Senegal Is A Bad Example For Africa

After the recent presidential elections in which the incumbent, Abdoulaye Wade, was unseated from office, a statement was made that Senegal should be seen as a good example for Africa. This should be so, apparently, because a sitting president conceded defeat in a presidential election, a rarity in Africa. There is no doubt that sitting presidents hardly concede defeat in an election in much of Africa. They often simply rig the thing from the beginning so that they may not have to deal with the small unpleasant issue of public wonder whether their leader actually won. This is the track taken by people such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia, Paul Biya of Cameroon, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, among others. However, Abdoulaye Wade, who was a champion for democratic values when he had not tasted the sweetness of power, convinced himself that he was still popular enough not to need such tried and tested method as rigging. He wanted to take it directly to the people in a free and fair election - he lost.

His acceptance of defeat, however, did not come easily. He had challenged the legality of the constitution, which he had sworn to defend, so as to go on as president of the Senegal. In this he was not different from the other rogues who have manipulated the constitution of their countries to prolong their unholy stay in power. The only difference with the case of Senegal is that when the old man, Wade, manipulated the constitution to contest elections again, the Senegalese people rose up and said "no". First, they protested on the streets of the country and many died in the process. When this did not work, they voted to remove the old man. If there is any good example from Senegal, it is the example of the people, not the example of Wade, who did not want to leave power. In all, Wade should be included on the list of rogue African leaders such as Mugabe, Jammeh, Museveni, Biya, and others.

Robbers In Paradise II: Equatorial Guinea

Portuguese Jobless Seek Jobs In Africa

It is not just the Angolan government bailing out the debt-ridden Portuguese government; now Portuguese jobless are migrating to Africa seeking jobs. Watch:

How Joseph Kony Became A Good Guy

The recent viral video from the Invisible Children, which purports to have as its goal the capture of the Ugandan rebel leader, Joseph Kony, has instead achieved an ironic feat - making Kony a sympathetic figure, a good guy. Since the video was launched, all kinds of critiques against the producer of the video and the Invisible Children organization have cropped up. Critiques range from the usual suspects of misguided aid to Africa to the perpetuation of colonialist mentality. Some claim that the video paints a picture of Uganda and Africa that is not correct - that the continent is a desperate place in need of aid. For others, the video gets its facts wrong - it claims that Uganda is in central Africa and gives the errorneous impression that Kony is still in Uganda. Even a government minister from Uganda has come out of the woodwork to say that Uganda, which is dependent on aid for about half of its budget, is a stable, developing country like any other stable, developing country. Some of the criticisms have had to do with how the Invicible Children organization uses its money, even though this organization has been around for quite a while without attracting such widespread condemnation as appears to be the case now. Its films about the atrocities being commintted by Kony's group in Uganda has been screened on many campuses in the United States, including campuses in which I have taught, without much disapproval.

In all this, one fails to get the impression that Kony is a person who has committed heineous atrocities. The video appears to have shifted the gaze of the world away from the criminal to the person who, however inadequately, was attempting to bring more light on these atrocities. And this is always how things are often confused when it comes to Africa. It is a fact that Kony has currently not be accounted for - if he had, the United States would not have sent soldiers to track him down. Even the government of Uganda can itself not account for Kony even though it has been receiving money from the United States for its war on terror. The claim by a Ugandan government minister that the Kony issue is passe is highly inaccurate. In fact, no one should trust a Ugandan government minister's assessment of the situation in Uganda. The regime of Yoweri Museveni is a dictatorship that will carry out all kinds of machinations to keep itself in power. If anyone is currently benefitting from this slight of hand which has turned Kony into the good guy and a person who is bringing his atrocities to light into the bad guy, it is the Ugandan government which often benefits from the suffering of its people - remember the money it receives from the United States for its war on terror. Thus, even though the Ugandan government cannot account for Kony, they act as if his days of destabilizing Uganda is over because he appears not to be in Uganda anymore. As a matter of fact, it is not known for a fact that Kony is not in Uganda because the Uganda government itself is unable to police its own boundaries. It is also not known for sure whether Kony is dead or alive. Even if it is correct that Kony is no longer in Uganda (some say he is now roaming freely in the DRC and CAR), does that make him any less dangerous? Have African lives become so unimportant that many apparently intelligent people around the world would defend Kony over those trying to bring him to book? Yes, the matter is not as simple as depicted in the video, but is it wrong to want to catch Kony and bring him to book? I am tired of all these self-righteous people, both Africans and non-Africans, who think they are the only ones with worthwhile insights about the continent, yet are doing nothing to make things better. I would err on the side of wanting to catch Kony rather than lump my lot with all those who have been so quiet about him. Let the video go viral as long as the issue of the capture of Kony is not yet clear and the stability of portions of Uganda, DRC and CAR is still an issue. Kony and the Ugandan government who have been unable to catch him to this day are the bad guys here, not the people are are attempting to bring Kony to book.

Announcing The Death Of A Pope

One of the first bishops to be called a Pope (papa) was the bishop of Alexandria in Egypt whose latest successor is the recently deceased Pope of the Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda III. That was before the bishop of Rome came to have dominance in Western Christianity and so became the popularly known Pope. Today we learned of the death of Pope Shenouda III, champion of the dominated.

