Time up for African autocrats

It is not the mark of a concerned continental body that the African Union (AU) failed to discuss the unrest in Egypt. According to an official communiqué, the African Union did not discuss the troubles in the Maghreb region because it came late.

The Chronicle cannot buy into this excuse, which obviously was an after-thought. The trouble in the Mediterranean began in Tunisia, long before the conference of the African Union was called to Addis Ababa. Ben Ali was deposed as head of state of Tunisia way before the African heads of state and governments gathered in the Ethiopian capital.

There is ample reason to infer that the African leaders who gathered in Addis Ababa were not interested in addressing the issue. If there was political will, there would have been enough understanding of the topic to engage their attention.

The Chronicle could hazard a more plausible reason as to why those who gathered in Ethiopia shied away from the unrest. The protests in the Maghreb region are against authoritarian rule. Most of those who gathered in Addis are autocrats masquerading as democrats. Unfortunately, that is the bare fact.

In 1969, Muammar Ghadaffi, then a young army officer, seized power. He has remained the strong man of Libya ever since. He lays down the ground rules, and all Libyans are expected to obey him.

Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, for instance, has been in power for close to a quarter of a century. His wife is a cabinet minister. A number of his immediate family are playing key roles in his administration. In effect, the administration in Uganda, formed after a long drawn out war, is now a fiefdom.

From Zimbabwe, grand old man Robert Mugabe is seeking re-election at 86. He has remained firmly anchored at Government House in Harare since arriving from the bush, nearly three decades ago, with his war veterans. He is the grandmaster of African dictatorship.

Blaise Campaore arrived from Burkina Faso with the indignity of remaining in office after allegedly plotting the assassination of compatriot Thomas Sankara in 1986.

Africa is largely a thriving dictatorship. It is most unlikely for dictators to want to be interested in discussing conflicts aimed at removing autocrats.

In other words, dictators of Africa, gathering under the banner of the African Union, shied away from opening a can of worms.

It is a shame that those calling themselves African leaders shied away from the major problem facing the continent at the moment. By their deeds, they shall be known.

Egypt is on the march. We are firm in our conviction that nothing would stop them from seeing the back of Hosni Mubarak, the demi-god of Egypt.

Down with African dictators who are masquerading as democrats.

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