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The Gambia, the smiling coast that never stops to sweat!

[ Posted On: 2006-07-05 ]

Writes Jerry Okungu in Banjul, The Gambia.

Take your pick, morning, day or night, one thing that the Smiling Coast that is the Gambia will guarantee any visitor, especially from the chilly Eastern Africa is plenty of flowing sweat!

Unlike most dilapidated African cities on the West Coast, Banjul is a relatively clean city with good roads criss-crossing the city. Its people are relatively warm but with a worrying degree of capacity to organize a major international gathering like the African Union Summit that took us to Banjul in the first place.

Major lapses could be seen in the relationship between the protocol teams that didn’t seem to work in congruence with their security staff. For some reason or the other, as much as the protocol young men and women tried their best to have guests feel at home and wanted in the Smiling Coast, the men of armour and combat sticks would have none of it. If any, they saw no difference between foreign delegates and jobless rural Gambians that had invaded the city to cash in on who had come to Banjul for the African Union Summit.

To register for the Summit was a nightmare to many a delegate, especially those that thought that they would wait to register on arrival. To get a form to fill, have your photo taken and generally follow up the procedure which was scattered in different locations within the city was an experience of a life- time. Getting the precious badge that would enable a delegate’s access to meeting rooms would take as long as twenty- four or forty- eight hours.

Organizing international meetings of this nature can be daunting for any country, more so for tiny Gambia with a small economy. But there were lessons to be learnt especially for those who came from countries like Kenya that enjoy vast experience and manpower in managing such affairs. Kenyans may want to know that there are so many things that we take for granted that are non- existent in other countries.

Tiny Gambia though located in the middle of greater Senegal is a challenge to get to. Most Kenyans would like to know that even though it is situated in French West Africa, getting there by air would require rerouting to Brussels or any other city in Europe before flying back to the continent. It is that strange- a challenge that if the AU has to be taken seriously, it has to tackle with speed, not just for Gambia but for the rest of Africa.

Holding an AU Summit in Banjul had its own political challenges for the continental body. It was not lost on observers that there was a clear parallel between this meeting and the mini APRM Summit that was held in Khartoum, Sudan in mid January this year under similar circumstances. Obvious parallels were found in the backgrounds of both presidents as military strong men who ascended to power through the barrel of the gun.

Another parallel was the continuous suppression of political opposition and press freedom in both countries.

Whereas Bashir of Sudan has kept the war alive in Southern Sudan, Darfur and Eastern part of his country for years, causing the deaths of millions of Sudanese in the process, President Jameh has never hesitated to be ruthless with his opponents or journalists in a bid to retain his strong hold on power.

The other parallel is the obvious Islamic religious culture which seems to attract General Muammar Gaddafi’s interest in both countries. This Islamic affiliation could be the reason President Jameh decided to invite the Iranian President to the AU Summit. It is instructive to note that both Libya and Iran are rich oil- producing countries that if they choose, can have strong influence on small struggling economies of Africa

Of the over thirty African Heads of State and Government that attended the Banjul Summit, notable influential African leaders were Koffi Annan of the UN, Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo, Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki, South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Wade of Senegal and Ngwesso of Gabon.

Unlike the other AU Summits of the recent past, President Jameh used his prerogative as the host president to invite a few non-African Heads of State and Government. Notable among them were the belligerent Chavez of Venezuela, the combative nuclear hungry President of Iran and the Prime Minister of Thailand.

Inviting some of these leaders to an exclusively African Summit was good public relations for tiny Gambia but judging by the utterances of some of these leaders, it was obvious that the leaders of Venezuela and Iran cared least about protocol, diplomacy and good manners expected of world class leaders.

Whereas the Iranian President decided to direct his tirade at his pet subjects; the US and her adopted baby Israel, Chavez was content to lash at big brother America next door and used the occasion to reopen the decaying chapter on South- South Economic Cooperation.

Looked at another way, one wondered why these two countries were allowed to use a Pan African Forum to vent their anger and frustrations on their enemies thousands of miles away on issues that were of no immediate concern to the African continent.

America and Israel may be the bad boys of the world and nobody sensible can either doubt or deny it. The US fought a senseless war in Vietnam and lost. It invaded Afghanistan on flimsy terrorist excuses only to install their puppets there. Attacked and occupied Iraq on the pretext that Saddam Hussein was manufacturing and stockpiling Weapons of Mass Destruction. Three years down the line, they have never found a single weapon of mass destruction and neither have they captured Osama bin Laden their prime suspect in the 9/11 bombing of the Twin towers in New York in the summer of 2001.

Israel on the other hand continues to terrorize tiny Palestinian Gaza enclave- the only homeland the Palestinians call home. Though a tiny country itself, the massive military and economic support Israel has continued to receive from Western nations led by the US since the Jewish massacres in Germany during the Second World War has made it a super power in Middle East Conflict.

Having said that, what was the wisdom of using the AU forum to attack America and Israel? Don’t we have enough international forums like the UN General Assembly, the Arab Summit, the Organization of Islamic States and the Organization of South American States to voice these concerns? Better still, why can’t these countries go to the European Summits where they can voice their concerns with friends of America and Israel directly?

Yes, Americans and Israelis have been the bad boys of international diplomacy for decades in the Middle East. But being enemies of Israel and America does not necessarily translate America and Israel into enemies of Africa.

Africa has come of age and cannot afford being drawn into another round of Cold War this century. We have enough issues of our own to deal with without prompting from neo- super power wannabes of the present age. Let us stand up as leaders of this great continent to safeguard and defend our dignity and integrity without being seen to be bullied into succumbing to the whims of oil- rich nations of the third world.

The behaviour of the two guest-leaders was as embarrassing to the Gambian people as it was to the rest of the continent- a bitter and regrettable incident that should not be allowed to occur again in future AU Summits.

Was it a coincidence that in the middle of the Iranian President’s fiery speech, microphones went dead, forcing the meeting to adjourn for three hours?

Did some one intentionally switch off the microphones to stop the host nation from further embarrassment?

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

Jerry Okungu is a freelance political analyst based in Nairobi, Kenya. Jerry also serves as a Board Director at The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. Jerry has written extensively on issues affecting Kenya and the rest of Africa over the years. Other articles written by Jerry Okungu are available at this location

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