President John Kufuor of Ghana hosted African leaders in Accra for the 9th African Union Summit. The three-day event was primarily devoted to discussing the establishment of a United States of Africa that would be comprised of the 53 AU member states.
It was fitting to have this event on Ghanaian soil, since Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first post-colonial independence president, was one of the early pioneers promoting Pan-African unity almost half a century ago. But the heads of state quarreled and remained divided about when the union should be formed and how it should be administered.
Leaders such as Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who feel the continent must unite without delay under one government with its own army and an agreed foreign policy, argued with 'gradualists' who favour a less immediate approach to a political conglomeration. In the end, the BBC reports that the AU body agreed to set up a committee to create a road map and a timetable for the union government under the Accra Declaration.
Gaddafi vs. the 'gradualists'
Reuters reports that Gaddafi traveled as part of a huge convoy from Tripoli to Accra, staging rallies and promoting a united Africa that would have a larger presence in this globalized world. His tour took him through Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast. Gaddafi believes it is not the African leaders who should be making decisions about a pan-African union, but the people of Africa.
The flamboyant Colonel, the most adamant crusader for this continental imperative, did not stay in one of the newly-built presidential lodges but, rather, chose to stay in his own tent. Gaddafi referred to himself as a "soldier of Africa," and, according to Al Jazeera.net, boldly declared during events that Africa must "unite or die."
But the Libyan leader's call for an immediate federation was opposed by the 'gradualists' such as South Africa's Thabo Mbeki and President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of Nigeria, who support the eventual creation of a United States of Africa.
Mbeki seems to have convinced many that improved regional economic integration is a much greater priority while Yar'Adua addressed the summit, stressing the "greater challenges" facing the continent and the need to "to focus more on the urgent task of strengthening and consolidating internal governance and growth structures."
Other critics, such as Patrick Smith, editor of Africa Confidential, noted that leaders squandered opportunities at the conference to address more essential issues such as the AU's weak administration, poverty and the ongoing conflicts in Darfur and Somalia.
have noted that if problems such as Darfur cannot be solved through the African Union and regional cooperation, how
Suspicious absences
President Yayha Jammeh of The Gambia, as well as Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, were conspicuously absent. BBC reporter, Will Ross, who was in Accra, speculates that the Gambian leader probably avoided the summit because of the mysterious deaths of 40 Ghanaians who died two years ago. There have been allegations that Gambian security services were involved and the case has yet to be investigated.
al-Bashir was attending the funeral of a colleague but there have also been suggestions that he chose to avoid complicated questions about Darfur. He did, however, send a message from Khartoum accusing Western nations and media outlets for vilifying his nation.
The next AU summit will be in January 2008 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
