Debate on African unity takes centre stage

The pace towards a united Africa came under focus on Thursday at a forum addressed by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. At the same forum, former Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa revealed that during his time in office, he was known to prefer interviews with foreign rather than local journalists.

And Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai warned that lack of visionary leadership was Africa’s bane. The four were speaking during a unique Eminent Persons Round Table on the opening day of the Pan Africa Media Conference in Nairobi.

They discussed “Expanding political participation: What political leaders, the media and civil society can collaborate in to solve the big issues confronting Africa in the 21st Century”.

When moderator John Sibi Okumu asked a question about Libyan President Muammar Gadaffi’s push for immediate African unification, President Kagame urged caution. He pointed out that even the building blocs towards African unity, regional groups such as the East African Community, were still works in progress.

But in his response, Mr Odinga referred to the departed founding fathers of African freedom — such as presidents Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah, and Gamal Nasser — and their unfulfilled dream. Those genuinely wishing to unite the continent should move ahead without delay, he said, and the “conservatives will come on board later”.

President Kagame, who termed his own views as radical compared to other members of the panel, warned African governments to stop dreaming and move to practical implementation of their strategies for development. “Leaders need to move away from drawing board rhetoric and do things that give us results. You can have a vision and remain on paper as a vision,” he said.

“It is illogical to always refer to the vision of the continent’s forefathers and talk about integration without implementing plans,” he told an audience that included President Kibaki and The Aga Khan, Nation Media Group’s founder. His tiny country which is still recovering from the 1994 genocide, President Kagame said, is implementing a vision which hopes to transform it into a middle income country by 2020 with a per capita income of $1,000 (Sh77,000).

Already, President Kagame said, they had achieved a per capita of $500, up from $190, adding that his government had invested a huge amount of resources in infrastructure, education, health, and agriculture despite its limitations.

Shifting goals

Mr Odinga and Mr Mkapa attributed problems facing the continent to lack of visionary leadership. Mr Odinga regretted that Kenya had been shifting its development goals since the 1960s, for instance to be a middle income nation by 2000, then 2010 and now 2030, thus wasting time and resources.

“We have now come up with a clear vision where we want to go,” he said of Vision 2030, when Kenya hopes to be a modern, industrialised middle income country with high standards of living for its people. Mr Odinga also blamed corruption, which resulted in diversion of public resources to individuals’ pockets, as one of the reasons for Kenya’s underdevelopment.

He said Kenya, which was at the same development level with the Asian tigers at independence, had learnt its lessons and was keen on achieving Vision 2030. “I have confidence this vision is achievable through an open society, empowering of civil society to hold the government accountable, and the media exercising its freedom,” said the PM.

Mr Mkapa said that until Africa really thinks about its position in the world, realises that it can only develop through its own strength, its leadership becomes courageous and thoughtful, and the media does not only criticise but advocate, and civil society hold rulers to account, it will be difficult for the continent to integrate.

Responding to Mr Okumu’s query on whether Africa should wait another 100 years to develop on the pretext that it is still young, Prof Maathai said she had been advocating environmental awareness as an entry point. “Unless we take care of the environment, the rest will go down the drain,” she said, adding that it is not easy for Africa to overcome all its problems.

She said visionary leadership was required for the continent to get out of poverty. She also pitched for selfless leadership that does not condone corruption. “What we have now is a society eating as if there is no tomorrow. Unless we have visionary leaders, we will continue to go round in circles,” said Prof Maathai.

Another lively topic was why Kenyan leaders have been politicking, yet elections were still three years away. Mr Odinga said that politics and development go hand in hand. He also blamed the media for giving priority to political stories for commercial purposes, saying although some politicians have been talking about development, the issues were ignored.

“The mistake is partly with politicians but largely the media is to blame. The media likes seeing politicians on the front page at all times. Politicians are not in newsrooms to decide what is on the front page,” said the Prime Minister.

President Kagame said there was not “much noise” in Rwanda despite the nearing elections set for August “because we have made our noise so much in the past but had to cool down”. After years of too much politicking that resulted in killings in Rwanda, he said, his country was now down to serious business.