Union Government: Real and Fake

[RWalker]

I posted several articles earlier this week on the meeting in Nigeria about establishing what the convenors called a Union Government. I wanted those of you who participate in and form the the Union Government forum to consider them as it is people like ourselves across the globe who will ultimately determine the success of the drive for Union Government in Africa.

Before reading the articles, I would like you to read this section from a post I just made on my Pan-Africanism forum here:

"Pan-Africanism is are our only possible salvation as individuals, as people, as a culture, as a nation. That is precisely why every great leader, every great mass movement, we have ever produced in recent history has turned to Pan-Africanism.

"Dr. Kwame Nkrumah said it most precisely, that the liberation and unification of Africa must be the primary objective of all black revolutionaries. He declared that the independence of Ghana meant nothing without the liberation and independence of the rest of Africa and then threw open his country to the nationalist and Pan-Africanist guerrilla movements from all of Africa; he also helped countries such as Guinea and Congo with financial and other assistance.


"Our great Warrior Prince, Malcolm X-Omowale Shabazz, said that we must become Pan-Africanist as it was the only way we will gain the mental (psychological, ideological) and operational (concrete means, practical ability and capabilities) necessary for our liberation.

"Back in the early 60s certain leaders on the continent, those in league with our enemies, betrayed the drive for Pan-Africanism led by Dr. Nkrumah, then head of state of Ghana. Malcolm called his meeting with Dr. his "highest" honor, his referred to Ghana under Nkrumah and his party, the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), the "fount of Pan-Africanism", he spoke of Nkrumah as being so knowledgeable about the struggle of the Africans here in the USA that you would "think he was out there on the corner with you"; indeed there is wonderful picture of Malcolm in an issue of Ebony showing him teaching his children about Nkrumah with this big poster of Dr. Nkrumah as an aide. Now you know that Malcolm was a man who understood the value of sending the right message through the media thus his choice of setting, with the poster, and education his children was no mere coincidence. He was sending us a message for all eternity. We must educate ourselves about the Pan-Africanism that Nkrumah planned and worked so dililgently to achieve.

"Nkrumah constantly warned against the new strategy of imperialism in Africa. What Malcolm called the new colonialism led by the USA and generally deployed through its proxy, the zionist settler colonial state, Israel (See Malcolm's article, Zionist Logic). He said that the primary weapon of this new colonialism was "dollarism". Nkrumah referred to it, this evil process as neo-colonialism. He constantly warned that neo-colonialism was the enemy of African liberation, freedom and unification. He said that is not only held those under its control in bondage, but also presented a constant threat to the truly independent states in Africa as control of the neo-colonial states gave it a military, political, economic-financial, and diplomatic base against the liberation movement. Nkrumah's famous book, Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism, showed how neo-colonialism worked in Africa, its use of balkanization - divide and conquer, breaking up large units into smaller units, substitution continental solutions for regional mechanism and so forth, the activities of the foreign militaries and their surrogates in Africa, the multinational corporations, so-called financial aid, technical aid, missionary work, psychological warfare, diplomacy and so forth; how it kept Africa artificially poor by the means listed above and the consequences of this imposed poverty; how we could defeat it with Pan-Africanism (by a socialist continental Union Govenment) and the dire consequences to the world of not resisting this monster.

"Nkrumah's idea of Pan-Africanism was/is very straightforward: Africa must be liberated and united under a socialist Union Government, this Africa he advocated must also include the peoples of Africa in the diaspora as citizens. He proposed this constantly to the other leaders and heads of state in Africa, especially at the OAU meetings. Those in the pay of the enemy always fought it to the bitter end. This is why, that is his firm commitment to real Pan-Africanism, the US, UK, France, and others were united in a coup against the Nkrumah government.


"The Guinean people wanted to send aid to those fighting inside Ghana to maintain the CPP government, but they were blocked by Senegal's and Ivory Coast's neo-colonialist government militarily, could expect no support from the other governments in the area, for example Liberia, Sierra Leone and thus would not have been able to get to Accra in time, even if they were able to defeat the neo-colonialist

"They believed that by destroying what the Ghanaian people under Nkrumah's leadership had built would end Pan-Africanism. They were wrong, as the Party State and people of Guinea (Conakry) invited Nkrumah to live there and continue OUR work as Co-President of Guinea. A few years later, November 22, 1970 NATO member Portugal launched an invasion of Guinea, this is how the wikipedia describes it:"

"November 22 - Guinean president Sekou Toure accuses Portugal of an attack when hundreds of mercenaries land near capital Conakry. Guinean army repels the landing attempts in November 23-24. November 25-29 UN delegation arrives to investigate the situation. In December 4 UN announces that Portuguese navy and army units are responsible."

