LETS CELEBRATE AU

Its is not Perfect but it is a great and wonderful dream Sure i would never hold a Federal United States of Africa passport in my lifetime and i may not be able to travel effortlessly between African countries as of it was one nation, but the dream of African unity is un-undying passion that makes my heart glows every time i think about it.This wonderful yet almost illusive dream fashioned by our illustrious fore bearers is both uplifting and disappointing depending on which side you happen to be standing at what time . It is one of the few things that all Africans aspire to but deep inside we hope it is not only a vision. every year on the 25 of may people across the content are reminded of this dream of our fore fathers to make the African continent one nation. The celebration that goes wit this day always so much emotions and debates as to whether the project of Africa Unity is even a desirable vision not to mention whether it will ever be attained. Then there is the perennial cynical view that since the early 50s African leaders only shuttle between capitals for unproductive talk shops that does not yield any benefits for the ordinary African or fails to move the continent any closer to unity. some say the reborn AU is no different from the erstwhile OAU which many have consigned into the dustbin of history as one of the failed multinational organizations with lofty intentions but lacking pragmatic actions. we live on a continent where we have been programmed by both internal and external factors to always see the negative and ignore the successes and the positive. the bad news has drowned out the good news so much so that good news and successes are rare. This condition has been applied in assessing performance of the OAU What many fail to recognize is that that the AU has been through an evolution and a deep analysis will show that it really did more than average in fulfilling its missions and goals. One of the prime goals of the OAU in its formative years was to liberate the continent from colonial domination.This goal was achieved in record time which brought some of the very best in Africans and showed that together we can collectively achieve.Within less than a decade this was actualized leading to the liberation of over a dozen colonies.By the 25th year of the existence of the OAU only a handful of African colonies were under colonial control and in those places strong efforts were underway to liberate to areas.

A LITTLE MORE OF THE SAME

.... Real change is elusive in terms of posture and orientation Those of us who rooted for Atta mills to ascend to the presidency because we thought he was going to be our answer to the real change that was needed are left scratching our heads and left wondering if he can provide at least some hope to the change agenda Only a week ago the media space was completely dominated by abject discussions and debates about the true number of people and functionaries included in the presidents entourage and the true cost of the trip to the UK. The president's media czar defended the number and the expenses on a host of media outlets , claiming that Ghanaian must rather consider what came out of the trip rather than the cost. for a moment , i thought it was Kwabena Adjepong or Andrew Awuni or or better still defending Kuffour over his numerous travels. Mahama ayariga ,when quizzed , insisted that the travel to the UK was to secure funds to balance our budget and to fund some critical projects.and that millions of pounds have been pledged by the UK government towards such.In a way that argument answers the critics (especially those from the opposition NPP) who have been mocking the president for being locked up in the castle and unable to travel outside the country to look for funds to run the country. That is the aspect that saddens me the most ;that our measure of the success of leadership is the leader's ability to beg for more funds from western nations This is the level we have reduced ourselves to. and sadly our president has bought into it. This mediocre leadership style that is low on cerebral work but heavy on little things that appears grand but hollow inside is what we rooted for the Prof to change but it looks like so early in the day our hopes will be dashed. What is even more annoying is that our new president is also trapped in the neo-colonial mind that dictates that we must maintain a "special" relationship with our colonial oppressors. even the act of the president first visiting the UK in his first official trip outside of Africa at the expense of missing the swearing -in of the new president of South Africa! In the new geopolitical reality we find ourselves in our leaders must be nimble footed and forward thinking. The world is totally different in geopolitical terms and diplomatically from the one they knew when growing up. If they are impervious to the reality , they better have a second look at the events at the G-20 convened in London on the 1st of April to discuss ways out of the global Economic crisis.Only a few years back that summit would have been dominated by only a few western countries while big powers like China , India, Russia,Brazil and South Africa wouldn't even get a look-in. the worlds power centers have not only shifted by it is spreading , creating many centers of powers. The world is becoming 'Flat' and the traditional political ,economic and diplomatic superpowers are having to cede some of their powers to other countries because they have no other choice. The newly emerging powers are propping up the western economies through all forms of investments and trade. Our leaders must recognize the new reality and take actions that will enhance our development. The unreasonable attachment to our colonial ties must be shed away and embrace the new era that has dawned on us. The president must know that the change agenda also includes foreign policy; we must revolutionize our foreign policy outlook to benefit from the new age and form powerful partnership with the emerging powers who will pull us towards the expanding center. Also the "beg mentality"of our leadership must be shed away and a more cerebral , creative and and dignifying attitude to adopted. If the job of the presidency is simply going around western countries begging for money , then most of us "simpletons can be better president than those we have had.