about the man but his visions of a single African military force, a single currency, and a single passport for Africans to move freely around the continent have an appealing whiff of Nkrumah about them that I cannot help but inhale.
Should be a very interesting year.
Yes it should be very interesting. The visions outlined above are indeed revolutionary. I am not too sure what Gaddafi's civil rights track record is...I have a feeling its not that great although I do not know for sure. Definitely need to research him now...
ReplyDeleteOf course the guy would advocate for a unitary passport for Africa, how else would he move his fleet of Hummers from his tent on the dessert to Joburgh if he wanted to without much blockades on the way. I dont like the man, I dont like his country, I dont like his people [ too many ghanaians have come back home with horror stories of Libya and am not talking about the i-want-to-get-to-greener-pastures types.]Its a sad day for Africa if this guy chairs the AU.
ReplyDeleteI am willing to look past Gadaffi's past but I too find it hard to reconcile his rhetoric with rumoured treatment of Ghanaians in Libya. I suspect that Gaddafi's afrocentricism is not representative of what his people feel, which is not a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI do however feel that there are certain things that need to be pushed in the otherwise laid-back-to-the-point-of-complete-inactivity AU and I have no faith in all the suit-wearing conformists calling themselves 'leaders' to deliver the AU's promise.
I think Gadaffi too will ultimately fail (because he will be too pushy about it: more BOOM than ASOMDWE... ahem), but he will probably raise the profile of the debate and push it to the fore.
Commander-brother Two-Face? (Of DC Comics infamy?)
ReplyDeleteGaddafi has a few screws loose in his head.
He's ruthless and destructive.
He currently finances and arms rebels in Darfur, Burkina Faso and Cote D'Ivoire.
In the 80's he financed and armed the IRA, Filipino rebels and Nicaraguan paramilitaries.
He drains the non-renewable shared groundwaters of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System to work...the 30 billion dollar plus "Great Man-made River" - 'a modern wonder of the world'.
To what extent can a megalomaniac old leopard change its spots?
Let's look at successful regional blocs and see how they've done it.
NAFTA and the glorious EU started out as economic zones (NAFTA still is).
Do we have a functioning zero tarrif trade bloc in Africa? No.
Let's not get caught up in the hype.
It should be an interesting and entertaining year nevertheless.
OFF TOPIC
ReplyDelete--About your post on my blog. No i havent watched the documentary you asked about. I will now that you've mentioned it (cough.... limewire...cough) :) By the way so as not to affect the whole flow of your blog comments this is my email and i expect yours in return out of coutesy :P for future correspondances
xchange141@gmail.com
What i have against Gaddafi (or however else this Enigma spells his name) how he's always vacillated between Arab and African unity as his pet project, depending on who he's had a fight with lately.
ReplyDeleteword of the day ' vacillated' :)
ReplyDeleteDuke, you crack a brother up. Lol.
ReplyDeleteI think vacillated is a little harsh though. 'Turncoat' might be more accurate as I think it was a lasting switch from Arab to African unity.
Watch this space for a wider write-up on this...
Most Arab States are geographically and demographically located in Africa.
ReplyDeleteAt the penultimate Arab League Conference Gaddafi called on Gulf Arab States to join the AU = )
Perhaps he's found African leaders to be more receptive to his largesse...
Arab Unity and African Unity aren't mutually exclusive...
Australia is part of the Asia-Pacific region...
Mexico is North American...
The ideas are contemporary and make sense and the EU is a good example.
However the concept of good governance is still in its infancy in Africa and the wider region...