"I remember that struggle and it was an indicator of the power of Pan-Africanism. The NATO forces, through their member state Portugal, had hoped to destroy the Nkrumah Ture base for African revolution, after all in Guinea at the time were the guerrilla movements fighting for liberation such as the PAIGC and of course it was also the base for the organizing of the loyal CPP members with Nkrumah, and Nkrumah's Political Secretary, charged with the responsibility for the creation of the A-APRP Kwame Ture and others...clearly then the defeat of Guinea would have been a blow to Pan-Africanism on par with the overthrow of Ghana's CPP government, the war against Lumumba's government in Congo and set back African liberation for decades. But we did not succumb to the enemies tactics and strategies, the African revolution was victorious in this instance. It showed that neo-colonialist

"Yet the lackeys in Africa who are the direct servants of our enemies still continued to block Pan-Africanism. Just as they did in the Algerian, Congo and Rhodesian UDI situations they continued to work with the enemy against the new center of Pan-Africanism, Guinea.

"This same situation remains to this day. Recently in Nigeria there was a meeting of several heads of states chaired by Obasanjo, it included Mbeki, Wade and a handful of others. They were meeting to discuss the forming and format of what they called a Union Government for Africa. In fact their concept of the Union Government embraces capitalism, western governmental and social models, the dominance of regional stuctures in Africa, everything that the true Pan-Africanists opposed. What the majority of individuals in that meeting is nothing other than neo-colonialism,

"According to one telling report on that meeting this group is advocating everything that is in opposition to Pan-Africanism in the guise of building a Union Government for Africa. In the report you will note the emphasis on gradualism, something that Nkrumah criticized as wrong over 40 years ago; references to regional power vis a vis continental government; and especially the insistence on western democratic model and "liberal economics" -- that is capitalism. These two fixations have been recently criticized severely by President of Tanzania Mkapa, but nonetheless remain dicta for the majority in this meeting. In essence this version of a Union Government, if it ever constructed would enshrine balkanization through the power of the regions making the continental government a weak federation of regions dominated by states such as neo-colonial Nigeria and South Africa, based on capitalist political and economic systems. Nkrumah called capitalism the gentleman's form of slavery.

"At any rate I have included one of the many articles you can find on that meeting immediately following, note in particular this section from that article:"

""Four years ago, Libyan leader Colonel Moamer Kadhafi called for a formal federation dubbed a "United States of Africa". This idea has been greeted with scepticism elsewhere, but was not ruled out on Sunday by the seven leaders.

"Instead, those attending the summit said that any such closer union would have to be built with the assent of Africa's 800 mln citizens and be based on a shared definition of democracy, human rights and liberal economics.

"These values must determine the constitutive and regulative rules of the union," ":


This above is quoted from the article "African leaders endorse gradual unity plan" which is the first one of the Nigerian groups of articles I have inserted below.

At the time I posted this group of articles, I said the following by way of preface:

Below you will find a potpourri of different perspectives on the progress (or lack of progress) towards building the African Union government. I would like to point your attention to one the articles from the Nigerian press which mentions that the conferees to this week's Abuja conference are emphasizing that building such a government will be a slow and gradual process, this is an aspect of the AU approach / process one must be rather suspicious of...as we have commented before, it seems rather specious to talk about gradualism after the amount of time that has expired since Nkrumah put the subject on the table as early as the first OAU meetings and in fact long before the establishment of the OAU and the dire state of the African people. Also note the phrase declaring that a Union must: " be based on a shared definition of democracy, human rights and liberal economics," liberal economics being a catch phrase for the continuance of domination by the "developed" world, in effect a continuation of neo-colonial relationships. This is the catch in all this --- this is what distinguishes what the AU leadership is doing and what Nkrumah, Ture, Sobukwe, Lumumba, Nasser and the rest of that era's leadership, and those who follow their line living and dead, stood/stand for, as they were firmly and uncompromisingly against neo-colonialist domination of Africa and neo-colonialism/imperialism generally. Hower, we must not despair or be pessimistic about Pan-Africanism, indeed the fact that the stooges are forced/obligated to talk about African Union government indicates how strong our position is and how weak their's is."

