AU: Nothing to celebrate
What you need to know:
- There is little to celebrate about the Africa Day.
- Like its predecessor, the AU is increasingly becoming a club of dictators.
There is little to celebrate about the Africa Day, which commemorates the May 25, 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity.
The continent continues to wallow in misery, with no proper sense of direction from an organisation that had been envisioned to provide that leadership.
In fact, it is the disillusionment with the OAU’s lethargic performance over the years that led to the formation of the African Union.
But sadly, even the AU has failed to rise out of the shadows of its predecessor and remains a veritable talking shop whose impact on the continent’s problems is quite minimal. There are numerous examples of just what a huge disappointment the AU is today.
The raging crisis in Burundi, the civil war in South Sudan, and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa confirm that the AU lacks the impetus to contribute meaningfully to improving the lives of Africans.
Like its predecessor, the AU is increasingly becoming a club of dictators. Its only role, it seems, is to champion the interests of leaders notorious for violating their people’s rights.
Unless the AU begins to address vital issues such as human rights, it will not be easy to justify its existence.