101 Days of Protesting Paul Biya's Dictatorship In Cameroon

While it appears that many have made peace with the dictatorship of Paul Biya, as Biya had hoped would be the case after he forced his way into another seven years as dictator of the peaceful and hardworking people of Cameroon, we at flourishingafrica have made sure that he stays in the limelight until his dictatorship ends. Our twitter program "Tweet Until The Biya Dictatorship Ends" was launched 101 days ago and it has been shining the light on the Biya Dictatorship ever since. Join the movement - tweet until the Biya dictatorship ends!

How Cameroon's Indomitable Lions Became A Church

The national football team of Cameroon, the Indomitable Lions, have been recently conspicuous for their raucous failures demonstrated by their shameful first round exit from the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and their failure to qualify for the African Nations Cup tournament in 2012. Thus it is that the whole country has been engaged in soul searching about what needs to be done to reverse this dismal state of affairs. One of the responses to this is that Rigobert Song, the erstwhile captain of the national team who himself did not know when it had come time for him to retire from the team, has been appointed team manager. In order to stem the tide of what he believes to be ailing the team, he has written a creed for those who would be part of the team to abide by. Below is the eleven-point creed:

1. The Cameroon national team is sacred, serving it is my only goal
2. The green-red-yellow is sacred, I shall wear it in every stadium, honour and defend it
3. Playing for my country is an honour, with loyalty, fidelity and courage I shall represent it
4. Each match and each selection is goodness shared with my people, my public and mates
5. With my team-mates I shall be strong, with friendship and solidarity my watchword
6. Respect for elders is a principle, from them I inherit this jersey, illustrious they handed it to me and glorious I will pass it on
7. I shall communicate with my coaches, comrades and officials, dialogue shall remain my strength
8. No matter the time and place, player or substitute I shall serve with enthusiasm and professionalism
9. I shall give my best in the field, I shall be humble and hold my head high
10. From North to South, East to West, I shall be a model for the youths of Cameroon and Africa
11. Indomitable I am, indomitable I shall remain

From the above, one cannot fail but notice that the national team has become a religious organization, a church, of sorts. The team is described as "sacred" and Song even calls what he does a "sermon".  Song demands loyalty and fidelity from honored ones who will be fortunate enough to play for Cameroon. I have many questions about all this, one of which is why someone would be considered honored to play for Cameroon. What is honorable about Cameroon to which one has to be loyal? One thing that Song fails to mention is the rampant corruption that is the very process of selecting players for the national team. This corruption is one which has been promoted by the ruling elite, of which Song is himself a part. Instead of working to curb this corruption in high places that has destroyed the national team, this disloyalty from people who are supposed to be patriotic, Song is focusing on making himself a cult-leader, bring state dictatorship into the national team. The problem with Cameroon's national team is not the players; the problem is the managers and Song is one of them. To demand loyalty from the players is to turn the table while leaving the culprit of Cameroon's decline go free. I have followed Cameroon football for over twenty-five years. As the leaders of the country have become increasing corrupt and unpatriotic so has the team declined. Recently, Cameroon's leaders have been refusing to pay players. How do you expect loyalty from people who are not paid even as the fat cats in government offices are siphoning money from the country? Paul Biya, the president of the country, hardly lives in the country. How loyal is that? How patriotic? How do you expect loyalty from people who work in a place where everyone is disloyal? Does Song want the players to play for free in order to show their patriotism while Song and his people keep stealing the money from the country?

You Need To Watch This: Who Is Joseph Kony?

Paul Biya's Cameroon, Jobs, and Big Government

The Republican Party in the United States appear to hold such a distaste for what they term "big government" that one may be forgiven for thinking that they hate poor people. Even though the Republican Party itself is a party of big government, one of the points which they decry effectively applies to Paul Biya's Cameroon: when the people of a country rely on the government to provide for them, that government will hold them as slaves. That is exactly what is going on in Cameroon where the main non-agricultural job provider has historically been the government. Thus, Paul Biya has used job provision to young people as a means to keep them in thrall. The most recent example is the paltry 25,000 job opening which the government announced, to the raucous excitement of many young people. So the government goes about creating a very inhospitable environment for individual initiative to flower (private businesses are hardly established in Cameroon because of high taxes) because it wants the people to rely on it. And the more the people rely on the government for jobs, the more, the government uses employment as a means to silence and control the people. In Cameroon, one can hardly work for the government if they do not openly profess to support the ruling party, even if they privately detest it. The Republican Party is correct: big government may lead to lack of freedom, as is the case in Cameroon, even though the Republican Party itself practices what it criticizes.

K'NAAN: A SOMALI IN AMERICA

Robbers In Paradise

How Congolese Blood, Sweat, And Tears Built Belgium

The Forgotten German Extermination Of The Herero

Before there was the holocaust, there was the genocide of the Herero people of Namibia. Germany and the rest of the world have been called to account for the holocaust but the genocide of the Herero people is being forgotten. Some are out to change that. Join the movement - forward the video.

Lagos: A View of African Renaissance