Having laid so much groundwork here are the articles grouped by states in which the press group operates, starting with Libya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Angola, China, and ending with United States (although this New York Times article is from Agence France):

Here is a sample of what the Libyan press JANA is saying about current efforts to build a United States of Africa, from an article on the recent meeting between Qadhafi and Mandela:

The Leader receives the great African freedom fighter Mandela. Tripoli / 11.10.05 / Jana

The Leader of the Revolution received, today Friday, the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, the International Qadhafi Human Rights Prize laureate, who is visiting Great Jamahiriya.

During this meeting, Mandela renewed his gratitude and appreciation for the Great al-Fatah Revolution's support to the people of South Africa until victory in their long and bitter struggle against the apartheid regime. "All forms of that support offered by the great al-Fatah Revolution and its stances to support the struggle of the South African people by all means, are unforgettable stances which will remain engraved in the history's memory" he said. The great freedom fighter Nelson Mandela also expressed his gratitude and appreciation of the Leader's concerted efforts for the establishment and founding the great African Union and his persistence in enjoining the completion of building of its institutions, conducive to the establishment of the United States of Africa, the dream of consecutive African generations.

"I wish that God extends my life to attend the realization of the United States of Africa, for which the founding fathers and African Wiseman had for years advocated and strived for. Today you are carrying its banner, for you are the actual drive, the founder, and the major instigator for the establishment of the African Union" he told the Leader during this meeting. Mandela, called on the Leader during this meeting to continue this march tirelessly, to realize this task, which he hailed as most honorable and noble task in African history. He underlined that by his prominent international personality and big role for peace in the world, the leader would reinforce this noble endeavour to create this giant African space beside great spaces in the today's world. /Jana/ 22 : 11


***

The following view are Nigerian views: note the mention of slow and gradual process and the dictum of the sacredness of "liberal economics" -- that is capitalism, in the first article:


1.
ABUJA (AFX) - Seven of Africa's most powerful leaders agreed today that the continent should seek to become a single unified state, but admitted that this would be the result of a slow and gradual process.

"The necessity for eventual union government is not in doubt. It is even characterised as an imperative," the panel, six heads of state and government and a top African Union diplomat, said in a joint statement issued in Abuja.

The document was issued after a summit hosted by President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, who chairs the African Union, and attended by his counterparts Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, John Kufuor of Ghana and Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade.

Also present were prime ministers Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and Ahmed Ouyahia of Algeria, along with the chairman of the African Union Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare. All endorsed African unity through "gradual incrementalism".

Since 1963, the 53 countries of Africa have met under the auspices of the Organisation for African Unity, which was re-launched as the African Union in July 2001 with a more ambitious programme of political integration.

This new body has already embarked on a plan to give Africans a common parliament, central bank and appeals court -- similar to those of the core European Union member states -- but some would like it to go further.

Four years ago, Libyan leader Colonel Moamer Kadhafi called for a formal federation dubbed a "United States of Africa". This idea has been greeted with scepticism elsewhere, but was not ruled out on Sunday by the seven leaders.

Instead, those attending the summit said that any such closer union would have to be built with the assent of Africa's 800 mln citizens and be based on a shared definition of democracy, human rights and liberal economics.

"These values must determine the constitutive and regulative rules of the union," the statement said.

"For effectiveness and sustainable results, a carefully thought out and detailed road map on the 'Union Government' project must be developed and used as a guide," it added, without setting any deadline for such a blueprint.

The leaders said that the project would not supercede the work of current regional organisations, but that such groups would be encouraged to follow a path which would eventually lead to a common pan-continental future.

African leaders endorse gradual unity plan
11/13/05 05:52 pm
newsdesk@afxnews.com
afp/har


2.
President Obasanjo who gave a welcome address, stated that certain issues were necessary for consideration in the bid to have an African Union Government among which is that “ a union government must be motivated by a clearly identifiable set of goals. Part of the goals must be that of a union of the people as opposed to merely a union of the various structures and government.�

He added that “the pursuit of these goals must be based on a set of clearly identifiable shared values and commonality of interests which are non-negotiable� stressing also that “these values determine the constitutive and regulative rules of the union; and such rules are expected to be based on the principle of strict adherence.�

He further explained that the major goal of the union “must be the unity of all Africans and peoples of African descent in the Diaspora. Such unity is merely a means to the ultimate goal which is the development and transformation of our people and continent.�

In his remarks, Chairman of the opening session and Ghanaian President, John Kuffor said that Africans must understand that “when nations join with others in a trade or political bloc, they give up a portion of their national sovereignty.�

“What people need to understand is that the solutions to the problems that affect them as individuals or as groups today can no longer be found just at the national level. We should also endeavour to have common democratic values so that our citizens would know what to expect wherever in Africa they find themselves. Finally, regional peace and security are essential for integration. Without them, our energies are wasted�, he stressed. Among the topics of discussion at the two- day consultative dialogue are “ Union Government as a Development Option for Africa, Prospects and Challenges of Union Government in Africa, Envisaged Structures, Processes and Roadmap and Union Government and Alternative Development Options.�

A formal meeting of the AU Committee on Union Government will hold this evening before the closing ceremonies, to be chaired by the President of Mozambique, Armando Emilio Guebuza.

