Democratic Double Standards?

Read this very short post from this blog.

My Best Poster from the Demonstrations In Egypt

"A Simple Solution"
End of movie. Brief.
I got the picture from here.

Going South: The Protests Go To Sudan

See videos here and here. Will anything come of it? See These Aljazeera video reports on the matter.

Egyptian Army: Lesson For Cameroon's Army

Having overwhelmed the hated Egytian police force in their call for the ouster of Mubarak, Mubarak sent in the army, perhaps believing that the army would overwhelm the people and so bring the demonstrations under control. Tanks were brought onto the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, among other cities. When the tanks came I thought that would be the end of the demonstrations. My experience in Cameroon during the early 1990s when I was in the Unviversity of Yaounde taught me that soldiers only kill, injure and humiliate people when they are called to control a demonstration. But what I saw in Egypt was different. Civilians were talking freely with the soldiers. Young men and old ladies were kissing the soldiers as their tanks sat by. In fact, a child even sat on one of the tanks and the soldiers asked the people to demonstrate peacefully, noting that they were there to protect the people from those who would want to take advantage of the chaos to commit crimes. This was an army that knew that its purpose was to protect the people rather than injure or humiliate them. The Cameroon army would do well to learn this very important lesson. Soldiers should not be against the people; they should rather protect the people. If the demands of the demonstrators in Egypt succeed, it would in part be because the soldiers understood that the people are their brothers and sisters. The soldiers knew that the destiny of their country is far more important than the lust for power of one dictator. When next Paul Biya sends the soldiers or gerdames to injure the people in order to protect his lust for power, they should do well to remember this lesson. In fact, it will be important for soldiers all over Africa to learn this lesson. They are there to protect the people rather than kill or injure them.

How Much Is Paul Biya's Salary?

The salary of Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon, has been an eternal mystery. In spite of numerous calls that have been made for him to reveal what he earns, he has consistently remained silent. There is a tradition in Cameroon that workers hardly reveal how much money they are paid even to members of their families. This could be given as a reason why Paul Biya has not revealed how much his monthly or yearly salary is. However, given that Biya holds a prominent position that demands transparency, he must disclose how much money the state of Cameroon pays him in a month/year for the work he does for the country. This is especially important given that he has often been accused of variousl levels of financial impropriety. If he has nothing to hide, he must reveal his salary. In fact, even if he has nothing to hide, he must reveal his salary because Cameroonians have a right to know. This is the point to begin investigating all the financial improprieties of which he has been accused. He cannot be living extravagantly and unaccountably while most Cameroonians pine in penury.

Towards Africa's Second Liberation

I find it quite intriguing that the independence of Africa from colonial domination began in northern African countries that achieved their independence in the 1950s. With the exception of Ghana that achieved its independence in 1957, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa achieved their independence in the 1960s. I find it quite intriguing that current events in northern Africa may be a portent for the second liberation of the continent from post-independence dictatorship. This assessment rejects the claim that there has been so-called second liberation of Africa in the 1990s. But that is a different matter.

Gbagbo Gets His Wish

Such is the nature of politics in Africa. Laurent Gbagbo, who stole the elections in Ivory Coast, is now being offered negotiatitions by African leaders. The earlier stance that he should step down from power because he lost the elections has now been abandoned by the African Union (AU). The AU is now talking of finding "an African solution to an African problem." That is code for the pursuit of aberrant policies that usually endanger the lives of Africans. African leaders have often looked for African solutions to what they see as African problems, but it has not carried the continent much further. It is true that Africa largely suffeers from the problem of bad leadership but the problem of bad leadership is understood by most people in the world. And most people in the world try to overcome this problem by encouraging transparency and accountability. African leaders instead sublimate the problem and make it seem intractable. Although the problem of bad leadership is mostly an African problem, there are universal methods of addressing the problem. There is no particularly African way to address such a problem. African leaders should stop compounding the problems of the continent by inventing strange ways of doing things that threaten the lives of their people. Gbagbo stole an election. The best way to handle the problem is to find a means to remove him from office. Period. It is time to abandon the cliche of looking for an African solution to an African problem.