Convener of the meeting, President Obasanjo is expected to give the summary remarks to formally close the meeting.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=33137
African Leaders Meet on Unity Government
From Josephine Lohor in Abuja 11.12.2005

3.

Obasanjo chairs talks on proposed AU government
Chesa Chesa
Abuja

Chairman of African Union (AU), President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday in Abuja flagged off a two-day consultative dialogue on the possibility of having a Union Government in Africa.

The conference is tagged: Africa and the Challenges of the Changing Global Order: Desirability of an African Union Government and is holding at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.In attendance are Presidents John Kuffor (Ghana), Thabo Mbeki (South Africa), Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal), Prime Ministers of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi; and Algeria, Ahmed Onyahia as well as the chairman of the AU Commission, Alpha Konare.Obasanjo challenged Africans to evolve the modalities for achieving the Union Government and that it was time for all Africans to embrace courage, vision, commitment, focus and the political will to take decisions, abide by and implement such decisions.He remarked that the major goal of the Union “must be the unity of all Africans and peoples of Africa descent in the Diaspora. Such unity is merely a means to the ultimate goal which is the development and transformation of our people and continent�.

Chairman of the opening session, President Kuffor of Ghana pointed out that Africans need to understand that “when nations join with others in a trade or political bloc, they give up a portion of their national sovereignty.What people need to understand is that the solutions to the problems that affect them as individuals or as groups today can no longer be found just at the national level.“We should also endeavour to have common democratic values so that our citizens would know what to expect wherever in Africa they find themselves�, he said.

Topics to be discussed at the consultative dialogue include Union Government as a Development Option for Africa, Prospects and Challenges of Union Government in Africa, Envisaged Structures, Processes and Roadmap and Union Government and Alternative Development Options.A formal meeting of the AU Committee on Union Government will hold Sunday evening before the closing ceremonies to be chaired by the President of Mozambique, Armando Emilio Guebuza.

The Abuja meeting became imperative after disagreement among Heads of States and Governments at the last AU summit in Sirte, Libya, on a proposal by Libyan leader, Moummar Gadaffi calling for an immediate implementation of one government policy for Africa.It was then decided that a seven-member committee including Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, Algeria, Senegal and Uganda with President Yoweri Museveni as chairman be empanelled to resolve the impasse and work out the way forward.

http://www.independentng.com/sunday/nnnov130505.htm

***
A South African (Azania) press view:


The call for a united Africa has been around for a long time," noted Kufuor in a lecture addressed to delegates, officials and reporters on the history of pan-African political thought.

"Some want to go only as far as the European Union, while for others it has to be nothing short of one central government," he said.

"The emerging reality is that the rest of the world is already constituted as political unions or economic blocs," he continued.

"The political arrangement that enables Africa to compete to advantage is what should engage Africa," he added, calling for greater cooperation between Africa's 53 countries.

The summit - "Africa and the challenges of the global order: Desirability of union government" - will continue into Sunday, with the leaders discussing the broad principles of integration.

Obasanjo said that among the ideas under discussion would be that of "a collective government of previously sovereign states that have agreed to abolish national borders."

Such a federation would "create an economic and monetary union, establish common foreign and defence policies among other strategic decisions based on a set of clearly identified values."

"The ultimate goals of such a political structure must be those of sustainable development, peace, security, growth, democracy and the transformation of the continent," he said.

Since 1963 the countries of Africa have met under the auspices of the Organisation for African Unity, which was re-launched as the African Union in July 2001.

The Union aims to one day give Africans a common parliament, central bank and appeals court - partly modelled on those of the European Union Nbut some would like it to go further.

Four years ago, Libyan leader Colonel Moamer Kadhafi called for a formal federation dubbed a "United States of Africa", but this idea has been greeted with scepticism in other capitals.

Meanwhile, while AU mediators and peacekeepers have tried to help stabilise war-torn regions in Burundi and Sudan, many African countries continue to pursue bitter regional rivalries.

"A union government must be motivated by a clearly identifiable set of goals," said Obasanjo, urging leaders to bring Africa's 800-million people along as supporters of the project.

"One of those goals must be that of a union of the people, as opposed to merely a union of various structures and governments," he said.

The leaders - who may be joined by other African heads of state over the weekend - are expected to return home after the talks on Sunday, when a final communique will be released. - Sapa-AFP
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?s...1866296499B252

***
An Ethiopian article is a little more pessimistic about Pan-Africanism, calling it a fantasy, however, much of their opinion seems based on the Ethiopian President Zenawi's role in the meeting.


A few days after unleashing a ruthless campaign of terror in Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi flew to the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to attend a summit over the weekend on the formation of the “United States of Africa.�

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, current chair of the African Union, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, President John Kufuor of Ghana, Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade, Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia of Algeria, along with the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, also attended the two-day weekend summit on November 12 and 13.

According to the ruling party’s newswire, Walta Information Centre, the leaders underlined that the United States of Africa (U.S.A.), which is aimed at establishing a single government for the whole of Africa, “will play a significant role in responding to the social, economic, political and other international questions facing the continent.�

Walta quoted Meles Zenawi as saying: “There is a need for making preparations in a bid to resolve problems that may arise in the process of transferring the African Union to a single government.�

The summit seems to have been a “significant� step to revive the Pan-Africanist fantasy, which has been floating since the 1960s. Nonetheless, the African leaders, who chatted about their dreams of setting up one government for 53 African countries, appeared to have failed to discuss the real problems, including bad governance, that have made Africa a hellish continent of suffering. Since its establishment in 1963 as the Organisation of African Unity, the AU has been unable to fulfil its declared objectives. The AU, rightly called a club of tyrants, has never raised its voice against the grossest human rights violations being committed across the continent by all sorts of ruthless despots.

http://www.nazret.com/php/uploadnews...=&misc=searcha


***
Here is an extract from Angola's press:


South African President Thabo Mbeki will attend a major conference on Africa and the `desirability of the union government` scheduled for Saturday in Abuja, Nigeria, the foreign ministry confirmed Thursday.

Other participants at the "Regional Conference on Africa and the Challenges of the Changing Global Order: Desirability of the Union Government" include Presidents John Kuffor (Ghana), Benjamin Mkapa (Tanzania), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal), Abdelaziz Bouteflika (Algeria) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

During the conference government and civil society representatives from the five African regions will further reflect on the concept of an African Union Government and discuss its desirability as a framework for the continent`s effective participation in the global order.

This follows the reaffirmation of African heads of state and government in Sirte, Libya last July regarding Africa`s complete political and economic integration.

The summit had established a Committee of Heads of State chaired by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to consider all proposals related to this goal, including the structure, process and timeframes required for this objective to be achieved.

"Mbeki to attend confab on Africa in Nigeria" http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=390632


***
Chinese view:

African Leaders Meet in Nigeria to Consider Views on Union Gov't

2005-11-13 3:57:57 CRIENGLISH.com

A two-day symposium to study the proposal for a United States of Africa, under the auspices of the 53-member African Union (AU), opened on Saturday in Nigeria's capital Abuja, the official News Agency of Nigeria reported.

The meeting tagged "Africa and the challenges of the global order: Desirability of the union government" was convened by Chairman of the seven-man AU committee of leaders on the proposal, President John Kufuor of Ghana, and attended by four other heads of states and government, it said.

In their separate opening addresses, both the AU Chairman, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Kufuor said that the idea of a union government, which will have its own central bank, military and parliament, was not new on the impoverished continent.

"They said that the conference must look at the pros and cons of such an arrangement and its workability in Africa, considering the very diverse nature of its people," the report said.

The conference is expected to look into the ways and means by which union governments emerged elsewhere and if the continent could also do the same and submit a report to the next meeting of the AU leaders in January next year.

President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia are attending the meeting. Presidents of Tanzania and Uganda, who are also members of the seven-man committee, sent their representatives.

(Source: Xinhua)

http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/2239/200.../64@281692.htm


***

The New York Times ran the Agence France article:
Unified Africa Envisioned





By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: November 14, 2005
ABUJA, Nigeria, Nov. 13 (Agence France-Presse) - Seven of the most powerful leaders in Africa agreed here on Sunday that the continent should move toward becoming a single, unified state, but they said that it would be a slow and gradual process.
"The necessity for eventual union government is not in doubt," they said in a joint statement issued after meeting here. "It is even characterized as an imperative."
They were attending a summit meeting presided over by the president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, who is also the chairman of the African Union. The other heads of state at the meeting included President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, President John Kufuor of Ghana and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal.


http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytla/LMB-popunder.html